Get all the ACOTAR characters from book one (A Court of Thorns and Roses) fully explained with page numbers that cite each detail provided by Sarah J. Maas. It will help you read the ACOTAR book series, create fan art or fiction, and more. You’ll more easily understand and picture these fantasy characters with all my notes, so let’s get literary!
ACOTAR Character Pronunciation Guide
First, save this infographic that shows you how to pronounce the names of the most prominent ACOTAR characters.
Details of All ACOTAR Characters in Book One (Male, Female, and Faerie)
TIPS
Before proceeding, note that my notes are arranged in the order the ACOTAR characters appeared in the Kindle book, with page numbers. Where the ACOTAR characters were described with particular detail, I quoted the book directly.
If, as you read this guide to the ACOTAR characters, you also need help with the fantasy world, check out my ACOTAR map guide.
There are spoilers!
Mortals
Don’t possess the magic, strength, or speed of faeries. (page 5)
Don’t celebrate holidays and, in some places, it’s forbidden. (page 178)
Feyre Archeron
Likes to sketch and paint (page 16)
Brassy hair (page 26)
Wears a white shirt and dark blue tunic with golden thread embroidered on the lapels (pages 55-56)
Some of their children age like humans and “can breed as often as rabbits” but others rarely produce younglings, and the ones that are born age slower. (page 140)
Started funding at age fourteen (page 164)
Becomes High Fae (page 407)
Elain Archeron
Second eldest sister (page 10). Brown eyes. (page 10)
Wears an iron bracelet (page 23)
Brassy hair (page 26)
Nesta Archeron
Eldest sister to Feyre (page 10) by three years (page 14)
Sneer on her face (page 11)
Spends any money not hidden (page 12)
Blue-gray eyes (page 17)
Wears an iron bracelet (page 23)
Brassy hair (page 26)
goes with the mercenary and Feyre calls her hateful and cold (page 265)
Feyre later says “beneath it, she had cared, and perhaps loved more fiercely that I could comprehend, more deeply and loyally.” (page 265)
Makes a deal to spend one week every month with Rhysand in Night Court in exchange for him healing her arm. (page 349)
After Rhysand heals her left forearm and hand, it has tattooed swirls of black ink extending to her fingers, which looks like an elbow-length lace glove. A large feline eye is tattooed on the center of her palm. (page 335)
Father
Brown eyes (page 10)
Dark beard (page 11)
Limp due to twisted wounds around his knee and walks with a simply carved cane (page 12)
Sells carvings in town (page 13)
Never spoke against Nesta (page 18)
Was called the “Prince of Merchants” — an inherited title that was a lie. The family had three generations of bad debts. When Feyre was eleven, he tried to pay them off by sending their wealth of three ships, which sank. The creditors left him with only enough to buy the cottage, and one wrecked his leg (page 164)
Mother
Cold to her children but joyful to the peerage at the former estate and loving to Feyre’s father (page 16)
Told Feyre to “stay together” and look after the family (page 16)
Died from Typhus when Feyre was eight (page 80)
Her cousin died of malaria after going to Bharat (page 313)
Thomas Mandray
The woodcutter’s second son who wants to marry Nesta (page 17)
Family is not well off (page 18)
Father beats with wife and sons allow it (page 40)
Isaac Hale
Going to marry someone from Greenfield village (page 19)
Iron cuff around his wrist (page 27)
Eldest son of the only well-off farmer in the village (page 30)
Lean, handsome, soft-spoken, reserved, and “dark” in personality with brown shaggy hair (page 30)
Feyre’s first lover (page 30)
Faeries
Hate iron and ash wood makes their magic falter so a human may kill them. (page 5)
Occupy Prythian and have scales, wings, and long, spindly arms (page 24)
Humans are taught to never drink their wine or eat their food unless they want to become enslaved. (page 49)
Went to war of mortals behalves five hundred years ago (page 144)
The dying, lesser species of faerie from Summer Court that Tamlin brings to the estate had blue skin, angle limps, pointed ears, long onyx hair, glossy black eyes, a pointed nose, sharp teeth, and black stumps protruding from his shoulder blades. (pages 149, 151)
High Fae
Five centuries ago, the High Fae made a promise. (page 16)
