A Court of Thorns and Roses 1-4

Here is a summary with spoilers for ACOTAR books 1-4

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Nineteen-year-old Feyre Archeron lives in poverty with her father and sisters, Nesta and Elain, after their family loses its fortune. While hunting in the woods to feed her family, Feyre kills a large wolf that is actually a faerie in animal form. Soon after, Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court, arrives to enforce the Treaty between humans and faeries. Because Feyre killed a faerie, she must either die or live in Prythian. She chooses to accompany Tamlin to the Spring Court. There she learns more about faerie society, learns that not all fae are bad, and befriends Tamlin's emissary, Lucien. Although initially resentful of her captivity, Feyre gradually develops a romantic relationship with Tamlin. She also notices that the inhabitants of the Spring Court wear magical masks they cannot remove and that Tamlin is burdened by an unknown curse.

One evening there is a spring festivale. Tamlin teels Feyre to stay inside. But something calls to Feyre, she follows it to the festivle where she runs into fae who try to harm her. A mysterious fae comes to her rescue; Feyre feels charmed by him, but he leaves soon after. Soon after, the same man arrives to taunt Tamlin, he reveals himself as Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. He makes some threats on behalf of Amarantha, which then leads Tamlin to send Freya back to her home. She can’t stay away though, Feyre discovers that the curse was placed on Tamlin's court by Amarantha, a powerful faerie who rules from beneath a mountain. Amarantha has enslaved nearly all of Prythian's High Lords, stripped them of much of their power, and forced them and their courts into submission. Tamlin had attempted to break the curse by finding a human capable of falling in love with him despite knowing his true identity, but the deadline expires before Feyre confesses her love. Tamlin now is under the mountain under Amarantha’s rule.

Unable to remain away, Feyre returns to Prythian and willingly goes Under the Mountain to save Tamlin. Amarantha offers Feyre a chance to free Tamlin if she completes three deadly trials or correctly answers a riddle. During her imprisonment, Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, secretly assists Feyre in exchange for one week of every month of her future life, creating a magical bargain marked by matching tattoos on their arms. He heals her injuries, protects her from some of Amarantha's schemes, and forces her to appear at his nightly court to maintain his cover as Amarantha's ally.

Feyre survives the Middengard Wyrm trial, solves a puzzle involving Lucien, and endures torture before the final trial, in which she must kill three faeries she believes are innocent, the last one being Tamlin. Feyre has already killed the two others at this point, so she feels like she must continue, so she stabs Tamlim, but remembers that he said something about his heart, and she knew he would be ok. Amarantha, in a rage, starts attacking Feyre. While she is being beat down, Feyre remembers the riddle, and answers it; the answer is love. Before she can speak the answer, however, Amarantha snaps Feyre's neck, killing her. The seven High Lords each contribute a fragment of their power to resurrect Feyre as a High Fae. Tamlin regains his full strength, kills Amarantha, and Prythian is freed from her rule. Rhysand and Feyre have a moment together where he reminds her that he will be coming for her soon because she need to uphold her end of the bargin.Feyre leaves Under the Mountain physically transformed into a High Fae and emotionally traumatized by the events she experienced.

A Court of Mist and Fury

Following Amarantha's defeat, Feyre struggles with nightmares, guilt, and post-traumatic stress. Tamlin becomes increasingly protective, restricting her movements and excluding her from political matters, but at the same time isn’t helping her with her internal problems. Lucien attempts to mediate but is unable to change Tamlin's behavior. During Feyre and Tamlin's wedding ceremony, Feyre starts to panic realizng she doens’t want to go through with it;  Rhysand arrives and invokes the bargain between himself and Feyre, requiring her to spend one week each month in the Night Court. The two leave for his court, leaving Tamlin furious.

For a couple of months, this is how the visits go, she arrives with Rhys, has some peace away from Tamlin, learns how to read, and banters with Rhys. Rhys tries to tell her that she could be so much more but she won’t listen. Things change drastically when Tamlin locks Feyre in the house when a threat (Hybern) is getting close. Feyre uses her new strength, causes a magical distruption, and somehow calls Rhys in the process. She is saved from the Spring court and brought to the Night Court. At the Night Court, Feyre discovers that Rhysand's reputation as a cruel ruler is largely a façade. He reveals Velaris, the hidden City of Starlight, which has remained protected throughout centuries of conflict. Feyre meets Rhysand's Inner Circle: Morrigan, Cassian, Azriel, and Amren. Rhys trains Feyre to use the powers she inherited from all seven High Lords after her resurrection. These include abilities associated with each court, such as shape-shifting, darkness, fire, water, wind, healing, and light.

