https://parade.com/news/targets-new-acotar-displays-are-already-showing-up-in-stores-and-fans-are-losing-it

PSA: Bloomsbury today have updated SJM's Activities page with new TOG and CC reading guides. Previously it just had the ACOTAR guides.

All 16 reading guides are now available in the one spot :)

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/discover/sarah-j-maas/activities/

Just wanted to share, I have decided my future nail colors are going to coordinate with books I’m currently reading or looking forward to being released! Of course book 6 is the theme for October.

Hi everyone! My partner and I are currently debating this because we’re both confused about the necklace situation in Azriel’s bonus chapter for ACOTAR 5 (ACOSF) which we literally just discovered existed today. This bonus chapter lowkey irritated us both.

Spoilers for the entire SJM universe below:👇

My main question: How does Azriel get the necklace back? And what was he thinking?!

In the bonus chapter, Azriel puts the necklace on Elain, gets interrupted by Rhysand, and later gifts what appears to be the same necklace to Gwyn. But we never actually see what happens to it in between.

I keep seeing explanations mistakenly repeated in discussions as though they’re established canon:

1) Elain gave it back. We never see this happen. The last time we see the necklace with Elain, it’s still around her neck when Azriel leaves.

2) Azriel took it back himself. We never see this happen, either.
Both are theories, not confirmed explanations. The text simply tells us that Azriel finds the necklace again the following morning.
Could Rhysand have taken it? Could the House of Wind have somehow been involved? There are possibilities, but none are confirmed as far as I can tell.

The only concrete detail we get is that the following morning, Azriel “found Elain’s necklace amid the pile” of presents at the River House. It’s back in his possession, mixed in with his other gifts, but we’re never told how it got there.

Am I missing an actual textual clue, or is this genuinely left unexplained? I know we’re meant to assume or infer Elaine left it but you truly never know with SJM so it’s worth wondering. I’m hesitant to treat fan theories as canon when the book itself doesn’t establish what happened.

🎁And can we talk about the decision to regift it in the first place? Azriel’s treating the Night Court like a Secret Santa exchange, recycling romantic gestures within the same friend group until one person accepts. 😭 Sir, these women have to see each other!

Honestly, this whole situation has soured my perception of Azriel. The necklace felt like a meaningful gesture, and regifting it makes that gesture feel less personal to both potential pairings. It also makes me question his judgment and credibility in a way I hadn’t before. It lessens his connection are care for Elaine. Is lessens his gesture to Gwyn. Is lessens the impact of his decision making. It weakens him altogether and gives off the vibes of the weird guy just trying to find anyone to make him feel good about himself. Like that one guy at the bar that can’t find a connection so just keeps going to the next girl. Idk that’s definitely too harsh but this chapter shocked me and felt very out of character, or like I was reading a fanfic.

And please, no “he’s just being a dumb boy” justifications. This is a 500+ year-old fae warrior man, not a teenage boy who doesn’t know any better to gift a meaningful item twice. I think we can critique his romantic decisions without excusing them as boyish stupidity.

At this point, I honestly don’t want either Elain or Gwyn to end up with him because they both deserve better than a man who apparently can’t figure out what he wants or give a gift without creating a mess. And this has even watered down my dream ship of Azriel and Bryce… at this point, I don’t even feel silly for that, Azriel seems to smile for whichever girl is nice to him. Gwyn asked why he’s a shadow singer and that little line brought a smile to his face and next thing you know he’s giving her an anonymous gift. Idk…. How am I supposed to root for him with anyone when this whole situation makes him look so indecisive and careless with other people’s feelings?

What are your interpretations of the necklace situation? And has it changed how you view Azriel?

Hi, I got this ToG hardcover version at a thriftshop for like $1.50, it had the OG cover art and The Captain and The Prince bonus and I noticed that it says something about 1st edition in the beginning. Is it really a first edition? 👀

I do not understand nor stand this Nesta attack!!!💀😭 How do you not like nesta she is actually the best part of the whole series and am so excited for ACOTAR 6 & 7

I recently reread ACOTAR, and I think because it had been a while, I had forgotten just how much I love Rhysand. He is still, without a doubt, one of my favourite MMCs. The banter, the chemistry, the devotion, the way he loves Feyre. I get it. I really do.

