SJM’s writing vs. fan theories

I’m prepared to get downvoted for this but I think it’s worth talking about regardless. Here we go— eep!

There are so many INCREDIBLE fan theories flying around, both here and on social media. The creativity I see from ACOTAR fans is largely what drew me to this fandom. I’ve read some truly impressive, thoughtful narrative deep dives and character analyses. It’s astounding how passionate the fans are and how intuitive their theories feel.

My concern is that SJM simply does not put anywhere near the amount of thought into these books as the fans do. I sometimes read intricate theories and interpretations that leave me wondering if we’re reading the same series. Im my opinion, SJM’s writing is rushed and clumsy, the characters are woefully underdeveloped, and the narrative veers all over the place. Countless characters and plot lines are introduced as potentially meaningful only to be abandoned entirely after their first mention— or wrapped up in a manner so hasty it feels jarring. There are many examples of this, including the weaver and bone carver, the 5-minute war, the ouroboros, papa Acheron’s bizarre heel turn, and plenty more.

There are MANY character development discrepancies and downright character assassinations. It often seems to me as though SJM doesn’t really give a F. I have, however, been reading some outstanding fanfics that are now canon in my head because they simply make a hell of a lot more sense than anything SJM herself has written in the ACOTAR series. The writing is so much better it’s honestly a little embarrassing.

Now to be fair, I have not read ToG yet. I’ve heard her writing style is very different in that series— to the point that it feels like it was written by a different author altogether. Is that why there seem to be so many people holding out hope/assuming she’s going to make the next ACOTAR book(s) tie up the avalanche of loose ends currently dangling around chaotically? I for one am not convinced.

I’m curious if anyone else feels this way? Maybe I’m missing something!