Sarah J. Maas fans disagree about the best way to read the ‘Throne of Glass’ series. Here’s the book order you should follow for a spoiler-free experience.

Like many romantasy fans, I fell in love with Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses.”

I devoured Maas’ books about faeries and then quickly turned my attention to her first series, “Throne of Glass,” hoping it would give me a similar feeling to the books I’d come to love.

To my delight, “Throne of Glass” was everything I hoped it would be and more. It was full of the magic and romance I’d loved in “ACOTAR,” plus even more adventure and character depth.

I’m a hardcore “Throne of Glass” fan these days, but when I first came upon the series, I was a bit intimidated about how to go about reading it, as there’s debate in the fandom about the best order.

“Throne of Glass” is an eight-book fantasy series about a notorious assassin.

In “Throne of Glass,” world-renowned assassin Celaena Sardothien has been stuck in a prison camp for over a year, wasting away at just 18 years old in Adarlan, a kingdom where magic disappeared years ago.

She gets a second chance at life when Prince Dorian offers her a deal: She can win her freedom by competing against 23 other killers to become the King’s Champion, aka royal assassin, for his father, the King of Adarlan. Celaena agrees despite her personal feelings toward the king, determined to earn her freedom.

As the competition progresses, contestants start dying mysteriously, and Celaena discovers she may have to confront her past to safeguard her future.

I was captivated by “Throne of Glass,” and Celaena’s world only becomes more exciting in the other seven books in the series. While I think the series is worth a read, it can be difficult to know where to start.

People have different opinions about the proper “Throne of Glass” reading order.

“Throne of Glass” was published by Bloomsbury in August 2012, but Maas had already published four novellas online about Celaena before it was released.

The publisher later released the novellas, plus one more story, as one book, “The Assassin’s Blade,” in March 2013.

The events in “The Assassin’s Blade” take place chronologically before those in “Throne of Glass,” and its plot is crucial for the second half of the series.

Some fans read the series in chronological order.

If you want to read the books chronologically, you should start with “The Assassin’s Blade” instead of the titular novel in the series:

• “The Assassin’s Blade”
• “Throne of Glass”
• “Crown of Midnight”
• “Heir of Fire”
• “Queen of Shadows”
• “Empire of Storms” and “Tower of Dawn” in tandem
• “Kingdom of Ash”

However, I don’t think the chronological order offers the best reading experience.

Maas intentionally leaves the revelations from “The Assassin’s Blade” out of “Throne of Glass,” “Crown of Midnight,” and “Heir of Fire,” so if you read it before the first three novels in the series, you’ll be exposed to spoilers you wouldn’t be otherwise.

I think it’s best to read the books in the order they were published.

For a captivating, spoiler-free “Throne of Glass” experience, I recommend reading the series in its publication order rather than its chronological order, which is slightly different from the order Maas recommends on her website:

• “Throne of Glass”
• “Crown of Midnight”
• “Heir of Fire”
• “The Assassin’s Blade”
• “Queen of Shadows”
• “Empire of Storms”
• “Tower of Dawn”
• “Kingdom of Ash”

Maas recommends people read “The Assassin’s Blade” before “Heir of Fire.” However, the information revealed in the collection of novellas is most pertinent to the plot of “Queen of Shadows,” so I think it’s best to read “The Assassin’s Blade” immediately after “Heir of Fire” instead.

I would have enjoyed the first half of Maas’ series no matter what order I read the books in, but I think the suspense in the first three installments in the “Throne of Glass” series is best if you save “The Assassin’s Blade” for the fourth spot.

Don’t skip “Tower of Dawn.”

“Throne of Glass” fans also have differing opinions on when to read “Empire of Storms” and “Tower of Dawn,” which came out in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Despite their different publication dates, the events of the sixth and seventh installments of the series happen concurrently in different parts of the “Throne of Glass” universe.

Most people read the two books in the order they were released, but “Empire of Storms” ends on a cliffhanger that is not resolved until the last novel in the series, “Kingdom of Ash.” When I first read the books, I found it a bit difficult to focus on the events of “Tower of Dawn” because I was so concerned about what would occur in “Kingdom of Ash.”

You may also see some BookTokers saying they skipped reading “Tower of Dawn” completely because it doesn’t center on the protagonist, which I think is a colossal mistake. The events of “Tower of Dawn” are critical to the series’ resolution, and you’d be missing vital information if you didn’t read them.

However, if you don’t mind minor spoilers, I think it’s fun to read “Tower of Dawn” before “Empire of Storms.” You will know some snippets of what occurs in “Empire of Storms” before you read it. Still, you may save yourself from the anxiety-riddled experience of reading an entire 600-page book between the cliffhanger ending of “Empire of Storms” and its resolution in “Kingdom of Ash.”

My favorite way to read “Tower of Dawn” and “Empire of Storms” is in tandem.

Some people choose to read “Empire of Storms” and “Tower of Dawn” simultaneously instead of separately, switching back and forth between them to read the events in “real time.” Fans call it the tandem read.

It can be a bit tricky to switch back and forth between two books, but I think the tandem read is worth it. I loved both novels even more when I read them at the same time, finding a new appreciation for the way Maas wove their separate plots together.

You can read more about the “Throne of Glass” tandem read here.

If you’re new to the Maasiverse, I don’t recommend starting with the “Throne of Glass” series.

If I had to pick, I’d say “Throne of Glass” is my favorite of Maas’ three fantasy series, but I wouldn’t read it first.

I’d start with “A Court of Thorns and Roses” instead, as it’s a bit less overwhelming than “Throne of Glass.” I’d also save her “Crescent City” series for last, as Maas created a multiverse with her different series that won’t make sense without the context that “ACOTAR” and “Throne of Glass” provide.

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