ACOTAR Reading Order: All 7 Books, Including ACOTAR 6 and 7

The ACOTAR reading order is 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, then A Court of Silver Flames. Two more books now have dates. A Court of Splintered Harmony arrives October 27, 2026 and A Court of Forgotten Melody on January 12, 2027, per Sarah J. Maas's website.

TL;DR: Read the five published books by number, with the short A Court of Frost and Starlight fourth, before A Court of Silver Flames. Book 6 (352 pages, per Goodreads) comes out October 27, 2026 and book 7 (896 pages) on January 12, 2027. Crescent City is optional, but Bloomsbury says it reads better after ACOTAR, and many readers want it finished before book 6.

ACOTAR reading order (quick answer)

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses (book 1, May 5, 2015)
2. A Court of Mist and Fury (book 2, May 3, 2016)
3. A Court of Wings and Ruin (book 3, May 2, 2017)
4. A Court of Frost and Starlight (book 4, May 1, 2018)
5. A Court of Silver Flames (book 5, February 16, 2021)
6. A Court of Splintered Harmony (book 6, October 27, 2026)
7. A Court of Forgotten Melody (book 7, January 12, 2027)

Dates are first US publication. The order matches Maas's own reading guide, which lists "each of sarah j. maas's series in the order they were published".

Key Takeaways

• Order: publication order is the reading order. There is no prequel and no separate chronological order.
• Count: five books out; Goodreads counts 7 primary works now that books 6 and 7 are listed.
• Book 4 is the short one: A Court of Frost and Starlight runs 240 pages in its first edition, against 640 to 768 for the books around it.
• Next: A Court of Splintered Harmony, October 27, 2026. A Court of Forgotten Melody follows on January 12, 2027.
• Spice rises: from 3 out of 5 in book 1 to 5 out of 5 in A Court of Silver Flames, using Common Sense Media's published notes.

Overview: what the ACOTAR series is

A Court of Thorns and Roses is Sarah J. Maas's fantasy romance series, published by Bloomsbury since May 5, 2015. It "follows the journey of 19-year-old feyre archeron after she is brought into the faerie lands of prythian", in Wikipedia's summary. Maas's reading guide describes the series as following Feyre "as she is swept into the beautiful and dangerous world of the fae".

Maas writes three series. Her guide says you can start with the first book in any of the three. ACOTAR does not depend on Throne of Glass or Crescent City to make sense. The question of whether to read Crescent City only comes up later, and we cover it below.

The ACOTAR reading order has one quirk. Most readers know the first three books as a trilogy, then meet a much shorter fourth book. Goodreads numbers A Court of Frost and Starlight as book 4 and A Court of Silver Flames as book 5. Maas's site lists them in that order too.

Image: FaeShelf table built from Wikipedia, Goodreads and sarahjmaas.com, checked October 10, 2026

Step-by-Step: how to read the ACOTAR series in order

Each step gives the first US publication date, the first-edition page count from Wikipedia's series table, the Goodreads average with the date we checked it, and the spice level where a source describes the sex content.

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses. May 5, 2015, 432 pages. Goodreads average 4.14 from about 4.63 million ratings (October 10, 2026). Common Sense Media rates it 16+ and says "though the heated descriptions are usually more titillating than graphic, sex is a big part of the story". We place that at 3 out of 5.

2. A Court of Mist and Fury. May 3, 2016, 640 pages. Goodreads average 4.63 from about 3.51 million ratings, the highest in the series. Common Sense Media rates it 17+ and counts "several vivid, prolonged, explicit sex scenes". Spice: 4 out of 5.

3. A Court of Wings and Ruin. May 2, 2017, 720 pages. Goodreads average 4.46 from about 2.97 million ratings. Spice: not rated, since we found no review describing its scenes clearly enough to place it.

4. A Court of Frost and Starlight. May 1, 2018, 240 pages. Goodreads average 3.70. It is set while "feyre, rhysand, and their friends are still busy rebuilding the night court", after the events of book 3. Read it fourth, in its numbered place. Spice: not rated.

5. A Court of Silver Flames. February 16, 2021, 768 pages. Goodreads average 4.45 from about 2.32 million ratings. Common Sense Media rates it 17+ and describes "many lengthy, detailed, hot sex scenes". Spice: 5 out of 5.

6. A Court of Splintered Harmony. October 27, 2026. Goodreads lists a 352-page hardcover. The blurb opens "what was broken will be remade" and warns that "koschei the deathless is stirring".

7. A Court of Forgotten Melody. January 12, 2027. Goodreads lists an 896-page hardcover, which would make it the longest book in the series. Its blurb says "prythian might never be the same again" and that "traditional alliances are crumbling".

Cover image: Bloomsbury, via Open Library

GODEEPER: Want ACOTAR's heat level book by book, plus eight fae reads for the wait until October 27? Books Like ACOTAR: 8 Fae Romantasy Picks Before ACOTAR 6 →

ACOTAR reading order with Crescent City

You do not need Crescent City to follow ACOTAR, but it is the most common add-on, and the timing question matters now. Crescent City is Maas's urban fantasy series that "follows half-human, half-fae bryce quinlan". Its three books are House of Earth and Blood (March 3, 2020), House of Sky and Breath (February 15, 2022) and House of Flame and Shadow (January 30, 2024).

The publisher's advice runs one way. Bloomsbury, quoted by TODAY, says "you may find the 'crescent city' reading experience more rewarding if you pick up the 'court of thorns and roses' series first". So if you read both, ACOTAR comes first.

