CANR
WORK TITLE: House of Sky and Breath
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://sarahjmaas.com/
CITY: New York
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 337
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born March 5, 1986, in New York, NY; daughter of Brian and Carol Maas; married Josh Wasserman, May, 2010; children: Taran, Sloane.
EDUCATION:Hamilton College, B.A. (creative writing, religious studies; magna cum laude), 2008.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
AVOCATIONS:Watching television, following ballet.
AWARDS:Best Book of the Month for Kids & Teens, Amazon.com, for Throne of Glass; Goodreads Choice Awards for best young adult fantasy, 2015, for Queen of Shadows; Best Young Adult Fantasy Prize, Goodreads Choice Awards, 2016, for A Court of Mist and Fury; Best Young Adult Fantasy Prize, 2017, for A Court of Wings and Ruin; Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, 2018, for Kingdom of Ash; Best Fantasy, 2020, for House of Earth and Blood, 2021, for A Court of Silver Flames, 2022, for House of Sky and Breath.
RELIGION: Jewish.WRITINGS
Also author of a blog.
The “Throne of Glass” is being adapted to TV by Hulu; the “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series has been optioned for film by Tempo Productions.
SIDELIGHTS
Born and raised in New York City, Sarah J. Maas is a young-adult fantasy author who lives in Pennsylvania. She was a magna cum laude graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. She currently writes full time.
Maas’s first published novel, released in 2012, is Throne of Glass. She began writing the story at age sixteen, posting chapters of it on FictionPress.com. It was originally called “Queen of Glass” and was partly inspired by the classic story of Cinderella. Maas’s story gained much attention on FictionPress.com, and she eventually sold the book to Bloomsbury Publishing. It is the first novel in a series.
The book is set in the fictional kingdom of Adarlan on the continent of Erilea and follows an eighteen-year-old assassin named Celaena Sardothien. An orphan, Celaena was raised by Arobynn Hamel, the king of the assassins, from whom she gained all her knowledge. The country where she grew up, Terrasen, was conquered by Adarlan ten years prior to the beginning of the book. The evil King of Adarlan rules over Celaena’s home now and wages war on groups that attempt to revolt against his government. He has also banned magic. When she finds herself arrested and detained in the Salt Mines death camp, the crafty Celaena suggests a competition between herself and the other killers with a chance to serve the kingdom as a prize. Through the process of the competition, Celaena is introduced to Chaol, the strict captain of the Royal Guard of Adarlan. Initially, Chaol views Celaena as an immoral person and thus pays her little attention. However, as their relationship develops, Chaol begins to see her in a different light. The two are attracted to each other, and a complicated romance begins to build between them. Celaena is also attracted to Dorian, the crown prince of Adarlan, who differs greatly from his bloodthirsty father. In addition to navigating her attraction to these two men, Celaena wins the competition and becomes employed by the king. Within the palace walls, she discovers dangerous and malicious forces at work.
Genevieve Gallagher, a contributor to School Library Journal, praised the book’s protagonist, stating: “Maas has created a strong and sympathetic character in Celaena.” A Kirkus Reviews writer remarked: “This commingling of comedy, brutality, and fantasy evokes a rich alternate universe with a spitfire young woman as its brightest star.” Cindy Dobrez, writing in Booklist, predicted: “This title will meet with widespread demand from both teens and adults.” “Though the plot becomes repetitive in places, Maas’s prose is lively, descriptive, and rich with detail,” observed Dotsy Harland for the Voice of Youth Advocates. A reviewer in Publishers Weekly suggested: “Maas tends toward overdescription, but the verve and freshness of the narration make for a thrilling read.”
Crown of Midnight, the sequel to Throne of Glass, begins not long after Celaena has won the competition to become the king’s royal assassin. The king sends her off to kill various enemies, but rather than doing so, Celaena allows them to disappear. She refuses to kill innocent people. When the king sends Celaena to kill a member of the resistance movement, she realizes that her target is an old friend, Archer Finn. Instead of killing him, Celaena makes him her informant. Her knowledge puts her at odds with her romantic interest, Chaol. Meanwhile, the magic that the king outlawed years ago begins to return, albeit in a darker iteration.
A writer in Kirkus Reviews described Crown of Midnight as “an epic fantasy readers will immerse themselves in and never want to leave.” A writer on the Dark Faerie Tales website suggested that the book’s plot “captivates and intrigues you the whole way through.”
In The Assassin’s Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas, Maas offers five prequel works for the series. Arobynn trains Celaena as an assassin. She begins as a loyal student but later betrays him by fighting to free slaves. Celaena also develops a complicated relationship with Ben, another assassin. “The blend of fantasy, adventure, smouldering romance and brutality in the prequel will appeal to many readers,” asserted Rosemary Woodman in School Librarian.
The king of Adalan threatens to hurt Celaena’s loved ones if she does not kill the royal family of Wendlyn in Heir of Fire: A Throne of Glass Novel. Celaena asks the Fae Queen Maeve to help her destroy this king’s powers, but Maeve initially refuses. To prove herself to Maeve, Celaena harnesses her demi-Fae abilities. Meanwhile, Dorian’s magic proves dangerous, and Chaol tries to help him. “Despite the slow beginning, tension snowballs into devastating twists and an absolutely riveting ending,” commented a critic in Kirkus Reviews. Booklist reviewer Sarah Hunter complimented “Maas’s adroit plot maneuvers, well-wrought characters, and immersive world building.”
The first installment in a new series, A Court of Thorns and Roses tells the story of Feyre, a huntress determined to support her poor family. On a hunt, she accidentally kills a Fae disguised as a wolf. As revenge, a beast named Tamlin kidnaps her, bringing her to the land of the faeries. Over time, Feyre becomes attracted to her captor, and a romance between them develops.
Molly Wetta, a contributor to the Wrapped Up in Books website, described the novel as “a decidedly un-sexy, awkward mix of fairy tale tropes without anything imaginative or subversive about it.” Conversely, a writer on the Novel Novice website commented: “ A Court of Thorns and Roses is sexy, seductive, and a fun fantasy at its very finest. Maas has crafted a clever, but easily approachable fantasy world—and proves, yet again, that she has a gift for writing multidimensional, kick-ass female characters.” School Library Journal reviewer Emma Carbone called the book “a weak fantasy with strong romance elements. Good for fans of Maas’s previous books looking for a more mature read.” Booklist critic Maggie Reagan described A Court of Thorns and Roses as “a story that, despite its hefty page count and ambitious scope, simply dazzles.” “The sexual tension and deadly action are well-supported by Maas’ expertly drawn, multidimensional characters and their nuanced interpersonal dynamics,” stated a Kirkus Reviews contributor.
In Queen of Shadows, another book in the “Throne of Glass” series, Aelin works to take down the King of Adarlan in order to free her people. Meanwhile, she gets her cousin out of captivity and exorcises the demon from Prince Dorian.
Sarah Hunter, reviewer in Booklist, commented: “Though this hefty tome could use some tightening, fans of the … series likely won’t mind the protracted story.” A Kirkus Reviews critic called the volume “impossible to put down.” Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, contributor to School Library Journal, suggested: “Beautifully written prose and brilliantly crafted plots come together in this entry of the awe-inspiring fantasy series that will leave readers anticipating the next volume.”
Feyre and Tamlin return in A Court of Mist and Fury, the second book in the “Court of Thorns and Roses” series. Rhysand rescues Feyre from the castle she shares with Tamlin. Together, they work to save the land of Prythian. Maas told a writer on the Bookish Web site: “This book was ninety percent original stuff. But there were moments that were inspired by other fairy tales/folklore/legends. The Weaver, for example, was loosely inspired by ‘Hansel & Gretel’ (combined with whatever awful things were floating in the back of my imagination). Then some of the ancient history with Miryam and Drakon was inspired by the story of Exodus (random, I know). But that’s part of why I have so much fun writing this series: I can draw inspiration from so many world mythologies and make them my own.”
