Last updated: March 21, 2026
You've closed A Court of Silver Flames. You've stared at the ceiling. Now you've considered rereading the entire series immediately.
We've all been there.
Now there's a date on the calendar: ACOTAR 6 arrives October 27, 2026. ACOTAR 7 follows January 12, 2027. That's real, it's confirmed, and it means you have roughly seven months to fill.
Seven months is a lot of ceiling-staring time. So we sorted the best options by what you loved most about the ACOTAR series. Because not everyone is here for the same thing!
Some of you are here for Rhysand. Some of you are here for the politics of the Night Court. Some of you are here for Nesta and Cassian destroying each other on every page. Some of you just need SOMETHING while you wait for October.
This list has something for all of you.
Not sure when Book 6 is out or what Maas announced? Start with our full ACOTAR 6 and 7 breakdown. Want to do a reread before October instead? Check out our ACOTAR reading order guide, every book, novella, and bonus chapter in the Maasverse.
If you're building your TBR anyway, this is a great time to try Book of the Month. New members can grab their first book for $5. It's one of the most affordable ways to snag new release hardcovers.
If You're Not Ready to Leave the Maasverse
The Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas Book Cover
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The Crescent City Series by Sarah J. Maas
The obvious answer, and the right one. Especially now. House of Flame and Shadow connects threads across the entire Maasverse in ways that will hit harder going into ACOTAR 6 with that context fresh. Bryce Quinlan is not Feyre, which is exactly the point. She's louder, thornier, funnier, and her grief sits right at the surface of everything. Three books, all out now, which means no waiting. Read ACOTAR first. All of it.
Start with: House of Earth and Blood
Spice level: Comparable to ACOTAR books 2–3
Series length: 3 books (complete series)
Best for: Readers who want the same emotional intensity with a different setting and anyone who wants to understand the full Maasverse before Book 6.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Book Cover
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Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Maas's first series, and still the one many readers call her best-executed. It starts leaner and younger, Celaena Sardothien is an assassin at a royal competition, and the first book reads closer to YA. But the series expands into one of the most epic fantasy arcs in the genre. Eight books means it can carry you well past October if you pace yourself. By books three and four, you will not be okay.
Start with: Throne of Glass
Spice level: Slower build; becomes comparable to ACOTAR by mid-series
Series length: 8 books (complete)
Best for: Readers who prioritize plot and character arcs over romance/heat and readers who want enough content to genuinely fill the wait!
If You Loved the Fae Courts and Political Intrigue
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Book Cover
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The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
If ACOTAR made you want the fae to be crueler and the scheming to go deeper, Holly Black's Folk of the Air trilogy is where you go next. Jude Duarte was taken to the faerie realm as a child after watching her parents murdered, and she has spent her life engineering revenge. The romance here is thornier than ACOTAR. Cardan is not going to be won over, and Jude is not waiting to be saved. She's the one doing the plotting.
Black invented much of the modern fae mythology that ACOTAR draws from, and reading her while you wait is like discovering the original score beneath the cover version you already love. Complete trilogy, no waiting required.
Start with: The Cruel Prince
Spice level: Low, this is YA, heat is minimal
Series length: 3 books (complete)
Best for: Readers obsessed with the politics of Prythian's courts; anyone who wants the fae dynamic without the holding pattern
These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan Book Cover
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These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan
Competing fae courts, a human woman caught between two dangerous fae men, and a magic system that keeps escalating. Ryan leans hard into the rivalry structure and the pacing moves quickly enough that you're halfway through before you realize how invested you've become.
A complete duology with both books out now. No cliffhanger, no waiting!
Reading order: 1. These Hollow Vows, 2. These Twisted Bonds
Spice level: Moderate Series length: 2 books (complete)
Best for: Readers who loved the Spring Court/Night Court contrast and want more of that tension
If the Enemies-to-Lovers Was Everything
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout Book Cover
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From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
The most consistently recommended ACOTAR hangover cure for a reason, and a good choice for the wait specifically because Armentrout's Blood and Ash world is enormous. The main series, the companion Flesh and Fire series, the connected universe. If you start now you'll still be reading when October comes.
Poppy is the Maiden, raised behind protective barriers she's never been allowed to question. Hawke is her guard. The "enemies-to-lovers" label undersells the dynamic, it's more accurately "forbidden and dangerous and deeply felt." Do not start without the second book nearby.
Start with: From Blood and Ash
Spice level: Comparable to ACOSF level explicit
Series length: 6+ books across two series (ongoing)
Best for: Readers who loved Feyre and Rhysand's dynamic and readers who want enough series content to genuinely fill the wait
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent Book Cover
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The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
This is the book most consistently described as "cured my ACOTAR hangover," which makes it well suited for a seven-month stretch. Oraya is the human daughter of the Vampire King, entering a brutal tournament where she is the only mortal among creatures who could kill her without thinking about it. The Crowns of Nyaxia series has been one of the most reliable romantasy deliveries in recent years, and the series is ongoing.
