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“Libraries were full of ideas – perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”
If you’re trying to figure out the Sarah J. Maas books in order, you’re certainly not alone. With multiple interconnected series – Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City – it can be confusing to know where to start or how everything fits together. This guide breaks down the complete Sarah J. Maas reading order, including both publication order and recommended reading order, so you can choose the experience that suits you best. Whether you’re new to SJM or planning a reread, having a clear Sarah J. Maas series order helps you follow without getting lost. From fae-filled romance in ACOTAR to the epic assassin journey in Throne of Glass and the urban fantasy stakes of Crescent City, we’ve got the breakdown of all Sarah J. Maas books in order so you can get stuck into them and avoid any unwanted spoilers across her bestselling fantasy worlds.
If you’re looking for just a simple overview of Sarah J. Maas’ books in order, here’s a clear breakdown of all three series and how they tie together.
Sarah J. Maas Books in Reading Order (by Series)
For most new readers, the easiest and most popular reading order is:
Throne of Glass → ACOTAR → Crescent City
This allows you to experience the evolution of Sarah J. Maas’ writing style while also avoiding any major spoilers and appreciating the subtle connections between series as they develop.
Sarah J. Maas is renowned for crafting expansive fantasy romance series that exist within a loosely connected universe, blending epic worldbuilding, romance, and high-stakes storytelling. While each series – Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City – can all be read on their own, the full Maas experience comes from spotting the subtle links between them all that suggest the stories may all take place within the same multiverse.
This interconnected style is part of what makes reading the Sarah J. Maas books in order such a fulfilling time; characters, themes, and worlds start to feel increasingly layered across each series.
Whether you choose to follow publication order or a recommended reading path, knowing how these series relate to one another can heighten your experience and help you appreciate the bigger picture unfolding across all of her books.
The Throne of Glass series is one of Sarah J. Maas’ most popular and expansive fantasy arcs, and working out the right reading order can make a huge difference to your experience. There are a few ways to approach it, depending on whether you prefer publication order, chronological order, or a recommended reading path.
For first-time readers, a popular approach is to read The Assassin’s Blade novellas after Heir of Fire. This avoids any early spoilers whilst still giving important emotional context to Celaena’s backstory at a pivotal moment in the series.
A lot of Sarah J. Maas fans find this order enhances the characters’ depth and emotional payoff, without disrupting the main story flow.
It’s worth sparing a few lines to say how Throne of Glass starts out as more of a traditional YA fantasy, but gradually develops into a far darker, more complex epic fantasy series. The tone, stakes, and emotional intensity increase dramatically as the story develops, especially from Heir of Fire onwards.
The A Court of Thorns and Roses (often shortened to just ACOTAR) is arguably Sarah J. Maas’ most popular fantasy romance series, and knowing the correct reading order helps you follow the emotional arcs, relationships, and character development without any confusion.
Check Out Our Guide On How To Read A Court Of Thorns And Roses
A Court of Frost and Starlight is a shorter bridge novella that takes place after A Court of Wings and Ruin and before A Court of Silver Flames.
It serves as a transitional story, focusing more on character relationships and recovery in the aftermath of the war, rather than any major plot progression. Whilst it isn’t essential to the main storyline, it does provide helpful emotional context.
For the smoothest reading experience, we’d recommend sticking to the publication order listed above. A Court of Silver Flames shifts the focus to a different main character and introduces a slightly darker, more emotionally intense storyline, so reading it last guarantees you’ve experienced the full buildup of the original trilogy first.
Nope! The ACOTAR series can be read totally standalone to Throne of Glass. Whilst both series are written by Sarah J. Maas, they are separate stories with different characters and settings, so you can start ACOTAR without any prior knowledge of her other novels.
The Crescent City series is Sarah J. Maas’ most recent and complex fantasy series, blending urban fantasy with romance, mystery, and high-stakes world-building. Because of its layered plot and expanding connections to her other series, it’s more than handy to follow the correct reading order from the get-go.
Unlike Throne of Glass or ACOTAR, the Crescent City books are more densely plotted, with multiple storylines running at once and a heavier focus on world-building, politics, and mystery elements.
The series also gradually expands its scope in later books, which can make it feel more complicated for newcomers. For this reason, most readers find it helpful to take their time with each entry and pay close attention to the details, as they often crop up again later on in the series.
Without wanting to give too much away, Crescent City is where things get more tasty in terms of the wider Sarah J. Maas universe. Later books introduce subtle but significant nods to her other books, which can change how readers interpret events across all of her work.
If you want to avoid any potential spoilers, it’s best to read Throne of Glass and ACOTAR first before you get stuck into Crescent City, so you’re able to experience those connections as they are intended to unfold.
Yes indeed – the Sarah J. Maas books do have a connection, but they’re best understood as a loosely connected shared universe rather than one continuous storyline. Every series can be read independently of the others, with its own characters, settings, and main plots. But, as the books progress, you’re sure to notice subtle links between worlds, themes, and certain narrative elements that point toward a larger, overarching universe.
These connections are not essential to understanding any individual series, but they add an extra layer of depth for fans who have read across all three. Without giving away any spoilers, some later books feature crossover elements that gently blur the boundaries between series, rewarding diehard fans who are familiar with the full connection of Sarah J. Maas books in order.
Because of this, plenty of readers choose to read the series in a recommended order to fully appreciate how these links and subtle nods develop over time.
There isn’t a single “correct” way to read the Sarah J. Maas books in order; however, there are two main approaches readers typically take, depending on their preferences: publication order or a beginner-friendly reading path.
Both work well – it just depends on how you’re looking to experience these stories.
This means reading the books in the order they were released:
However, this order can feel a little less intuitive when it comes to understanding cross-series connections, particularly if you’re a newcomer to Sarah J. Maas’ work.
This approach typically follows:
Throne of Glass → ACOTAR → Crescent City
The main downside to this approach is that it doesn’t reflect the exact release timeline, but most new readers prefer this part because it naturally feels smoother and more accessible.
Overall, the best Sarah J. Maas reading order stems from whether you prefer a chronological publishing experience or a guided, spoiler-conscious journey through her series.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
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