Editors Reads
FantasyRomanceYoung Adult

Sarah J. Maas

American · b. 1986

14 books reviewed Avg rating 4.4 / 5Top rating 4.6 / 5

Goodreads Choice Award (multiple years)

Sarah J. Maas is an American fantasy romance author whose ACOTAR and Throne of Glass series have made her one of the bestselling fantasy writers in the world.

Sarah J. Maas has built one of the most commercially dominant franchises in contemporary fantasy. The A Court of Thorns and Roses series — including A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, and A Court of Silver Flames in our catalog — is a fae-world romantic fantasy that began as a Beauty and the Beast retelling and evolved into an increasingly explicit adult series with complex world-building and highly devoted readership. The Throne of Glass series (represented in our catalog by Crown of Midnight and Heir of Fire) is a more YA-adjacent assassin’s guild story that expanded into a sprawling multi-strand epic.

Maas writes with enormous energy and a thorough understanding of what her readers want: emotionally intense romantic relationships, competent and eventually powerful heroines, found-family dynamics, and high-stakes adventure. A Court of Mist and Fury is widely considered the series high point — the central relationship is compelling, the world-building is imaginative, and the emotional arc is genuinely earned. Later volumes become more sprawling and increasingly reliant on readers’ investment in an expanding cast.

The literary criticism of Maas is fair: her prose is functional rather than distinguished, the plotting can be mechanical, and the heroines’ development sometimes follows a predictable template. But for readers who love what she does, she delivers it at a level of consistency that few in the genre match.


Reading Guides

14 Books Reviewed

A Kingdom of Ash book cover
BestsellerEditor's Pick

A Kingdom of Ash

by Sarah J. Maas

4.6

The endgame. Aelin Galathynius has been captured, and without her the armies of Terrasen face annihilation. Her allies must fight on without her — each carrying a piece of the plan only Aelin knew in full. The conclusion to one of the most beloved epic fantasy series of the decade.

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Crown of Midnight book cover
Bestseller

Crown of Midnight

by Sarah J. Maas

4.5

As the King's Champion, Celaena Sardothien is supposed to eliminate his enemies — but she has been secretly protecting her targets while uncovering shocking truths about her own identity and the darkness at the heart of Adarlan's power.

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Heir of Fire book cover
Bestseller

Heir of Fire

by Sarah J. Maas

4.5

Celaena travels to the fae kingdom of Wendlyn to master her powers, while a new threat — the Valg, demonic beings from another world — descends on Adarlan with the King's devastating backing.

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Queen of Shadows book cover

Queen of Shadows

by Sarah J. Maas

4.5

Aelin Galathynius — the assassin formerly known as Celaena — returns to Rifthold with one goal: free her friend Aedion and destroy the king who murdered her family. But the city she returns to is darker than the one she left, and her old enemies have become new allies in ways she never expected.

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Empire of Storms book cover

Empire of Storms

by Sarah J. Maas

4.4

Aelin races to gather allies and the keys to an ancient power that could seal the portal allowing the Valg to invade her world — while Manon Blackbeak discovers truths about herself that will shatter the life she has always known.

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House of Flame and Shadow book cover
Bestseller
4.4

Bryce Quinlan finds herself in an unfamiliar world — the world of the Fae, inhabited by characters from Maas's other series. Meanwhile, Hunt, Ruhn, and their allies fight to survive in Midgard as the Asteri's grip tightens. The conclusion of the Crescent City trilogy draws all threads — and all of Maas's worlds — together.

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Tower of Dawn book cover

Tower of Dawn

by Sarah J. Maas

4.3

Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq travel to the Southern Continent to seek an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent — and to find healers who might restore Chaol's ability to walk. What they discover in the Torre Cesme will change everything they thought they knew about the war.

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Reading Guides & Lists

Frequently Asked Questions

What order should I read Sarah J. Maas books?

Start with A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) for the ACOTAR series, or Throne of Glass (2012) for that series. The two series are set in different worlds with no crossover. Most readers find ACOTAR the better entry point. Crescent City (2020) is her most adult series and can be read independently.

Are Sarah J. Maas books connected?

Maas writes three separate series: Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), and Crescent City. Each series is set in its own world. However, in later Crescent City novels, characters from all three series interact — making prior completion of the other series valuable for full context.

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