“The world is exquisitely crafted, the large cast of secondary characters fleshed out, the action intense,” asserted Maggie Reagan in Booklist. A Kirkus Reviews writer noted that the book “hits the spot for fans of dark, lush, sexy fantasy.” A reviewer in Publishers Weekly described the volume as “an immersive, satisfying read.” Pruitt-Goddard, the critic in School Library Journal, remarked: “The sensuous romance that develops between Feyre and Rhysand will take readers on a whirlwind so fun and addicting they won’t be able to put it down.” A contributor to the London Guardian Web site praised “the depth of each and every character, the way Maas makes you feel every move, every bit of darkness, every bit of swoon and ship her characters like nobody else has the power to” and asserted: “ A Court of Mist and Fury is dark, seductive, wonderful, brilliant—a masterpiece.”
Aelin struggles to gain legitimacy as the ruler of Terrasen in Empire of Storms. She also must resist threats from Erawan, a powerful king. In an interview with Vilma Gonzalez, contributor to the Happy Ever After Web site, Maas stated: “In Empire of Storms, a big part of her journey is learning what, exactly, it means to be queen. Not just in terms of the politics, but also how to bear the weight of so many tremendous responsibilities during such an uncertain and dark time, how her title and burdens impact her relationships with those around her—how to be both friend/lover/family and wear that crown. And beyond that, she also has to juggle the weight of her magic—and navigate how possessing that power affects her view of herself … and others’ views of her.”
Reviewing the volume on the Random Chatter Web site, a writer remarked: “ Empire of Storms serves as a barely competent continuation of the “Throne of Glass” series. While nothing in the book is likely to alienate longtime readers, there is also nothing in the story that fans can point to to draw new readers in. The action is exciting as always, and the plot twists are cleverly handled, but the inconsistent pacing and over attention to romantic relationships hamper an otherwise enjoyable book.” Other assessments of the volume were more favorable. Lucy Baugher, critic on the Culturess Web site, remarked: “ Empire of Storms is a thoroughly satisfying piece of the puzzle that is “Throne of Glass.” It serves as both a solid continuation of Aelin’s story, and widens our understanding of Erilea’s history and politics. New characters are given plenty of chances to shine, the villains are increasingly terrifying, and several disparate story threads are (finally!) woven back into the main narrative.” “The characters are quite good, and the struggles of the forces of good and evil are consistently compelling,” asserted a writer on the Rhapsody in Books Web site. A contributor to the Online version of Kirkus Reviews noted that the book offered “tightly plotted, delightful escapism.”
[open new]
The third book in the “DC Icons” series, Maas’ Catwoman: Soulstealer finds young adult Selina Kyle learning the ways of the League of Assassins as she takes care of her half-sister Maggie who has cystic fibrosis. After being away for two years in Italy, Selina returns to Gotham disguised as blonde-haired socialite Holly Vanderhees, as well as Catwoman, Queen of the Underworld, who goes on crime sprees with the notorious female villains Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, Batman’s protégé and ex-Marine with PTSD, Luke Fox, fights crime as Batwing while Batman is away. Eventually Catwoman and Batwing’s paths cross.
Critics praised the diversity in the book—Fox is Black, and Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are a romantic couple. “Selina is physically skilled, wickedly smart, and inhabits morally gray areas, making her a complex yet admirable antiheroine,” declared a critic in Kirkus Reviews. In Booklist, Suzanne Temple noted: “The staccato writing style nicely matches the occasionally bleak setting.”
Maas launched her first adult contemporary “Crescent City” fantasy series with House of Earth and Blood. On the planet Midgard, all the magical folk, like animal shifters, witches, angels, and vampyrs, as well as humans live together in Crescent City. Half-fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan lives with her best friend and wolf-shifter Danika. After Danika and her pack are brutally murdered, Bryce mourns but is comforted to know the ruling elite Asteri have imprisoned the killer, a human with a vendetta against the wolves. But two years later, a vampyr is murdered the same way as Danika, suggesting the wrong man is locked up. Bryce joins with Hunt Athalar, an indentured demon hunter and fallen angel, to find the real killer. If they succeed, Hunt is promised his freedom.
In an interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro at Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR, Maas explained how Bryce’s depression and anxiety after Danika’s death mirrored Maas’ own bout with panic attacks: “The path that she goes through from that place of darkness back to one of light was—that’s very, very close to me now. And I think I processed a lot of what I was going through, perhaps even unconsciously, through Bryce and her journey.”
Commenting on the book, a Kirkus Reviews contributor reported: “Maas’ new adult fantasy series is equal parts mystery, romance, and action drama,” adding that with the romance between Bryce and Hunt, “Readers who love Maas for her romances will find plenty to enjoy here.” In Booklist, LynnDee Wathen declared: “The mystery element presents a stunning twist, and the emotional depth of Bryce’s relationships with both Hunt and Danika is incredibly moving.” Although the villains tend to twirl their mustaches, “Bryce is a realistically flawed heroine with moxie and heart to spare” and readers will devour “this ambitious, emotionally charged contemporary fantasy,” according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer.
In the second “Crescent City” installment, House of Sky and Breath, Bryce and Hunt are trying to regain a sense of normalcy after the events of House of Earth and Blood. Crescent City may have been saved, but the ruling Asteri fear that Danika’s secrets may pose a threat to them, and a rising rebellion grows against the Asteri and their oppressive rule. Bryce and Hunt are drawn in to the rebellion when they help a human boy with rare magical powers. Maas thrilled readers with a crossover when Bryce uses her newfound powers of teleportation to enter the world of the author’s A Court of Thorns and Roses.
The “Crescent City” books weave together intrigue, romance, politics, and grief. Speaking to Katie Fraser in The Bookseller, Maas discussed how she built the story around the fierce friendship between two woman and the devastation when Bryce lost Danika: “losing someone who has been a rock for you, who has seen you at your worst and still stuck by you and encouraged you to be your best? Losing that person can leave a crater in your life and your soul.” While the cast of characters grows and the stream of twists lose their value over 800 pages, nevertheless, “Maas has spun quite the fantasy soap opera here, with mostly entertaining results,” according to a Kirkus Reviews critic.
[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 1, 2012, Cindy Dobrez, review of Throne of Glass, p. 119; July 1, 2014, Sarah Hunter, review of Heir of Fire: A Throne of Glass Novel, p. 80; May 1, 2015, Maggie Reagan, review of A Court of Thorns and Roses, p. 90; August 1, 2015, Sarah Hunter, review of Queen of Shadows, p. 64; May 1, 2016, Maggie Reagan, review of A Court of Mist and Fury, p. 82; August 1, 2018, Suzanne Temple, review of Catwoman: Soulstealer, p. 80; February 1, 2020, LynnDee Wathen, review of House of Earth and Blood, p. 34.
Bookseller, February 3, 2023, Katie Fraser, “Sarah J. Maas’ Latest Title, Now in Paperback, Stunned Fans with an Epic Crossover between the Worlds Created in Two of Her Bestselling Series of Books.”
Guardian (London, England), October 17, 2015, review of Queen of Shadows; June 22, 2016, review of A Court of Mist and Fury.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2012, review of Throne of Glass; July 1, 2013, review of Crown of Midnight; August 1, 2014, review of Heir of Fire; April 1, 2015, review of A Court of Thorns and Roses; August 1, 2015, review of Queen of Shadows; April 1, 2016, review of A Court of Mist and Fury; September 17, 2016, review of Empire of Storms; June 1, 2018, review of Catwoman; February 3, 2024, review of House of Earth and Blood; February 3, 2024, review of House of Sky and Breath.
Publishers Weekly, June 18, 2012, review of Throne of Glass, p. 61; March 23, 2015, review of A Court of Thorns and Roses, p. 78; March 21, 2016, review of A Court of Mist and Fury, p. 79; January 27, 2020, review of House of Earth and Blood, p. 54.
School Librarian, summer, 2014, Rosemary Woodman, review of The Assassin’s Blade: The Throne of Glass Novellas, p. 120.
School Library Journal, December, 2012, Genevieve Gallagher, review of Throne of Glass, p. 124; August, 2014, Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, review of Heir of Fire, p. 102; May, 2015, Emma Carbone, review of A Court of Thorns and Roses, p. 121; October, 2015, Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, review of Queen of Shadows, p. 114; May, 2016, Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, review of A Court of Mist and Fury, p. 116.
Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 2012, Dotsy Harland, review of Throne of Glass, p. 384.
