The author of BookTok’s favorite romantasy series is just getting started.
Listen up Sarah J. Maas fans: The romantasy author of BookTok favorite “A Court of Thorns and Roses” has some news for you.
Her newest novel, “House of Flame and Shadow,” the third in her “Crescent City” series, just debuted today — but she’s already brewing up several more books coming down the pike.
What are they? And when are they coming? She spilled details in a sitdown interview with TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager and TODAY.com. Here’s what she told us.
Sarah J. Maas’ next book will be an ‘ACOTAR’ book
When Maas’ publishers at Bloomsbury announced “House of Flame and Shadow” in 2023, it also revealed that the author signed a new four-book deal in addition to three others she already had under contract.
In her interview with Jenna, Maas explained that she’s planned out her next four books. They’re set up in what she called a “taxiing position.”
The next one she plans to publish after “House of Flame and Shadow” will be set in the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” universe, she said.
“I’m very, very excited about that one,” Maas told Jenna. “I know much more about what’s happening in this one. And then the next book in that series, I have the ideas and general, vague thoughts. But the nitty gritty of writing and the emotional journeys with the characters — I usually love to go on those journeys with them.”
“A Court of Thorns and Roses,” known by its acronym “ACOTAR,” currently has five books in that series:
“A Court of Thorns and Roses” (2015)
“A Court of Mist and Fury” (2016)
“A Court of Wings and Ruin” (2017)
“A Court of Frost and Starlight” (2018)
“A Court of Silver Flames” (2021)
Maas didn’t share when this next “ACOTAR” book will be released or what it will be titled. But considering she just published “House of Flame and Shadow,” it’s likely readers will have to wait a year or two.
The last book Maas published before “House of Flame and Shadow” was in 2022 — “House of Sky and Breath,” the second “Crescent City” novel — and before that, “A Court of Silver Flames” in 2021.
A 4th ‘Crescent City’ book is also coming
In conversation with Jenna, Maas confirmed that a fourth “Crescent City” book is indeed happening. As for where it falls on her “taxiing” line of her upcoming projects, Maas said it’s further down.
“You will have to wait a bit,” she said. “On the airport taxiing line, it’s a little down, but I know who the book’s about. I know the big ideas of what I want to happen.”
Maas previously shared in a 2022 interview that she was hopeful about a fourth book. She was contracted for three, she said, but considering she made a pattern of titling those books after the four houses of Midgard, the planet where the series take place, another was always possible.
So far, the “Crescent City” series has three books:
“House of Earth and Blood” (2020)
“House of Sky and Breath” (2022)
“House of Flame and Shadow” (2024)
What Sarah J. Maas is plotting after the next ‘ACOTAR’ book
So we know that a new “ACOTAR” book is next on Maas’ “taxiing line.” As for the next one after that, Maas said she has that locked in, too.
“There’s one book that I’m going to be writing after this next ‘ACOTAR’ book that I’m very excited about. I’m not going to say what world it’s in. I’m not going to say anything,” she told TODAY.com. “But it’s a story that’s been brewing in the back of my mind for a long time. … I think it’s going to be a very emotional book for me to write just in terms of the world I’ll be writing and the characters that might pop up.”
🚨 Warning! This next section has spoilers for Sarah J. Maas’ three series: “ACOTAR,” “Throne of Glass” and “Crescent City.”
What could Sarah J. Maas’ next books be about?
While the synopsis of the next “ACOTAR” book is not public knowledge yet, readers could guess: The first four books followed the adventures of heroine Feyre Archeron and her love story with Rhysand, while the latest book, “A Court of Silver Flames,” followed Feyre’s sister Nesta and her romance with Rhysand’s friend Cassian. There’s a third Archeron sister, Elain, as well as another in Rhysand’s trio of friends, Azriel, whose stories are left to tell. (And Maas did say she plans to explore Azriel more.)
The fated “mates” trope — where two characters are destined to be together — is also a big part of SJM’s writing. Those who read the “ACOTAR” books know Elain has a mate and Azriel hasn’t yet found his. There’s a bonus chapter for “A Court of Silver Flames” where readers get a peek at Azriel’s point of view, where he seems to be drawn to Elain … and another character named Gwyn.
So there’s a lot to work with here — and her characters often have several love interests. Without providing specifics, Maas told TODAY.com the idea of one’s agency in their love life is “very interesting” to her.
“There’s a lot to explore within the concept of mates and your agency about it,” she said. “I’m not going to say if I am exploring it in future books or not. But it definitely offers a wealth of things to explore with this concept of free will and what is true love. Is it something that’s destined? Or is it something that you make? Is it both?”
There are also plenty of questions about “Throne of Glass.” The last book in that series, “Kingdom of Ash,” came in 2018. But in a 2022 interview, Maas mused about those books continuing.
“‘Throne of Glass’ is technically ended, but … is it?” she had said in 2022. “I’ve said before, there are other stories in that world that I want to tell at some point.”
Those who read “House of Sky and Breath,” the second “Crescent City” book published in 2022, know that Maas created a crossover between two of her book series, when the “Crescent City” heroine, Bryce, falls into the “ACOTAR” world in a shocking, cliff-hanger ending. This left fans wondering: Could “Throne of Glass” be involved in all this, too?
Maas told TODAY.com “the gates between worlds could open again, possibly to other places.”
“I’m not committing to anything,” she added. “But I love the idea of being able to play in all three worlds.”