Start with: The Serpent and the Wings of Night
Spice level: Moderate to explicit
Series length: 3+ books (ongoing)
Best for: Readers who loved Feyre's trials Under the Mountain
A King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair Book Cover
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A King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair
Enemies-to-lovers with a vampire king and a human woman trained her whole life to destroy him, then forced to marry him instead. St. Clair commits fully to the darkness, and the King of Battle and Blood series leans into the combustible dynamic without flinching. Isolde isn't softened by the marriage, she weaponizes it. If you've been chasing the specific energy of Nesta and Cassian destroying each other with equal parts fury and desire, this is the closest match on this list. The series has enough entries to carry you into summer without running out.
Start with: A King of Battle and Blood
Spice level: Explicit
Series length: 3 books
Best for: Readers who loved ACOSF's combustible dynamic between Nesta and Cassian
The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen Book Cover
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The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
Lara was raised as a weapon. Trained from childhood to infiltrate the Bridge Kingdom by marrying its king and destroying it from within. Then she meets Aren, and the mission gets complicated. Jensen does something rare with the enemies-to-lovers trope: she gives both characters genuinely conflicting loyalties that don't resolve easily. The political marriage structure means the tension is baked into every scene. They're sharing a bed while actively working against each other, and neither of them can afford to flinch first.
The original duology is complete, and the companion series (The Inadequate Heir, The Traitor Queen) expands the world with different POV characters. Strong pick for readers who want the romance inseparable from the political stakes.
Start with: The Bridge Kingdom
Spice level: Moderate
Series length: 2 books + companion duology (complete)
Best for: Readers who loved the political marriage tension; anyone who wants enemies-to-lovers where both sides have real reasons to betray each other
If ACOMAF Broke You Specifically
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Book Cover
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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Dragon riders, a brutal war college, and a romance between Violet Sorrengail and a man who has every reason to want her dead. Fourth Wing is the book most often named alongside ACOTAR as the other half of a BookTok pipeline — readers go ACOTAR to Fourth Wing or Fourth Wing to ACOTAR, and both directions work. The third book in the Empyrean series, Onyx Storm, released in January 2025, which means there's now enough content in this series to fill a meaningful stretch of the wait.
Start with: Fourth Wing
Spice level: Explicit Series length: 3+ books (ongoing)
Best for: Readers who loved ACOMAF and want another slow burn with the same earned-payoff structure
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross Book Cover
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Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
A completely different register. Quieter, more literary, closer to historical fantasy but it keeps appearing on post-ACOTAR lists because it does something similar emotionally. Two rival journalists in a world at war, writing letters to a god, accidentally falling in love through correspondence. If ACOMAF wrecked you because of the emotional intimacy more than the spice, this is the one. It is not spicy. It is devastating in other ways. Complete duology.
Start with: Divine Rivals
Spice level: Very low Series length: 2 books (complete)
Best for: Readers who loved Feyre and Rhysand's found-in-darkness dynamic; readers who want to cry on purpose while they wait
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker Book Cover
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When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
Dark romantasy with a premise that hooks you in immediately: in this world, when dragons die, they become moons. Raeve is an assassin with a past she can't remember. Kaan is a brutal king consumed by the need to hatch a fallen moon and resurrect the dragon within. Parker's worldbuilding is dense and original. This isn't another fae court retread and the slow-burn enemies-to-lovers dynamic has been building serious momentum on BookTok since its release.
The writing is lush and unapologetically atmospheric, which means it won't be for everyone. If you want fast pacing, look elsewhere. But if you loved the way ACOMAF created an entire emotional landscape around Feyre's depression and recovery, Parker is doing something tonally similar with grief and identity. The sequel (When the Stars Fall) continues the story, and the series is ongoing.
Start with: When the Moon Hatched
Spice level: Moderate, escalates in the sequel
Series length: 2+ books (ongoing)
Best for: Readers who loved ACOMAF's emotional atmosphere; anyone who wants dark romantasy that doesn't feel like everything else on the shelf
If You're New to Fantasy and ACOTAR Was Your First
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Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
A strong entry point for readers who came to ACOTAR from romance and want to stay in that accessible register. Set in Sicily, with a murder, a morally ambiguous Prince of Hell as the love interest, and a heroine with genuine stakes driving her forward. Wrath has Rhysand's energy — brooding, dangerous, eventually yours — without requiring familiarity with epic fantasy conventions. The magic system is intuitive, the Italian setting is vivid, and Maniscalco knows how to build tension across a series arc. Three books, all out now.