Weekend Edition Sunday, March 15, 2020, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, “Sarah Maas’ New ‘Crescent City’ Is a Fantasy Murder Mystery and a Love Story.”
ONLINE
Bookish, http://www.bookish.com/ (June 27, 2016), Kelly Gallucci, “Sarah J. Maas Teases What Readers Can Expect after A Court of Mist and Fury,” author interview.
Culturess, http://www.culturess.com/ (September 14, 2016), Lacy Baugher, review of Empire of Storms.
Dark Faerie Tales, http://darkfaerietales.com/ (June 27, 2013), review of Crown of Midnight; (November 24, 2016), review of A Court of Mist and Fury.
Gone with the Words, http://gonewiththewords.com/ (March 29, 2013), review of Throne of Glass.
Happy Ever After, http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/ (September 5, 2016), Vilma Gonzalez, “Exclusive Interview with Sarah J. Maas, Author of Empire of Storms,” author interview.
Happy Indulgence, September 16, 2016, review of Empire of Storms.
Hypable, http://www.hypable.com/ (September 1, 2015), Ariana Quinonez, review of Queen of Shadows.
Inside My Worlds, http://rlsharpe.wordpress.com/ (June 14, 2013), R.L. Sharpe, review of Throne of Glass.
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (September 17, 2016), review of Empire of Storms.
London Guardian Online, https://www.theguardian.com/ (February 6, 2017), review of Queen of Shadows; (February 6, 2017), review of A Court of Mist and Fury.
Novel Novice, http://novelnovice.com/ (May 4, 2015), review of A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Random Chatter, http://www.randomchatter.com/ (October 12, 2016), review of Empire of Storms.
Rex Robot Reviews, http://www.rexrobotreviews.com/ (June 23, 2013), review of Throne of Glass.
Rhapsody in Books, https://rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com/ (January 9, 2017), review of Empire of Storms.
Sarah J. Maas Blog, http://sjmaas.livejournal.com (July 16, 2015).
Sarah J. Maas Home Page, http://www.sarahjmaas.com (February 24, 2017).
World of Sarah J. Maas, http://worldofsarahjmaas.com (July 16, 2015), author profile.
Wrapped Up in Books, http://wrappedupinbooks.org (May 5, 2015), Molly Wetta, review of A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Sarah J. Maas is the prolific, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series, which have sold more than 38 million copies in English worldwide and are published in thirty-eight languages. Maas is one of the most successful authors of the modern era, generating a far-reaching and ever-growing fanbase of readers, as well as a TikTok phenomenon, with the hashtag for her A Court of Thorns and Roses series having several billion views.
Sarah J Maas
USA flag (b.1986)
Sarah J. Maas is the #1 New York Timesbestselling author of the Throne of Glass series and A Court of Thorns and Roses series, as well as a USA Today and international bestselling author. Sarah wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen, and it has now sold in thirty-five languages. A New York native, Sarah currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog.
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Series
Throne of Glass
1. Throne of Glass (2012)
2. Crown of Midnight (2013)
3. Heir of Fire (2014)
4. Queen of Shadows (2015)
5. Empire of Storms (2016)
The Throne of Glass Colouring Book (2016)
6. Tower of Dawn (2017)
7. Kingdom of Ash (2018)
Embers of Memory (2019) (with Kuro)
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumb
Throne of Glass Novella
1. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (2012)
2. The Assassin and the Desert (2012)
3. The Assassin and the Underworld (2012)
4. The Assassin and the Empire (2012)
The Assassin's Blade (2014)
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumb
Court of Thorns and Roses
1. A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015)
2. A Court of Mist and Fury (2016)
A Court of Thorns and Roses Colouring Book (2017)
3. A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017)
4. A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018)
5. A Court of Silver Flames (2021)
thumbthumbthumbthumb
thumbthumb
Crescent City
1. House of Earth and Blood (2020)
2. House of Sky and Breath (2022)
3. House of Flame and Shadow (2024)
thumbthumbthumb
Series contributed to
DC Icons
Catwoman: Soulstealer (2018)
thumb
Omnibus editions hide
Sarah J Mass Starter Bundle (2023)
Sarah J. Maas
Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Appearance hide
Text
Small
Standard
Large
Width
Standard
Wide
Color (beta)
Automatic
Light
Dark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sarah J. Maas
Born Sarah Janet Maas
March 5, 1986 (age 38)
New York City, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Hamilton College (BA)
Occupation Author
Notable work
Throne of Glass
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Crescent City
Spouse Josh Wasserman (m. 2010)
Children 2[1][2]
Website sarahjmaas.com
Sarah Janet Maas, known as Sarah J. Maas (born March 5, 1986)[3][4] is an American fantasy author known for her fantasy series Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses,[5] and Crescent City. As of 2024, she has sold over 38 million copies of her books and her work has been translated into 38 languages.[6]
Early life and education
Maas was adopted by a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, and grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was raised Jewish.[7][8]
In 2008,[9] Maas graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College in New York, where she majored in creative writing and minored in religious studies.[4]
Career
Maas began writing what would become her debut novel, Throne of Glass, at age sixteen.[9][10] After writing several chapters of the novel, then titled Queen of Glass, Maas posted them on FictionPress.com, where it became one of the most popular stories on the site. It was later removed from the site when Maas decided to publish the novel.[10] The story line of the series is based on the story of Cinderella, with the premise of "What if Cinderella was not a servant, but an assassin? And what if she didn't attend the ball to meet the prince, but to kill him, instead?"[10][11] In 2008, Maas started sending the story to agents before signing with Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dial Literary Agency in 2009.[10] Throne of Glass was purchased in March 2010 by Bloomsbury, who later purchased two additional books in the series.[12] The series is available in 15 countries and 35 languages.[9][13] While four prequel novellas set two years before the first novel were also published, these were later condensed into one book, The Assassin's Blade plus an original novella.[14] The second book of the series, Crown of Midnight was a New York Times young adult best-seller.[15][16] The final book in the series, Kingdom of Ash, was released on October 23, 2018; the finished series comprised seven books plus the novella collection.[17][13]
A Court of Thorns and Roses, Maas' second fantasy series, is a loose retelling of the traditional Beauty and the Beast.[18][19] The first book of the trilogy was written in 2009, but was not published until 2015. Due to the success and popularity of the original series, it was extended and a spin-off series was announced which would feature stories of other popular characters. The fifth book in the series and the first of the spin-offs, A Court of Silver Flames, was published on February 16, 2021.[20]
On May 16, 2018, Maas announced her first adult fantasy series, Crescent City. The first book, titled House of Earth and Blood, was released by Bloomsbury on March 3, 2020.[21][22] It was ranked one of the top twenty Science Fiction & Fantasy books of 2020 on Kobo.[23] The sequel, House of Sky and Breath, was released on February 15, 2022 and won the Best Fantasy award for Goodreads Choice Awards in 2022.[24][25] The third installation of the series, House of Flame and Shadow, was released on January 30th 2024.
The A Court of Thorns and Roses series was announced to be adapted into a television series for Hulu in 2021.[26] In an interview with The New York Times, Maas confirmed that she was developing the project with the writers and the showrunner as executive producer.[27]
In May 2023, The Verge reported that the cover of the UK edition of House of Earth and Blood uses an AI-generated image.[28]
Many of her books now banned in Utah are leading to a surge in popularity.
