#042: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re diving into Chapters 58–66 of A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas—where love is named (and feared), friendships become sacred magic, and three women are thrown into the most brutal trial in Prythian.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Feyre’s birthday brings awkward family tension, unexpected laughter, and a gift from Cassian so thoughtful it nearly breaks Nesta open—a Symphonia filled with the music she loves. But when he gets too close, she lashes out, insisting she deserves someone like Eris instead. Then comes the truth. The fire. The choice to let him stay.

While Cassian’s away, Nesta gathers Gwyn and Emerie for a sleepover that becomes something ancient and holy. Friendship bracelets. Wishes etched in coins. “I wish for us to always find our way back to each other.” The magic answers.

Training changes everything. Gwyn cuts the ribbon. Emerie follows. Then Nesta. The Valkyries are born.

They conquer the obstacle course. The men rage. Azriel quietly reveals the truth: they now qualify for the Blood Rite. “I’d rather be a Valkyrie,” Nesta says—and means it.

Nesta climbs the stairs. Makes peace with Amren. Learns she made the House when she wished for a friend. “Welcome back to the Night Court, Nesta Archeron.”

Spring brings shadows. Eris warns of Briallyn. Cassian asks Nesta to say the word she’s been running from—mate. She can’t. Instead, she invokes their bargain and sends him away.

That night, darkness comes for them.

Gwyn screams. Nesta is taken.

Cassian arrives too late. The Valkyries have been thrown into the Blood Rite.

On Ramiel, Nesta wakes among enemies with only a dagger and her will. She kills. She runs. She becomes what she’s been training to be. She saves Emerie from icy death. She finds shelter with a stranger. And when her charm glows again, she knows—

Gwyn is in trouble.

And the Valkyries are about to rise in the wild.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies! 🗡️🔥

#041: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re diving into Chapters 51–57 of A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas—where the Valkyries level up, ancient magic sings, and Nesta Archeron steps fully into her power… with a desk, a harp, and a death-god in her wake.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Valkyries are back on the mat, ribbons in hand and confidence rising. Emerie demands the real update (“Tell me you at least had a week’s worth of fun”), and Cassian proves what “cutting the ribbon” actually looks like—right into the now-infamous hold onto the desk moment. But it’s not all heat: in the library, Nesta and Gwyn choose bravery, attending a priestess service together. Music becomes sanctuary, friendship becomes armor, and a real bond is forged.

Then the song opens a door. The Harp awakens—and answers Nesta. Drawn into a parallel space, she finds a golden instrument at the heart of the Prison. The Crown and Harp link her to Briallyn. Rhys sends Cassian in with one of Nesta’s blades—to see what happens when she uses it. Visions. Six thrones. Lanthys. A god who should not be able to die.

He tries anyway.

Nesta runs. Then turns back. She counts strings—twenty-six—and bends worlds. She reaches Cassian, names her blade Ataraxia, and takes out a death-god with her own magic and Ataraxia. The Prison screams. They fall into Velaris. Cassian collapses. Nesta chooses hope.

After, she finally apologizes to Feyre (daemati style). We learn of the Daglan, Gwydion, the Wild Hunt—and that Ataraxia is a death sword. A plan forms: to keep Eris loyal, Nesta will dance with him at Solstice. Cassian is not okay.
Winter arrives. Gwyn secures a chapter on the rebirth of the Valkyries—“Our stories are worth telling.” The House reveals its heart. Nesta meets it with hers.

At Solstice, Rhys gifts Eris one of Nesta’s blades. Nesta dances. The room burns. Eris whispers truths about Mor. Cassian cuts in, trembling and brave. And then—Eris offers himself everything Rhys could want.

In exchange for Nesta as his bride.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies! 🗡️🔥

#040: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re diving into Chapters 41–50 of A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas—where ancient magic sharpens its teeth, loyalties fracture, and Nesta Archeron finally breaks… only to begin again.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The dread deepens as Helion confirms the truth behind the Crown: the soldiers aren’t bewitched, they’re influenced. The Dread Trove is awakening, and the Mask reacts to Helion in ways it doesn’t to the others, hinting at blood-deep magic and ancient wearers long forgotten. Nesta refuses to learn how to unward it, knowing exactly what she’d be tempted to do with that knowledge. Instead, she studies war, dreams of building an army of priestesses, and lets desire take over—right into that headboard scene.

Then the blades arrive. Three weapons Nesta helped forge—impossible, cursed, and powerful enough to rival the Dread Trove itself. Amren fears they are something new entirely… and decides Nesta cannot know. When Rhysand is warned that these swords could make him High King, he refuses, despite Amren’s chilling reminder that the Cauldron’s favor never lasts forever.

At the Spring Court, Nesta finds her voice. She challenges Eris, confronts Tamlin for what he did to Feyre, and realizes—finally—what home feels like. But the cracks widen back in Velaris. The Valkyries are reborn through training, shared history, and joy. Nesta pushes for their techniques to be honored alongside Illyrian ones, and for the first time, music and laughter return to the ring.

Until the truth comes out.

When Nesta learns that Rhysand and Amren kept the swords from her, the betrayal shatters her. A confrontation with Amren explodes. Feyre intervenes—and Nesta tells her the truth about the pregnancy. The fallout is immediate and brutal. Cassian takes Nesta away before Rhysand can do something unforgivable.

In the mountains, Nesta collapses under the weight of her grief, her father, her failures, her self-loathing. At a sacred lake, she finally lets it all out. Cassian stays. He listens. He reminds her that she is counted. That she is worth fighting for. And when he tells her to rise—she does.

On moonlit shores, Nesta Archeron draws the eight-pointed star perfectly.

Not as a weapon.

But as a beginning.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies!