Spending time around readers at UCLA, I’ve heard nonstop talk about A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR). Not only is its popularity circulating around campus, but it’s also being praised on TikTok, Instagram, and every other social media platform. What I don’t hear as often is people talking about Throne of Glass (TOG), which is easily one of the best series I’ve ever read.
ACOTAR is a great entry point into Sarah J. Maas’s writing. The series is shorter, faster-paced, and easier to get into, making it an ideal introduction for new readers. Alternatively, TOG is where Maas’s storytelling really expands. The series is eight books long, layered with details that build over time. If ACOTAR pulls you in with romance and its addictive flow, TOG keeps you invested through its world-building, character development, and how each book builds in intensity.
TOG begins with Throne of Glass (2012) and follows Celaena Sardothien, an assassin with a complicated and mysterious past. From there, the series continues with Crown of Midnight (2013), The Assassin’s Blade (2014), Heir of Fire (2014), Queen of Shadows (2015), Empire of Storms (2016), Tower of Dawn (2017), and Kingdom of Ash (2018). Since the series began in 2012, there were three years before A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), the first book in the ACOTAR series, was published. Maas then continued both series side by side, and in many ways, TOG was where she built the foundation for the kind of storytelling that defines her work.
As Maas’s writing evolved, ACOTAR arrived with a more romance-forward and streamlined energy. The series took off quickly, with an exciting presence on social media platforms, but this popularity didn’t appear out of nowhere. TOG helped build the audience that now shows up for ACOTAR. In that sense, TOG walked so ACOTAR could run. It laid the groundwork of Maas’s rise in modern fantasy readership, especially among younger audiences who dominate online book spaces.
Even now, TOG feels like the more expansive experience. While ACOTAR is celebrated for its romance-driven appeal and emotional pull, TOG balances romance with a broader fantasy structure that rewards readers that want depth, complexity, and a long, growing story.
At the end of the day, Throne of Glass is a series I absolutely adore. It’s long, detailed, and takes longer to get through, but I was and remain obsessed. The story builds and connects in a way that really stuck with me, and I will always recommend it to fantasy-loving readers. ACOTAR might be what everyone is talking about right now, but TOG is the most rewarding series Sarah J. Maas has written, and it is absolutely worth picking up next.