Do You Need to Read ‘Throne of Glass’ and ‘Crescent City’ Before ACOTAR Book 6? What to Know
The book releases on October 29. Here’s what you need to know—and read—before then
Key Takeaways
- Yes, you need to read ‘Throne of Glass’ and ‘Crescent City’ before ‘ACOTAR book 6.’
- Rhysand and Feyre already appear in ‘Kingdom of Ash’ and the ‘Crescent City’ books.
- Readers think ‘House of Flame and Shadow’ will impact ‘ACOTAR’ books 6, 7 and 8.
We’re a little over two months away from A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) book 6, and while the book’s cover, plot and title remain unknown, readers everywhere are still excited. But with that excitement comes many questions, mainly surrounding the series’ reading order and whether the sixth book is linked to Sarah J. Maas’ two other series, Throne of Glass and Crescent City. And if they do connect, will it be subtle or will readers have to read every Maas book to understand what’s going on? Below, we share what we know.
First, what is the ‘ACOTAR’ reading order?
Before learning about Maas’ other titles, it might be helpful to learn a little more about ACOTAR. The first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses, was published in May 2015 and followed 19-year-old Feyre Archeron after she is brought to the magical world of Prythian and falls in love with Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court.
Then, in book two, A Court of Mist and Fury, Feyre explores more of her new home and ventures into the dangerous, albeit alluring, Night Court, alongside its high lord Rhysand. That book ends with Rhysand and Feyre falling in love, but in a shocking turn of events, she leaves him to go back to the Spring Court.
Book three, A Court of Wings and Ruin, begins with Feyre in the Spring Court. She eventually escapes and returns to the Night Court, where Rhysand and her friends are waiting. From there, they all work together to defeat the evil Lord Hybern, who wants to destroy Prythian.
Next up is book four, A Court of Frost and Starlight, though some readers call it 3.5, since it’s technically a novella. This book is much lighter than the others and mainly focuses on Feyre and her friends’ Winter Solstice activities. It’s narrated by Feyre, Rhysand, his friend Cassian and Feyre’s sister Nesta.
Finally, the last published book in the ACOTAR series is A Court of Silver Flames. It follows Cassian and Nesta as they deal with new threats in their world and their dangerous feelings for each other.
“When I reread that book, it’s very hard for me to go through because so much of Nesta’s journey was my journey. Not in a literal way, but I felt very similar to how she feels at points in that book,” Maas told Today in 2024. “When I reread it now, I feel sad for my past self. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, you were so mean to yourself, you were suffering so much.’”
Do you need to read Sarah J. Maas’ other books before reading ‘ACOTAR’ book 6?
To put it bluntly, yes you do need to read Maas’ other books before reading ACOTAR 6, because some of the ACOTAR characters appear in the other series.
Rhysand and Feyre have a cameo in the final Throne of Glass book Kingdom of Ash. They also appear in Crescent City 2, House of Sky and Breath at the end, before becoming main characters in the third book House of Flame and Shadow. Rhysand’s friends Azriel, Amren, Nesta and Cassian also appear in the book and help the main character Bryce Quinlan on her journey.
In doing so, they learn that their land of Prythian was once ruled by the same villains from Crescent City—the Asteri—though in Prythian they were called the Daglan. While the Asteri/Daglan were banished from Prythian long ago, fans have noticed something: Amren seemed to know an unusual amount about these ancient creatures. This has led to widespread speculation that the mysterious member of the Night Court could either be one of the Daglan, or was romantically involved with one of them in her past.
Maas has not commented on any of those theories, but she did say that she has always planned on having all three of her worlds cross over at some point.
“For several years early on, I just idly loved the idea of little pieces from these worlds overlapping a little bit,” Maas told Today. “It wasn’t until about four or five years ago that I had this idea out of the blue: What if I took that to the next level? What if someone just went to another world? What would that be like? And once I had that idea, I saw the ending of House of Sky and Breath.’”
“The gates between worlds could open again, possibly to other places,” Maas added. “I’m not committing to anything. But I love the idea of being able to play in all three worlds.”
She hasn’t said whether House of Flame and Shadow will impact ACOTAR book 6, but she did say the book will be a long one and that it will impact books 7 and 8.
“I decided I wasn’t gonna approach this project from a traditional format of a book,” Maas said on Call Her Daddy earlier this year. “What if this book was really long? Like, what if it took me more than 1,000 pages to tell the story that needed to be told, the arc that I wanted to create from start to finish?”
“It’s meant to be read ideally as one massive, massive story as opposed to in a trilogy,” she said. “It’s not a trilogy. Like, arcs aren’t wrapped up.”
ACOTAR book 6 releases on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 and is available for preorder now wherever books are sold.
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