Where to Start with Sarah J. Maas: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Sarah J. Maas — whether to begin with Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, or Crescent City. A complete reading guide to her fantasy worlds.
Sarah J. Maas (born 1986) is the American fantasy novelist who — with the Throne of Glass series (2012–2018) and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (2015–present) — became one of the most commercially successful fantasy authors in contemporary publishing, with over twelve million copies sold. Her fiction is characterised by complex female protagonists, expansive multi-book world-building, intense romantic relationships, and a deliberate escalation from young adult to adult content across her series. The ACOTAR series in particular has driven a significant portion of the BookTok and Bookstagram fantasy-romance readership and is among the most discussed fantasy series of the 2020s.
Where to Start: A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015)
The most accessible entry point for adult readers — and the series that established Maas as a phenomenon. Feyre Archeron, nineteen, lives in a poor village with her feckless family and survives by hunting. When she kills a wolf in the woods, a Fae lord named Tamlin appears to claim justice: she must come to Prythian, the magical land divided between seven Fae courts. The first novel is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, intimate and romantic in register; the second, A Court of Mist and Fury, is where the series fully becomes itself.
Maas’s ACOTAR is fantasy romance: the emotional and romantic relationship between Feyre and the central male characters is as important as the external plot, and the series is designed to produce specific emotional reactions (the tension of a slow-burn romance, the satisfaction of its resolution) as much as to tell an adventure story. Readers who want primarily fantasy plot may prefer Throne of Glass; readers who want primarily romantic intensity will find ACOTAR more immediately rewarding.
A Court of Mist and Fury (2016)
The second ACOTAR novel — and, by near-universal agreement among series readers, its best volume. Feyre is now in Prythian as a Fae herself, and the relationship of the first book is reassessed. The Night Court, led by Rhysand — the most celebrated character in the Maas universe — is the primary setting. The world-building expands dramatically; the romantic arc takes a turn that divided and delighted readers simultaneously. Essential reading for anyone who has begun ACOTAR.
Throne of Glass (2012)
The first book of Maas’s debut series — and the beginning of a more traditional fantasy arc. Celaena Sardothien, Adarlan’s most notorious assassin, has spent a year in the salt mines as a slave; she is offered a chance at freedom if she competes as the crown prince’s champion in a contest to find the king’s new royal assassin. The novel is lighter in tone than the later Maas books, more purely adventure-driven, and less explicitly romantic. The series darkens and expands considerably by the third book, Heir of Fire, and by Kingdom of Ash (Book 8) has become a full-scale epic fantasy.
Reading Sarah J. Maas
Maas’s series are best approached with clear genre expectations: she writes fantasy romance in which the emotional arc is given at least equal weight to the plot, the romantic pairings are central rather than secondary, and the series are structured to produce specific reading pleasures (longing, tension, release). Begin with A Court of Thorns and Roses for the most immediate and most widely discussed entry into her work; read Throne of Glass if you prefer a longer and more traditional fantasy structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start with Sarah J. Maas?
A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) is the most common entry point and the book that brought Maas to her widest adult readership — a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in a world of Fae, following mortal huntress Feyre. The series escalates significantly in the second book. Throne of Glass (2012) is the better introduction to Maas's plotting and world-building ambitions, though it starts more modestly as a young adult competition fantasy. Most readers who have read both series recommend beginning with ACOTAR if you want immediate romantic tension, or Throne of Glass if you want a more traditional fantasy arc.
What is the A Court of Thorns and Roses series about?
A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) follows Feyre Archeron, a mortal huntress living in poverty who kills a wolf in the forest and is taken by a Fae lord, Tamlin, to the magical land of Prythian as punishment. The first novel is a Beauty and the Beast retelling; the second, A Court of Mist and Fury (widely regarded as the best in the series), expands the world dramatically and introduces the character of Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. The series is fantasy romance targeted primarily at adult women, with explicit content in the later books. ACOTAR, ACOMAF, ACOWAR, and the novellas constitute the main arc.
Are the Maas series connected to each other?
Sarah J. Maas's three main series — Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City — are set in different worlds but are connected by inter-series crossovers in the later books. Throne of Glass is set in the world of Erilea; ACOTAR is set in Prythian; Crescent City is set in a contemporary urban fantasy world. The worlds cross over in the final Throne of Glass book and in Crescent City's later installments. Readers who want to experience the full crossover should read all three series; readers who want one series standalone are advised to read ACOTAR most completely independently.
What is the difference between ACOTAR and Throne of Glass?
Throne of Glass begins as young adult fantasy — Celaena Sardothien, a renowned assassin, competes to become the King's Champion — and becomes progressively darker, more complex, and more adult as the series progresses. ACOTAR is targeted primarily at new adult and adult readers from the beginning, with more explicit romantic content and a narrower (if deeper) focus on its central relationship. Throne of Glass has more extensive world-building and a longer, more traditional fantasy arc across eight books; ACOTAR is more romance-centred and more immediately emotional. Most readers have a strong preference between the two series' styles.
