Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J. Maas was born in New York City in 1986 and began writing what became Throne of Glass at sixteen, posting chapters of it, then titled Queen of Glass, on FictionPress.com. She graduated from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in creative writing; Bloomsbury bought the novel in March 2010 and published it in August 2012. The series follows Celaena Sardothien, a teenage assassin, across eight books ending with Kingdom of Ash.

A Court of Thorns and Roses was first planned as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and Tam Lin. It follows 19-year-old Feyre Archeron into the faerie lands of Prythian, and the original trilogy was later extended with A Court of Frost and Starlight and A Court of Silver Flames (2021). Her third series, Crescent City, follows Bryce Quinlan, who is half-Fae and half-human, through House of Earth and Blood (2020), House of Sky and Breath (2022) and House of Flame and Shadow (2024), with a fourth book planned. Her books have been translated into 40 languages.

Most new readers should start with A Court of Thorns and Roses rather than Throne of Glass. ACOTAR's first three books form the original trilogy, so it is a smaller commitment. Throne of Glass was begun when Maas was a teenager and runs eight books, a long road for a first taste.

If ACOTAR works for you, finish its five books, then take on Throne of Glass, ideally in the publication order BookList4u uses. Save Crescent City for last, after you know her other two series; its fourth book has not yet been published.