Writing style and influences
Maas's books are highly acclaimed and she has even been called "the next J. K. Rowling" by The Independent.[29] In an interview with Writers & Artists, Maas told them that movie scores and classical music are her inspiration as a writer.[30] She continued on to say that Sabriel written by Garth Nix and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley began her love for reading fantasy and writing it.[30] She has cited Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sailor Moon as influences.[4] Her character development has been lauded as one of her best qualities for storytelling, with morally grey characters and strong world building.[31]
Maas has mentioned that, "The sense of discovery is why I love writing so much. It's a total thrill for me."[32] Her books are known for heavy romantic themes, and Maas herself has said that her fantasy series A Court of Thorns and Roses "does skew older", sitting somewhere between young adult and adult genres.[33]
Reception
In 2024 the Republican-dominated Utah Legislature passed a law[34] mandating the removal of books deemed objectionable from all Utah public schools. On 2 August 2024 the Utah State School Board released its first list of objectionable books. Six of the thirteen books on this list were penned by Maas (A Court of Frost and Starlight, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Silver Flames, A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Wings and Ruin, and Empire of Storms).[35][36]
Personal life
Maas met Josh Wasserman at Hamilton College, and developed a crush on him upon seeing him. At the time, Maas was a freshman and Wasserman was a resident assistant in her dorm building. They married on May 30, 2010.[37][38]
On June 1, 2018, their first son, Taran, was born.[39] Maas was 11 days overdue when she went into labor and required an emergency Caesarean section.[39][38] On February 8, 2022, Maas gave birth to a daughter named Sloane.[40][32][38] Wasserman is supportive of Maas's career, often caring for their children while she writes.[38] The family lives together in New York City.[41]
Bibliography
The Assassin's Blade
Main article: The Assassin's Blade
Main
The Assassin's Blade (2014)[9]
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (2012)[42]
The Assassin and the Desert (2012)[14]
The Assassin and the Underworld (2012)[15]
The Assassin and the Empire (2012)[15]
The Assassin and the Healer (2013)[15]
Throne of Glass
Main article: Throne of Glass
Main
Throne of Glass (2012)[9][14]
Crown of Midnight (2013)[9]
Heir of Fire (2014)[9]
Queen of Shadows (2015)[13]
Empire of Storms (2016)[43]
Tower of Dawn (2017)[44]
Kingdom of Ash (2018)[17]
Companion
Throne of Glass Coloring Book (2016)
The World of Throne of Glass (2019)
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Main article: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Main
A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015)[18]
A Court of Mist and Fury (2016)[45]
A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017)[46]
A Court of Silver Flames (2021)[47]
Novella
A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018)[48]
Companion
A Court of Thorns and Roses Coloring Book (2017)
Crescent City
Main article: Crescent City
Main
House of Earth and Blood (2020)[49]
House of Sky and Breath (2022)[50]
House of Flame and Shadow (2024)
Others
Catwoman: Soulstealer (2018)[51]
Adaptations
In March 2020, it was announced that Maas and Ron Moore will work together on adapting A Court of Thorns and Roses into a Hulu television series.[52] The project will be produced by 20th Television.[53] The release date is yet to be set.
Awards and nominations
Maas has received the following awards and nominations:
Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2017 Dragon Awards Best Young Adult Novel A Court of Wings and Ruin Nominated [54]
2012 Goodreads Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction Throne of Glass Nominated [55]
2013 Crown of Midnight Nominated [56]
2014 Heir of Fire Nominated [57]
2015 Queen of Shadows Won [58]
A Court of Thorns and Roses Nominated
2016 A Court of Mist and Fury Won [59]
Empire of Storms Nominated
2017 A Court of Wings and Ruin Won [60]
Tower of Dawn Nominated
2018 Best of the Best A Court of Mist and Fury Nominated [61]
Queen of Shadows Nominated
A Court of Wings and Ruin Nominated
Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction Kingdom of Ash Won [62]
A Court of Frost and Starlight Nominated
2020 Best Fantasy House of Earth and Blood Won [63]
2021 A Court of Silver Flames Won [64]
2022 House of Sky and Breath Won [65]
Accolades
Year-end lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2021 Book Riot A Court of Silver Flames Top Books of 2021 — [66]
2015 Bustle A Court of Thorns and Roses The 25 Best YA Books Of 2015 9 [67]
2015 BuzzFeed Queen of Shadows 16 Of The Best YA Books Of 2015 11 [68]
2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses The 32 Best Fantasy Books Of 2015 7 [69]
2018 A Court of Wings and Ruins 28 Of The Best YA Books Released in 2017 9 [70]
2018 Cosmopolitan A Court of Frost and Starlight The 71 Best Books of 2018 33 [71]
2021 Business Insider A Court of Thorns and Roses Series The 23 best fantasy book series to read right now — [72]
2021 A Court of Thorns and Roses The 21 best young adult romance books to read in 2021 — [73]
2015 The Independent Queen of Shadows 10 best fantasy novels 4 [74]
2020 Kobo House of Earth and Blood Our top 20 Science Fiction & Fantasy picks of 2020 — [23]
2021 A Court of Silver Flames Best audiobooks of 2021 — [75]
A Court of Silver Flames Our top 20 Science Fiction & Fantasy picks of 2021 — [76]
2013 PopSugar Crown of Midnight The Best YA Books of 2013 2 [77]
2015 Queen of Shadows 10 Best Young Adult Books of 2015 8 [78]
2015 A Court of Thorns and Roses 22 [79]
2016 A Court of Mist and Fury The Best YA Books of 2016 13 [80]
2016 Empire of Storms 20 [81]
2017 A Court of Wings and Ruin The Best YA Romance Books of 2017 11 [82]
2021 A Court of Silver Flames A Running List of the Best Books of 2021, For All Your TBR Needs 38 [83]
2021 Wired A Court of Thorns and Roses 36 of the best fantasy books everyone should read — [84]
Decade lists
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
2019 BuzzFeed Throne of Glass The 30 Best YA Books of the Decade 10 [85]
2019 Comic Years Throne of Glass Series The Top 10 Fantasy Series Published in the Past Decade 10 [86]
2019 Cultured Vulture Throne of Glass Books of the Decade: 10 Best YA Books of the 2010s 5 [87]
2019 The Young Folks Throne of Glass The 25 Best Young Adult Books of the 2010s 9 [88]
A Court of Thorns and Roses 8
2019 A Court of Frost and Starlight 10 Best Holiday YA Novels of the 2010s — [89]
Sarah J. Maas’s success comes at the expense of young readers
Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor • January 29, 2024
Walk into any bookstore these days and I assure you, you will find some table or display dedicated to Sarah J. Maas. She is a current New York Times bestselling author, and you cannot scroll through two videos on BookTok without bumping into someone recommending her work. She has been extremely prolific and successful in her time, but her success is undeserved and comes at the expense of young readers.
Sarah J. Maas specializes in an ever-expanding genre of books deemed “fantasy smut.” These books often follow a similar plotline: a girl from an unremarkable little life in a boring town gets kidnapped by some sort of elf or fae, the girl and the fae are bitter rivals until circumstances require them to work together and eventually they start to fall in love (or, more accurately, lust).Then, another muscle-clad man, even darker and more broody, enters the story to make things more complicated. More political fantasy conflict ensues, but only as a backdrop to this new romantic conflict and an absurd amount of sex.
“
It is dangerous to be recommending these books to a young audience without being transparent about its contents.
Sarah J. Maas’s books are marked as young adult novels. In the book publishing world, young adult usually refers to readers ages 12 to 18 and are often marketed towards a middle or high school reader. Sarah J. Maas was in this section of the library when I stumbled upon her work in early highschool. I think this is irresponsible given the contents of these books, which, if in any other storytelling medium, would most likely be rated R. Admittedly, her fantasy retelling series (called ACOTAR by fans) is smuttier than her Throne of Glass series, according to reviews online, but neither are exactly PG.
It is dangerous to be recommending these books to a young audience without being transparent about its contents. Exposing kids unwittingly to mature themes can cause some real damage, especially if young people do not fully understand boundaries, safe sex and how to identify abuse. To be fair, a majority of Sarah J. Maas’s audience is adult women, but that does not change the fact that these books are often marketed as a simple “fantasy series” with no other caveats.
Not only is Maas’s marketing living in dicey territory, but her writing isn’t that good either. In any of her books, you can find the same handful of characters and situations thrown throughout different fantasy worlds. There is very little imagination to the worlds she has written. For example, her novel ACOTAR is, in essence, a smutty retelling of “Beauty and the Beast.” We meet two predictable characters right off the bat and soon after find ourselves trapped in a dystopian fantasy world. Here, the world is controlled by courts, but the courts are under siege by our main antagonist, who believes she could control the world better (which, I’ll be honest, she could).
