Sarah J Maas's blockbuster series is full of brutal wars, scheming faeries and spicy sex scenes. Now the sixth book in the saga is breaking sales records – and dividing opinion. What's the appeal? And is the latest novel actually any good?
Sarah J Maas is known as the "titan" of romantasy.
The subgenre, which is a blend of romance and fantasy, has become a dominating force in the world of fiction. Its explosion in popularity, particularly among women under the age of 35, has led to a surge in fiction sales in the UK to more than £1bn in 2024, and an estimated $610m in the US.
The boom has been significantly driven by BookTok, a section of TikTok dedicated to book commentary, that has transformed the publishing industry. And BookTok was integral to the success of Maas's series, A Court of Thorns and Roses (also known as ACOTAR). Although the first novel was published in 2015, it saw massive viral success in 2020, which "really skyrocketed it into the stratosphere," says Dr Jodi McAlister, senior lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University, Australia. "It was the snowball that started the modern romantasy avalanche rolling."
Since 2012, the US author has churned out a whopping 17 books across three romantasy series, the realms of which are all linked under a broader "Maasiverse" or Maas universe: Throne of Glass, ACOTAR and Crescent City. Together they have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
And on 27 October, after a five-year wait, fans descended on bookshops across the world for the much-anticipated release of the sixth book in the ACOTAR saga, A Court of Splintered Harmony. The book is tracking to be the largest book release of the year – it sold 1.7 million copies on the release date alone – a 600% increase on the fifth book, A Court of Silver Flames.
The series is undoubtedly Maas's most famous work and "inarguably the lynchpin of the modern romantasy boom," McAlister tells the BBC.
Here's what the ACOTAR books are about – and why readers love romantasy.
Firstly, some important historical context. Five hundred years before ACOTAR begins, humans had been enslaved by the fae (fairies), until a great seven-year war freed them, and a treaty was signed. The tension of land borders and the mortal-fae balance of power persist throughout the series.
Our story begins in the mortal lands, where we meet a 19-year-old human woman, Feyre Archeron, who is out hunting for food to bring back to her father and two older sisters. But things go awry as she ends up being dragged through a magical barrier known as The Wall, which separates the mortal lands from the faerie territory of Prythian.
When Feyre, who is a recurring protagonist throughout the series, passes into Prythian, what ensues is a turbulent journey through an ancient world with elaborate laws of magic, mystical and horrifying creatures, spicy sex and romance (derided by critics of the genre as "faerie smut"), villains and, of course, devastating wars.
Maas's world building is complex, with intricate plotlines that are not always resolved within one book. (Luckily there is a wealth of dedicated Reddit threads and even an ACOTAR wiki page to turn to.)
The author also uses different narrators to give readers an insight into other major characters – as well as Feyre's voice. This means that Maas has fleshed out ACOTAR's world even more, while keeping readers engaged and invested in their favourites. And of course, as fans conspire, the absence of a character's point of view may be a hint of a future plotline.
The origins of romantasy are centuries-old , so how did it become a multi-million-dollar subgenre?
Romantasy is mostly written by and for women, and centres around female protagonists.
This combines with key tropes like "fated mates" (a narrative device used to show that two characters are predestined to be together) and "forbidden love" against a backdrop of dark, magical worlds. The result is a perfect escape for young women and their desires. "While it's liberally populated with brooding, mysterious men, they're ultimately the love interests: female characters are regularly the protagonists and heroes," McAlister says.
"The great promise of the romance is that everything will turn out all right in the end,” says McAlister. “And when you don't have that promise in your real life, the allure in fiction is powerful. We might be post-pandemic now, but we're still living in an uncertain world, and so romance's – and romantasy's – great promise remains deeply attractive."
A Court of Silver Flames, the fifth book, resolved a lot of ongoing plotlines and didn't end on a major cliffhanger – so Maas clearly intended to take this saga to a new place. Indeed, in a rare interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast she said that A Court of Splintered Harmony (ACOSH) is the beginning of a mega story – so much so that ACOSH and the two that will follow should be read as one book.
This means that ACOSH, with fewer than 350 pages, is just setting up for what will come next (the seventh book will be published on 12 January 2027, and is a mighty 896 pages long).
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Nonetheless, the build-up is tense, compelling and, at times, quite chaotic. The Inner Circle at the Night Court, which includes Feyre, are at each other's throats, as another war looms at the hands of Koschei the Deathless. Koschei, an ancient, immortal Death-God who has been magically confined to a remote lake on the continent for centuries, is spreading his dark influence in a bid to reclaim human land once again.
Like any successful book series with a devoted fanbase, Maas will never be able to please everyone, and readers are certainly divided. Some were simply delighted to return to Prythian, celebrating the emotional tension between the characters and the multiple points of view.
Others, not so much. Some have suggested that ACOSH is merely a "filler" story with little character or plot development and have even dismissed some of the sex scenes as "unnecessary". Kathryn VanArendonk at Vulture said : "The novel is a jarring, piecemeal production, and its best-case reading is as a place-setting exercise for a future party without any confirmation of what kind of party it will be or who has RSVP'd."
Another potentially frustrating element is that there is a direct overlap of characters and events in this book with Maas's other series, Crescent City. Some readers have suggested that having read Crescent City will "enhance" your enjoyment and understanding of ACOSH. That's around another 2,000 pages to add to your reading list.
Ultimately the ACOTAR momentum shows no sign of slowing down as fans eagerly await the next two novels. Maas has also cleverly teased her fans by not resolving a plotline that has sparked passionate debate, involving the romantic prospects of Azriel, the spymaster of the Night Court.
And as McAlister says, "While there are many extremely popular romantasy authors now, it makes sense that Maas is one that people keep coming back to – whether or not you like her books, they're foundational."
A Court of Splintered Harmony: The Valkyrie Cycle, Movement I, is out now.
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