Romantasy Series Guide 2026: Reading Order, Spice and Status

A romantasy series is a bigger commitment than a single book, so this guide answers three questions for each one: what order to read it in, whether it is finished, and how explicit it gets. Every count, date and spice note below comes from the publisher, the author's site, Goodreads or Common Sense Media, checked October 9, 2026. Each section links to a full FaeShelf guide.

TL;DR: Want a finished series? Throne of Glass, The Folk of the Air, Serpent & Dove and five more have ended, per their publishers. Following a big ongoing one? ACOTAR 6 is out October 27, 2026; Empyrean book four has no date. Spice runs from 1/5 (The Cruel Prince, Throne of Glass book 1) to 5/5 (A Court of Silver Flames, Quicksilver).

Romantasy series at a glance (quick answer)

Image: FaeShelf table built from publisher pages, author sites, Goodreads and Common Sense Media, checked October 9, 2026

"Not stated" means neither the publisher nor the author has said the series is over, and no next book has a date. We do not guess either way.

Key Takeaways

• Finished, per the publisher: The Folk of the Air, Letters of Enchantment, Kingdom of the Wicked, Serpent & Dove, Saga of the Unfated. Throne of Glass ended in October 2018.
• Next big dates: ACOTAR 6 on October 27, 2026 and ACOTAR 7 on January 12, 2027 (sarahjmaas.com).
• Empyrean: three novels plus Threshing Day; Yarros is writing book four, no date yet.
• Spice: we place each series on the FaeShelf spice scale from Common Sense Media's notes, book 1 first, because heat often rises later in a series.

Overview: how we check a romantasy series

Series pages on Goodreads count "primary works", the main numbered books. We use that count, or the author's own reading guide where there is one, and we name novellas separately. "Finished" needs a source that says so: a publisher page calling the last book the "conclusion" or "finale", or Common Sense Media saying a book ends the trilogy. Release dates come from the author or publisher; a Goodreads "expected publication" year is labelled as such.

Spice is the hardest part to source. romance.io blocked our checks, so placements here come from Common Sense Media (CSM), which rates "sex, romance & nudity" for each book with a short description. We quote that description and then place it on our 0 to 5 scale. CSM reviews book by book, so some series only have a rating for book 1, and we say so.

Readers ask whether a romantasy series is finished before anything else. In a September 2026 r/fantasyromance thread on finished series, one commenter wrote: "At this point "completed series" is basically a genre I search for." That is why status sits next to reading order in every guide below.

Reading Order Guides

The Empyrean (Rebecca Yarros). Read Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm, then Threshing Day. Hachette UK says: "the empyrean series is best read in order: fourth wing iron flame onyx storm", and that Threshing Day is "best read after onyx storm" because of spoilers. Fourth Wing was first published May 2, 2023 (517 pages), Iron Flame November 7, 2023 (623 pages) and Onyx Storm January 21, 2025 (544 pages). Threshing Day is a collection of thirteen stories, on sale September 29, 2026 in the UK; Goodreads lists it as Empyrean #3.5 with 224 pages.

Readers lean the same way. In a July 2026 r/fourthwing thread about the order of the stories inside Threshing Day, the top answer was to read them as printed:

The comment reads: "Im personally gonna read them in order, since there could be details mentioned in the first few that come into play later on."

GODEEPER: Finished the Empyrean and waiting on book four? These picks are sorted by what you loved: dragons, deadly trials or enemies to lovers. Books Like Fourth Wing: 9 Picks Sorted by What You Loved →

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas). Five books are out, in publication order, starting with A Court of Thorns and Roses (first published May 5, 2015) and ending, for now, with A Court of Silver Flames (book 5, February 16, 2021). Maas's own reading guide says it follows Feyre "as she is swept into the beautiful and dangerous world of the fae", and that "you can start with the first book in any of the three series".

Throne of Glass (Sarah J. Maas). The author's list runs Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, The Assassin's Blade, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn, Kingdom of Ash. The Assassin's Blade is a prequel collection placed third on her list. Wikipedia notes the series "concluded with the eighth book in october 2018".

Cover image: Bloomsbury, via Open Library

The Folk of the Air (Holly Black). The Cruel Prince (2018), The Wicked King (2019), The Queen of Nothing (2019). Hachette calls the last one the "jaw-dropping finale to the folk of the air trilogy".