Start with: Kingdom of the Wicked
Spice level: Low in book 1, escalates significantly in the sequels
Series length: 3 books (complete)
Best for: New fantasy readers; readers who loved the Beauty and the Beast structure of ACOTAR book 1
If you're still building your fantasy shelf, this is a great time to try Book of the Month new members get their first book for $5, and they consistently feature fantasy and romantasy in their monthly picks.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber Book Cover
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Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Atmospheric, carnival-dark, and built on mysteries that keep you reading past your bedtime. Less romance-forward than ACOTAR but deeply immersive, and the series finds its romantic footing by book two. Garber builds a world that feels like stepping into a fever dream. Every detail is heightened, nothing is quite what it seems, and the stakes keep shifting beneath you. Good for readers who want to ease into the wait with something lighter on its feet. Complete trilogy.
Start with: Caraval
Spice level: Low to mild
Series length: 3 books (complete)
Best for: Readers who loved Prythian's immersive atmosphere
If You Loved the Worldbuilding Most
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon Book Cover
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The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
This one broadens the list for readers who loved ACOTAR's scope and world more than the romance. Shannon builds a sprawling, multi-POV epic fantasy with dragon riders, political intrigue across rival nations, a matriarchal society, and a magic system rooted in centuries of mythology. It's a standalone, no series commitment required, and at 800+ pages, it'll fill a substantial chunk of the wait all by itself!
The romance is present but not the engine. The worldbuilding is. If you finished ACOTAR wishing Prythian had a deeper history, more courts to explore, and more political complexity, Shannon delivers that at scale. The companion novel (A Day of Fallen Night) is a prequel set centuries earlier, if you want more after!
Start with: The Priory of the Orange Tree
Spice level: Low to moderate
Series length: Standalone (companion prequel available)
Best for: Readers who loved Prythian's world more than the romance and anyone who wants epic fantasy with scope and depth
If You Want What's Next
Starside by Alex Aster Book Cover
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Starside by Alex Aster
Alex Aster's adult romantasy debut drops March 24, 2026 and it's generating the kind of early buzz that says "next big thing in the genre." Aster built the Lightlark series into a BookTok phenomenon, and Starside is her pivot to adult fantasy with a world split between immortals and mortals, a deadly quest that opens once every fifty years, a vengeance-driven heroine, and an enemies-to-allies romance with a king's guard named Raker who early readers can't stop talking about.
Start with: Starside
Spice level: Moderate to explicit (based on early ARC reviews)
Series length: Book 1 of a new series
Best for: Readers who want to be early to the next big romantasy; anyone who loved ACOTAR's tournament/competition structure
For more new releases in romantasy and fantasy, check out our March 24 2026 new book releases guide updated weekly with the biggest titles across every genre.
How to Save on Your TBR
Building a list this long can get expensive. Here are a few ways to save:
Book of the Month:New members get their first book for $5. One of the best ways to get new release hardcovers affordably. They consistently feature fantasy and romantasy picks.
Libro.fm: If you listen to audiobooks, Libro.fm memberships support independent bookstores. Most of the books on this list have excellent audiobook narration several of these series are even better on audio.
Bookshop.org: Shop indie and support Ink & Imaginings at the same time. Every purchase through our links earns a commission that keeps this site running. Browse our storeforont!
Book Outlet:For readers who don't mind waiting for a deal, Book Outlet stocks discounted copies of backlist titles. Great for picking up complete series at a fraction of retail.
FAQ
When does ACOTAR 6 come out?
October 27, 2026. ACOTAR 7 follows January 12, 2027. Both were confirmed by Sarah J. Maas on the Call Her Daddy podcast on March 4, 2026. No titles or covers have been announced yet. We'll update this page and our ACOTAR 6 news page when they drop.
What is the closest book to ACOTAR?
Most readers point to From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout as the closest match in tone, structure, and romantic intensity. The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent is a close second, particularly for readers who loved the trials Under the Mountain. For fae-court politics specifically, The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is the strongest match.
Is Fourth Wing like ACOTAR?
They share the same emotional DNA, dangerous world, earned slow burn, found family, morally complicated love interest but Fourth Wing is entirely its own thing. The pipeline exists because both books do the same work: they make you care about characters in danger and then put those characters through it.
What should I read if I'm not ready for anything spicy?
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross are both low-spice and deeply satisfying. Caraval by Stephanie Garber is the most accessible if you want atmosphere without heat. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon works if you want epic scope over romantic tension.
Is there anything like ACOTAR that's already complete?
The Cruel Prince trilogy by Holly Black is complete. Throne of Glass is complete at eight books. Caraval is a complete trilogy. The Crescent City trilogy is complete at three books, though Maas has indicated more may come. Kingdom of the Wicked is a complete trilogy. The Bridge Kingdom duology and its companion duology are both complete. Divine Rivals is a complete duology.
What order should I read ACOTAR in?
We have a complete ACOTAR reading order guide covering every book, novella, and bonus chapter in the Maasverse. Nncluding three different reading paths depending on whether you want publication order, chronological order, or the fast track into ACOTAR 6.
Seven months is enough time to read all of this. It won't make October come faster. But it'll make the wait feel less like waiting and more like building toward something.
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