A Court of Thorns and Roses
#114.40 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Ongoing 2015–present Reading commitment Medium Sarah J. Maas Last reviewed 2026-08-07
Overview
A romantasy series following Feyre Archeron from a mortal huntress into the fae Courts of Prythian. One of the best-selling and most culturally prominent fantasy series of the 2020s, credited with driving much of the "romantasy" publishing boom. Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses began in 2015 as a Beauty-and-the-Beast-inspired retelling before expanding into a wider political fantasy spanning several fae courts, four main novels, and a companion volume of interludes. The series' sales accelerated sharply years after its initial release, driven in large part by viral recommendation on BookTok in the early 2020s, which pushed the original 2015 opener back onto bestseller lists nearly a decade after publication. Its commercial success helped establish the modern romantasy category as a dominant force in contemporary fantasy publishing, alongside Maas's other series and contemporaries such as Rebecca Yarros.
Romantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Court of Thorns and Roses | 2015 | 1 | core | 4.15 (4,588,953 ratings) |
 | A Court of Mist and Fury | 2016 | 2 | core | 4.63 (3,478,765 ratings) |
 | A Court of Wings and Ruin | 2017 | 3 | core | 4.46 (2,945,461 ratings) |
 | A Court of Silver Flames | 2021 | 4 | core | 4.45 (2,292,976 ratings) |
Main numbered sequence; a 6th book is announced for October 2026 and a 7th for January 2027, both unpublished as of 2026-08-07 and isn't counted here yet.
Library / Expanded (1 work)
A Court of Thorns and Roses, Interludes Sarah J. Maas
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Court of Frost and Starlight | 2018 | N/A |
A between-books novella/interlude rather than a numbered entry in the main quartet.
Quick answers
- How many books are in A Court of Thorns and Roses? A Court of Thorns and Roses's Core Canon is 4 books, plus 1 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for A Court of Thorns and Roses? Publication order, starting with A Court of Thorns and Roses. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is A Court of Thorns and Roses finished? Ongoing (2015–present).
- How much reading does A Court of Thorns and Roses take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is A Court of Thorns and Roses ranked? #11 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,306,155 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #11?
Ranked #11 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.40 across 4 core books.
- Backed by 13.3M reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 4.15 to 4.63.
- 0.02 behind #10, A Song of Ice and Fire.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 4 books · Ongoing · 13.3M ratings · Ranks #11 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length romantasy universe that's still ongoing, with new books still coming.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015)
- A Court of Mist and Fury (2016)
- A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017)
- A Court of Silver Flames (2021)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Readers' Choice Awards (Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction), 2016: won: A Court of Mist and Fury
Related universes
- Same author Throne of Glass: Both by Sarah J. Maas. Secondary reporting describes ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City as part of a loosely shared “literary multiverse”, but this project confirmed there are no direct crossovers beyond Easter-egg references; each is registered as its own separate universe, not a merged shared world.
- Same author Crescent City: Both by Sarah J. Maas. Crescent City is confirmed a separate continuity from A Court of Thorns and Roses, sharing no direct crossover beyond Easter-egg references (the same loosely shared “literary multiverse” framing as Throne of Glass).
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what A Court of Thorns and Roses and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Empyrean Romantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.42
- Hidden Legacy Urban fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.37
- Shield of Sparrows Romantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.40
- The Shepherd King Romantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.30
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.40 across 13,306,155 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: A Court of Thorns and Roses admitted; Core Canon = the 4 numbered novels, novella Expanded accepted 2026-08-07
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-07
Rule: Core Canon = the 4 numbered novels; the interstitial novella A Court of Frost and Starlight is Expanded Canon. Admitted as an in-progress series: a 6th novel is announced for October 2026 and a 7th for January 2027, both unpublished as of this admission.