A starving huntress kills a wolf, and a faerie lord comes to collect: her life, in his court, forever.
A slow first half and a flat romance, saved by a sharp heroine, a growing world and a final act you can't put down. Three and a half out of five, and the sequel is better.
Every guide comes as a video and a full written article. Pick the one you need: the review is spoiler-free, the ending explained is not.
Is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas worth reading? A spoiler-free review of ACOTAR book one: Feyre, Tamlin, the Spring Court, the Beauty and the Beast twist, what works, what drags, content notes and my score.
A Court of Thorns and Roses ending explained, with full spoilers: Amarantha's curse, Under the Mountain, the three trials, Rhysand's bargain, the riddle's answer, Feyre's death and rebirth, and the clue for book two.
Loved ACOTAR? Six books to read next, from From Blood and Ash and Fourth Wing to The Cruel Prince, Uprooted, Throne of Glass and Beauty, and how to choose between them.
The ACOTAR reading order with the novella in its slot, plus chapter numbers for spicy scenes and an f word count for the three books I read. No spoilers.
The A Court of Thorns and Roses series in order: all five books, why you shouldn't skip the novella, who the later books follow, A Court of Splintered Harmony and A Court of Forgotten Melody, and what happened to the Hulu show. Book one spoilers only.
Is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas worth reading? A one-minute, spoiler-free review: the setup, the catch, and my score.
A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) is the first book in Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR series. Nineteen-year-old Feyre kills a wolf to feed her family, and a beast arrives to claim a life for a life: hers, in the faerie land of Prythian.
Below you’ll find a spoiler-free review, the ending explained, the full series reading order with books six and seven, and six romantasy books to read next.
Feyre is nineteen. Her family lost its fortune years ago, and now she's the only one keeping them alive, hunting in the woods near the wall that separates the human lands from Prythian, the land of the faeries.
One winter day she kills a huge wolf with an ash arrow. That night, a beast with fangs and horns smashes through her door. The wolf was a faerie, and the price is a life for a life.
Feyre is nineteen. Her family lost its fortune years ago, and now she's the only one keeping them alive, hunting in the woods near the wall that separates the human lands from Prythian, the land of the faeries.
A slow first half and a flat romance, saved by a sharp heroine, a growing world and a final act you can't put down. Three and a half out of five, and the sequel is better. Read it if: you love fairy tale retellings like beauty and the beast; you like slow builds that pay off; you want to know what the acotar hype is about. Skip it if: a slow first half will make you quit; explicit content is a deal breaker. Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses →
Our ending explained covers the final chapters in full, with spoilers. A Court of Thorns and Roses ending explained, with full spoilers: Amarantha's curse, Under the Mountain, the three trials, Rhysand's bargain, the riddle's answer, Feyre's death and rebirth, and the clue for book two. Ending explained: A Court of Thorns and Roses →
The A Court of Thorns and Roses series in order: all five books, why you shouldn't skip the novella, who the later books follow, A Court of Splintered Harmony and A Court of Forgotten Melody, and what happened to the Hulu show. Book one spoilers only. Series & screen: A Court of Thorns and Roses →
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Beauty by Robin McKinley. Books like it: A Court of Thorns and Roses →
Publication order: A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), A Court of Mist and Fury (2016), A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017), the novella A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018) and A Court of Silver Flames (2021).
A Court of Splintered Harmony is set for October 27, 2026, and A Court of Forgotten Melody for January 12, 2027. Sarah J. Maas says they are parts of one big story.
Not right now. Hulu dropped its planned series in early 2025. In 2026 Maas said the rights are back with her and she is reportedly talking to other studios, but nothing is official as of October 2026.
Yes. It was first shelved as young adult, but it is adult romantasy with explicit sex scenes, plus graphic violence and torture.
Feyre, a nineteen-year-old human hunter; Tamlin, the High Fae lord who takes her to his spring estate; Lucien, his sharp-tongued friend with a metal eye; and Feyre's cold eldest sister, Nesta.
Amazon links. We may earn a commission if you buy through them.
