Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas is the reason I read romantasy at all. I picked up A Court of Thorns and Roses, went straight into Crescent City without coming up for air, and the year after that, I read 113 books. The escalation was not planned.

There is no official order to read her three series in. Maas says so herself. So this is the order I read them in, plus the one question that trips up everybody who starts.

Where to Start

Maas's own reading guide says to begin with whichever series calls to you, and she means it. They're separate stories in separate worlds, and none of them requires the others.

If you want my answer, it's ACOTAR. It's what pulled me in, it's the gateway for most readers, and it's the fastest way to find out whether her writing is going to take over your year.

The series do connect to each other. How and where is a spoiler, so I'm not going to be the one to tell you. It doesn't change where you start.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Fae, courts, scheming, and a slow burn that genuinely wrecks you. It opens as a Beauty and the Beast retelling and becomes something much bigger and much sharper than that description suggests.

The reading order for this series is: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, A Court of Silver Flames.

ACOTAR 6 arrives October 27, 2026, and ACOTAR 7 follows on January 12, 2027. Neither has a title or a cover yet. Both are open for preorder, and after five years of waiting I would get in line early.

Crescent City

I went straight here from ACOTAR and I'd do it again. Modern setting, angels and fae and a city that runs on power, and a heavier front end than anything else she's written. The first stretch of House of Earth and Blood is a lot of world to learn at once. It's worth pushing through.

The reading order for this series is: House of Earth and Blood, House of Sky and Breath, House of Flame and Shadow. A fourth book is confirmed, with no date announced.

Throne of Glass

The honest part: I haven't read this one yet. It's been on my TBR since the day I finished Crescent City and it's the gap in my Maas shelf I feel worst about.

What I can tell you is that it's her first series, it's finished, and it starts younger and more YA before it grows into full epic fantasy. Readers who bounced off ACOTAR often love this one, and the reverse happens just as much.

The publication order for this series, and also where the argument starts, is: Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, The Assassin's Blade, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, Kingdom of Ash.

A Note on Reading Order

Two questions come up constantly about Throne of Glass. Both are worth knowing before you start.

Where does The Assassin's Blade go? It's a collection of prequel novellas, so the events happen before book one, but it was published third. Maas's site and Bloomsbury both slot it in after Crown of Midnight. Plenty of readers put it first instead, since that's the chronological order. Plenty of others push it later still, arguing the backstory hits harder once you already care. Every camp is loud about it, and none of them is wrong.

Should Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn be read together? They take place at the same time, following different characters. Publication order reads them back-to-back. Many readers instead tandem-read them, alternating chapters with a guide so the timeline stays linear. This is the most common piece of advice you'll get from anyone who's finished the series.

I can't tell you which I'd pick. When I get there, I will.

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