In 2015, Sarah J. Maas published “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” A loose reimagining of “Beauty and the Beast,” the book combines fairy-fueled fantasy with romance in this story of a young woman named Feyre Archeron who enters a world of magical intrigue and falls in love with a powerful fae lord.
Maas’s work found a following online — especially on BookTok, where she led the vanguard of the enormously popular romantasy genre. Fans were drawn to the characters, and with the book’s exploration of female pleasure (which naysayers dismissed as “fairy smut”).
Since then, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” (ACOTAR) has evolved into a multiperspective series about love, war and trauma, garnished with a lot of very steamy sex. The first three novels form a trilogy focused on Feyre and a war between two faerie realms, Prythian and Hybern; the fourth book, a holiday novella, sets up Book 5, which follows Feyre’s sister, Nesta.
Maas’s books, which also include the “Throne of Glass” and Crescent City series, have sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. Now, after a five-year hiatus, the ACOTAR saga continues.
Maas has been unusually tight-lipped about the new books: “A Court of Splintered Harmony,” which arrives on Oct. 27, and “A Court of Forgotten Melody,” which is expected on Jan. 12, 2027. The novels’ narrator (or narrators) has yet to be revealed. During an episode of the podcast Call Her Daddy, Maas said the books are meant to be read as a single story: the Valkyrie Cycle. Official synopses also promise the return of Koschei the Deathless, a villain who has appeared in previous books.
Whether you’re starting cold with the new novel, or need a refresher on the story so far, here’s what you need to know. (Many spoilers ahead!)
The World of ACOTAR
The series is set in a fantasy realm split between humans and fae. Long before the start of ACOTAR, the faeries kept humans as slaves. Eventually, faeries sympathetic to the humans’ plight joined them in waging a war for their freedom. After years of bloodshed, they triumphed, and the continent was divided. When the first book opens, the faerie realm and the mortal lands have been separated for 500 years by the Wall, a magical barrier.
But the Wall is not impenetrable, and some are able to slip through — including Feyre. She leaves the mortal world for Prythian, the fae territory, which is divided into seven courts: four seasonal (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and three solar (Dawn, Day and Night). The human realm is ruled by six mortal queens; each fae court is ruled by a High Lord.
The Major Players
Night Court
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Feyre Archeron is the narrator of the first three ACOTAR books, and a recurring character throughout the rest of the series. The youngest of three sisters, Feyre is brought to Prythian by the High Lord Tamlin. She is an experienced hunter who supported her poverty-stricken family, and illiterate. At the end of the first novel, she is transformed by the High Lords of all seven courts into a powerful high fae. Rhysand is her mate.
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Rhysand is the High Lord of the Night Court and Feyre’s mate. He fosters a reputation as a depraved despot, which enables him to protect Velaris, the Night Court’s cloistered yet vibrant capital, and the members of his cherished inner circle. After he and Feyre marry in “A Court of Mist and Fury,” Rhys makes her his High Lady and rules alongside her. They share a son, Nyx.
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Nesta Archeron is Feyre’s oldest sister and, with Cassian, half of the main couple in the most recent ACOTAR novel, “A Court of Silver Flames.” At the end of Book 2 (“A Court of Mist and Fury”), she is forcibly transformed into a high fae by the king of Prythian’s rival kingdom, Hybern, who submerges her in the Cauldron, a magical vessel from which she takes deadly powers. Known for her strong will and cold demeanor, Nesta’s haughtiness masks deep trauma and a passionate heart.
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Cassian is an Illyrian, part of a race of winged warrior fae, and a member of Rhysand’s inner circle. He trained alongside Rhys and their fellow Illyrian warrior Azriel as children; the trio consider themselves brothers. A legendary fighter with a wicked sense of humor, Cassian is Nesta’s mate.
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Azriel; Rhys’s cousin, Morrigan; and the ancient, incredibly powerful Amren round out Rhysand’s inner circle, and Feyre’s found family. Azriel has long been in love with Morrigan, but she does not return his feelings. He has a growing, potentially romantic relationship with Elain, the sweet middle Archeron sister who, like Nesta, was unwillingly turned fae by the king of Hybern.
Spring Court
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Tamlin is Feyre’s love interest in “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” and High Lord of the Spring Court. The pair split in Book 2, however, and he becomes an antagonist — and occasional reluctant ally — to the series’s heroes. By Book 5, Tamlin’s grief and rage over the loss of Feyre have left him a shell of his former self, and his kingdom is in shambles.
Autumn Court
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The illegitimate son of the lady of the Autumn Court and the High Lord of the Day Court, Lucien begins the series as Tamlin’s closest friend and the emissary of the Spring Court, where he found refuge after fleeing from Autumn. Lucien eventually defects to the Night Court, which enables him to be closer to Elain, who he believes is his mate. In Book 4 (“A Court of Frost and Starlight”), he moves to the mortal lands to join the Band of Exiles, who work to protect the humans and oppose Koschei (more on him later).
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Beron is the High Lord of the Autumn Court, a cruel and vindictive ruler.
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Eris, Lucien’s half brother and Beron’s eldest son and presumptive heir, forms a secret alliance with the Night Court to try to overthrow the Autumn High Lord.
Where Did We Leave Off?
“A Court of Silver Flames” follows Nesta as she processes the trauma of her turn to fae and the war with Hybern, falls in love with Cassian and becomes a fierce warrior in her own right. While living in the Night Court’s mountaintop stronghold, the House of the Wind, Nesta befriends Gwyneth, a priestess who suffered a violent past, and Emerie, an Illyrian whose father abused her.
The trio become enamored with tales of the Valkyries, a unit of elite female warriors who were slaughtered during the Human-Fae War. After mastering the fighters’ techniques — Cassian, who commanded the original Valkyrie unit, helps them train — and undergoing bloody trials, Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie adopt the mantle of the fallen heroes.
All the while, a new war is brewing as Koschei the Deathless — a malevolent, ancient immortal who has been trapped in a lake for centuries — gathers the Dread Trove, magical artifacts that he hopes will free him. A sporadic presence since Book 3 (“A Court of Wings and Ruin”), and the puppeteer behind the main conflict in Book 5, Koschei is a powerful and mysterious death-god who cursed one of the mortal queens, and heavily influenced another. Readers haven’t seen the last of him: Koschei seems poised to be the Big Bad of the Valkyrie Cycle.
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