A Court of Mist & Fury guide: Characters, spice, FAQs & more
If A Court of Thorns and Roses was a fairytale with a few sharp edges, A Court of Mist and Fury is the book that rips your heart out and sets it on fire.
This is where Sarah J. Maas truly sinks her claws in, giving us heartbreak, healing, spicy chapters that dial it up from its predecessor, and a certain High Lord who single-handedly ruined our standards for fictional men.
In this guide, we’re breaking down A Court of Mist and Fury characters (because the Inner Circle deserves an introduction), all the spicy chapters (for research purposes), and important trigger warnings (because this book goes there).
And if you're here wondering, “What book do Feyre and Rhysand get together? Does Feyre end up with Rhys or Tamlin? And WHEN does she find out he's her mate?!”—don’t worry, we’ve got those answers too.
Ready? Because once you enter Velaris, there’s no going back.
A Court of Mist and Fury: synopsis/summary
Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court—but at a steep cost.
Though she now has the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.
Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court.
As Feyre navigates its dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms—and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world cleaved in two.
With more than a million copies sold of her beloved Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas's masterful storytelling brings this second book in her seductive and action-packed series to new heights.
A Court of Mist and Fury characters.
I found that A Court of Thorns and Roses was a good introduction to the world of Prythian and we meet a lot of main players.
However, in A Court of Mist and Fury we’re introduced to a lot more characters. Here is the full ACOMAF character list:
| Character name | Description |
|---|---|
| Feyre Archeron | Former human huntress, newly minted High Fae and currently having the sort of existential crisis that comes with discovering your entire life has been built around surviving rather than actually living. |
| Nesta Archeron | Feyre’s eldest sister. Still proud, prickly and seemingly powered entirely by spite, but slowly beginning to realise that perhaps letting Feyre do all the emotional heavy lifting isn't sustainable. |
| Elain Archeron | Feyre’s middle sister. Gentle, dreamy and fond of gardens, flowers and generally being the least confrontational Archeron. Unfortunately, her life is about to become considerably less peaceful. |
| Rhysand aka Rhys | High Lord of the Night Court and Feyre’s extremely powerful, infuriatingly attractive bargain-bound companion. Comes with wings, an impressive wardrobe, questionable levels of smugness and an entire court he has been quietly protecting. |
| Morrigan aka Mor | Rhysand’s cousin and one of his closest friends. Beautiful, powerful, fiercely loyal and blessed with enough confidence to walk into a room and immediately improve its general vibe. |
| Amren | Rhysand’s second-in-command and a tiny, terrifying ancient creature who looks like a pretty woman but could probably ruin your entire afternoon without breaking a sweat. Collects jewellery and grudges. |
| Cassian | General of Rhysand’s armies, Illyrian warrior and professional troublemaker. Possesses enormous wings, an enormous personality and an apparent inability to enter a room without causing some sort of chaos. |
| Azriel aka Az | The Night Court’s spymaster. Quiet, intimidating and equipped with shadows that whisper secrets to him. Mostly communicates through brooding, staring and making everyone else wonder what he knows. |
| Cresseida | High Fae princess of the Summer Court and daughter of its High Lord. Clever, politically aware and considerably more formidable than the breezy Summer Court aesthetic might initially suggest. |
| Tarquin | The young High Lord of the Summer Court. Kind-hearted, idealistic and trying to rule a court while navigating centuries of political baggage and approximately one million beautiful but dangerous faeries. |
| Varian | A member of the Summer Court and Cresseida’s brother. Proud, sarcastic and initially suspicious of Feyre and the Night Court, because apparently trusting mysterious outsiders is not considered good governance. |
| Water wraiths | Mysterious water-dwelling creatures who live in the rivers and waters of Prythian. Beautiful in their own eerie way and considerably less interested in helping people than Feyre might prefer. |
| The Bone Carver | An ancient and terrifying creature imprisoned beneath the Prison. Appears as a young boy, enjoys riddles and has the unsettling ability to know exactly what people most want. |
| The Weaver | A horrifying creature who lives alone in a cottage in the forest, surrounded by beautiful things she has collected from her victims. Basically the faerie equivalent of a very bad Airbnb experience. |
