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Series · romantic fantasy

A Court of Thorns and Roses

by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas has 5 known books (5 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015). A Court of Silver Flames is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.

Books
5 known books (4 novels + 1 novella)
Published
5
First published
2015
Status
ongoing
Shelved under
Romance , Fantasy
Start here: A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. A Court of Thorns and Roses

    Novel
    A Court of Thorns and Roses is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2015 at 451 pages. It opens A Court of Thorns and Roses series and is followed here by A Court of Mist and Fury.
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  2. A Court of Mist and Fury

    Novel
    A Court of Mist and Fury is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2016 at 626 pages. It's book 2 in A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, sitting between A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Wings and Ruin.
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  3. A Court of Wings and Ruin

    Novel
    A Court of Wings and Ruin is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2017 at 720 pages. It's book 3 in A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, sitting between A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Frost and Starlight.
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  4. A Court of Frost and Starlight

    Novella
    A Court of Frost and Starlight is a novella by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2018 at 259 pages. It's book 3.5 in A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, sitting between A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Silver Flames.
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  5. A Court of Silver Flames

    Novel
    A Court of Silver Flames is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2021 at 768 pages. It's book 4 of A Court of Thorns and Roses, following A Court of Frost and Starlight as the most recent entry in the reading order.
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The order the story's events happen in, novellas slotted where they belong.

  1. A Court of Thorns and Roses

    Novel
    A Court of Thorns and Roses is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2015 at 451 pages. It opens A Court of Thorns and Roses series and is followed here by A Court of Mist and Fury.
    View book

  2. A Court of Mist and Fury

    Novel
    A Court of Mist and Fury is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2016 at 626 pages. It's book 2 in A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, sitting between A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Wings and Ruin.
    View book

  3. A Court of Wings and Ruin

    Novel
    A Court of Wings and Ruin is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2017 at 720 pages. It's book 3 in A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, sitting between A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Frost and Starlight.
    View book

  4. A Court of Frost and Starlight

    Novella
    A Court of Frost and Starlight is a novella by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2018 at 259 pages. It's book 3.5 in A Court of Thorns and Roses reading order, sitting between A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Silver Flames.
    View book

  5. A Court of Silver Flames

    Novel
    A Court of Silver Flames is a novel by Sarah J. Maas, published in 2021 at 768 pages. It's book 4 of A Court of Thorns and Roses, following A Court of Frost and Starlight as the most recent entry in the reading order.
    View book

Key facts about A Court of Thorns and Roses series

Our list has 5 books in A Court of Thorns and Roses series. Since all 5 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 4 are novels, while the rest is a novella.

Start with A Court of Thorns and Roses, since it opens the publication order in 2015. A Court of Mist and Fury is book 2, from 2016. A Court of Wings and Ruin is book 3, from 2017.

A Court of Frost and Starlight is book 4, from 2018. A Court of Silver Flames is book 5, from 2021.

We also give a recommended order, while noting it is our own advice. It is not publisher canon.

A Court of Silver Flames is the latest book with a full release date, out on 16 February 2021. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.

The books came out between 2015 and 2021, while their length runs from 259 to 768 pages. That is a run of 6 years.

Sarah J. Maas has 17 books on our list. Additionally, they write Throne of Glass and Crescent City. We shelve the books under romantic fantasy.

About A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses begins as a dark riff on Beauty and the Beast: huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods to feed her family and is claimed as forfeit by a masked faerie lord, dragged from her mortal village into the treacherous, gorgeous courts of Prythian. But the fairy-tale framing is only the front door. From the second book onward the series reinvents itself — trading one romance for another that has become one of the most beloved in modern fantasy, and expanding into a story about trauma, recovery, war, and the politics of seven faerie courts on the brink of invasion.

Sarah J. Maas's signature strengths are all here: a heroine who earns her power rather than inheriting it, a found-family inner circle readers return to as much as any plot, and villains with real menace. The later books shift narrators, letting side characters step into the spotlight while the wider court conflicts simmer.

This is adult romantic fantasy — sensual, emotionally intense, occasionally brutal — and it is the most common entry point into Maas's interconnected universe, which also includes Throne of Glass and Crescent City. Readers who want lush world-building in service of character and romance, rather than the other way around, tend to fall hardest for this one. The series is still growing, with new installments announced.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series?

Five so far: four novels plus the novella A Court of Frost and Starlight. Two more are on the way — A Court of Splintered Harmony (book 6) releases October 27, 2026, and A Court of Forgotten Melody (book 7) on January 12, 2027.

What order should I read ACOTAR in?

Publication order: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight (novella), A Court of Silver Flames. Chronological order is the same.

When is ACOTAR book 6 coming out?

October 27, 2026 — titled A Court of Splintered Harmony. Sarah J. Maas announced in March 2026 that the next installment grew so long it was split up: book 6 arrives first, and book 7, A Court of Forgotten Melody, follows on January 12, 2027.

Do I need to read A Court of Frost and Starlight?

It's a short, quiet interlude rather than a full novel, but it bridges the original trilogy and A Court of Silver Flames and sets up several character arcs — worth the hour or two it takes.

Is ACOTAR connected to Throne of Glass and Crescent City?

Yes — all three Sarah J. Maas series share one universe, and Crescent City's third book, House of Flame and Shadow, contains a direct ACOTAR crossover. Each series still works on its own, but reading A Court of Silver Flames before that crossover is recommended.

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