# A Court of Thorns and Roses - Work: Book series - Date: 2015– (5 books published; books 6 and 7 due Oct 2026 and Jan 2027) - Made by: Sarah J. Maas (Author) - Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/works/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/ > A human huntress kills a wolf and is carried off to the faerie realm of Prythian: Sarah J. Maas's series of High Fae courts and slow-burning romance became the engine of the romantasy boom. **Why it matters:** A Court of Thorns and Roses is the pivotal text of romantasy, the fantasy-romance hybrid that dominated bestseller lists in the 2020s; its revival on BookTok changed how fantasy is marketed and who it is marketed to. ## Quick answers **When was A Court of Thorns and Roses first published?** A Court of Thorns and Roses was first published in 2015– (5 books published; books 6 and 7 due Oct 2026 and Jan 2027). **Who created A Court of Thorns and Roses?** A Court of Thorns and Roses was made by Sarah J. Maas (author). **What kind of work is A Court of Thorns and Roses?** A Court of Thorns and Roses is a book series in the Romantasy and Fairy-Tale Fantasy tradition. **Why is A Court of Thorns and Roses important?** A Court of Thorns and Roses is the pivotal text of romantasy, the fantasy-romance hybrid that dominated bestseller lists in the 2020s; its revival on BookTok changed how fantasy is marketed and who it is marketed to. ## Overview Feyre Archeron is nineteen, poor and the only one of three sisters willing to hunt to keep the family alive. In the frozen woods near the wall that divides the human lands from the faerie realm of Prythian, she kills a huge wolf — a faerie in disguise — and a beast comes to claim her life in payment, carrying her across the wall to the Spring Court. So begins *A Court of Thorns and Roses* (2015), [Sarah J. Maas](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/sarah-j-maas/)'s series about the High Fae courts. Published as young-adult fiction, it found its enormous audience among adults, and a decade later it stands as the book most responsible for [Romantasy](https://www.lanternhall.org/atlas/romantasy/), the genre that has dominated fantasy sales in the 2020s. ## Origins Maas began writing as a teenager; her first series, *Throne of Glass*, grew out of a retelling of Cinderella that she posted on the fiction site FictionPress, and was published by Bloomsbury in 2012. For *A Court of Thorns and Roses* she turned to fairy tale and ballad: "Beauty and the Beast," "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," and the Scottish ballad of "Tam Lin," in which a mortal woman rescues her lover from the faerie queen. The finished book was not a straightforward retelling, but those bones are visible — a cursed faerie lord, a mysterious house, a heroine who must pass impossible trials. Bloomsbury published it on May 5, 2015. ## The story In the first book, Feyre falls in love with Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court, and must face the tyrant Amarantha Under the Mountain to break a curse. The sequels upend the romance: *A Court of Mist and Fury* (2016) moves Feyre to the Night Court and its High Lord, Rhysand, and reframes the first book's love story as one of control; *A Court of Wings and Ruin* (2017) turns to war against the human-hating king of Hybern. The novella *A Court of Frost and Starlight* (2018) and *A Court of Silver Flames* (February 2021), centered on Feyre's sister Nesta and the warrior Cassian, completed the first five books. Maas's High Fae are the Tolkien [Elf](https://www.lanternhall.org/bestiary/elf/) recast for romance: immortal, beautiful, dangerous and bound by bargains, set in a political map of seven courts that fans sort themselves into as eagerly as an earlier generation sorted itself into [Hogwarts](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/harry-potter/) houses. ## Reception & impact The series became a *New York Times* bestseller and won multiple Goodreads Choice Awards, but its second life began around 2020 on BookTok, TikTok's reading community, where readers' video reactions sent the books back to the top of the charts. Its mix of explicit romance, found family and faerie politics became the template for a wave of adult "romantasy" that followed, including [Rebecca Yarros](https://www.lanternhall.org/makers/rebecca-yarros/)'s [Fourth Wing](https://www.lanternhall.org/works/fourth-wing/). That commercial surge reshaped fantasy publishing: new imprints, sprayed-edge special editions and marketing aimed at readers who had never considered themselves fantasy fans. It also brought controversy, as several books were challenged in US school districts over their sexual content. Games have been slower to follow. The series has inspired fan roleplay and court-sorting quizzes, but its crossings into games have been minor next to those of the older epics in this gallery, which were often born at the gaming table. The screen has also been elusive: a Hulu series developed by Ronald D. Moore from 2021 never cast its leads and was officially scrapped in February 2025. ## Legacy After a five-year gap, Maas announced in March 2026, on the *Call Her Daddy* podcast, that two new books were coming, forming what she called "one big story told in three books," with a fourth part to follow. Book six, *A Court of Splintered Harmony*, is due on October 27, 2026; book seven, *A Court of Forgotten Melody*, on January 12, 2027; an eighth volume will conclude the arc. As of September 2026, then, five books are published and three are in the pipeline — and the genre Feyre helped build has become one of the biggest stories in publishing. ## Facts - The first book, published by Bloomsbury on May 5, 2015, drew on 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' and the ballad 'Tam Lin.' - Five books appeared between 2015 and 2021, ending with A Court of Silver Flames in February 2021. - Maas announced books six and seven in March 2026; book six, A Court of Splintered Harmony, is due October 27, 2026, and book seven on January 12, 2027. - Maas describes the new books as 'one big story told in three books'; an eighth book will conclude the arc. - A Hulu series developed by Ronald D. Moore from 2021 was officially scrapped in February 2025. - Several books have faced challenges in US school districts over their sexual content. ## Sources and further reading - [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Court_of_Thorns_and_Roses) - [Sarah J. Maas — A Court of Thorns and Roses](https://sarahjmaas.com/a-court-of-thorns-and-roses/) - [NBC News on books six and seven](https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/books/acotar-author-sarah-j-maas-books-rcna262020) --- From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.