| The Attor | Amarantha’s grotesque flying henchman. Still lurking around like the world's least welcome sequel and continuing to make everyone regret having functioning eyesight. |
| Suriel | Ancient, mysterious creature and Feyre’s favourite supernatural source of information. Knows everyone's business, enjoys a good cloak and has somehow become one of the most wholesome oddballs in Prythian. |
| Tamlin | Formerly Feyre’s lover and High Lord of the Spring Court. Currently making a series of spectacularly questionable decisions while attempting to keep Feyre close, safe and, preferably, under his control. Red flag alert, yikes. |
| Lucien | Tamlin’s emissary and Feyre’s former friend. Sarcastic, clever and semi stuck between loyalty to Tamlin and the realisation that perhaps his friend's behaviour is not exactly ideal. |
| Alis | Former servant of the Spring Court and one of Feyre’s earliest confidantes. Practical, protective and someone who has had enough experience with powerful faeries to know when to keep her mouth shut. |
| Ianthe | A High Fae priestess who was once close to Feyre and Tamlin. Charming, outwardly devout and increasingly difficult to trust. Basically a walking reminder that pretty smiles do not necessarily equal good intentions. |
| Jurian | Legendary human warrior from the ancient war between humans and faeries. Long presumed dead, although apparently Prythian has never met a historical grudge it couldn't resurrect. |
| King of Hybern | The powerful and ruthless king of Hybern, whose ambitions extend far beyond his island kingdom. Wants to dismantle the Wall and restore faerie dominance over the human lands. Subtlety is clearly not his preferred leadership style. |
| The Mortal Queens | The mortal rulers who govern the human lands beyond the Wall. Wealthy, powerful and deeply distrustful of the faeries, they have their own political games to play and absolutely no interest in becoming pawns in someone else's war. |
| Keir | Powerful member of the Night Court's Court of Nightmares and Mor’s father. Cruel, misogynistic and generally unpleasant enough that “family dinner” sounds like an actual threat. |
| Nuala | One of Rhysand’s half-High Fae, half-wraith servants. Quiet, observant and skilled at moving unseen, she works alongside her twin and is far more capable than her unassuming appearance suggests. |
| Cerridwen | Nuala’s twin and fellow wraith. Equally quiet and capable, she works within the Night Court and has mastered the useful art of being completely underestimated. |
| Lord Devlon | A powerful Illyrian warlord who oversees the training camps. Traditional, misogynistic and extremely unimpressed by the idea of Illyrian women doing anything other than staying in their assigned lane. |
| Mrs. Laurent | Loyal head housekeeper for the Archeron family. |
Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 stars.
Spice level: 🌶🌶
2.5/5, medium spice.
While I was entertained by the first book, the second book to A Court of Thorns and Roses, ACOMAF, was in a completely different league for me, in the best way possible. (As predicted, I stayed up late a couple of nights in a row, who needs sleep?).
Spoilers begin: 🚨🚨🚨
This book deals with really heavy themes in the aftermath of Under the Mountain.
Feyre has been transformed literally and figuratively from the atrocities she endured there.
I thought SJM did really well in making the trauma and PTSD, recovery and healing feel genuine, raw and tangible. And Feyre isn’t the only scarred one.
And the love story! It might be my favourite one of all time.
Mutual respect, friendship, full of chemistry, and obvs scorching hot, but not without complications.
And holy moly, that was a slow build.
I got frustrated at Feyre for being so dense, but then I remembered I had to be patient with her, she went through a lot.
Even though I was literally yelling at the book at one point, the payoff for the reveals was so worth it.
Rhysand might be my fave book boyfriend of all time (Azriel & Cassian, I love you too).
Yeah, he’s hot, powerful, dangerous and mysterious, but it’s also about his character.
He’s smart, cunning, witty with a huge soft heart, with flaws, vulnerabilities and depth. Plus he wants equality in Prythian and he’s a feminist. His backstory had me floored. 🥺💔❤️🩹❤️🔥
The found family trope might be one of my favourites of all time too. Mor, Amren, Cassian, Azriel are my new besties.
They felt fully fleshed out and multi-dimensional.
Loved them all, and I find that unique as I’ve read so many books where the side characters are just haphazardly shoved in there for whatever reason whether it’s lackadaisical or for diversity points etc. The inner circle is utter perfection.