Letters of Enchantment (Rebecca Ross). Divine Rivals, then Ruthless Vows, which Macmillan calls "the epic conclusion" to the story that started in Divine Rivals. Ruthless Vows went on sale December 26, 2023.

Blood and Ash (Jennifer L. Armentrout). Goodreads counts seven primary works, starting with From Blood and Ash (first published March 29, 2020) and, so far, ending with The Primal of Blood and Bone in 2025. Start with book 1; the series follows "a maiden… chosen from birth" in its opening book.

Cover image: Blue Box Press, via Open Library

• Empyrean Series Order: 3 Novels, Threshing Day and Book 4: the full Empyrean order with page counts, Threshing Day and book four status.
• Completed Romantasy Series: 8 Finished Series to Binge Now: eight finished series with years, book counts and spice for the first and last book.

Spice Levels and Content Notes

Here is how each romantasy series compares on the FaeShelf scale, with the Common Sense Media wording behind each placement.

Two patterns stand out across these romantasy series. Heat rises inside a series: ACOTAR goes from 3/5 in book 1 to 5/5 in A Court of Silver Flames, and CSM moves the age from 16+ to 17+. Ratings for a first book do not cover the rest. Second, a YA-friendly opener can end higher: Common Sense Media rates Fearless, the third Powerless book, as "some" sex, but adds that the encounter is "not described beyond undressing".

Content notes are separate from spice. Rebecca Yarros lists hers on each book page, including "sexual activities that are shown on the page" and "intense violence". Use those before a darker series; they say more than any number.

• Onyx Storm Spice Level: 4/5, With Sources and Content Notes: book-by-book Empyrean spice with Common Sense Media's notes and the author's content warnings.

Release Dates and Upcoming Books

Image: FaeShelf table built from Hachette UK, sarahjmaas.com, rebeccayarros.com, Goodreads and Marie Claire, checked October 9, 2026

ACOTAR 6 and 7. Sarah J. Maas's site lists "a court of splintered harmony - out oct 27th 2026" and "a court of forgotten melody - out jan 12th 2027". These are the next two books in the series, the first since 2021.

Empyrean book four. Rebecca Yarros said in July 2026 she was writing it, and she has said "i think this is a five-book series". Marie Claire reports that "as for books four and five, their names and release dates are still unknown". A Fourth Wing graphic novel, volume 1, is due April 6, 2027, "adapted by rebecca yarros herself". Prime Video has ordered a Fourth Wing series, with Lisa Joy directing the first episode (order announced May 11, 2026).

GODEEPER: Two ACOTAR books are coming. Here is fae romantasy to read in the meantime, with spice from Common Sense Media. Books Like ACOTAR: 8 Fae Romantasy Picks Before ACOTAR 6 →

Fae & Alchemy book 3. Callie Hart's series has Quicksilver and Brimstone out; Goodreads lists book 3 as "expected publication 2027", with no title or day.

The Crucible book 3. Abigail Owen's The Wrath Gods Reap is listed on Goodreads as "expected publication 2026", and the listing calls it the "thrilling conclusion".

For everything published so far this year, see our ranking of 2026 romantasy releases below.

• Best Romantasy Books 2026: The 10 Most-Read New Releases: this year's releases ranked by Goodreads ratings, with dates and series status.

Finished romantasy series

If you would rather not wait, these romantasy series have ended according to their publishers or a named source:

• Throne of Glass: eight books, concluded October 2018 (Wikipedia; Maas's list ends with Kingdom of Ash).
• The Folk of the Air: three books, finale per Hachette.
• Letters of Enchantment: a duology; Macmillan calls Ruthless Vows "the epic conclusion".
• Kingdom of the Wicked: Hachette calls Kingdom of the Feared "the steamy conclusion" and suggests it for ages 16 and up.
• Serpent & Dove: HarperCollins calls Gods & Monsters "the electrifying conclusion".
• The Aurelian Cycle: CSM: "furysong is the last of the dragon-fantasy trilogy".
• The Powerless Trilogy: CSM calls Fearless the "end of mature romantasy trilogy".
• Saga of the Unfated: Penguin Random House calls A Curse Carved in Bone the "searing conclusion" of the duology (May 13, 2025).

