What Order Should You Read SJM Books?

If you are on booktok, bookstagram, or booktube, you have most likely heard of the well-known series A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J Maas.

This popular book series was first published on May 5th, 2015. Although this particular series didn’t reach fame until the rise of booktok, where news of hot bat boys spread like wildfire.

It wasn’t until the release of A House of Sky And Breath (HOSAB), the second book in the Crescent City series, that the order of Sarah J Maas’s different book series came into question.

In total, Maas has three series. Throne of Glass (TOG), A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City (CC). TOG is her first-ever published series, her debut, consists of eight books with a minimum page count of 300 and a max page count of 900. Classifying as Young Adult, people reading it will be disappointed with the lack of spice but astonished by the well-written characters, plot, depth, and overall consistency and immersiveness.

ACOTAR starts off as YA but then makes this rocky transition to Adult which affects the writing somewhat, but people flock to this series for (as mentioned above) the “hot bat boys” and the amount of spice in this series. ACOTAR also is the lynchpin between CC and TOG, and although ACOTOR was SJM’s second series released, it makes sense to read it first.

CC is SJM’s newest and ongoing series and is a vastly different style of writing than her previous two series. SJM introduces modern technology as well as magic, thus making this series classify as urban fantasy, and leans hard into the Adult genre. Tempting the balance between plot and spice, this series ties all of them together with a simple sentence at the end of HOSAB. So that solidifies CC as the last series.

Which leaves TOG to second. But why?

While ACOTAR is still ongoing, its theology is alluded to in TOG. Similarities can also be found between the two, maybe even between all of them. ACOTAR is the starting point, as nothing from TOG (theology/history-wise) can be found. TOG, is, therefore, after, or second. These three series are telling different parts of the same overall story. Think something like Marvel and their movie “Endgame”. Each character has their own plot and history but there is overlapping between the movies that allude to a much bigger conflict.

Now that the series is in order, in what order should you read the books?

ACOTAR and CC are pretty simple, and it’s just the publication order.

However, TOG is a different story.

Literally and figuratively. Instead of starting out with the prequel, Assassin’s Blade, the starting book is the first book, Throne of Glass. Make sure you read Assassin’s Blade before you read Queen of Shadows, so anytime between TOG, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire.

After finishing Queen of Shadows, it is recommended to tandem read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn, because (as someone who DIDN’T do that) if you don’t tandem read Tower of Dawn, you’re not going to want to read it. Of course, everyone is different, but the majority agrees.

Of course, if you are reading for entertainment purposes and don't want to be invested in this 15-book overall multi-universe thing, the reading order doesn't matter. Ultimately, it is still up to you, the reader, on how you might want to experience the series. Each one is geared toward different audiences, and you do not need to read one in order to understand the other. This is for the people who overanalyze, the theorists, and the die-hard SJM fans.