Rhys puts Feyre through all sorts of training, including going to the Weavers house to find an object of his. This training is to help her use her skills so they can soon sneak into the summer court and steal an object there. She completes her task, and she and Rhys start planning to visit the Summer Couort. Rhysand learns that the two halves of the Book of Breathings are needed to nullify the Cauldron. One half is in the Night Court's library, while the other is kept in the Summer Court by High Lord Tarquin. Rhys, Feyre, Amren, and Morrigan travel to the Summer Court under the pretense of strengthening relations with Tarquin. While there, Feyre develops a friendship with Tarquin, who begins to trust both her and Rhys.

After learning where the Book is stored, Amren creates a plan to steal it. Feyre uses her newly developed powers to infiltrate the guarded building, while Rhys distracts the Summer Court guards. Feyre retrieves the second half of the Book of Breathings, but the theft damages the trust between the Summer Court and the Night Court. Soon afterward, Hybern attacks the Summer Court. Tarquin initially believes Rhys and Feyre betrayed him, but later discovers Hybern was responsible for the attack.

Back in Velaris, Amren begins translating the Book of Breathings. Because the Book is sentient and dangerous, Feyre is required to read from it while Rhys and Amren control its magic. During the process, Feyre temporarily loses control under the Book's influence before Rhys is able to stop it. The Inner Circle receives word that the human queens have agreed to a meeting. Feyre, Rhys, Amren, and the others travel to the human lands to ask the queens for the use of the Cauldron and their assistance against Hybern. During the meeting, the queens refuse to unite against Hybern. However, one younger queen secretly takes the enchanted box containing one half of the Book of Breathings after the meeting, while the remaining queens leave unconvinced.

Returning to Velaris, Feyre and Rhys grow closer. They train together, work together, and spend increasing amounts of time alone. Their romantic feelings become more apparent, although neither openly discusses them. Things chance when Lucien finds the two of them training in the woods and he begs her to come back to Tamlin and she won’t, right after Rhys gets shot down and hurt. Feyre has to go out and capture the Suriel who tells her that they are mates. Feyre is furious and leaves Rhys, only to spend time alone and realize she only wants to be with him. The two accept the mate bond. 

Hybern launches an attack on Velaris using the Attor and other forces. Feyre, Rhys, and the Inner Circle defend the city. Feyre kills the Attor using her powers after trapping him in a whirlpool of ice and water before crushing him.

The Inner Circle decides it is time to go look for the Cauldron and stop Hybern. Once there their plan fractures. Tamlin allies with Hybern, believing he can retrieve Feyre from the Night Court. During a confrontation in Hybern, Feyre's sisters are captured. The King of Hybern forces Nesta and Elain into the Cauldron, transforming them from humans into High Fae. Elain emerges with prophetic abilities, while Nesta retains an unexplained connection to the Cauldron itself after taking power from it. Hybern reveals Tamlin's alliance, attempts to break the bond between Rhys and Feyre, and Feyre decides to pretend that it worked and go back with Tamlin;; in reality, she is ready to spy for her new court. 

In an epilogue Rhysand reveals that the two got married, he made Feyre his Highlady, and that he wants her to spy for him and their court. 

A Court of Wings and Ruin

Back in the Spring Court, Feyre secretly works to undermine Tamlin's alliance with Hybern. She exposes Ianthe's manipulation, creates distrust among Tamlin's sentries, and weakens the court's internal stability before escaping with Lucien. The manipulation leads to all of them going out with some of Hybern’s men, where Feyre kills them, but now she and Lucien must start running for their lives. Their escape takes them to the Autumn Court, Lucien’s court, where they are once again hunted, but this time by all of his brothers. At the border they are able to hold their own, but Cass and Az show up to help and bring Feyre back to her mate. Rhys and Feyre are able to recconect, and Feyre is able to see her sisters for the fist time as well. During their journey, Feyre discovers Lucien is Elain's mate, although Elain does not accept the bond. Feyre and Lucien reunite with the Night Court after surviving attacks from Hybern's forces.

The Night Court begins forming alliances for the coming war. Feyre, Rhys, and their allies seek support from the other High Lords of Prythian and from various armies, including the Illyrians and the Bone Carver. Nesta's unique connection to the Cauldron becomes increasingly important, while Elain's visions provide information about Hybern's plans. The Suriel reveals that Rhys's family was murdered years earlier by Tamlin's father and brothers, who were later killed by Rhys in retaliation. Tamlin himself was not responsible for those murders.