Long ago, the High Fae were the mortals’ unkind overlords. (page 22)
Human looking (page 24)
Said to be able to turn human bones to dust from a hundred yards away (page 27)
Govern the northern parts of the characters’ world (page 44)
Liked to play with their food. (page 55)
Rarely produce younglings. (page 140)
Lied about telling mortals they can’t lie. (page 141)
Will wed without a mating bond, but a mating bond makes for a far deeper marriage. (page 175)
Young Acolyte
A queen without a throne (page 22)
Mercenary
A large woman aged 25 to 30 with scars, weapons, thick and dark chin-length hair, a tan face, black eyes with glimmering hints of brown (page 25)
well-paid (page 27)
Black, spider-webbed veins (page 29)
Martax
Faeries with big, bear-like bodies, lion-like heads, and three rows of teeth sharper than a shark (page 28)
Tamlin
Gigantic with golden fur and elk-like horns, large as a horse with a somewhat feline body, a wolfish head, black claws, and yellow fangs. (page 33)
Green eyes with amber flecks (page 35)
a High Fae (page 50)
Nose, cheeks, and brow are covered by a golden mask embedded with emeralds shaped like leaves (page 50)
Wore a plain, dark green tunic accented with a leather baldric across his chest (page 50)
Light golden hair (page 50)
Pointed ears (page 71)
Shape-shifting gifts (page 86)
Trained as a warrior and spent most of his life in his father’s war (page 99)
Limps slightly (page 104)
Could turn sentries into wolves (like Andras) (page 112)
High Lord of the Spring Court (page 128)
Can’t use his magic for major damage to a faerie. (page 151)
Finds talking to people difficult (page 161)
Callused fingers (page 172)
His father was worse than Lucien’s, and his two brothers were like the father. They kept and mistreated slaves. His mother loved his father “too deeply” but they were mated, so she didn’t speak ill of him. (page 176)
Never wanted or expected his father’s title, so he trained to serve him or one of his brothers. He was good at fighting and killing. His power started growing and the High Lord of an enemy court killed his family. His transition to High Lord was rough, and many of his father’s courtiers defected to other courts. (page 176-177)
Must partake in the “Great Rite.” (page 184)
Taken Under the Mountain by Amarantha because he hadn’t broken her curse (page 277)
His family had ties to Hybern during the War to keep humans enslaved. He knew the King and Amarantha. She grew to desire him, but he was wary of her. (page 281)
Cursed at a masquerade ball by Amarantha, who gave him seven times seven years to find a willing human girl, who killed one of his faeries in an unprovoked attack, to marry him before she claimed him. (pages 282-283)
Bonded to his mask by Amarantha’s curse (page 284)
High cheekbones, straight nose, broad brow, and slightly arching eyebrows (page 408)
Lucien
A red-haired High Fae with a mask and a muted silver tunic (page 51)
Bronze mask with fox features, concealing all but the lower half of his face. Has a slashing scar from his brow to his jaw. His eye was missing and had been replaced with a carved golden orb. (page 52)
Courtier and emissary (page 53)
Goes on border patrol (page 99)
Russet eye (page 108)
Superior hearing (page 122)
The youngest of seven competitive sons of the High Lord of the Autumn Court. He never expected to be crowned, so he wandered the courts, made friends with other sons of High Lords and interacted with females lacking nobility, including a faerie with whom he fell in love. His father executed her in front of him while his two eldest brothers made him watch. (page 160)
Abandoned his title and left. Three of his brothers tried to kill him. Lucien killed one, and Tamlin killed another, as they trespassed. (page 161)
Tamlin claimed Lucien as his own and named him emissary. (page 161)
Amarantha took his eye with her fingernail and scarred his face when he was sent to make peace between her and Tamlin. (pages 281-282)
Bonded to his mask by Amarantha’s curse (page 284)
Andras
The wolf Feyre killed (page 51)
Tamlin had sent him to the mortal lands to find a cure for the blight. (page 73)
Alis
A servant at Tamlin’s manor who was a “rotund brown-haired woman in a simple brass bird mask” wearing a white apron over a brown dress (page 53)
Her sister and her mate were murdered, leaving two boys behind, who live far away. (page 139)