On paper, this idea sounds thrilling and fantastic! Sure, it feels like a strange “Harry Potter” meets “Lord of the Rings” meets teenage coming-of-age novel instead of something truly new, but there is nothing fundamentally wrong with working off what has come before. The only true original twist Maas includes in “A Court of Thorns and Roses” — her magic system — is itself based in smut. According to the magic system, the king must undergo an annual “rebirth” ritual, carried out through dubiously nonconsensual sexual intercourse, and an actual birth. This ritual is required to keep the magic in the world.
I would also argue that ACOTAR contains some romanticizing of Stockholm syndrome and unhealthy, possessive relationships, which could be considered abusive. Not only do these novels have too much smut for a teen-centered audience, they are also glorifying depictions of dangerous relationships.
The plot of the novel also takes a back seat, serving as a method to keep pushing these two characters into new situations so they can yet again, get intimate with each other instead of dealing with the very real world-ending problems that, for some reason, only they have the capabilities to solve. Honestly, a six-book series probably could have ended in two books if the main characters could get over each other and focus for a couple minutes without making out.
“
Maas might be a successful author, but she is not a good one. Her books are more often than not an excuse to live out perverse fantasies and are a danger to unsuspecting young audiences.
I understand that maybe some people are looking for the “fantasy smut” genre in the novels they consume, but I hesitate to call it real storytelling. Sarah J. Maas might be one of BookTok’s favorite writers, but she is doing very little to contribute to the world of literature, or the world as a whole. As someone who aspires to go into that field after graduating, it is disheartening to see that trashy books –– books that forsake good writing to instead pander to a lonely middle-aged woman’s secret fantasies –– are the ones that get the most attention.
Sarah J. Maas could have had potential had she not gotten lost in a world of smut and pandering to audiences. Maas might be a successful author, but she is not a good one. Her books are more often than not an excuse to live out perverse fantasies and are a danger to unsuspecting young audiences.
Why half the people you know are obsessed with this book series
With A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas has established herself as the reigning queen of romantasy.
by Constance Grady
Feb 27, 2024, 6:00 AM EST
Three book covers in a row: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin
Paige Vickers for Vox
Constance Grady
Constance Grady is a senior correspondent on the Culture team for Vox, where since 2016 she has covered books, publishing, gender, celebrity analysis, and theater.
As BookTok goes, so goes publishing. The community of TikTokers who make videos about their favorite books is one of the only forces actively driving book sales in a contracting market — and right now, BookTok has a new favorite genre. Romantasy, the hybrid genre of romance-focused fantasy novels, has never been hotter. Every second pitch I receive from a publisher describes itself as romantasy. Bookstores are pushing tables of romantasy novels to the front of the shop. Grown-ups and teenagers alike are posting long videos about their favorite romantasy books. Many of them highlight Sarah J. Maas, the genre’s reigning queen.
Maas has been publishing since 2012, when at 26 she published Throne of Glass, the fantasy novel she started working on as a 16-year-old. In 2013, she scored her first New York Times bestseller, and in 2015, she began to pick up adult fans with the wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses. Now, Maas has two YA and one adult romantasy series (Crescent City, the adult series, began in 2020). Between all those titles, she’s sold more than 38 million books worldwide. Her most recent book, House of Flame and Shadow, came out at the end of January and has been on the bestseller list ever since.
Of all Maas’s series, A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) is her crown jewel. The TikTok tag #acotar has 8.9 billion views. Hulu has been developing a TV adaptation helmed by Ron Moore, although its current status is reportedly “murky.” Among fans, it is her most beloved work, the only Maas series so popular that it’s spawned its own spinoff novels. They say that ACOTAR has reignited their childhood love of reading, that these are the books that make other books feel worthwhile.
Reading through the first three volumes of ACOTAR recently, I began to understand why. These books go down like candy, silly and frothy and compulsively readable. Everyone in ACOTAR is beautiful, everyone is attractively damaged, everyone is pining with love for some inaccessible someone else. I read nearly 2,000 pages in a couple of weeks.
What is liveliest about Maas’s writing, though, is how well she knows her formula. Maas is a genius at cramming her books with the tropes of her hybrid genre — and then subverting those tropes just enough to thrill.
Featured Videos From Vox
Why China is losing the microchip war
The video player is currently playing an ad.
Skip Ad
And how its escalated the US-China cold war.
In his 2017 book Hit Makers, journalist Derek Thompson identifies a simple formula for popularity. Human beings, Thompson writes, tend to like things that are pleasingly familiar, with a gentle touch of surprise. That’s part of why romantasy is so popular. It takes two familiar trope-driven formulae — say, an enemies-to-lovers love story plus an epic battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil — and smashes them together to create something that feels new.
Identifying the pleasingly familiar and adding a surprise is something of a specialty for Maas. She likes to start her stories with classic fairy tales given a hint of a girl power twist. Throne of Glass is based on “Cinderella,” but Maas’s Cinderella is an assassin sent to kill the prince. A Court of Thorns and Roses is “Beauty and the Beast,” but Beauty is a deadly huntress.
Within the stories themselves, Maas’s worldbuilding is full of hat tips to her predecessors. In A Court of Thorn and Roses, the faerie land is called Prythian, a nod to Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain. In Prythian, faeries use a form of teleportation called “winnowing,” and their explanation of it will be familiar to anyone who loved Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. “Think of it as … two different points on a piece of cloth,” Maas writes (very much her ellipses). “Winnowing … it’s like folding that cloth so the two spots align.” If you’ve read the classics of YA fantasy before, you’ll recognize the sampling and remixing she is doing here.
Part of the pleasure of reading Maas is seeing these familiar YA fantasy references lie cheek by jowl with the tropes of romance novels. In A Court of Mist and Fury, the second volume of the series, two lovers who have not yet admitted their feelings for each other find themselves forced by cruel circumstance to fake date. Later, they end up at an inn with only one bed to spare, not once but twice. Across ACOTAR, Maas’s protagonist, Feyre, is torn between two boys. One is blond and sunny; one is dark-haired and brooding; both are impossibly beautiful, rich, and powerful; both begin as Feyre’s enemies.
Romance and fantasy also have their darker tropes, and Maas plays with these as well. Lots of books feature villainous sexual predators, but when such figures appear in ACOTAR, they are almost exclusively women. It’s an interestingly consistent move from Maas — one she appears to keep coming back to across her books because it feels counterintuitive while at the same time allowing her readers the satisfaction of a purely evil villainess to hate. It’s also a good excuse to give her male characters extra layers of sadness and vulnerability. Maas is not interested in dissecting all the ways sexual trauma can hurt a person, but she is interested in giving her romantic leads dark and violent backstories.
Maas’s biggest subversion, though, is also her most exciting. At the end of A Court of Thorns and Roses, she pulls out the rug from under her own love triangle, and the results are glee-inducing to read. Spoilers follow.
If the first volume of ACOTAR is a Beauty and the Beast story, then the Beast is Tamlin, the mercurial faerie lord who first pulls Feyre into Prythian. Tamlin, the High Lord of Spring, is angry and possessive in the way that tends to read as attractive in romance novels, especially romance novels based on this fairy tale. Tamlin has the ability to turn into a wolflike creature, and when he’s angry, he growls and claws shoot out of his fingers. When Feyre gets angry, he uses magic to restrain her.
None of Tamlin’s sins here are too far off the Edward Cullen norm, and with the first three-quarters of Thorns and Roses following the beats of a standard Beauty and the Beast love story so clearly, it’s easy to feel as though Maas is steering you toward thinking of Tamlin’s anger problem as romantic.
Feyre, who is recovering from a childhood of poverty and emotional neglect, falls rapidly for Tamlin, despite her initial hatred of all faeries. He showers her with fine food and clothes, gives her art supplies so that she can pursue her passion for painting. He is the first person Feyre has ever encountered who treats her as someone special and beautiful. His uncontrollable rage at the thought of her being in danger or with another man seems to her like yet more proof that she is special and beautiful. She is smitten. When the book ends with the pair kissing in a meadow full of wildflowers, it feels like just what you would expect.
Note smarter on Galaxy Z Fold6
Switch to the all-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 and turn long reads into short summaries using Note Assist with Galaxy AI.