The High Lords meet in the Dawn Court to discuss a united defense of Prythian. The meeting is contentious because of past rivalries and mistrust. Tamlin arrives and reveals that Feyre deliberately dismantled the Spring Court from within. Although relations between Tamlin and the Night Court remain hostile, all seven High Lords ultimately agree to work together against Hybern. During the meeting, Feyre demonstrates that she possesses powers from each of the seven High Lords, confirming what had previously only been suspected.

Meanwhile, Nesta continues learning to use the power she stole from the Cauldron during her transformation into High Fae. Elain's prophetic visions become increasingly accurate, providing information about Hybern's movements and plans. Lucien formally acknowledges the mating bond between himself and Elain, although she does not accept or reject it.

As Hybern's armies advance, Feyre and her allies recruit additional forces. The Bone Carver agrees to fight if his sibling, the Weaver, also joins the battle. The Weaver eventually enters the war, and Bryaxis, the creature that lived beneath the House of Wind's library, also fights for the Night Court. Drakon and Miryam unexpectedly arrive with a large human army that had long been hidden from the rest of the world, significantly increasing the allied forces.

The first major engagements occur as Hybern's armies push across Prythian. The Illyrian legions suffer heavy casualties while defending key positions. Cassian commands many of the Night Court's ground forces, while Azriel conducts reconnaissance and rescue missions. Feyre, Rhys, Mor, and Amren participate directly in combat using their magic.

The Suriel is mortally wounded while helping Feyre. Before dying, it tells Feyre that everything Rhys has done has been motivated by love for his people and for her. Feyre remains with the Suriel until it dies and later arranges for it to be buried.

During the final battle, the King of Hybern uses the Cauldron to gain a significant advantage. Amren unleashes the full extent of her true form after using the Cauldron's power, allowing her to destroy large portions of Hybern's army. In doing so, she disappears into the Cauldron and is believed to have sacrificed herself. The Archeron sisters all watch in amazement as their father comes to their rescue as well; he has three ships full of human soldiers coming to aid in the war. Though very quickly they see their father die; this all gives them a reason to go after the enemy even more. 

Cassian and Nesta confront the King of Hybern together after Cassian is gravely wounded. As Hybern prepares to kill them, Elain quietly approaches from behind and stabs the king through the neck with Truth-Teller, Azriel's dagger. This distracts Hybern long enough for Nesta to seize his own sword and decapitate him, ending his life.

Although Hybern is defeated, the Cauldron has been cracked during the fighting and begins unraveling the magic that holds the world together. Feyre and Rhys attempt to repair it using their combined powers. The effort succeeds, but Rhys gives all of his remaining power to restore the Cauldron and dies immediately afterward.

Just as Feyre had once been resurrected Under the Mountain, the seven High Lords each contribute a portion of their power to Rhys. Their combined magic restores him to life. Unlike Feyre's resurrection, Rhys does not inherit new powers from the other High Lords.

After the Cauldron is restored, Amren unexpectedly returns in a High Fae body. She no longer possesses the nearly limitless power of her original form but survives the battle. The allied armies begin rebuilding Prythian, the surviving courts return home, and the war officially comes to an end. Although Hybern has been defeated, many courts have suffered heavy losses, the Spring Court has been left in ruins, and relations between humans and faeries remain fragile.

A Court of Frost and Starlight

Several months after the war, Prythian remains in a period of recovery. The Night Court works to rebuild Velaris and assist those displaced by the conflict. Rhys and Feyre oversee reconstruction efforts while maintaining diplomatic relationships with the other courts. Feyre continues painting and establishes a studio where children affected by the war can create art. She also begins adjusting to her responsibilities as High Lady of the Night Court.

Cassian travels between territories to monitor remaining unrest, particularly in the Illyrian camps, where resistance to change continues. Nesta isolates herself from her family, spending most of her time in Velaris and refusing offers of support. Elain struggles to adapt to her new life as High Fae while remaining withdrawn after her transformation and the events of the war; she especially doesn’t want any help from her supposed mate Lucien. Lucien lives primarily with Jurian and Vassa rather than the Night Court, although he visits Elain despite the unresolved mating bond between them.

The Winter Solstice approaches, and the members of the Inner Circle exchange gifts while reflecting on the losses they experienced during the war. Cassian tries to befriend Nesta, and gives her a thoughtful gift. Nesta refuses, and is her same cold self; wanting to stay seculded from everyone. Feyre and Rhys discuss the future of the Night Court and eventually decide they would like to have a child together. Elsewhere, political tensions remain unresolved. Human territories continue recovering from Hybern's invasion, and conflict between humans and faeries has not fully ended.