Is ACOTAR Secretly a Gay Book? (A Court of Thorns and Roses Readalong, Chapters 6–16)

Show Notes

Feyre’s arrived in Prythian, and she isn’t winning Sophie over. On her first read, Soph’s finding the pace a slog and Feyre a petulant head to be stuck in – and she’s firmly on Team Tamlin, who has, after all, just lost his friend to Feyre’s arrow. Sarah reads all that hostility as trauma and finds Feyre much better company once she knows her family’s safe. Sallie’s surprised by how much she dislikes her on a reread.

Along the way we try to pin down what Tamlin actually looks like in beast mode (current best guess: the animated Beast with Mr Tumnus’s horns). Sophie makes the case that ACOTAR is a deeply camp book, and we get serious about Feyre’s illiteracy – could a heroine who struggles to read be part of why this series has pulled so many people into reading? Sarah also explains why the readalong has her thinking about capping how many books she reads a year.

We’re live at The Bookcellar on Stokes Croft, Bristol on 26 October to celebrate the new ACOTAR book. Tickets have sold out, but we’ll be streaming on Instagram and TikTok from around 9:30pm. If you run a Bristol book club, Sarah has a strong recommendation involving wine matched to whatever you’re reading.

Next week: an Offering episode. In two weeks: ACOTAR up to and including chapter 31.

⚠️ Spoilers for A Court of Thorns and Roses up to chapter 16. Some gory descriptions.