Sarah J. Maas is the creator of not one, not two, but three successful romantasy and fantasy series ... so far. Her inventive work has become a mainstay of the BookTok community, and listeners simply can’t get enough of her characters, world-building, and vivid, propulsive prose. But with more than a dozen books to her name and counting, her catalog can feel daunting to tackle if you're new to the author. Fear not—we're here to guide you through the worlds of Sarah J. Maas so you can figure out which series most appeals to you and what stories you want to explore first.
Who is Sarah J. Maas?
Sarah J. Maas started writing her debut novel, Throne of Glass, when she was only 16 years old. Maas says she was inspired at a young age by fantasy books like Garth Nix’s , Robin McKinley’s , and Robert Munsch’s . She also drew inspiration from classical music, movies, television, and works of art.
Throne of Glass was published in 2012, when Maas was 26. This was the start of a young adult series that would span multiple books. Meanwhile, the author was also working on a new adult series, A Court of Thorns and Roses. She started writing the steamier fantasy series in 2009, and the first book was published in 2015. Maas's third book series, Crescent City, is adult fantasy. The first book, entitled House of Earth and Blood, was released in 2020, and the most recent book, House of Flame and Shadow, was released on January 30th, 2024.
Sarah J. Maas currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Josh Wasserman, whom she married in May 2010, and their two children, a son named Taran and a daughter named Sloan.
Sarah J. Maas says Disney's was a major inspiration for her fantasy YA series Throne of Glass. In a blog post, Maas explained that while watching Cinderella flee the ball in that classic Disney film, "I thought music was way too dark and intense to accompany the scene. The music fit much better when I imagined a thief—no, an assassin!—fleeing the palace. But who was she? Who had sent her to kill the prince? Who might the prince’s enemies be? A powerful, corrupt empire, perhaps?"
And that's how she came up with Celaena Sardothien, an 18-year-old assassin in the kingdom of Adarlan, ruled by the brutal Havilliard family. After conquering neighboring territories, including Melisande, Terrasen, Fenharrow, and Eyllwe, and destorying their monarchies, the Havilliards set up slave trades and labor camps where prisoners were forced to work. Celaena is arrested and sent to a slave camp called Endovier to pay for her crimes. After a year of hard labor, she is given an opportunity to enter a competition with other assassins and thieves. Whoever wins will serve as the King's Champion for four years and then be set free. All Caelena has to do is defeat the 23 other contestants, and she will earn her freedom. So begins Maas's first epic fantasy series, brilliantly narrated by Elizabeth Evans.Throughout the series, Caelena learns to fight not just for herself but also for the freedom of all the people of Adarlan as she joins rebel forces and makes alliances in different parts of the kingdom—notably, with Prince Dorian, Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, and the immortal Fae warrior Rowan Whitethorn. Ultimately, Caelena learns that she is capable of so much more than she could have ever imagined.Maas's Throne of Glas series also includes five prequel novellas set before the events of the original series. The novellas have now been compiled into one audiobook,
