Why you need to read Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series

A new installment in Sarah J. Maas’s bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series is heading our way next year, but now is the perfect time to jump into the world of Prythian.

A Court of Silver Flames, the next installment in bestselling author Sarah J. Maas’  A Court of Thorns and Roses series is headed our way in February. While fans are all over the moon about this, it’s worth noting that this latest book will be the first ACOTAR novel that does not focus on the series’ original heroine, Feyre. (Though we’ll all pretty sure she’ll at least make an appearance or two.)

This is exciting for a bunch of reasons, not the least of which being that Court of SIlver Flames will likely serve as a fresh entry point in the series for a bunch of brand new fans, likely drawn in by the success of her recent more contemporary fantasy Crescent City series. And as the first novel in the bunch to shift perspectives to a different set of characters from within the series’ universe, it also offers plenty of hope that there will be more to come in the future.

Maas herself has said there are three more novels in this series including Court of Silver Flames, but we don’t know if the remaining two will continue to focus on Nesta and Cassian or expand out to other characters from the series. (More on that in a minute.) But the first three books – four if you count the novella that is meant to bridge the two “sets” – are incredible in their own rights and are great examples of why Maas’ storytelling is addictive and compelling.

Here’s why you should give Maas’ ACOTAR series a try – and get excited for the arrival of A Court of Silver Flames next year.

It has an incredible heroine

Though A Court of Silver Flames will focus on her sister Nesta, Feyre Archeron is still a character you should get to know. One of the best things about Maas as a writer is her ability to craft complex, compelling heroines, and this series is no different, both in terms of its female lead and all the fantastic women who surround her.

Like her fellow Maas leading ladies Celaena Sardothien (Throne of Glass) and Bryce Quinlan (Crescent City), Feyre is brave, fiercely loyal, reckless, and willing to do anything for the people she cares about. When she kills a fairy wolf, her an ancient treaty demands a life for a life in payment for the one she took. Instead of death, however, she chooses to live the rest of her life across the Wall in the magical kingdom of Prythian – with the mysterious beast-like creature known as Tamlin.

Much of the first novel A Court of Thorns and Roses deals with Feyre’s adjustment to life in Prythian, and an explanation of rules surrounding the High Fae and the various Courts they rule. But her growth from the series’ first novel to the end of its fourth is incredible,

Its twisty plot and complicated characters arcs will constantly surprise you

The first novel in the series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, initially reads like your standard Beauty and the Beast retelling, just with fairies, seasonal royal courts full of magic, and complex politics. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to stay that you’ll find out fairly quickly that this series is so much more than that, and its plot and characters are far more complicated than they appear at first glance.

As the series continues you will find that there are few characters who exist entirely in a world of black and white. (And, yes, that includes Feyre herself.) As its world expands beyond the Spring Court that Tamlin rules in the second and third books, we learn that in Prythian, everyone must make difficult choices and live with the consequences of them – for both good and ill.

The character dynamics are incredible

Though Feyre is, technically, the focus of this story – or at least during the first three books – she’s also surrounded by a half dozen incredibly complicated, layered, and compelling supporting characters, all of whom have their own connections and histories with one another that exist separate and apart from her.

These relationships – from Lucien to Tamlin and Rhysand and back again – all provide a rich context to Feyre’s story, as well as the sense that this univers has a history that extends back well before her arrival.  And the ACOTAR series never forgets that – though you’ll be invested in how our main character integrates into this world, you’ll come to equally care about the people who were already in it, and how their friendships evolve over the course of the story. (Or devolve, as the case may be.)

We even get the chance to see Feyre’s human sisters presented as three dimensional women in their own right, with eventual narrative journeys of their own. (One of them will even become the focus of the

No matter who your favorites end up being, you’ll care about what happens to everyone in this story, both when they thrill and when they disappoint you.

The worldbuilding is complex and rich 

As a writer, Maas loves to drop readers into a fully formed universe – with rules, histories and traditions that we’re not yet aware of. Part of the experience of the story is figuring out how it all works, and the fact that it’s clear that every aspect of this world has been imagined down to the ground makes it all feel more rewarding in the end.

From the physical locations of the various courts within Prythian to the antagonistic relationships and genuine friendships between those that rule them, it certainly feels as though Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses world could be a real place, albeit one with magic and painfully beautiful, virtually immortal High Fae.

Have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses? Are you looking forward to the next installment in the series?