Sarah J. Maas has conquered the market when it comes to imagination-stirring YA fantasy fiction. One of her best-selling book series is A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR to its many adorers) and fans are obsessed with the characters found in its pages—but which characters deserve the most love?
In ACOTAR we meet a whole host of characters and discover that not all of them are exactly who they seem at first glance (or for the entire first book in some cases). So let’s take a look at the main characters and see where they fall in the ranking of our faves.
10. Tamlin
Readers were well and truly hooked with Tamlin and Feyre’s love in the first book. In the next book, however, Maas quickly takes readers for a ride and we discover that Tamlin is not the prince charming we had all thought and instead an over-protective, bullish, paranoid, and resorts to brute force and destruction when angry. Basically, he’s a walking red flag.
Tamlin seems to do some incredibly stupid things to get Feyre back, but we then discover that even he isn’t as bad as he was pretending to be. Still, though Tamlin may not deserve everything he went through, he isn’t the best-liked character of the series and becomes quite a pathetic figure by the end of it.
9. Elain
Elain is honestly the definition of milquetoast and does very little throughout the novels except pine away, plant flowers, and bake bread. Elain seems perfectly okay with letting her younger sister do all the dangerous work of providing for the family while she focuses on planting flowers. After she is turned into a High Fae she still fails to make a mark, mourning over the life she lost.
Unlike her sisters, Elain seems a tad spineless but does prove herself somewhat capable when she stabs the great King of Hybern in the neck allowing Nesta to finish off the job. She gets somewhat better in later books but still isn’t the strongest of characters leaving her a little low on our list.
8. Lucien
Lucien starts the series in the service of Tamlin, but after seeing how Tamlin treated Feyre in the second book he tries his best to help her. This causes tension which only gets deeper as Tamlin devolves into a jealous and angry dictator leaving Lucien with few options other than to leave his side and head to the Night Court.
Lucien, like many of the characters, has his own tragic story but tries to rise above his past to be of use to those who need it. He is a sympathetic character in many ways, losing his friendship with Tamlin and then being bound to a woman who wants nothing to do with him, we all hope the best for Lucien in the future.
7. Nesta
Despite being the harsher of the two sisters Nesta curries a lot more favor from fans than Elain due to the fact that she is actually interesting. Nesta loves Elain dearly and will do anything to protect her but doesn’t seem to have that same love for Feyre growing up. We come to see that Nesta is not as uncaring as originally painted.
After entering the cauldron and becoming High Fae, Nesta becomes extremely powerful as she takes some of the cauldron’s power for herself. She is a strong fighter, doesn’t put up with anything from anyone, and seeks her own path, even if it leads to self-destruction. Nesta had so much to offer that the final ACOTAR book, A Court of Silver Flames, centers on her character and journey.
6. Mor
Mor is a loyal and powerful member of the Night Court and despite her traumatic upbringing, she is a powerful and strong character, with Rhysand even saying he will call her when “the armies fail and Cassian and Azriel are both dead.” She is cheerful and friendly, making Feyre feel immediately welcome in the Night Court.
The only reason Mor is lower is that she strings along Azriel who has been in love with her since he met her 500 years ago. Granted she has her reasons for it, providing a much-needed LGBTQ+ character in this series, but poor Azriel.
5. Azriel
Moving onto Azriel, the brooding and mysterious character who has the softest and kindest of hearts. Azriel serves as Rhysand’s spymaster thanks to his gift of shadowsinging, allowing him to hear and feel things others can’t as well as move through shadows.
Azriel has been unlucky in love, with Mor (as mentioned above) always out of reach. He cares for Elain as well and the two are close, but even here he is thwarted as Elain is the mate of Lucien. It does appear that things could get better for Azriel moving forward though with Gwyn potentially set up as a romantic interest in A Court of Silver Flames.
4. Amren
Amren is the powerful, mischievous, mythical being from another dimension we all wish we could be. She is the oldest character, older even than the land itself, and has power that no one can fathom. It is through unleashing this power at the end of A Court of Wings and Ruin that the armies of the King of Hybern are defeated, and Amren returns to them now pure High Fae.
Amren is crude, funny, hoards treasures, and has a temper to be feared but she has some wonderful quirks which make her a delightfully entertaining character.
3. Cassian
Cassian the warrior, the jokester, the loyal friend. Cassian is a well-loved character in the books because of all those things, his energy appears to be infectious and often brightens up whichever room he enters. This is in stark contrast to his mate, Nesta, and the two verbally spar and bicker often but care for each other deeply.
Fans love Cassian’s personality. He’s funny and a little cocky but with a true heart of gold leaving him ranked highly on most people’s favorite character list. (Yes, he’s also hot.)
2. Rhysand
Though Rhysand originally is presented as a villain in the first book we all come to realize we were so very wrong about him. Rhysand is a character who has had to make a lot of tough choices, allowing himself to be feared and hated by others to protect his people. He is one of the kindest characters in the series and has worked to uplift all his friends from their personal darkness to happiness.
He is a tad arrogant and loves to talk about just how handsome he is as a joke which only makes him a more endearing character and stops him from being annoyingly perfect. His and Feyre’s relationship is the most loved in the series. He trusts her and her abilities, allows her to make her own choices, and breaks all conventions to make her his High Lady.
1. Feyre
Feyre is a fiercely determined character who fights for the ones she loves even when she had no powers or abilities. She is kind and compassionate to those who have earned her trust but can hold great hatred towards those who have wronged her. She knows she has darkness inside her but chooses to embrace it, using everything she has to protect the ones she loves.
When she isn’t fighting, or spending time with her handsome High Lord, Feyre loves to paint and has the heart of an artist. After the war, she spends much of her time painting and supporting the artistic community in the night court through her patronage. She may come across as a bit of a Mary Sue, but she’s more layered than that and we love her for it.
Who ranks highest on your own personal list?
(featured image: Bloomsbury, Pobytov/Getty Images)