Long-running romantasy series without a stated end are the opposite case. Blood and Ash has seven main books on Goodreads, Crowns of Nyaxia five (the fifth published in 2026), Lightlark four, and Moonfall two (The Ballad of Falling Dragons in 2026). None of them has a "final book" label from the publisher that we could find.

Analysis: what the series data shows

Three things come out of putting these romantasy series side by side.

First, "finished" is rarer than lists suggest. Only eight of the romantasy series here have a source that says they ended. Several of the most read, including ACOTAR, the Empyrean and Fae & Alchemy, are still going, and two of them have announced books inside the next year.

Second, the gap between books varies a lot. ACOTAR's fifth book came out in February 2021 and the sixth arrives October 27, 2026. The Empyrean released its three novels between May 2023 and January 2025, then a story collection in September 2026 while book four is written. If a long wait would bother you, check the table before you start.

Third, heat is a per-book question. CSM's ratings for ACOTAR climb from book 1 to book 5, and the Empyrean holds at "a lot" from book 1 to book 3. A rating on the first book is a floor, not a summary of the series.

Our take

This take is based only on the publisher pages, author sites, Goodreads data and Common Sense Media reviews cited above. If you want a romantasy series with an ending in hand, start with The Folk of the Air for low heat or Serpent & Dove for one explicit scene; both are finished and both publishers say so. If you want the big current conversation, the Empyrean is the one to read in order now, with Threshing Day after Onyx Storm, but expect to wait for book four. ACOTAR readers have two books on the way within three months. The weak spot is spice for later books: CSM has not reviewed every volume, so for several series we can only place book 1.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which romantasy series are finished? Throne of Glass, The Folk of the Air, Letters of Enchantment, Kingdom of the Wicked, Serpent & Dove, The Aurelian Cycle, The Powerless Trilogy and Saga of the Unfated are finished. Each publisher, or Common Sense Media, calls the last book the conclusion, finale or end of the series.

What order should I read the Empyrean series in? Read Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm, then the story collection Threshing Day. The UK publisher, Hachette, says the series is best read in that order, and that Threshing Day is best read after Onyx Storm because it contains spoilers for the third novel.

When does ACOTAR 6 come out? A Court of Splintered Harmony, the sixth A Court of Thorns and Roses book, is out October 27, 2026, according to Sarah J. Maas's website. The seventh book, A Court of Forgotten Melody, follows on January 12, 2027. They are the first new ACOTAR novels since February 2021.

Which romantasy series has the least spice? Of the series in this guide, Common Sense Media gives the lowest sex ratings to The Cruel Prince, Divine Rivals, Throne of Glass and Fireborne, each rated "a little". That is 1 out of 5 on the FaeShelf scale: kisses and tension, with nothing explicit on the page.

Is the Empyrean series finished? No. Rebecca Yarros said in July 2026 that she is writing book four, and she has described the Empyrean as a five-book series. Marie Claire reports that the titles and release dates of books four and five are still unknown, so there is no date to plan around yet.

Related Reading

• Romantasy tropes guide: every trope list on FaeShelf, from enemies to lovers to monster romance.
• Romantasy books like guide: read-alikes for Fourth Wing, ACOTAR and more.
• Monster romance books: six fantasy monster romances, ordered from gentlest to darkest.

References

• Hachette UK: Threshing Day
• Marie Claire: Empyrean series, everything to know
• Rebecca Yarros: coming soon
• Rebecca Yarros: Iron Flame content notes
• Sarah J. Maas: official site (ACOTAR 6 and 7 dates)
• Sarah J. Maas: reading guide
• Hachette: The Queen of Nothing
• Macmillan: Ruthless Vows
• Hachette: Kingdom of the Feared
• HarperCollins: Gods & Monsters
• Penguin Random House: A Curse Carved in Bone
• Common Sense Media: Fourth Wing
• Common Sense Media: A Court of Thorns and Roses
• Common Sense Media: Quicksilver
• Goodreads: Fae & Alchemy series (checked October 9, 2026)
• Goodreads: The Crucible series
• Wikipedia: Throne of Glass
• About Amazon: Prime Video series orders
• r/fourthwing: Threshing Day reading order
• r/fantasyromance: What is your favourite completed series?