Sponsored By Samsung
Learn more
Yet something bizarre happens about a hundred pages before that ending. Tamlin is kidnapped by a wicked faerie, and Feyre has to go on a quest to rescue him. That quest is normal for this story type — Beauty traditionally rescues the Beast, and Tamlin’s name is a nod to the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin, in which a mortal girl rescues her lover from a wicked fairy queen. Done right, such a quest reads as incredibly romantic, a chance for the lovers to prove the strength of their connection against insurmountable odds. What’s so odd about this particular case is that instead, as soon as the quest begins, Tamlin becomes a nonentity within the story.
Feyre’s thoughts of Tamlin and how much she loves him become generic, vague on the details. Even when he is present on the page, he is passive, unemotive, no longer compelling. All the energy and the juice of the story has transferred itself over to a new romantic lead — Rhysand, the enigmatic and brooding High Lord of Night. In Thorns and Roses, Rhysand is ambiguously villainous, apparently allied with the wicked queen. Still, for purposes of his own, he’s willing to form an alliance with Feyre to help her rescue Tamlin.
In the page time that earlier in the novel would have been accorded to Tamlin, Feyre thinks a lot about how much she hates Rhysand, and also how attractive he is. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Feyre is going to hook up with Rhys eventually, but the structure of the tropes here tells us that Tamlin is obviously Feyre’s endgame. He’s the Beast and she’s the Beauty! They end the book kissing in a meadow! Who’s going to mess with that?
Maas messes with it. With a merciless speed that I can only compare to Gilmore Girls making Dean illiterate as soon as Jess shows up, Maas reveals in the opening of A Court of Mist and Fury that Tamlin is a faerie Republican, ruling his court according to the laws of trickle-down magic economics and sparing no handouts for the poor. Feyre, with her background of childhood poverty, is outraged — and as Tamlin’s possessive rages become more and more violent, she loses patience with him. Before the end of the book, she has cast Tamlin aside and declared her love for Rhysand, who is revealed to be the most benevolent of all the High Lords of Prythian and who places a premium on Feyre’s independence to boot.
Note smarter on Galaxy Z Fold6
Switch to the all-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 and turn long reads into short summaries using Note Assist with Galaxy AI.
Sponsored By Samsung
Learn more
This kind of love interest switcheroo is common in the world of teen TV, where characters change partners according to the fickle winds of cast chemistry and writing staff changes. In YA books, however, love stories tend to be more aesthetically unified than they are on TV. You can usually tell who will end up with whom from early on in the narrative, and the satisfaction of reading comes from seeing how they’ll end up together. Watching a swap like this one emerge out of nowhere is a perfect execution of Thompson’s Hit Makers formula: a pleasingly familiar romance trope subverted when you least expect it; the love story structure of one medium ported over into another.
It’s popular among Maas’s fans to say that the switch is a politically evolved take on the problems of the Beauty and the Beast story. The Beast’s anger issues and violent tendencies, his decision to find a girlfriend by kidnapping her — these are revealed as red flags for an abusive relationship instead of romantic quirks. Feyre finds true love not with him but with someone who tells her constantly that she is always free to make her own choices.
I’m not sure, though, that the switch works as an effective political critique on Maas’s source material. Rhys, like Tamlin, initiates his relationship with Feyre by coercing her into a magical bargain that forces her to promise to come to his home. Like Tamlin, Rhys mistreats Feyre only to later reveal he was forced to do so by circumstances beyond his control. He withholds crucial information from her, and although he lets her make her own choices, he forces her to do so within artificially limited circumstances.
The switch is incredibly fun to read, yet it doesn’t criticize problematic old romance tropes so much as slightly tweak their angles. But then, if those romance tropes weren’t so satisfying to read, problematic or not, Maas wouldn’t have used them to begin with.
"This has been years in the making, thinking about how the worlds connect and how you can move between them," says Sarah J Maas as she talks to me over Zoom from rainy Los Angeles about House o/Sky and Breath, the second instalment in the Crescent City trilogy, following House of Earth and Blood.
Maas is a titan in the fantasy genre. Her oeuvre boasts three distinct fantasy worlds--the Throne of Glass series (eight books), the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (five books) and Crescent City--with 1.2 million print copies sold across all series and editions through Nielsen BookScan's UK TCM. The successful hardback sales of House o/Sky and Breath alone helped boost Bloomsbury's profits in 2022.
Despite her success, Maas is incredibly down to earth, speaking to me bedecked in a joyful "Bambi" jumper and proudly showcasing her slightly prehistoric-looking radio. It is not a tech-pumped feat of engineering, it simply plays music, and it is the simplicity Maas yearns for: "I keep my little desk radio because I just like listening to the local radio. Just putting on the classic channel, there's something about it."
It has become slightly harder to find opportunities to escape to the solitariness of her study and bask in the unadulterated delight of classical music since having children. "My children are the music I write to," she laughs. With two young children and a 13-year-old "built like a brick" dog Annie, things are never dull. "When I got the call from my editor that House of Sky and Breath had hit number number one in the New York Times bestseller list, I was elbow deep in baby poop!"
Now anticipating its paperback release in May 2023, House of Sky and Breath sent longtime Maas readers reeling when the ending revealed a crossover between the Crescent City trilogy and Maas' other series A Court of Thorns and Roses, confirming reader speculation that the Maas multiverse did indeed exist.
The trilogy has marked new beginnings for Maas, not only opening worlds of possibilities for future writings but also marking a brief departure from high fantasy. House of Earth and Blood was the first contemporary novel she had written, the primary difference being setting. The first two instalments in the Crescent City trilogy are set in Lunathion, a modern city on the planet Midgaard, which would be familiar to any Londoner except it is populated with angels, fae and animal shifters.
Following on
House of Sky and Breath opens a few months after the events of House of Earth and Blood. Bryce, the half-human, half-fae protagonist, is adjusting to life after defending the city from demon hordes. She is also grieving the death of her best friend Danika, murdered in the first book, and navigating her increasingly romantic relationship with Hunt, a lightning-wielding angel. Attempts to regain a sense of normalcy, however, are undercut when Danika's secrets begin to surface, and Bryce and Hunt become embroiled in a plot to overthrow the rulers of Midgaard, known as the Asteri. In a bid to escape the Asteri's wrath, Bryce uses her powers to teleport and inadvertently lands in the world of A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Although many readers were thrilled at the crossover, Maas stresses that you don't have to have read her other series to appreciate the ending. "I want it to be satisfying and compelling for both fans of the A Court of Thorns and Rose series and fans of the Crescent City series. [I want] to make sure the story can stand on its own."
The crossover has been years in the making, occurring to Maas when writing A CourtofSilver Flames and Kingdom of Ash, the latest instalments in the A Court of Thorns and Roses and Thrones of Glass series, respectively. "I had planted seeds in all my series about the possibility of it being a multiverse. The worlds exist, but they're planets and light-years away."
It is a constant thrill to fans and one that, after a cursory look on Reddit turned into a deep dive on Maaslore, has churned up hundreds of theories, ranging from the inexplicably brilliant to the not so brilliant. "I often think about these series for years before I end up writing them," Maas explains: "[It means I have] the opportunity to think, 'How in this moment can I plant this little detail?'" Her readers are undoubtedly looking for every single one.
Initially, the Crescent City trilogy began as a side project for Maas after inspiration struck mid-flight while listening to "Shenzou", a theme by Steven Price from the "Gravity" film score. The music prompted an image of one of the most climactic moments of book one, reducing Maas to tears: "I wound up putting my sweatshirt over my head and crouching down in my seat and crying." From here, House of Earth and Blood percolated for years as a "fun side project", being written when Maas had the "creative energy to burn--which was well before children", she laughs. "I would pull up the manuscript on my computer and just write for a couple of hours and the world slowly unfolded. Initially, I didn't have plans to publish, it was just something for me."
Side by side
Although the Crescent City books are woven with intrigue, spiced with romance, politics and power, they are built on Bryce and Danika's fierce friendship and how Bryce is forced to cope in its absence. "We spend a lot of time talking about losing our romantic partners and how that can break us, but losing someone who has been a rock for you, who has seen you at your worst and still stuck by you and encouraged you to be your best? Losing that person can leave a crater in your life and your soul."
