{"id":87675,"date":"2025-07-24T03:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T03:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/87675\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T03:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T03:59:14","slug":"the-best-reading-order-if-you-want-to-dive-into-sarah-j-maas-16-books-from-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-to-the-assassins-blade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/87675\/","title":{"rendered":"The best reading order if you want to dive into Sarah J. Maas&#8217; 16 books, from &#8216;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8217; to &#8216;The Assassin&#8217;s Blade&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Romantasy fans can&#8217;t get enough of Sarah J. Maas&#8217; books.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She&#8217;s written 16 novels and has the next &#8220;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8221; book on the way.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Here&#8217;s the reading order I&#8217;d recommend as an avid fan of Maas&#8217; books.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">We&#8217;re closer than ever to a new <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/sarah-j-maas-bloomsbury-highest-sales-year-2024-5?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sarah J. Maas;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Sarah J. Maas<\/a> book.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">On July 11, Maas announced she had finished the first draft of the sixth book in the &#8220;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8221; series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the ever-growing romantasy landscape, Maas, who has published 16 books across three series so far, is beloved for her novels about faeries. For readers like me who grew up on &#8220;The Hunger Games&#8221; and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/fantasy-books-like-twilight-stephanie-meyers-midnight-sun-2020-5?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Twilight;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Twilight<\/a>,&#8221; her books provide much-needed, adult fantasy stories told from a female perspective (and it doesn&#8217;t hurt that she writes, ahem, more mature romance, either).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The New York Times bestselling author has sold millions of copies of her books. With the January 2024 release of <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/rise-of-sarah-j-maas-crescent-city-author-2024-2?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;House of Flame and Shadow;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">&#8220;House of Flame and Shadow<\/a>,&#8221; Maas created an interconnected literary universe with her separate series, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Because her literary work is so expansive, it can be unclear where to begin if you want to enter Maas&#8217; fictional world, especially now that the works are interconnected. To help aspiring Maas readers, I created a definitive reading order for her books to ensure her fans are prepared for the release of &#8220;ACOTAR&#8221; six.<\/p>\n<p>Start with &#8216;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/books-to-read-after-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses-2023-5?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;A Court of Thorns and Roses&quot;;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">&#8220;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8221;<\/a> stars Feyre Archeron, a human huntress who gets pulled into the faerie world after killing a fae, finding conflict and romance on the other side of the wall that separates the mortal and fae worlds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the following books, Feyre dives deeper into the magical world of Prythian, discovering unexpected power as Maas flexes her world-building skills.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I love all of Maas&#8217; books, but I think &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/books-for-fans-of-beach-read-enemies-to-lovers-books-2021-8?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:A Court of Thorns and Roses;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">A Court of Thorns and Roses<\/a>&#8221; offers the best introduction to her work for those who haven&#8217;t read any of her writing before, even though she published &#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; first. The otherworldly elements of the series are built out slowly, the books offer a comprehensive view of Maas&#8217; writing style, and the romance in them is steamy and compelling.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A collage of the &quot;A Court of Thorns and Roses&quot; books.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/8e17c2cd4a2584cebefc74f90e9ee985.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8221; by Sarah J. Maas.Bloomsbury<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The books should be read in the order they were released:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A Court of Mist and Fury&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A Court of Wings and Ruin&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A Court of Frost and Starlight&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A Court of Silver Flames&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, once book six is released, it shouldn&#8217;t be read immediately after &#8220;Silver Flames.&#8221; More on that in a bit.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;Throne of Glass&#8217; series was released first, but I think it works best as the second Maas series<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When readers enter the expansive and epic world of &#8220;Throne of Glass,&#8221; they meet Celaena Sardothien, an 18-year-old assassin imprisoned in Adarlan, a kingdom where magic disappeared years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The crown prince of Adarlan offers Celaena a chance at freedom, proposing she compete as his contestant to become the king&#8217;s champion by defeating 23 other criminals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Celaena was raised to fight, but as the other competitors start dying mysteriously around her, she will have to confront the pain of her past to face the battles ahead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The world of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/fantasy-books-like-twilight-stephanie-meyers-midnight-sun-2020-5?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Throne of Glass;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Throne of Glass<\/a>&#8221; becomes massive as the books progress, and the rich, developed fantasy world is so complex that it&#8217;s easier to read once you&#8217;re already familiar with Maas&#8217; style.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A collage in the books of the &quot;Throne of Glass&quot; series.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4baae95b8bd98983f2f81bcb4ebc0c63.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; by Sarah J. Maas.Bloomsbury<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">However, I don&#8217;t think reading the &#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; books in the order they were published offers the best narrative experience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mass originally wrote one of the novels in the series, &#8220;The Assassin&#8217;s Blade,&#8221; as four novellas published as e-books between January and July 2012. Bloomsbury released &#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; in August 2012, and the publisher later published the novellas with one additional story as &#8220;The Assassin&#8217;s Blade&#8221; in March 2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Chronologically, the events of &#8220;The Assassin&#8217;s Blade&#8221; take place before the rest of the series, but reading it first reveals details Maas intentionally leaves out of &#8220;Throne of Glass,&#8221; &#8220;Crown of Midnight,&#8221; and &#8220;Heir of Fire&#8221; that quickly become relevant in &#8220;Queen of Shadows.