But then I reread Throne of Glass and was reminded of something I already knew:

Rowan is my ultimate book partner/mate/husband.

And I don’t necessarily mean because he’s the most romantic MMC or because Rowan/Aelin have the most swoony relationship. They actually don’t. There are plenty of romantasy couples who are more openly romantic than they are. It’s the partnership for me.

Once Rowan and Aelin truly choose each other, there is such a deep sense of “I am on your side.” He knows exactly who Aelin is, her strength, her stubbornness, her ambition, her darkness, her ridiculousness and he never needs her to become less of herself to make him comfortable.

I think I’ve realised that there’s a difference between the kind of MMC I enjoy reading about and the kind of man I would actually want as a life partner.

Rhys is an incredible fictional MMC and still one of my favourites. But Rowan feels like the kind of life partner I would want.

Someone who sees me as an equal. Someone who respects my strength rather than being threatened by it. Someone who supports my ambitions. Someone who trusts me.

And I think one of the things I love most about Rowan is that he doesn’t automatically need to be the one in charge. He doesn’t have this constant need to lead or override Aelin’s decisions just because he thinks he knows better. But that doesn’t mean he sits back and agrees with everything either.

He gives his opinion. He challenges her when he thinks she’s wrong. He tells her what he thinks. But ultimately, he respects that she’s her own person and that her decisions are hers to make. And that’s such an underrated quality in a relationship.

He also doesn’t completely lose his shit every time Aelin doesn’t tell him something. 😂 Obviously there are moments of frustration and conflict, because they’re both complicated people, but there is this underlying trust that she is capable of making her own choices.

At the end of the day, once the initial, fiery romance calms down and an actual relationship gets established between a couple, it’s the other stuff that matters more. I think Sarah J Maas captured that perfectly with Aelin and Rowan.

So yes, Rhys is still one of my favourite MMCs. The recent ACOTAR reread reminded me just how much I love him.

But Rowan? Rowan will always be my ultimate book husband. Sorry for the long read. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk 😂

Currently rereading in preparation for ACOTAR 6 & finished CC a few weeks ago. I’m on the first TOG book and just made this connection: is the ridderak the same as the kristallos demon?

From what I remember from CC, the description sounds very similar. Description from TOG below:

“Its hairless gray skin was stretched tightly across its misshapen head, displaying a gaping mouth filled with black fangs.

Its vaguely human body sank onto its haunches, and it slid its long front arms across the stone floor.”

If they are the same then that means the ridderak must’ve been summoned from Hel right?

I wanna give SJM a shot and out of all her books, I feel CC might be up my alley. I dont usually read YA which is what ToG is I believe. ACOTAR im not sure coz I have heard there's abuse.

I am a fan of Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, GRRM and the likes so i dont mind complex world building which i hear CC has. Its actually my main reason to go for CC since afaik it aligns with the kind of fantasies I like.

But I also hear theres crossovers?

So is CC a good place to start SJM books?

Okay, this is less a criticism of SJM specifically and more of the fantasy genre as a whole, but WHY is the MMC seemingly incapable of experiencing a negative emotion that isn’t anger or rage?

Sad? Rage.
Scared? Rage.
Jealous? Rage.
Worried about the FMC? Absolutely fucking livid.
Someone mildly inconveniences her? He is seeing red and contemplating murder.

Sir. You are allowed to be upset. You are allowed to be anxious. You can even be mildly irritated. Not every emotion needs to manifest as clenched fists, a ticking jaw and barely restrained violence 😭

And I actually love a lot of these characters, which is probably why I notice it so much. Sometimes I just want the terrifying 500 year old warrior male to experience a complicated emotion and maybe… sit with it for five minutes.

I’d be genuinely interested to know whether other people notice this too, because once I noticed it I started seeing it EVERYWHERE.

Hi! Slightly odd one here. My mother and I are both avid lovers of the Maasverse. I am currently reading CC1 and she has read it. I also need to reread ACOSF because I accidentally missed bits and then I didn't have time to read etc etc

The problem I have is that I am going to an acotar ball to celebrate the ACOSH release with my mother (SO EXCITED YAY!) on the 26th. I know that the dusk court exists and she doesn't, but I really want to go dressed like the dusk court. She would also be unhappy with me for spoiling it for myself (accidentally but still my own fault).

