The wait is finally over for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses – the romantasy franchise author Sarah J. Maas has announced that two new books are set to be released after more than five years.
The books follow 19-year-old Feyre Archeron after she’s taken to the faerie land of Prythian by an immortal being. While the first novel, A Court of Thorns and Roses, was published in 2015, the series has become a global phenomenon over the last few years – putting them on track to be the next Harry Potter.
Fans have been waiting since the 2021 release of A Court of Silver Flames for a new ACOTAR novel, but they won’t have to wait much longer, with Maas revealing that book six will arrive in October.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday (4 March), Maas said that the seventh book would follow in January and that both were “a long time coming”.
“It took me a while to find the right story and find the right headspace,” she said. “What poured out of me was this, and it poured out of me very quickly.”
While Maas has revealed little about what the books will entail, her publisher Bloomsbury Publishing confirmed that there’s more “romance, danger and intrigue” for fans.
The franchise has sold 38 million novels since landing on our shelves over 11 years ago – having become a huge hit on BookTok. The TikTok community of book lovers has championed the novels, which set raunchy love stories against a fantasy background, establishing Maas as one of Bloomsbury’s most successful authors.
One of those romantasy fans is Amy Ashman Carter, also known as GeminiBookish on TikTok. A booktoker with almost one million likes on her content, the 27-year-old has been waiting nearly five years for more ACOTAR.
“I’m really excited,” she told The Independent. “I’m holding out hope that there will be surprise crossover characters from [Maas’ other franchises] Throne of Glass and Crescent City as there were ACOTAR characters in the last Crescent City book.
“It will be interesting to see the story that consumed her and had to spill out into two books – and what this means for the SJM universe.”
Amber-Rose Cooper, known as Ambs Reads on the app, said that the new books are likely to revive midnight release parties – late-night events in bookshops where fans celebrate a new release hitting the shelves.
“I cannot wait for all the hype surrounding these new releases, I think she’s got a whole generation into reading and the excitement has been building exponentially,” she told The Independent.
“I think fans have gone slightly insane waiting for the next instalment of this series. I’m really looking forward to some of the more outlandish theories finally being put to bed. She’s taken half a decade to continue with this story and I cannot wait to see what she’s cooked up next.”
Ashman Carter, who has been a fan of the books for over 10 years, added that the series has been “a good stepping stone into fantasy” for those who grew up on books like Twilight.
“It has the same bingeable quality as books we grew up with, like The Hunger Games and Divergent, but in a more adult setting,” she said. “The way SJM writes is totally addictive and unputdownable. It’s reached that level of popularity where it’s hard to take a train or sit on a beach without seeing one of her books in someone’s hand.
“It’s always fun when a fantasy book becomes so big with different genre readers and even people who don’t consider themselves readers. I think ACOTAR has brought a lot of people together.”
The fantasy and romantasy genres have boomed in sales over the last few years, with sales rocketing by 41.3 percent between 2023 and 2024. Cooper said that many fans turn to the book for an escape amid global conflicts and political uncertainty.
“There’s so much going on in the world at the minute and I think it’s great to have something to look forward to right now,” she added. “Fantasy books provide such a needed place to rest your head when you need it most and this world is so beloved by so many.”
A Court of Thornes and Roses 6 will be released on 27 October this year, while A Court of Thornes and Roses 7 arrives on 12 January.
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