| Approach | What it does | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Publication order within each series | The author’s reading guide lists Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City each in the order they were published. | The default for a first read, because reveals land where Maas placed them. |
| Any series first | Maas’s guide says you can start with the first book in any of the three series. | Choose by taste (classic fantasy, romantasy or urban fantasy), not by obligation. |
| Chronological Throne of Glass | Starts with The Assassin’s Blade, then Throne of Glass. Maas intentionally leaves the revelations from The Assassin’s Blade out of the first three Throne of Glass books. | Better kept for a reread, since a first-timer meets those revelations early. |
| Author-listed Throne of Glass order | Eight books, with The Assassin’s Blade placed third. | A compromise: the prequel stories arrive once you already know the characters. |
Figures and placements here come from Maas’s own reading guide and Business Insider’s Throne of Glass order explainer.
The best way to read Sarah J. Maas books is in publication order within each series, starting with the first book of whichever series appeals, and leaving Crescent City until last.
If you are building a wider reading habit around a long fantasy run, our list of books every writer should read shows how a series like this fits alongside other choices.
What each reading order costs you
Every order trades surprise against story-time clarity. Pick based on whether this is a first read or a return visit.
Publication order
Publication order is the lowest-risk choice for a first read because each reveal arrives where the author put it. Maas’s guide lists each series in the order it was published, with The Assassin’s Blade slotted third in the Throne of Glass list. Business Insider points out that Throne of Glass was published by Bloomsbury in August 2012, but Maas had already published four novellas online. A strict release-date approach would therefore scatter the prequel material. The author’s own list is the cleaner path for the main books.
Chronological order
Chronological order suits people who have already finished the series and want the story in in-world sequence. According to Business Insider, that means beginning with The Assassin’s Blade and then Throne of Glass. ABC News describes The Assassin’s Blade as a collection of five prequel novellas that is chronologically earlier, yet Maas’s official guide places it after Crown of Midnight. The practical cost is that the prequel material shows you things the first three Throne of Glass books deliberately hold back. If you want those books to land as written, wait.
Thematic order
Thematic order works at the level of series, not individual books. Maas’s guide describes Throne of Glass as a classic fantasy series that follows Celaena Sardothien, a deadly assassin. It calls A Court of Thorns and Roses the ultimate romantasy series, following Feyre Archeron, and Crescent City an immersive urban fantasy that follows half-human, half-fae Bryce Quinlan. Use those descriptions to choose your entry point:
- Classic fantasy built around an assassin: begin with Throne of Glass.
- Romance-led fantasy: begin with A Court of Thorns and Roses.
- Urban fantasy: Crescent City is the match, though it works best as the final series you read.
Once you have chosen, keep that series in its listed order. Shuffling books inside a series gains little and risks spoilers.
Where to start in each series
Maas’s guide says you can start with the first book in any of the three series, so no entry point is wrong. Marie Claire calls A Court of Thorns and Roses the most popular point of entry into the Maasverse, which is a good tiebreaker if you have no mood preference.
Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass suits readers who want a long, finished fantasy run. Maas’s guide gives the order as Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, The Assassin’s Blade, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn and Kingdom of Ash. Marie Claire counts eight books in total and describes the series as complete, so you can read straight through without waiting on a release. Throne of Glass was the first book Maas published, which is worth knowing if you like to see an author’s early work first.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses suits readers who want romance, adventure and court politics in one story. Marie Claire says these books need to be read in release order and counts five books released from 2015 to 2021. Start with A Court of Thorns and Roses itself, then continue in release order.
Crescent City
Crescent City is the one series with a clear sequencing preference. One reading guide on Substack says everyone agrees Crescent City should be read last. Marie Claire advises reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses books first, because that lets you be fully engrossed in the world building. Since Maas’s own guide allows any starting series, treat this as strong advice rather than a rule. If you begin with Crescent City anyway, follow the order in which its books were published.
Spoilers and pacing
The biggest pacing trap is in Throne of Glass. Business Insider notes that Empire of Storms ends on a cliffhanger that is not resolved until Kingdom of Ash. In the author’s order, Tower of Dawn sits between that cliffhanger and its resolution. Do not start Empire of Storms unless you are willing to continue through to the end of the series.
Because readers follow different orders, the safest habit when discussing the books is to name the book you have reached and avoid revealing anything past it. That protects people reading publication order and people reading chronologically alike.
Content notes and tone
Content and tone vary by series, and the tone shifts within Throne of Glass itself. These points cover what the available descriptions support:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses: Marie Claire says the series fuses romance, adventure, court politics and a whole lot of spice. Expect adult romantic content, not a slow-burn young adult tone.
- Throne of Glass: Marie Claire notes the series is not lacking on the romance and spice front, though that comes later in the series. A reading guide on Substack adds that the early books lean more toward young adult than the later ones.
- Crescent City: the author’s guide frames it as immersive urban fantasy. Check its listing for details before starting, as the guide offers no detailed content notes.
These are broad descriptions, not full warnings. If you have specific things you want to avoid, read the publisher’s description and reader-compiled content notes before each new volume, especially after a tonal shift. Do not assume the next book matches the one you just finished.
Format and keeping track
Format matters most for long series read over months. Print or ebook makes it easier to flip back when a name or faction returns. Audio suits readers who fit the books around commuting or chores. The one situation where the format choice changes the plan is the chapter-by-chapter approach covered in the FAQ below, which means moving between two books and is easier with a bookmark or a reading tracker.
Between long volumes, a change of pace helps. Books Like The Outsiders: 8 Gritty Coming‑Of‑Age Novels Every Fan Should Read offers shorter, grounded alternatives. When you finish a series and want your next pick, The Best Books To Read in 2026: Top Fiction, Nonfiction, And How To Choose Your Next Read can help you choose.
Frequently asked questions
Are the series finished?
Marie Claire describes Throne of Glass as complete and A Court of Thorns and Roses as not yet complete. ABC News reports that A Court of Splintered Harmony arrives on Oct. 27, 2026, followed by A Court of Forgotten Melody on Jan. 12, 2027.
Do the series connect into one story?
Maas has said, as quoted by a Substack reading guide, that the books are meant to be read ideally as one massive story. That is why the order across series matters as well as the order within them.
How do I read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn together?
The same Substack guide describes reading them in parallel, chapter by chapter, rather than back to back. It suits readers who want the timeline interleaved, though it means juggling two books at once.