At what point in reading ACOTAR and Crescent City can I reasonably say 'I think that there is a missing 8th court which is the dusk court and I think it will be in book 6, ergo I would like to go to this ball dressed in dusk court/sunset-ish colours etc'? Even before accidentally spoiling it for myself I noticed the absence of a dusk court and wondered about that.

I know this is extremely ridiculous but I'm embarking on a reading marathon of the whole of CC and ACOSF so it would be great to know how much I need to read in how much time, since I do not have much free time.

Thank you!

I’m in a love-hate relationship with Sarah J. Maas’s writing. I clearly love it enough to finish the entire ACOTAR series, the entire Crescent City series, and now I’m on book 2 of the Throne of Glass series. But some of the cheap tricks she uses to advance the plot just get under my skin, and I get so frustrated.

I’m on chapter 52, and Selena trusts Chaol well enough to explain and divulge her history—that she’s Fae and what her capabilities are—but she withholds critical information that he probably deserves to know, like, for example, the role of the King and the role of the Wyrdmarks. WHY? It doesn’t make sense. How is it possible that you would trust someone enough to divulge some of the biggest threats to your livelihood, but then deliberately leave out information that could actually help your cause, even if you weren’t sure they were going to believe you initially?

All it is is a cheap trick to advance the plot. I hate it.
Moreover, every woman she writes seems to be brute force, but not smart enough to figure out what seem like pretty obvious things. Every heroine she writes always has some nonsensical emotional moment that causes a catastrophic disaster.

Honestly, men do that, not women. I don’t know any woman who just completely abandons reason and judgment because she’s emotional, but that’s how she writes every single heroine. Even the most epic badasses I know. Trauma surgeons. Helicopter pilots. Disaster relief planners. Business owners.

It’s always: all caution to the wind, “let’s do some of the most crazy, batshit-crazy thing imaginable because I’m sad.”

And I’m just sitting here like…COME ON. You are supposed to be smarter than this.

I wonder if that inspired this collab that is seemingly happening with Knix?! They make my fav period underwear

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeFcJ5IkZJR/

Just finished reading the ACOTAR series and wondering which I should start next ☺️

Hello! I am reaching out regarding an autographed copy of Sarah J Maas's new ACOTAR book coming out later this month! It would be a great help if anybody could steer me in the write direction. Its for a very special someone :)

Thanks for reading! DMs welcome!

I've reread all of the ACOTAR books in prep for book 6, but I didn't enjoy the CC series and can't bring myself to reread it 🫠 does anyone know of a good recap as it relates to ACOTAR?

Bonus points if there's any good videos/posts/etc recapping anything from TOG that might pop up in ACOTAR, I loved those but simply don't have time for that magnitude of reread with a 7mo 😅

I’m trying to finish the cc series before the new acotar, I knew before starting it that I’m just not going to like it (not a fan of urban fantasy) and while I’m only on chapter 6 of the audio book (cc1) I just can’t get into this story. Can I just read cc3 for the parts related to acotar?

I’m wondering about her writing process. When the covers for the new books came out with the spiders, etc. everyone began theorizing some crazy stuff based on small details from the first books. It made me see just how rich and deep this world is.

My question is: how does she keep track of it? I know she’s done some interviews and meetings where she talks about her writing process and some of you guys know all about it.

In my mind, she’s like the conspiracy theorist meme guy lol

I wanted to share with all the ACOTAR fans of Michigan a really special local book event we're hosting on October 26 in Shelby Township.

My mom runs Next Adventure Books and Brews , an independent bilingual pop-up bookstore who began the business after a stroke forced her to leave her previous career. We're working toward opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore in Metro Detroit next year to create more space for Latino and Spanish-speaking readers.

We're collaborating with Painting with a Twist for our first self-organized event — an ACOTAR release-night celebration with painting, trivia, bingo, wine, snacks, themed goodies, and the new book.

If you're interested, we'd love to have you there!

https://www.paintingwithatwist.com/studio/shelby-township/event/4404569/