There are three ways to ruin Sarah J. Maas for yourself: pick the series that does not match your mood, read the books out of order, or hit the middle of an eight-book saga and realize you skipped the one everybody keeps referencing. The good news is that Maas’s own site says you can start with the first book of any of her three series. The less good news is that the best starting point depends on whether you want an assassin, a faerie court or a murder in a city of fae and angels.
The short answer: read each series in publication order, and choose your first series by mood. Maas’s site lists them as Throne of Glass (eight books, 2012 to 2018), A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015 onward, with the newest book out in October 2026 and another due in January 2027) and Crescent City (three books, 2020 to 2024). The one placement quirk is the Throne of Glass prequel collection, which her own list puts third. Titles, order and series pages come from the author’s site; dates come from Wikipedia and are marked as of 2026-10-31.
Throne of Glass: the assassin and the tournament
The author’s page sums up the setup in a line: in a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle, and Celaena Sardothien can win her freedom by beating twenty-three other contestants to become the King’s Champion. Wikipedia describes her as an 18-year-old in book one and classes the series as young adult fantasy. Here is the order:
- Throne of Glass (August 2012)
- Crown of Midnight (August 2013)
- The Assassin’s Blade (March 4, 2014): five prequel stories about Celaena and Sam Cortland
- Heir of Fire (September 2, 2014)
- Queen of Shadows (September 1, 2015)
- Empire of Storms (September 6, 2016)
- Tower of Dawn (September 5, 2017): follows Chaol on the Southern Continent, set alongside Empire of Storms
- Kingdom of Ash (October 23, 2018)
The one real question is The Assassin’s Blade. Story-wise it comes before Throne of Glass, but Maas’s own list places it third, after Crown of Midnight, and TODAY’s reading-order roundup reports that her publishers say reading in story chronology is also fine because it spoils nothing. I would follow her list on a first read. The honest friction: Publishers Weekly noted the author’s tendency toward overdescription, and our own review headline says Throne of Glass is fun long before it becomes legendary, which is fair warning that this series grows into its scale. Order matters because the scale grows fast: Wikipedia’s summary has Heir of Fire splitting the story across several viewpoints, with Celaena training in Wendlyn, Chaol and Dorian facing their own struggles back in Adarlan, and Manon competing to lead her clan.
A Court of Thorns and Roses: the faerie romance
The author’s page describes Feyre, a nineteen-year-old huntress who kills a wolf and is taken to a magical land by a beast-like captor who turns out to be an immortal faerie named Tamlin. Her hostility becomes romance as she works to stop a growing dark force. The site calls the series sexy and action-packed. Wikipedia says it was published as young adult, has sat between YA and New Adult since the first book and is now classified as New Adult, and that Maas agreed to publish it as YA only if her editor did not cut the sexual content. Plain words: this is a romance with adult content, and it has been challenged in several US school districts. Order:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses (May 5, 2015)
- A Court of Mist and Fury (May 3, 2016)
- A Court of Wings and Ruin (May 2, 2017)
- A Court of Frost and Starlight (May 1, 2018): fourth on the author’s list, between Wings and Ruin and Silver Flames
- A Court of Silver Flames (February 16, 2021)
- A Court of Splintered Harmony (out now per the author’s site; October 27, 2026 per Wikipedia and Time Out): subtitled The Valkyrie Cycle: Movement I; Bloomsbury’s synopsis, as relayed by Time Out, has the Night Court facing Koschei the Deathless
- A Court of Forgotten Melody (January 12, 2027): Movements II and III
Who should skip it: anyone who wants romance kept off the page, or a tidy standalone. The newest books are a continuation, so they are not an entry point.
Crescent City: the murder mystery with wings
Bryce Quinlan, half-Fae and half-human, loses her best friend to a demon attack, becomes a suspect, and has to investigate alongside Hunt Athalar, a fallen angel enslaved by the Archangels who will earn his freedom if he catches the killer. The author’s site calls it contemporary fantasy with searing romance, and calls the series sexy and action-packed. Order:
- House of Earth and Blood (March 3, 2020)
- House of Sky and Breath (February 15, 2022)
- House of Flame and Shadow (January 30, 2024)
The friction here is length: Wikipedia lists 816, 816 and 848 pages. The TODAY roundup also reports that the publisher suggests reading ACOTAR first. I could not open Bloomsbury’s own reading guide, so treat that advice as secondhand, though Maas’s own site is more relaxed and says any first book works.
One more title outside the three series
Maas also wrote Catwoman: Soulstealer (Random House, August 7, 2018), the third book in the DC Icons series, about a young Selina Kyle in Gotham. It is not part of any reading order above.
Where to start, by mood
- You want a tournament, a long war and a heroine who starts as a prisoner: Throne of Glass.
- You want romance first and the war second: A Court of Thorns and Roses.
- You want a murder mystery in a modern fantasy city: House of Earth and Blood, ideally after ACOTAR.
- You cannot decide: ABC News notes there is no strict order and that many fans start with ACOTAR, so that is a safe coin flip.
What is not confirmed yet
As of 2026-10-31, a few things remain loose. I found two different release dates for A Court of Splintered Harmony (October 27 on Wikipedia and in Time Out, October 28 in one guide); the author’s site just says it is out now. Wikipedia says the sixth through eighth ACOTAR books form one story told in four parts and lists an eighth book with no title or date, while Time Out reports Maas saying the story was split into three volumes, so the final shape of the Valkyrie Cycle is not settled. Wikipedia says a fourth Crescent City book will be added but gives no official date. And I could not open the Bloomsbury reading guide the author’s site points to.
Questions readers ask
Do I have to read Throne of Glass before ACOTAR?
No. Maas’s site says you can start with the first book of any of the three series, and each series is listed in publication order. Her reading guide lists the series in the order they were published (Throne of Glass, then ACOTAR, then Crescent City) and tells readers to begin with whichever series calls to them most.
Where does The Assassin’s Blade go?
Maas’s list puts it third, after Crown of Midnight and before Heir of Fire. It is a prequel, so some readers prefer story order, and TODAY reports her publishers say that spoils nothing. I would follow her placement for a first read.
Is ACOTAR a YA series?
It was published as young adult, but Wikipedia now classes it as New Adult, Feyre is nineteen in book one, and the author’s site calls the series sexy. It sits in between, so decide based on whether you are comfortable with sexual content.
Is there a new ACOTAR book?
As of 2026-10-31, the author’s site says A Court of Splintered Harmony is out now (Wikipedia and Time Out give October 27, 2026, which I could not confirm on a publisher page), and it lists A Court of Forgotten Melody for January 12, 2027.
For a closer look at each series, start with our look at the whole Throne of Glass series, then our Throne of Glass review. On the faerie side, we have reviews of A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury.
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