The type of faerie that rarely produces younglings. (page 140)
From Summer Court (page 201)
Bonded to her mask by Amarantha’s curse (page 284)
Served in Summer Court and took her nephews and ran when Amarantha invaded. She asked Tamlin to hide them. (page 285)
The Suriel
Will answer questions if trapped, but they’re old and wicked (page 88)
Has a weakness for groves of young birch trees in the western woods and freshly slaughtered chickens (page 120)
Hates crossing running water (page 121)
“Tall, think veiled figure in dark tattered robes” with a hunched back, knobby spine, scabby gray arms, and yellow cracked fingernails. (page 126)
Face “looked like it had been crafted from died, weatherborn bone, its skin either forgotten or discarded- — a lipless mouth and too-long teeth held by blackened gums, slitted holes for nostrils, and eyes … eyes that were nothing more than swirling pits of milky white[.] Peeking above the ragged neck of its dark robes was a body of veins and bones, as dried and solid and horrific as the texture of its face.” (page 127)
Older than Prythian and “the bones of this world.” (page 128)
Sentries
At the border (page 99)
Bogge
Killed (page 104)
Bite was crafted to slow the healing of High Fae long enough to kill them. (page 109)
Puca
Use desires to lure you to a remote place and then slowly eat you. (page 99)
“[B]elongs to the wind and weather and everything that changes.” (page 215)
King of Hybern
Unhappy with the Treaty and resents that he was forced to sign it. “[A] hundred years ago, he dispatched his most-trusted and loyal commanders, his deadliest warriors, remnants of the ancient armies that he once sailed to the continent to wage such a brutal war against you humans, all of them as hungry and vile as he. As spies and courtiers and lovers, they infiltrated the various High Fae courts and kingdoms and empires around the world for fifty years, and when they had gathered enough information, he made his plan. But nearly five decades ago, one of his commanders disobeyed him. The Deceiver.” (page 129)
Amarantha was his most lethal general. (page 278)
Has not punished Amarantha (page 286)
Not willing to forgive Amarantha again. (page 372)
Naga
“[F]aeries made of shadow and hate and rot.” (page 130)
Male humanoid bodies with serpentine features, almond-shaped eyes, dark scales, razor-sharp teeth, silvery forked tongues, amber eyes, powerful arms, and polished black flesh-shredding talons. They had “slipped through the wall to torment and slaughter mortals.” (page 131)
Belong to “someone else.” (page 215)
Alis’s Nephews
Their parents, who were murdered, are Alis’s sister and her mate. (page 139)
The second was conceived five years after the first. The eldest won’t reach adulthood until he’s seventy-five. (page 140)
Live in Summer Court (page 201)
Their parents were murdered by Amarantha and Tamlin hid them after Alis took them from Summer Court and ran to Spring Court. (page 285)
Faeries at Calanmai
Taller and leaner than Tamlin and Lucien, and their eyes were pitch-black and depthless. (page 186)
There were non-masked faeries with bony fingers. (page 187)
Rhysand
Short blue-black hair, pale skin, violet eyes, and no mask. (pages 189 and 381)
Hadn’t seen Tamlin for forty-nine years (page 234)
Only called Rhysand by his prisoners and enemies (page 234)
High Lord of the Night Court in Prythian (pages 236-237)
Heals Feyre’s arm in exchange for one week every month with him in Night Court (page 349)
His father killed Tamlin’s father and brothers, so Amarantha wanted to punish him. (pages 383-384)
Membranous wings (page 413)
Night Court
Sadistic killers who delight in torture (page 217)
Will-o’-the-wisps
Ghostly and ethereal spirits of air and light who celebrate the solstice (page 228)
Clare Beddor
Feyre tells Rhysand this is her name, but it’s a village friend of her sisters. (page 241)
Family house burned down and she and her family died. (page 269)
Amarantha
High Queen of Prythian who holds court “Under the Mountain” (pages 277-278)
Takes Tamlin Under the Mountain by Amarantha because he didn’t break her curse (page 277)
A hundred years ago, she appeared as an emissary from Hybern and became High Queen. She was called the “Never-Fading Flower.” For fifty years, she lived as a courtier making amends. She slaughtered humans and High Fae as the King of Hybern’s most lethal general. (page 278)
