Sarah J. Maas

For new readers, it is often suggested to start with the Throne of Glass series, followed by A Court of Thorns and Roses, and then Crescent City. Within each series, books should be read in publication order to follow the narrative correctly.

The A Court of Thorns and Roses series is currently in development for a television adaptation.

Each series can be started independently. Most readers begin with either Throne of Glass (starting with the novella collection The Assassin's Blade or the first novel) or A Court of Thorns and Roses. Crescent City is best read after the other two series are complete, as its later books directly cross over with both — particularly from House of Sky and Breath onward. Maas has confirmed the reading order is flexible for the first books of each series.

Sarah J. Maas is widely recognized for her intricate world-building, strong female protagonists, and romantic elements within the fantasy genre, particularly across her three major series: Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City.

Yes — Maas has confirmed that Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City share a cosmology. The connection is implicit in the early books of each series but becomes explicit in House of Sky and Breath (2022) and is central to House of Flame and Shadow (2024). She planned the shared universe from early in her career and has described it as a long game she built toward deliberately.

Yes. Maas began writing what became Throne of Glass at sixteen, originally posting it online on FictionPress under the title 'Queen of Glass.' It developed a following online before she revised and pitched it as a traditional novel. Bloomsbury acquired it after she graduated college, and it was published in 2012. The online origins of the series are well-documented in multiple author interviews and publisher profiles.

As of 2024, the ACOTAR television series is in active development at Hulu, with Maas attached as a producer. No cast or premiere date had been officially announced as of early 2025. Development has been ongoing since the deal was announced in 2021.

As of early 2025, Maas has published sixteen novels across her three series — eight in the Throne of Glass universe (including novellas collected in The Assassin's Blade), seven in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, and three in the Crescent City series — plus the Catwoman: Soulstealer DC Icons novel. Additional books in the ACOTAR and Crescent City series are planned.

Maas drew primarily from Irish and Scottish faerie folklore — the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, the concept of Fae bargains with binding magical force, and the tradition of humans being taken under the hill. She has also cited her interest in Beauty and the Beast retellings as a foundational influence for the first novel, though the series moves well beyond that framework across subsequent books.