Bryce is "very close to my heart in a lot of ways", Maas says, which speaks to the importance of female characters in her writing. Bryce's determination, awe-inspiring power and fiery sass are hallmarks of Maas' female protagonists which take, as their blueprint, Garth Nix's Sabriel, first published in 1995. "The book changed so much for me; I realised not only, 'Oh God there's a thing called fantasy books', but that [a book] could be about young women like me." Nix's novel follows young necromancer Sabriel, who must journey to save her father and, ultimately, the kingdom from the rising dead. It was a "gateway drug" for Maas, who was motivated to "create stories like that, about young women getting to do all these epic, bad-ass things, but also have a real emotional journey".
Now in the process of editing the third Crescent City book with her editor, Maas teases that it is "on track to be as long as the first two in the series"--a veritable doorstop. Although there is a lot to juggle, both with reader expectation and the sheer challenge of bringing together two series, Maas is calm: "Of course, I want this one to live up to the expectations that readers have going into it. But, for me, I just want to make sure that I'm making smart choices."
Metadata
Imprint Bloomsbury
Format PB (9.99 [pounds sterling]), EB (11.89 [pounds sterling])
ISBN 9781526628220/ 1408884430
Pub date 11.05.23
Rights 17 territories, including US
US Editor Noa Wheeler
Agent Robin Rue, Writers House
Maas' top three
A Court of Thorns and Roses Bloomsbury, 8.99 [pounds sterling], 9781526605399,
The first instalment of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. "Sarah J Maas is a master of fantasy" --HuffPost.
193,745 copies sold
Throne of Glass Bloomsbury, 8.99 [pounds sterling], 9781408832332
The first book in the now eight-book series. Assassin Celaena Sardothien is recruited into a tournament to fight for her freedom. "Adventure fantasy spiced with titillating romance"-Sunday Times.
148,248 copies sold
A Court of Mist and Fury Bloomsbury, 8.99 [pounds sterling], 9781526617163
The second instalment in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. "This is a glorious series of total joy"--Stylist.
92,892 copies sold
Data: Nielsen UK
Katie Fraser @katiefr3
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 The Stage Media Limited
http://www.thebookseller.com
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Fraser, Katie. "Sarah J Maas' latest title, now in paperback, stunned fans with an epic crossover between the worlds created in two of her bestselling series of books." The Bookseller, no. 6005, 3 Feb. 2023, pp. 28+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A735802241/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c62655af. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
Maas, Sarah J. HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH Bloomsbury (Fiction None) $28.00 2, 15 ISBN: 9781635574074
Bryce, Hunt, and all their friends join the rebellion against the tyrannical Asteri in Book Two of Maas' Crescent City series.
After the drama of finding a killer and escaping an ancient demon, Bryce and Hunt are trying to get on with their lives together. The Asteri, who rule the planet Midgard with an iron fist, have warned them to keep quiet about the secrets Bryce uncovered during the climax of House of Earth and Blood (2020). But between Bryce's nasty father, who happens to be a Fae King, trying to coerce her into an arranged marriage and Bryce's efforts to acclimate to her newfound magic, the couple struggles to lie low. When their friend Tharion shows up and asks for help finding a human boy whose sister was captured and likely killed for her work helping the rebellion against the Asteri, Bryce can't help but be drawn in. The boy is rumored to have rare magical powers that both the rebellion and the Asteri would be happy to exploit, and Bryce doesn't want him to fall into either of their hands. But in her quest to rescue the child, Bryce inevitably gets tangled up not only in the rebellion movement, but in a fight for freedom bigger than she could have imagined. Maas has spun quite the fantasy soap opera here, with mostly entertaining results. While the cast of characters could use trimming, and the constant stream of twists inevitably loses its shock value throughout the nearly 800 pages, by the end Maas pulls off a final cliffhanger that will have readers reaching for Book Three.
Not exactly profound, but thoroughly absorbing nonetheless.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Maas, Sarah J.: HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH." Kirkus Reviews, 3 Feb. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A782202434/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0a53c0ee. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
Maas, Sarah J. HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD Bloomsbury (Fiction None) $32.00 3, 3 ISBN: 9781635574043
Maas' new adult fantasy series is equal parts mystery, romance, and action drama.
Welcome to Crescent City, where all manner of Vanir--near-immortal magical beings--live together. If the Fae, animal shifters, witches, angels, vampyrs, mer folk, and so on don't exactly live in harmony, they do all bow down to the powerful Asteri, the six godlike beings who rule the planet Midgard with an iron fist and are currently concerned with suffocating an uprising of humans who are sick of being oppressed by the more powerful Vanir. Bryce Quinlan, half human, half Fae, with barely any magic to her name, lives in Crescent City with her roommate and best friend, Danika Fendyr, the famously powerful wolf shifter who will one day lead all the wolves. After a fun night out, Bryce stumbles back to their apartment to find Danika and her whole wolf pack brutally murdered. When other victims are found dead under similar circumstances two years later, the angel who governs the city enlists Bryce to use her knowledge of Danika and her memories of the crime scene to help Hunt Athalar, a brooding angel with a tragic past, solve a mystery that will eventually concern a stolen Fae artifact, a rare demon, and Danika's long-buried secrets. Readers who love Maas for her romances will find plenty to enjoy here: not only the story of Bryce and Hunt but several love-stories-to-come hinted at for the bevy of ridiculously attractive, wondrously powerful characters who populate Crescent City. But the mystery of Danika's death and Bryce's struggle to deal with her lingering grief as she investigates do just as much to speed the reader through 800 pages as the steamy romance.
An immersive new fantasy world that has something for everyone.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Maas, Sarah J.: HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD." Kirkus Reviews, 3 Feb. 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A782202433/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bdd756b6. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
House of Earth and Blood. By Sarah J. Maas. Mar. 2020.816p. Bloomsbury, $28 (9781635574043); e-book (9781635574050).
Acclaimed YA author Maas (A Court of Thom and Roses, 2015) steps into urban fantasy territory in her adult debut. Bryce Quinlan is your average postgrad, if you can call being half human and half fae average. Still figuring out life, Bryce spends her days working at Griffin Antiquities and her nights partying in Crescent City with her bes friend and roommate, Danika. The night Danika is murdered. Bryce spends the next two years in a deep fog until it is revealed that the wrong person was charged with the crime. Bryce must then work with Hunt Athalar, feared demon hunter and fallen angel, if she has any chance of finding Dani ka's real killer. As the case progresses, so does a burning desire between them. But a more sinister plot threatens to destroy them, and the city. The first in the Crescent City series has all of the fantastic elements, colorful characters, steamy romance, and action-packed plot Maas' readers look for. The mystery element presents a stunning twist, and the emotional depth of Bryce's relationships with both Hunt and Danika is incredibly moving. Fans will eagerly await the next installment.--LynnDee Wathen
HIGH-DEMAND BACKST0RY: Maas is the latest best-selling YA author to pivot to the adult market, and her devoted fans-of all ages--will be eagerly anticipating this one. YA/M: Teen readers of Maas' courtly YA fantasies who can handle a little more mature content may enjoy this one. LW.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Wathen, LynnDee. "House of Earth and Blood." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2020, p. 34. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A614529459/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b1ae00f9. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
House of Earth and Blood
Sarah J. Maas. Bloomsbury, $28 (816p) ISBN 978-1-63557-404-3
YA author Maas (the Throne of Glass series) makes her adult debut with this electrifying series launch set on a planet plagued by conflict between oppressed humans and upper-class supernaturals. When a demon slaughters wolf-shifter Danika Fendir and her packmates, Danika's best friend, the half-human, half-Fae Bryce Quinlan, turns from carefree party girl to traumatized loner. Bryce's only comfort is knowing that Archangel Micah Domitus and the 33rd Imperial Legion have incarcerated the man who orchestrated the attack: a human with a vendetta against the wolves. But two years later a vampire with connections to Bryce dies the same way Danika did, suggesting the pack's true murderer remains at large. Desperate to discover the truth, Micah conscripts Bryce to dig into Danika's final days, and tasks Hunt Athalar, an indentured Malakim assassin doing penance for his part in a failed rebellion, with protecting her. Despite some murky worldbuilding that occasionally undercuts the intricate plot, Maas delivers a richly imagined tale spiced with snarky humor and smoldering romance between Bryce and Hunt. The villains tend to twirl their mustaches, but Bryce is a realistically flawed heroine with moxie and heart to spare. Maas's adult readers and fans of Charlaine Harris will devour this ambitious, emotionally charged contemporary fantasy. Agent: Tamar Rydzinski, Context Literary. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"House of Earth and Blood." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 4, 27 Jan. 2020, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622069546/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b08808cf. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
To listen to this broadcast, click here:
Play Audio
HOST: LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO: Life is, yes, pretty scary right now, and you may very well be spending a lot of time at home. So it may be the moment to dig into a big, epic fantasy novel that takes you literally to another world. Sarah J. Maas is the bestselling fantasy author of two blockbuster series, and now she has a new one. The first installment is called "Crescent City: House Of Earth And Blood," and it is a murder mystery set in a world with angels, werewolves, demons, witches and fairies with a love story at its heart.
