A Court of Splintered Harmony Review: ACOSH (1/5)

Sarah J. Maas books changed my life, especially Throne of Glass and the first three A Court of Thorns and Roses books. I once rated A Court of Mist and Fury 5,000 out of 5 stars on this blog, and when A Court of Splintered Harmony was announced, I blocked off my late October for it.

Now I can say I’ve read an entire book of exposition. I would not recommend it.

The spoiler-free setup: A Court of Splintered Harmony is ACOTAR book six and Movement I of The Valkyrie Cycle, one long story Maas has split into four movements. It picks up after A Court of Silver Flames, with Feyre and Rhysand raising their son, Nyx, and Koschei the Deathless stirring on the continent. Movements II and III arrive together in A Court of Forgotten Melody on January 12, 2027.

My verdict: A Court of Splintered Harmony is 352 pages of setup for a story that starts in the next book, and I gave it 1 out of 5 stars.

What I Loved About A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas

Being back in Prythian after five years. For the first stretch, every recap of Under the Mountain and the war with Hybern reminded me why the original trilogy hit me so hard.

Then the recaps kept coming.

What I Didn’t Love About A Court of Splintered Harmony

It’s 352 Pages of Setup

Most of this book is characters explaining things we already read in earlier books, or setting up a war that hasn’t started yet. Very little happens. I’ve forgiven Maas for exposition before: House of Earth and Blood made me survive 200+ pages of it, and the third act paid off every one of them. A Court of Splintered Harmony has no third act to pay anything off. That’s in the next book.

The fluff didn’t help, either. Some of the details that got page time confused me, like the descriptions of breastfeeding and of family life with Nyx. Plenty of other readers have flagged the same thing, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The Characters Don’t Act Like Themselves

This was my biggest issue, and it’s the one I see most often in other readers’ reviews: the characters don’t feel consistent with who they were in the rest of the series. It was strange to watch Azriel and Elain make the decisions they make in this book. (Spoiler-free, so that’s all you get.) Across the whole cast, people make choices that don’t add up to anything yet, and a lot of them act pretty immature for an inner circle that’s mostly 500+ years old.

I’ll say this gently, as a fan: since the Crescent City books, something in Maas’s writing has felt different to me. Reddit has theories about why. I don’t know, and it could be any number of things. Writers change, and sometimes they want their books to land differently. I had the same whiplash when Brimstone, the sequel to Callie Hart’s Quicksilver, felt like it came from a completely different author. Feeling it in ACOTAR is so much sadder.

Koschei Isn’t Personal (Yet)

Parts of this book feel like a rerun of the war with Hybern, and the comparison doesn’t flatter the new villain. Amarantha wanted Tamlin, and she wanted power over the people she felt had wronged her. Hybern’s war landed on Feyre’s own sisters, which made it a crime against her family. Those stakes were personal.

Koschei, at least in Movement I, feels like a random, faceless villain. The stakes stay abstract, and nobody in the book seems to take the coming war very seriously, so I didn’t either.

Compare that to Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Flesh and Fire prequels. They follow a plot similar to Blood and Ash and still feel new, because the villain has a personal vendetta against the love interest, and that grounds the whole war in character. (My Jennifer Armentrout books in order guide has both series.)

Why Is A Court of Splintered Harmony Split Into Movements?

Here’s the thing: A Court of Splintered Harmony is the first of four movements, and the first movement isn’t a standalone story. I preordered the ebook for $16, and it feels like I paid for the first 352 pages of a much bigger book.

Brandon Sanderson has published novels over 1,300 pages. Movements II and III of this story are already bound together in one book. So why does Movement I get its own book-priced release?

As an author, I’m all for experimenting with how a story reaches readers. This structure works against the story, though. Readers will wait months for the next movement, forget what happened, and need the next book to remind them, which means more exposition in every movement. One full book would have fixed that.

I hate typing this about an author I love, but splitting it up this way feels like a cash grab. Every author should get to make their own choices. As a reader of this series, I just don’t feel like this one was made with readers in mind.

Final Thoughts on A Court of Splintered Harmony

I love Sarah J. Maas, and I genuinely wished this was a better read. It’s tough to watch a series that changed my life stop honoring the readers who carried it this far.

My final score: 1 out of 5 stars ⭐️

One star, for being back in Prythian.

Spice rating: 1 out of 5 🌶️

Do I recommend this book? ❌ No. If you’re a diehard fan who has to read it anyway (I get it), wait for A Court of Forgotten Melody on January 12 and read the movements back to back, so the story is right there when the setup ends.

Want more like this? Browse my ranked list of the best romantasy books on Kindle Unlimited — I update it regularly.

Need a palate cleanser? My list of 8 books like A Court of Thorns and Roses has the read-alikes I hand people when they run out of Maas, and my ACOTAR books in order guide has the whole series with my rating for each book.

FAQ: A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas

How Many Pages Is A Court of Splintered Harmony?

The US hardcover is 352 pages. It’s Movement I of four in The Valkyrie Cycle, so it reads like the opening stretch of a much longer story.

Do I Need to Read A Court of Silver Flames First?

Yes. It picks up after A Court of Silver Flames and leans on threads from the earlier books, so read the series in order first. My ACOTAR books in order guide has the full list.

When Does A Court of Forgotten Melody Come Out?

January 12, 2027. It holds Movements II and III of The Valkyrie Cycle, and a fourth and final movement is still to come.

Is A Court of Splintered Harmony Spicy?

Barely. I gave it 1 out of 5 chilis, so if you’re coming for ACOMAF-level heat, lower your expectations.

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