While highly adored by many, the fantasy book series A Court of Thorns and Roses often gets reduced to its sexual scenes, garnering unfair nicknames like “fairy porn” or “fantasy smut.” But real fans know this is not the case. Throughout all five books so far, intimacy has played a pivotal role in deepening connections and developing characters.
Author Sarah J. Mass herself even spoke on this with Alex Cooper on her Call Her Daddy podcast on March 4. “When a lot of people hear that I write fantasy, as much as I love my steamy, sexy, hot scenes, this dismissal of ‘smut’ where I’m like, ‘Yeah, I write smut I love it, but that’s not what my fans come up to me to talk about… They tell me how they left their abusive husbands after they read A Court of Mist and Fury.”
“The sex sometimes is tied to the plot,” Maas continued. “Like [A Court of] Silver Flames for example, like Nesta and Cassian, they’re having hot sex and bodily fluids are flying everywhere, but it is intensely tied to their own emotional journeys and their own journey as a couple.”
Even though her fans love both the serious and the smut, Maas also talked about the awkwardness that comes with having family read her work. “My mother-in-law has grilled me and been like, ‘Are the sex scenes in this inspired by you and Josh?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, when I’m f*cking your son I’m writing down notes, would you like me to describe everything to you, Linda?’”
Maas didn’t just use her time with Cooper to clarify her intentions and joke about some of the consequences of writing sex scenes. She made a big announcement that the sixth and seventh books in her A Court of Thorns and Roses series are on the way, and will be available on bookshelves in October 2026 and January 2027, respectively. In anticipation of Maas next release, let’s revisit some of the best sex scenes in ACOTAR so far.
- A Court of Mist and Fury Chapter 48: Rhys’s Wings
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When creating the elaborate faerie realm of Prythian, Maas did more than just world building. She also invented body parts, some of which are highly sensitive. In this scene, Feyre and Rhysand are spending the night together in the Inn at the Court of Nightmares and Feyre gets to intimately explore the unchartered territory of Rhys and his wings. Rhysand’s loud reaction to being touched this way results in a steamy, unforgettable early moment between the soon-to-be mated couple.
- A Court of Mist and Fury Chapter 42: Feyre As Rhysand’s Pet
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ACOTAR is not immune to romance tropes like fake dating. Before Feyre knows that he is her mate, her performance as Rhysand’s “pet” at the Night Court is nothing more than that. In a scandalous outfit that looks more like two sheets, Feyre hangs on Rhysand to distract the court while Azriel steals the orb. Feyre realizes she may not be pretending, and Rhysand’s caresses might mean more to her than she realized.
- A Court of Silver Flames Chapter 41: Cassian & Nesta
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After a long day of training, what better to unwind than in the bedroom? Cassian continues to instruct Nesta long after their session is over. He commands, “Put your hands on the headboard.” She complies. “Hold on tight,” he says. And the ACOTAR fans went wild.
- A Court of Silver Flames Chapter 26: Dining Room Romp
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Steamy scenes don’t just take place in the bedroom. If you’re Cassian and Nesta, they take place in the dining room. After a difficult day, Nesta decides to cheer Cassian up by pleasuring him. “He didn’t care that they were in the dining room, that a wall of windows and doors lined half the space and anyone flying by might see,” the book reads. That is, until Azriel joined them for dinner and had to sit in the same seat where Cassian recently unleashed himself.
- A Court of Frost and Starlight Chapter 22: Daemati Powers
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Maas takes relationship bonds to a new level with physical mating bonds that snap into place. These deep, inextricable connections call for all new kinds of exploration in the bedroom, where Feyre and Rhysand get to watch themselves having sex using daemati power. “He purred, ‘Look at how I f**ck you Feyre.’ Gods was my only answer.”
- A Court of Wings and Ruin Chapter 39: War Sex
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In the midst of a war against Hybern, Feyre and Rhysand find a moment of privacy to console each other. Their intimacy is not just physical, but also deeply emotional. The lovers are learning to cope with the surrounding death, mass destruction, and overall trauma of the war.
- A Court of Thorns and Roses Chapter 27: Tamlin & Feyre
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Even though by the end of the first five books, no one is still rooting for Tamlin and Feyre, it’s important to remember where we started. Tamlin takes “beast mode” and “tearing clothes off” a little too literally when he shreds Feyre’s garments off with his sharp talons in his animalistic form. For those who like it wild and dangerous, Tamlin is the one for you.