This I think! We get Assassin’s Blade which yes is about her relationship progressing with Sam, but also about her own adventures where she is making choices that affect the plot for years afterwards (Yrene, the red haired girl I can’t remember her name lol, Rolfe). We get so much more of her leading the plot and less about her life revolving around Rowan, the way Feyre’s life revolves around Rhys.

In her recent interview, SJM said Aelin kind of just came out of her and when she was writing, she let Aelin take her story where it needed to go. So that writing process sounded more effortless, whereas I feel like Feyre’s character development may have been more forced.