What to Read After ACOTAR

Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses is the series most people credit with bringing them into romantasy. If you’ve finished ACOTAR — or even just the first book — and you’re wondering what to read next, you’re in the right place.

This list is ordered by how closely each series matches ACOTAR’s specific appeal: the fae world, the forbidden romance, the explicit content, the slow burn, the emotional devastation.

More Sarah J. Maas First

If you haven’t already read everything by Maas herself, start there.

Throne of Glass — her earlier series, less explicit but with stronger plot architecture. A female assassin, a royal court, a slow-burn romance that spans eight books.

Crescent City — her most recent series, set in a modern urban fantasy world with fae, angels, and demons. More explicit than ACOTAR, faster-paced, and deeply interconnected with her other series by the end.

The full ACOTAR reading order covers all three Maas series and how they connect.

The Closest Match: Fae Romantasy

The Folk of the Air (Holly Black) — the series that arguably established many of ACOTAR’s tropes, with a mortal girl navigating fae court politics and a deeply complicated enemies-to-lovers dynamic. Less explicit but tonally similar.

Moonfall (Sarah A. Parker) — fae world, slow burn, emotionally intense. A newer series that’s been picking up significant BookTok attention for hitting similar notes to ACOTAR.

Forbidden Romance and Dark Worlds

From Blood and Ash (Jennifer L. Armentrout) — the other essential BookTok romantasy. The Maiden and her forbidden guard. An enormous slow burn across the first book, with explicit content from Book 2 onwards and a world that deepens substantially across the series.

Crowns of Nyaxia (Carissa Broadbent) — dark romantasy set in a vampire world with political intrigue and an enemies-to-lovers romance. More gothic than ACOTAR but hits the same emotional beats: dangerous love interest, high stakes, devastating moments.

Comparable Romantic Intensity

Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros) — dragon riders, a war college setting, enemies-to-lovers with a male love interest carrying secrets. Explicit from early on. One of the fastest-selling fantasy novels of recent years and an easy recommendation for ACOTAR readers. Full Empyrean reading order

For Readers Who Want Less Romance, More World

Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo) — heist fantasy set in the Grishaverse. Less romance-forward than ACOTAR but with the same quality of character work, slow-burn tension, and intricate plotting. If the world-building of ACOTAR was what gripped you more than the romance, start here.

The Stormlight Archive (Brandon Sanderson) — epic fantasy on a massive scale. If you loved the lore of ACOTAR — the mythology, the courts, the rules of magic — Sanderson’s world-building is unmatched. Less romance, more everything else.

The Short Answer

If you want the most similar experience to ACOTAR: Folk of the Air for the fae politics, From Blood and Ash for the slow-burn forbidden romance, Crowns of Nyaxia for the dark intensity.

If you want to stay in the Sarah J. Maas universe: Throne of Glass first (earlier, more plot-focused), then Crescent City (more recent, more interconnected).

If you’re looking for the series that’s dominating BookTok right now alongside ACOTAR: Fourth Wing.