There are too many other things to list I love, but here’s it is in a nutshell:
Worldbuilding (Velaris was a particular highlight, it kinda reminded me of somewhere like the Amalfi Coast in Italy or similar),
the character development (Feyre’s transformation from a broken survivor to an empowered badass, like that havoc she wreaked on the Attor), and
just the plot in general.
There were some icks I had with the prose (the animal sounds and mannerisms ON REPEAT!, the loose breaths…and…the amount of… ellipses in dialogue…), however, I still whole-heartedly love this book to my core and it was in a completely different league to ACOTAR for me.
Reading ACOMAF makes me need to read ACOTAR again with a brand new understanding and perspective.
ALL the stars.
View A Court of Mist and Fury review here.
FAQs.
Before we get into answering the FAQs let me warn you: 🚨🚨🚨 Major spoiler alert.🚨🚨🚨
Here are the answers to all your common ACOMAF FAQs.
How to pronounce Rhysand:
The pronunciation guide on the back of ACOTAR says Rhysand is pronounced: 'Reese-and'.
How to pronounce Feyre:
Sarah J. Maas explicitly spells out how to pronounce Feyre in the first ACOTAR book: ‘Fay-ruh’.
How many pages is A Court of Mist and Fury?
ACOMAF is 656 pages, although that will depend on what edition of the book you have.
How many chapters are in A Court of Mist and Fury?
There are 69 chapters in A Court of Mist and Fury.
Is A Court of Mist and Fury spicy?
Oh, ACOMAF definitely turns up the heat compared to book one!
The sexual tension is as thick and the spice? Let’s just say it’s enough to keep your heart racing without overshadowing the plot.
I’d rate it a solid 2.5/5 on the spice-o-meter.
Plus, the flirty banter between Rhysand and Feyre is sizzling.
Spice level: 🌶🌶
2.5/5, medium spice.
What are the A Court of Mist and Fury spicy chapters?
There is a little spice at the beginning. Then for a while, there is no spice, as Feyre Archeron works to heal from PTSD and emotional scarring. There is also a lot of flirting and even a little bit of “sexting”.
But for the main events, here are the A Court of Mist and Fury spicy chapters:
| Chapter | Description | Spice Level Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 2 | Setting the scene. | 🌶️🌶️ |
| Chapter 42 | Faking being lovers at the Court of Nightmares. | 🌶️ |
| Chapter 48 | Only one bed at the inn. | 🌶️🌶️ |
| Chapter 55 | The mountains are nervous. | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ |
Looking for all the spicy chapters in the ACOTAR series? Check out this post.
Does Feyre end up with Rhysand or Tamlin?
In book one, Feyre and Tamlin may fall in love, but their time under the mountain with Amarantha leaves scars that fundamentally change them.
Ultimately, Feyre finds her true match in Rhysand—her soul-bonded mate and the undeniable endgame.
What book do Feyre and Rhysand get together?
Feyre and Rhysand officially become soul-bonded mates in A Court of Mist and Fury, the second book in the ACOTAR series.
However, their connection begins to spark Under the Mountain in book one, setting the stage for the epic romance to come.
What chapter does Feyre find out Rhys is her mate?
Feyre finds out Rhys is her mate in ACOMAF in chapter 50 while getting answers from the Suriel about how to cure Rhysand from the poison-tipped arrows coated in Bloodbane.
Rhys confesses that he knew he was Feyre’s mate to Feyre, officially in chapter 54.
What are the tropes in ACOMAF?
The main tropes are:
Enemies to lovers/friends.
Behind the mask
Found family
Fated mates
One-bed trope
Forced proximity
Slow burn
What are the trigger warnings in ACOMAF?
Abduction
Claustrophobia
Blood
Deception (severe)
Imprisonment (major; temporary)
Vomiting
Emotional distress
Emotional trauma
Forced compliance (major)
Gore
Physical abuse
Physical trauma
Psychological abuse
PTSD
Sex (graphic)
Sexual aggression
Sexual abuse (mentioned)
Sexual assault
Violence
Enjoyed reading A Court of Mist and Fury? You may also enjoy reading:
A Court of Thorns and Roses | A Court of Wings and Ruin | A Court of Frost and Starlight | A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
House of Earth and Blood | House of Sky and Breath | House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
Fourth Wing | Iron Flame | Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
The Serpent & the Wings of Night | Six Scorched Roses | The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King | The Songbird & the Heart of Stone
One Dark Window | Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
