Picking back up with a normal #sixforsunday today and I have to admit that I am finding these pretty challenging! Favourite author is a really hard thing to decide upon especially as I have read quite a diverse range of fiction in my time. It’s trite to use the analogy “it’s like asking to pick a favourite child” but in some ways it really is. So for today, I am going for an author who is still relatively new to me but has consistently blown me away throughout her series and that is Sarah J Maas. Whilst I have been considering what my six things will be I have realised that there is no way to do this without spoilers, so if you’ve not yet read the ACOTAR series or the Throne of Glass series you may want to skip this.

1. Mental Health

The most stand out aspect of her writing for me is her depiction of mental health. This first really hit me when I was reading A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre is clearly suffering from PTSD and then also having to deal with an abusive relationship at the hands of Tamlin. It was utterly heartbreaking and having been in a similar type of relationship long ago I really connected with what Feyre was going through. What stood out for me in the Throne of Glass series was when Aelin was rescued from Maeve in Kingdom of Ash, desperately clawing at the mask, screaming repeatedly for Rowan to take it off, it’s making me feel anxious all over again for her just recounting this. There are so many other instances where suffering has been dealt with sensitively and pretty broadly across a range of characters, but I need to keep this short so I’ll move on….

2. Respect in relationships

In a world where there are so many toxic relationships in YA fiction I have to say I love how the relationships she portrays are always respectful and when they aren’t (*cough* Tamlin) it’s dealt with appropriately. Honestly, there is a reason why Rhysand is my number one book boyfriend, and that is due to his care and patience with a very broken Feyre. Very much like my husband in that regard ❤ There is no Alpha Male bull with Rhysand and he’s set’s the bar pretty high. Not just Rhysand though, even Lucian could seem a bit of a creeper when it comes to Elain but he never pushes her which is great. It’s not all big love stories either, Dorian and Manon are brilliant with each other showing how even booty calls can be on even terms!

3. Emotional Reactions

Honestly no other author can bring about such a high amount of emotion in me, i’m not going to lie when I say she gives me all the feels, I’ve already touched upon some of the scenes in the first 2 sections, but when I finished the ACOTAR series I really didn’t know what to do with myself I was left such an emotional wreck that I even blogged about it! Similarly the closing pages of Empire of Storms had me screaming at my favourite fangirl friend, Author Rebecca Gibson, and oh my i’m still not over The Thirteen. Sarah J Maas has a real talent for getting me completely invested in all her characters which is no mean feat considering the wealth of them in her stories. I also enjoy how she can make me go from love to hate to love again, Chaol and Lysandra anyone?

4. Plot Twists

She is Queen of plot twists and big reveals, in the same way that she invokes all the feels she is also the only author to make me shout out loud. Again, I called upon my fellow fangirl to vent as I just couldn’t get over what was happening in the stories sometimes, I mean that Maeve reveal OMG! Things just come together so perfectly and in ways that I never imagined across both her series.

5. Merch

I admit I have a real problem when it comes to getting bookish merch, I have tried to curb it recently though but it’s a testament that she can inspire so many people to make so many items based on her worlds. With memorable quotes and vivid descriptions it makes it easy to invoke items inspired by her characters and locations. I have candles, bookmarks, prints, pins, maps, bathbombs and even tea based on her series – told you I had a problem…

6. She’s a lovely person

Every time I read her newsletters or see her being interviewed she just gives the impression that she is still utterly humbled by everything. Honest and very sweet, you can also totally see how her husband is her inspiration for Rhsand and her decision to share pictures of her baby with her fans was also lovely. I was honestly gutted to not get tickets to her Kingdom of Ash tour event last November, but hopefully next time she’s in the UK on a tour I’ll be more on the ball!

Who would your #sixforsunday author ode be to?