For many book readers, Sarah J. Maas and her books are true gifts, and based on what we know about the upcoming Sarah J. Maas books, she’s a gift that will continue to give in years to come, both with upcoming books and at least one planned book-to-screen adaptation that has the potential to be epic. So let’s get into what we know about what’s ahead for the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, the Crescent City series and more.
The Next ACOTAR Book (A Court Of Thorns And Roses Book 5)
Among the massively popular series that Sarah J. Maas has written is A Court of Thorns and Roses (a.k.a. ACOTAR), a romantasy series that follows a young human woman who finds herself brought into the neighboring land of Prythian, where the fae rule and reside in various courts. As it happens, things aren’t exactly peaceful there, and young Feyre finds herself immersed in all of what’s going on — including danger, drama, romance and beings both good and evil with centuries of history behind them. It’s a lot and, well, all if it is amazing.
In an interview with Today in January 2024, while promoting House of Flame and Shadow (the third book in the Crescent City series), Maas revealed that the next book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series was what she planned to write next, and that she’s “very, very excited about it.” She’s not alone!
Now let’s get into the important questions:
Whose POV Will ACOTAR Book 5 focus on?
Ah, yes, this is the question of the hour. (Vague spoilers if you’re not caught up on ACOTAR through A Court of Silver Flames) While the first 3.5 books focused mostly on Feyre’s story, the fourth book in the series shifted gears significantly by taking us into Nesta’s corner of the drama. So it’s entirely fair to speculate that Elain would be the next POV to be explored in an upcoming ACOTAR book. Not only is she the only remaining Archeron sister not to be the center of a book in this series so far, but there’s also a lot that’s been set up around the middle Archeron sister that has yet to be explored in full.
In short, we have questions about Elain, and I have no doubt Maas has (and hopefully plans to share) the answers to them. But whether or not Elain is the actual focus of Book 5 is yet to be revealed. It’s entirely possible the story returns to Feyre’s POV, or centers on someone else.
What is the ACOTAR Book 5 release date and title?
We don’t know when ACOTAR Book 5 will hit shelves, nor do we know what it will be titled, but in April 2024, Maas shared an Instagram post that indicated she was working on the book, posting a gorgeous image of a snow-covered forest view, along with the caption:
Went up North to write for a while.🌲🏔️🌲 #ACOwhattt #draftingmodeactivated
The first three and a half books in the series came out once-a-year in May, but the pattern changed with the fourth book, which took a bit longer. So there’s no telling exactly when Book 5 will hit shelves, but it seems likely that it will be the next book Maas publishes.
In addition to the fifth book in the popular romantasy series, we’re also excitedly awaiting updates on plans for the ACOTAR TV series and all of the big moments from the book that we hope will be featured. I won’t apologize for the frantic person I become if and when developments about this project start emerging.
The ACOTAR Books In Order
If you still haven't read Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series, here's the order of them by release date, including Book 3.5, which is a novella set between Books 3 and 4. ACOFAS is a fraction of the length of the other books and the stakes are not as high, but it's still a must-read, in my opinion, as it helps reset the characters and where they are after the events of ACOWAR and ahead of ACOSF.
- ACOTAR Book 1: A Court of Thorns and Roses (released May 2015)
- ACOTAR Book 2: A Court of Mist and Fury (released May 2016)
- ACOTAR Book 3: A Court of Wings and Ruin (released May 2017)
- ACOTAR Book 3.5: A Court of Frost and Starlight (novella released May 2018)
- ACOTAR Book 4: A Court of Silver Flames (released February 2021)
Crescent City Book 4
The third book in the Crescent City series arrived earlier in 2024, and while Maas did confirm to Today (in the same interview mentioned above), that she has plans for a fourth, there’s no word on when that one will drop. In fact, what Maas said in January was:
You will have to wait a bit, but it’s on the airport taxiing line… It’s a little down… but I kind of know the vague ideas of what I want to happen.
It’s unclear exactly where Crescent City Book 4 sits on that runway. Maas said the above quote before revealing that ACOTAR Book 5 would be next. So it’s entirely possible that Crescent City Book 4 will be the book she writes after that. But it’s also possible she’ll be working on something else after ACOTAR Book 5. (I’ll get into that in a bit).
Crescent City's House of Flame and Shadow is the most recent Sarah J. Maas book to be published as of 2024. This series follows a young woman — Bryce Quinlan — who’s half-fae and half human, and living in the world of Midgard. Like ACOTAR, the Crescent City books feature fantasy, drama, romance, chaos and a variety of magical beings. But unlike ACOTAR, Bryce’s world is much more modern — magical, no doubt, but modern in the technology and lifestyles of its inhabitants.
The tone of this series is also different, as the first book plays out as a murder mystery, as Bryce — a free-spirited, but more presently grief-stricken young woman — finds herself trying to uncover the truth behind the murder of her best friend, who was killed by a demon. This puts her in the path of Hunt Athalar, a fallen angel with a dark past (and let’s face it, a pretty dark present).
The Crescent City Books In Order
Word of advice if you’re new to Sarah J. Maas — probably don’t do what I did and read the first two Crescent City books before reading most of the ACOTAR series because you think, “well, there’s fewer books in this one, so I’ll get caught up here then get back to ACOTAR.” As a relatively new reader to recent fantasy stories that aren’t Harry Potter books (or Harry Potter movies), I felt way in over my head diving into Crescent City, and if I could go back, I would’ve read all of the ACOTAR books before diving into this series. To be clear, I did come to absolutely love the first three Crescent City books and the characters, but as I mentioned above, it's tonally different from ACOTAR in some significant ways. Here’s the order they released (which is the order you should read them).
- Crescent City Book 1: House of Earth and Blood (released March 2020)
- Crescent City Book 2: House of Sky and Breath (released February 2022)
- Crescent City Book 3: House of Flame and Shadow (released January 2024)
Two Other Sarah J. Maas books planned
In Sarah J. Maas’ interview with Today, Jenna Bush Hager asked if she knows exactly what’s on the “runway” Maas spoke of (quoted in the above section about Crescent City), to which Maas responded…
Yeah, I plan years down the line … I know the next four books that I want to write, so they’re kind of in this taxiing position.
It’s during this set of questions that Maas mentions that ACOTAR Book 5 is the next one she’s writing. And she’d said prior that Crescent City Book 4 was coming at some point, which means there are two other unnamed projects she has planned right now. Whether these fit into the existing series, or they are something else, she didn't specify. But given the amount of pages the two known books will no-doubt involve, it sounds like Maas has her hands and imagination full for the coming months and years.
Completed Series: Throne of Glass
While ACOTAR and Crescent City have at least one new book coming apiece, Maas’s beloved Throne of Glass series concluded in 2018. Here’s the order of them, including The Assassin’s Blade, which is a collection of stories that take place before the events of Throne of Glass, and was published in 2014 (so you'll want to read that one after Book 2 - Crown of Midnight).
- Book 0: The Assassin’s Blade (A prequel collection of stories released in 2014)
- Book 1: Throne of Glass (released August 2012)
- Book 2: Crown of Midnight (released August 27, 2013)
- Book 3: Heir of Fire (released September 2014)
- Book 4: Queen of Shadows (release September 2015)
- Book 5: Empire of Storms (released September 6, 2016)
- Book 6: Tower of Dawn (released September 2017)
- Book 7: Kingdom of Ash (released October 2018)
If you’re tapping your foot as though you don't already have a massive TBR waiting for you while you wait for updates on what’s coming up from Sarah J. Maas, I'm with you. I'll be sure to keep this page updated if and when there’s more news about what’s ahead for the existing series or other books Maas might have in the works.
