‘ACOTAR 6’s New Cover Just Dropped—and Fans Are Divided: ‘I Feel Like My Favourite Series Is Being Hijacked’
Plus, why fans think the covers could hint at a ‘Throne of Glass’ and ‘Crescent City’ crossover
Key Takeaways
- 'ACOTAR 6,' ‘A Court of Splintered Harmony,’ releases Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
- Some fans are upset that the covers break from the series' solid-color tradition.
- Fans theorize the covers hint at Azriel, Gwyn and possible ‘Throne of Glass’ ties.
After months of waiting we finally have the covers, plots and titles for the next books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. The books, known by fans as ACOTAR 6 and 7, are not exactly what fans were expecting. For starters, the covers feature a multi-hued design, instead of a solid color like the previous books. There are also concerns over what exactly is on the covers and if those designs are Easter eggs for Sarah J. Maas’ other series, Throne of Glass and Crescent City, the latter of which ACOTAR crossed over with in House of Flame and Shadow. And if all of that weren’t enough, fans are upset because it seems the books may have unexpected narrators. To learn more, keep scrolling.
What we know about the ‘ACOTAR 6 and 7’ covers
On August 17, Maas announced the covers, titles and plots for ACOTAR 6 and 7. This news came months after she announced the books on Alex Cooper’s podcast Call Her Daddy. This week’s announcement came as a shock for readers, who thought they might not get any details on the books until they were released. In addition to revealing the covers, Maas deleted every other Instagram post on her account and changed her profile picture to a black-and-white version of the ACOTAR 6 cover art.
So what exactly is the cover art? Book 6, which is titled A Court of Splintered Harmony: The Valkyrie Cycle Movement I, has a pink, orange and yellow background with artwork featuring bones, which could be calling out the book’s character The Bone Carver.
The publisher describes the book as follows: “Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series. What was broken will be remade. Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless [a Slavic folklore villain who is related to the Bone Carver and the Weaver and is trapped near a lake outside of Prythian] is stirring. Though he’s been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories, attracting powerful allies hell-bent on reclaiming what was once theirs: the human lands. The Night Court will not stand idly by while innocents are attacked. But with Prythian still piecing itself together in the wake of the devastating Hybern War, the task of uniting is proving more difficult by the day. To make matters worse, those who rule and protect the Night Court are reeling from recent betrayals and revealed truths. The rifts dividing them seem insurmountable. But to defeat Koschei’s creeping shadow, they must find a way back to each other and resurrect their former alliances. To survive, they must find a way to repair the splintered harmony all around them.”
Fans have additional theories about the plot though, and think Azriel, one of the members of the Night Court, and Gwyn, a Valkyrie that readers met in book 5, A Court of Silver Flames, will narrate this book.
“Gwyn the Lightsinger and Azriel the Shadowsinger will be Mates,” one reader predicted in a comment on Maas’ post. “Both broken inside but will finally heal together and find their perfect harmony.”
Maas also announced the title of book 7: A Court of Forgotten Melody: The Valkyrie Cycle Movement II and III. The cover features a spider, which many readers think is The Weaver, another character in the series, but others have argued it could be a Throne of Glass reference, since spiders are a larger part of that series as well. They also pointed out that there is a Starborn Mark on the spider’s back, which could be a Crescent City reference.
The colors of that cover are yellow and green, and some readers have pointed out that if you stack the covers for book 6 and book 7 they make a rainbow.
“What was lost will be reclaimed. Prythian might never be the same again. Traditional alliances are crumbling, and no amount of diplomacy seems sufficient to repair them. With the continued threat of Koschei the Deathless on the horizon, a united front is crucial–and farther out of reach than it has ever been before. Bonds will be tested. Power will shift. And old enemies will emerge from nightmares of the past,” reads the book’s synopsis on the publishers website. “As the Night Court’s Inner Circle disperses far and wide, desperate for any advantage against Koschei and his mighty allies, peace hangs by a fragile thread. But hope can be spun from the darkest of shadows, and the Night Court has its own part to play in the looming crescendo.”
After the announcement, fans began speculating who this book would follow, with some saying they think the book will focus on Emerie, the other Valkyrie, and Mor, a member of the Night Court.
Fans react to ACOTAR 6 and 7 covers and titles
Some readers are upset about the covers because they say they won’t match up with the other books in the series, which feature one solid color.
“Me trying to figure out how this is gonna match up with my current ACOTAR 1-5 spines,” one reader commented.
Readers are also confused why the books have The Valkyrie Cycle Movement as a part of the titles. Maas herself explained that on Call Her Daddy in March of this year, revealing that the books are actually all part of the same storyline.
“I like to do parts: part one, part two, part three. By the time I got to the end of part one, it was, like, 400 pages long…so I decided I wasn’t going to approach this project from a traditional format of a book. And what if this story, like 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…What if that took a long time? Like what if that took beyond the constraints of a single volume? And what does that look like? How do I tell that story? And so part one was this huge huge thing.”
“So it’s basically going to be like three physical volumes but it’s like one thing altogether that like no amount of glue in like any publishers factories could ever like hold this. So, it’s meant to be read ideally as one massive massive story as opposed to like a trilogy,” she continued.
Another reason fans are upset about the covers and titles is because it follows the Valkyries, and with the exception of Nesta, who was the focal point of A Court of Silver Flames, none of the other Valkyries—Gwyn and Emerie—are part of the Night Court (also known as the Inner Circle) and weren’t even involved in the series until Nesta’s book. They also thought the next book might feature Elain, since she’s the only Archeron sister that doesn’t have a book yet, Nesta and Feyre are the other two.
“Valkyries are fine, but they’re not the essence of ACOTAR for me, the INNER CIRCLE is.
I feel like my favourite series is being hijacked,” one reader commented. “I am excited for every Sarah book, like everyone else, but I wouldn’t be waiting on my doorstep waiting for Nesta and her new friends.”
Even with all of that backlash, many readers still remain excited for the upcoming installments.
“Guys, I’m already seeing complaints. Can we please be happy about this together for like 3 seconds at least,” one reader commented.
‘ACOTAR 6 and 7’ release dates
A Court of Splintered Harmony: The Valkyrie Cycle Movement I will be released on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, and A Court of Forgotten Melody: The Valkyrie Cycle Movement II and III will be released on Tuesday, January 12, 2027. Both books are available for preorder now, and according to Maas, another will be released soon.
“I realized it was going to be four parts, a book told in four parts. So then I wrote part two and part three. And those were really long,” she said on Call Her Daddy. “ And so like and then part four is yet to be written because right now I’m trying to just get part one which is out in October and then parts two and three [which is told in book 7] which will be out in January is like one combined thing.”
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