&#8221; If I had known background information from &#8220;The Assassin&#8217;s Blade&#8221; when reading the first three books of the series, I don&#8217;t know if I would have been as captivated as I was when I binged &#8220;Throne of Glass.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In addition, the events of &#8220;Empire of Storms&#8221; and &#8220;Tower of Dawn&#8221; take place at the same time in different parts of the &#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; world, so there&#8217;s debate among the fandom on how they should be read. They were released in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and although &#8220;Empire of Storms&#8221; was released first, it leaves off on a cliffhanger, while &#8220;Tower of Dawn&#8221; does not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some people <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/sarah-j-maas-throne-of-glass-tandem-read-2023-11?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:tandem read the books;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">tandem read the books<\/a> since they take place at the same time, and you may see people suggesting you skip &#8220;Tower of Dawn&#8221; altogether because it doesn&#8217;t center on the protagonist. That&#8217;s a huge mistake, in my opinion, not just because &#8220;Tower of Dawn&#8221; has information critical to fully understanding &#8220;Kingdom of Ash&#8221; but because it&#8217;s a gorgeous novel in its own right.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">To maintain the series&#8217; suspense without revealing spoilers, I think the best <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/sarah-j-maas-throne-of-glass-reading-order-2023-8?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;Throne of Glass&quot; reading order;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">&#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; reading order<\/a> is:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sarahjmaas.com\/about\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Maas recommends;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Maas recommends<\/a> reading &#8220;The Assassin&#8217;s Blade&#8221; as the third book in the series on her website, but I think &#8220;Heir of Fire&#8221; is more captivating if you read it before the collection of novellas.<\/p>\n<p>After her two longer series, Maas readers will be ready for the &#8216;Crescent City&#8217; books<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Half-fae Bryce Quinlan is at a crossroads when <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/sarah-j-maas-crescent-city-details-to-remember-2023-12?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the &quot;Crescent City&quot; series;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">the &#8220;Crescent City&#8221; series<\/a> begins, grieving the murders of her best friends by a demon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She believes the killer was apprehended, but when similar murders start taking place in Crescent City, Bryce agrees to investigate the deaths with Hunt Athalar, a Fallen Angel who has been enslaved for hundreds of years by the all-powerful Archangels after an attempted coup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The stubborn, beautiful half-fae is Hunt&#8217;s ticket to freedom, but neither he nor Bryce is prepared for what they find as they look into the murders \u2014 or the connection that forms between them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The series has three installments to date, and the most recent book, &#8220;House of Flame and Shadow,&#8221; was published in January 2024.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A side-by-side of the &quot;Crescent City&quot; books.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0e3a73e0eadfe78ac9eb3993e64167f2.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Crescent City&#8221; by Sarah J. Maas.Bloomsbury<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">I would absolutely leave &#8220;Crescent City&#8221; as your third Maas series for a few reasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The fantasy in &#8220;Crescent City&#8221; is less intuitive than it is in &#8220;A Court of Thorns and Roses&#8221; or &#8220;Throne of Glass&#8221; because it combines technology and magic and includes a wide variety of fantastical creatures, like werewolves and mermaids. Elements from the other series are also key to understanding the climax of the second installment in &#8220;Crescent City,&#8221; with <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/sarah-j-maas-crescent-city-acotar-release-details-2023-9?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Maas herself recommending;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Maas herself recommending<\/a> people read &#8220;ACOTAR&#8221; before starting &#8220;Crescent City.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Likewise, &#8220;House of Earth and Blood&#8221; and &#8220;House of Sky and Breath&#8221; are arguably two of Maas&#8217; sexiest books \u2014 they&#8217;re tied with &#8220;A Court of Silver Flames,&#8221; in my opinion \u2014 and I found it fun to watch Maas&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/enemies-to-lovers-romance-books-for-bridgerton-fans-2022-5?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=yahoo.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:romance;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">romance<\/a> chops mature as I made my way through her books.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Plus, the events of &#8220;House of Flame and Shadow&#8221; will definitely impact the next &#8220;ACOTAR&#8221; book, so it just makes sense to take on &#8220;Crescent City&#8221; last.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">You can read the series as it was released:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;House of Earth and Blood&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;House of Sky and Breath&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;House of Flame and Shadow&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Once book six in the &#8220;ACOTAR&#8221; series is published, it should be read after &#8220;HOFAS,&#8221; as it&#8217;s the latest installment in the Maasiverse. I&#8217;d also recommend reviewing &#8220;A Court of Silver Flames&#8221; before diving into &#8220;House of Flame and Shadow&#8221; because the plot contains details relevant to Bryce Quinlan&#8217;s journey in the third &#8220;Crescent City&#8221; book.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Happy reading!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/sarah-j-maas-books-reading-order-acotar-crescent-city-2023-3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Business Insider;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Business Insider<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Romantasy fans can&#8217;t get enough of Sarah J. Maas&#8217; books. She&#8217;s written 16 novels and has the next&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":87676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1022,58863,171,58862,58860,58864,58861,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-87675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-crescent-city","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-reading-order","12":"tag-sarah-j-maas","13":"tag-the-hunger-games","14":"tag-throne-of-glass","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114906212900152985","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}