| What you loved | Best match | Why |
|---|---|---|
| More Maas immediately | Throne of Glass → ACOMAF | Same author, same energy, same world-building scale |
| Fae world + forbidden romance | The Cruel Prince | Holly Black — sharper prose, same political fae setting |
| Explicit romantasy, new world | Fourth Wing | Dragon riders, enemies-to-lovers, same audience |
| Forbidden love, slower burn | From Blood and Ash | Closest tonal twin to ACOTAR book 1 |
| Dark fae, quicker read | An Ember in the Ashes | Roman-inspired empire, dual POV, brutal romance |
More Sarah J. Maas — Read These Before Anything Else
A Court of Mist and Fury — Sarah J. Maas (2016)
If you finished ACOTAR and felt it was good but not world-changing, ACOMAF is why everyone is obsessed. The first book is Beauty and the Beast; the second is where Maas breaks her own premise wide open and introduces the Night Court, Velaris, and the most beloved romance in the series. Most readers consider it one of the best romantasy books ever written. Read it before anything else on this list.
Check price on Amazon →Throne of Glass — Sarah J. Maas (2012)
Celaena Sardothien is the world's greatest assassin, imprisoned in a salt mine, offered freedom if she wins a royal competition. The Throne of Glass series spans eight books and grows enormously in scope and darkness — early books are more YA in tone; later books are as explicit and violent as ACOTAR. The series is fully published and the ending is satisfying.
Check price on Amazon →A Court of Silver Flames — Sarah J. Maas (2021)
Nesta Archeron and Cassian — the most combustible pairing in the series — finally get their book. The most explicit in the series and the most grumpy/sunshine romance Maas has written. Fans divided on whether it's better or worse than ACOMAF; it is almost universally agreed to be among the best enemies-to-lovers romance books written. Requires reading books 1–3 first.
Check price on Amazon →Closest Alternatives — Same DNA
Fourth Wing — Rebecca Yarros (2023)
Dragon riders, forbidden romance, military academy, explicit content, enemies-to-lovers. Yarros built the book that ACOTAR fans were waiting for after running out of Maas — same energy, different world. The series has three books published (Iron Flame, Onyx Storm) with two more planned. The most commercially successful romantasy since ACOTAR.
Check price on Amazon →From Blood and Ash — Jennifer L. Armentrout (2020)
The Maiden — destined for the gods, forbidden from being touched — falls for the guard sworn to protect her. The forbidden romance structure and slow-burn physical tension are the closest equivalent to ACOTAR book 1 in any other series. Armentrout is the queen of the "I shouldn't want you but I can't help it" dynamic. Five-book series, all published.
Check price on Amazon →The Cruel Prince — Holly Black (2018)
A human girl raised in the fae world fights for a place among them — and enters a power game with the prince who despises her. Black's fae are more classically dangerous and capricious than Maas's, the prose is sharper, and the political scheming is more intricate. The enemies-to-lovers arc between Jude and Cardan is one of the most beloved in the genre. Three-book series, fully published. Slightly less explicit than ACOTAR.
Check price on Amazon →Kingdom of the Wicked — Kerri Maniscalco (2020)
Victorian Sicily. A girl makes a deal with the demon Wrath to find her twin sister's murderer. Maniscalco's demon love interest has the same morally grey, dangerous appeal as Rhysand in ACOMAF — powerful, terrifying, ultimately on the protagonist's side. The Italian historical setting is gorgeously realised. Three-book series.
Check price on Amazon →ACOTAR → ACOMAF → ACOWAR → ACOFAS (novella) → ACOSF. Do not skip ACOFAS — it bridges the series. A sixth book has been announced but has no release date as of 2026. The Crescent City series (House of Earth and Blood) is a separate Maas universe set in modern-day fantasy California.
More Fae and Fantasy Romance
An Ember in the Ashes — Sabaa Tahir (2015)
A slave girl and a soldier at a brutal military academy, alternating perspectives. Less explicit than ACOTAR but darker in its violence. The dual-POV format — where you understand both protagonists' impossible positions — is the same technique Maas uses to make you understand why the romance can't happen and why it must.
Check price on Amazon →A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas (2015)
If you're new to the series: a mortal huntress kills a wolf in the forest and is taken to the immortal fae lands by the beast she killed. Book one is slower than the rest of the series — many readers consider it the weakest entry — but it establishes the world and the initial Feyre/Tamlin dynamic that ACOMAF deconstructs. Don't judge the series by book one alone.
Check price on Amazon →House of Salt and Sorrows — Erin A. Craig (2019)
Twelve sisters on a cursed island, their siblings dying one by one, a mysterious stranger who appears at their secret midnight dances. Craig writes gothic romance with the same atmospheric sensuality as Maas's Spring Court scenes. Good bridge read for fans who want the fae aesthetic without the explicit content.
Check price on Amazon →A Shadow in the Ember — Jennifer L. Armentrout (2021)
The prequel series to From Blood and Ash — set thousands of years earlier, following Seraphena and the Primal of Death. More explicit than the main series, deeper worldbuilding. If you loved From Blood and Ash, this is the natural next step; if you loved ACOMAF specifically for expanding the world mid-series, Armentrout does the same here.
Check price on Amazon →Six of Crows — Leigh Bardugo (2015)
Less romance-focused than ACOTAR but with the same found-family dynamics and the same enemies-to-lovers tension between Kaz and Inej. The ensemble cast is the best in YA fantasy. If you loved the Night Court group dynamic more than the romance specifically, Six of Crows is the obvious next read.
Check price on Amazon →Frequently Asked Questions
How many ACOTAR books are there?
Five published: 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, novella), A Court of Silver Flames (2021). A sixth book has been announced but has no confirmed release date as of 2026.
Is ACOTAR appropriate for younger readers?
The series contains explicit sexual content from book 2 onwards. The author and publisher recommend it for readers 18+. Book 1 is the most accessible for younger teens — it reads more like standard YA — but the series becomes significantly more adult from ACOMAF. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black covers similar fae territory appropriately for readers 14+.