Hates humans after a final confrontation with her sister, Clythia’s lover, and traitorous killer, Jurian. (page 278)
After the Treaty, she butchered her slaves rather than free them. She opened trade lines and brought over personal forces from Hybern with goods, unbeknownst to the King of Hybern. Forty-nine years ago, she set out to destroy the human world. She poisoned the High Lords with a potion stolen from the King of Hybern and stole their powers. She is “the blight.”(page 280)
Desired Tamlin, but he was wary of her. She took Lucien’s eye with her fingernail and scarred his face when he was sent to make peace between her and Tamlin. (pages 281-282)
Hosted a masquerade for the Spring Court, where Tamlin said he’s rather marry a human than touch her. She gave him seven times seven years to find a willing human girl, who killed one of his faeries in an unprovoked attack, to marry him before she claimed him. (pages 282-283)
The “wicked” faeries flocked to her. (page 286)
“Red-gold hair […] neatly braided and woven through her golden crown, the deep color enriching her snow-white skin, which, in turn, set off her ruby lips.” (page 296)
From her slender, creamy neck, there hung a long, thin chain with a finger-sized bone, and she wore a golden gown. (page 297)
Her teeth are straight and white, and on her index finger, there is a ring with a swiveling human eye in crystal. (page 298) They belong to Jurian. (page 300)
Has a snake’s smile (page 299)
Black eyes (page 366)
Clythia
Amarantha’s younger sister, who fought at her side, then fell in love with a mortal warrior named Jurian, who commanded human armies and was using her for information about Amarantha’s forces. He tortured and killed her, leaving the pieces for Amarantha. (page 278)
Jurian
A commander of human armies who used Amarantha’s sister, Clythia, for information, then tortured and killed her. (page 278)
Attor
Feyre meets the Attor Under the Mountain. Has long, bony fingers, a pointed, glistening leathery gray face, silver fangs, bat-like ears, a slithering gait, and clawed feet. (pages 294-295)
Has a forked tongue, razor-sharp teeth and wings. (page 297)
Leathery skin (page 303)
Slithering tail (page 372)
Middengard
Relies on scent to see (page 324)
Faeries Watching the Worm
Frosty blue skin and black, almond-shaped eyes (page 325)
Lady of the Autumn Court
Older than Amarantha with porcelain skin, faint rose blush, red hair, russet eyes, and a sweet apple voice. (page 338)
High Lord of the Summer Court
A new High Lord who is tall and handsome with near-white hair, crystal blue eyes, and rich mahogany skin. (page 357)
Wore a tunic of blue and green and a garland of roses on his head. (page 406)
High Lord of the Winter Court
Pale-skinned and clas in white and gray with an ice crown (page 406)
High Lord of the Dawn Court
Gold and ruby raiment (page 406)
High Lord of the Day Court
White and gold clad (page 406)
Frequently Asked Questions
Feyre Archeron. When the series begins, she is a 19-year-old human huntress who becomes entwined in the politics and power struggles in magical faerie realms.
Feyre’s initial love interest in the ACOTAR book series is Tamlin, the powerful High Lord of the Spring Court in the faerie realm. Their relationship changes as the series progresses.
When book one of ACOTAR begins, Feyre is 19 years old.
Amarantha, the High Queen of Prythian. She is a cruel and powerful High Fae who rules over the faerie realms with malice and subjects Feyre to a series of deadly trials in her quest to rid their world of humans.
No, but he was initially wary of her. Lucien’s relationship with Feyre evolves from suspicion to a complex friendship as they navigate the challenges of the faerie realm together.
Conclusion
This detailed guide to the ACOTAR character helped you better understand Sarah J. Maas’s many fantasy characters, both human and faerie, and both male and female, in book one of A Court of Thorns and Roses. Remember these details about the ACOTAR characters:
- Feyre: female human main character; a 19 year old huntress
- Tamlin: male faerie main character; High Lord of the Spring Court
- Amarantha: the villain; High Queen of Prythian who rules from her palace Under the Mountain in the faerie realm
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