Readers argue about the other direction: whether to finish Crescent City before ACOTAR 6. In an August 20, 2026 r/acotar thread asking exactly that, one reader answered "CC over throne of glass for sure". Another gave the most balanced reply:

That comment says "it's unlikely that you literally need to read anything outside of the main acotar series to be able to get into the new books", and then recommends both other series anyway for context. That matches the sources we can check: neither Maas nor Bloomsbury calls Crescent City required.

Our suggestion, based on those sources and the dates: if you have read all five ACOTAR books and have time before October 27, read the three Crescent City books in order. If you are starting ACOTAR now, read the five ACOTAR books first and decide afterwards.

Tips for following the ACOTAR reading order

• Do not skip book 4. A Court of Frost and Starlight is short, and Goodreads readers rate it lowest (3.70), but it is numbered and sits between books 3 and 5 in Maas's own list.
• Expect the heat to rise. Common Sense Media rates book 1 at 16+ and books 2 and 5 at 17+. If you prefer less explicit romance, our spice scale explains how we place these.
• Mind the edition you buy. Bloomsbury reissued the series with new covers in 2020. The covers on this page are those reissues. The text and order are the same.
• Throne of Glass is separate. It is an eight-book series. Maas says you can start with any of her series, so treat it as optional.
• Book 7 is long. At 896 listed pages, A Court of Forgotten Melody is longer than any earlier book, so plan your reading time for January 2027.

What's next after A Court of Silver Flames

Cover image: Bloomsbury, via Open Library

A Court of Splintered Harmony is the next book, out October 27, 2026. Its listed blurb sets up a new threat, Koschei the Deathless, whose return "spreads across the fae territories", and A Court of Forgotten Melody continues the same story on January 12, 2027. Maas's site posted the two dates on March 5, 2026, after revealing them on the Call Her Daddy podcast.

Both books are pre-orders as of October 10, 2026. Goodreads shows early averages from readers who rated before release, which are not reviews of the finished books, so we leave them out.

GODEEPER: Tracking more than one series? Our hub has the order, next-book dates and status for the biggest romantasy series. Romantasy Series Reading Order Guide →

Our take

This take uses only the sources cited above. The ACOTAR reading order itself is simple: publication order, with the short fourth book kept in its numbered place. The real decision in October 2026 is Crescent City. The publisher says ACOTAR first, the author says start anywhere, and readers in r/acotar lean toward finishing Crescent City before book 6. With October 27 about two and a half weeks away, a reader who has finished ACOTAR still has time to start Crescent City. We will update this page if Bloomsbury or Maas adds a reading note for the new books.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ACOTAR reading order? Read A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), A Court of Mist and Fury (2016), A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017), A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018) and A Court of Silver Flames (2021), then A Court of Splintered Harmony on October 27, 2026 and A Court of Forgotten Melody on January 12, 2027.

Where does A Court of Frost and Starlight go? Fourth, between A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Silver Flames. Goodreads numbers it book 4 and Sarah J. Maas's reading guide lists it in that spot. It is the short one, 240 pages in its first edition, set while Feyre, Rhysand and their friends rebuild the Night Court.

How many ACOTAR books are there? Five are out and two more have dates, so Goodreads counts 7 primary works as of October 10, 2026. A Court of Splintered Harmony comes out October 27, 2026 and A Court of Forgotten Melody on January 12, 2027, according to Sarah J. Maas's website.

Do I need to read Crescent City before ACOTAR 6? Not strictly. Sarah J. Maas says you can start with any of her series. Bloomsbury, quoted by TODAY, says Crescent City may be more rewarding after ACOTAR, and many r/acotar readers suggest finishing Crescent City before the new books. Neither calls it required.

When does ACOTAR 6 come out? A Court of Splintered Harmony comes out October 27, 2026. Sarah J. Maas's site lists the date and Goodreads shows a 352-page hardcover. The dates for books 6 and 7 were revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast, according to a March 5, 2026 post on her site.

Is Throne of Glass part of the ACOTAR reading order? No. Throne of Glass is a separate eight-book Sarah J. Maas series, and her reading guide says you can begin with the first book of any series. Some readers read it before the new ACOTAR books for background, but neither the author nor Bloomsbury says it is required.

Related Reading

• Completed romantasy series: finished series with no wait for the next book.
• Romantasy tropes guide: fated mates, fae courts and the other tropes ACOTAR made famous, with examples.
• Best romantasy books of 2026: this year's releases ranked from dated Goodreads data.

References

• Sarah J. Maas: official site (ACOTAR 6 and 7 dates)
• Sarah J. Maas: reading guide
• Sarah J. Maas: ACOTAR 6 and 7 dates news post
• Goodreads: A Court of Thorns and Roses series (checked October 10, 2026)
• Goodreads: A Court of Mist and Fury
• Goodreads: A Court of Frost and Starlight
• Goodreads: A Court of Splintered Harmony
• Goodreads: A Court of Forgotten Melody
• Wikipedia: A Court of Thorns and Roses (series)
• Wikipedia: Crescent City (series)
• TODAY: How to read Sarah J. Maas's books in order
• Common Sense Media: A Court of Thorns and Roses
• Common Sense Media: A Court of Mist and Fury
• Common Sense Media: A Court of Silver Flames
• r/acotar: reading Crescent City or Throne of Glass before the new books