Sarah J. Maas joins me now from Philadelphia. Welcome to the program.
SARAH J MAAS: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: It is my pleasure. Ultimately, we should say this book is a murder mystery. The two main characters, though, are supernatural. Tell us about Bryce and Hunt and how they joined forces.
MAAS: Sure. So Bryce is a half-human, half-fay 20-something-year-old who works at this magical antiquities dealer. And when the book first begins, she is a bit of a party girl. She's got her close-knit group of friends. And one night, she's out partying, and the majority of her friends are all brutally murdered. And they think they catch the murderer, and the guy goes to jail.
And then the book jumps ahead two years to when the murders start up again, and they realize that the wrong person was put in jail. And Bryce gets paired up with Hunt Athalar, who is this notorious fallen angel. And they...
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And interesting things ensue.
MAAS: Yes, lots of interesting things - twists and turns and then a slow-build romance between the two of them that was a lot of fun for me to write.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I understand that you wrote this book at a particularly difficult time. Can you talk about that?
MAAS: Yeah. I mean, this book actually - I mean, I don't want to give any spoilers away for the book. I mean, Bryce goes through, you know, depression, anxiety, PTSD. And those are things that I myself have struggled with, especially recently.
I was very hesitant to get help, mostly because I had just heard horror stories from other writers and creative types about how, you know, medication - the medication they were put on really messed with their creativity, and they couldn't create once they were put on medication. And I would have these, I guess, like, episodes, as - I called them episodes, where...
GARCIA-NAVARRO: What'd it feel like?
MAAS: It was a couple days of just, like, pure panic and not - panic attacks. I didn't even know they were panic attacks until my psychiatrist later told me. But I was crying. I just had this overwhelming sense of panic and dread. And then this past November, I had, you know, this panic attack that went on for two weeks straight. And I started realizing that I can't live like this for the rest of my life. And I don't care if I can't write another word again, but I need help. I have a young son at home, and I want to be able to be present for him.
So I finally, in this past November, went to a psychiatrist who's just been amazing, and she got me on some medication. We've been doing talk therapy for months. And it's changed my life. But I mean, the medication did not mess up my creativity in any way. If anything, it gave me the space to be able to hear my own thoughts again and to be able to create without that overwhelming sense of panic.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I'm so glad. And in the book, you can really see Bryce and the main character make that journey where she's suffering so much and sort of finds her way out of that.
MAAS: The path that she goes through from that place of darkness back to one of light was - that's very, very close to me now. And I think I processed a lot of what I was going through, perhaps even unconsciously, through Bryce and her journey.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Before I let you go, I want to tell you a true thing that happened at the airport. I was reading this book, and a lady next to me sort of kept on staring at me. And I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable. And then she finally said, how did you get that book? It's not out yet. And she is such a fan and wanted to know everything about the book.
MAAS: (Laughter).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So just know that you have some really loyal fans. She wanted to get the book from me.
MAAS: (Laughter) That's so fantastic.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. And you know, you do have these other two series of books, "Throne Of Glass" and "A Court Of Thorns" - bestsellers. And I'm wondering - is this the beginning of a long series of "Crescent City"?
MAAS: Yeah. Right now, we have three books under contract. But this world is already so big and there's so many characters that I have a feeling it's going to go beyond three books. And it will depend on the story that calls to me and the characters that call to me. But I definitely am looking beyond the core plot that will take place over the three books and seeing, you know, what other stories might be around for me to tell afterward.
It's hard for me to say goodbye to characters after just three books. I mean, all of my series have been really long. And yeah, I mean, there's a reason why "Crescent City" was 800 pages...
GARCIA-NAVARRO: It is.
MAAS: ...Because I just loved the world and the characters so much that I wanted to spend all this time with them.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's Sarah J. Maas. Her new book is "Crescent City: House Of Earth And Blood."
Thank you very much.
MAAS: Thank you.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions page at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=10
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Sarah Maas' New 'Crescent City' Is A Fantasy Murder Mystery a€” And A Love Story." Weekend Edition Sunday, 15 Mar. 2020, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A617687441/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ac74457a. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
Maas, Sarah J. A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT Bloomsbury (Young Adult Fiction) $17.99 5, 1 ISBN: 978-1-68119-631-2
A glimpse of the characters dealing with rebuilding and fallout after A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017).
In a change of pace from the usual epic struggle against powerful forces, this slimmer-than-usual volume follows the cast during the festive Winter Solstice holiday. Nods to trouble on the horizon (dissent in the Illyrian ranks, Fae courts eyeing for expansion, and a politically fraught situation among humans) remain distant, the lack of progress at times resulting in frustrating repetition. Cassian's and Mor's backstories are explored, and prickly Amren's low-key relationship storyline is supplemented by her High Fae adjustments (including bodily humor). While Elain is becoming more comfortable, she still wants nothing to do with Lucien (who feels like an outsider nearly everywhere and has his hands full with a self-destructive Tamlin). Severely struggling Nesta self-medicates through alcohol, meaningless sex, pushing everyone away, and finding every last seedy corner of the otherwise utopian Velaris. While Rhys handles politics, Feyre's storyline revolves around Solstice shopping and art's potential for healing trauma--when the lovers aren't telepathically sexting or craving each other. Aside from occasional minor characters, most of the inhuman cast seem white. Several plotlines are predictably resolved.
With introspection replacing battles, this extended epilogue gives breathing room between dramatic arcs but is best for readers who'd prefer downtime with the characters over high stakes. (map, preview of next title) (Fantasy. 16-adult)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Maas, Sarah J.: A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A540723459/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=97c41510. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
Maas, Sarah J. CATWOMAN Random House (Young Adult Fiction) $18.99 8, 7 ISBN: 978-0-399-54969-4
"When the Bat's Away, the Cat Will Play."
A child of Gotham City's slums, almost 18-year-old Selina Kyle has a rap sheet that includes robbery, gambling, and maintaining her title as the undefeated champion fighter for the Leopards, a girl gang. But everything she does is for her younger half sister Maggie, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Apprehended by Talia al Ghul, leader of the infamous League of Assassins, Selina agrees to go with her to Italy on the condition that Maggie is well cared for. Fast-forward two years. Selina returns to Gotham as Holly Vanderhees, a blonde-haired billionaire socialite, and moonlights as Catwoman, the city's newly-christened Queen of the Underworld. Cue Luke Fox, son to Wayne Industries' CEO, a semipro boxer and an ex-Marine suffering from PTSD. He protects the city as Batwing and is determined to prove himself when Catwoman teams up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn while Batman is out of town. Maas (Tower of Dawn, 2017, etc.) has a gift for crafting fierce female protagonists. Selina is physically skilled, wickedly smart, and inhabits morally gray areas, making her a complex yet admirable antiheroine. Action-packed fight scenes, racial and sexual diversity (Harley and Ivy have history, Luke is black), and a dollop of romance will engage current and soon-to-be Catwoman fans.
An epic shoutout to all the bad girls who know how to have fun. (Superhero fantasy. 12-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Maas, Sarah J.: CATWOMAN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A540723239/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b55ee9fc. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
Catwoman: Soulstealer.
By Sarah J. Maas.
Aug. 2018. 384p. Random, $18.99 (9780399549694). Gr. 9-12.
This third installment of the DC Icons series tells the story of Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman. As a teenager in Gotham City, Selina supports herself and her younger sister, who has a severe form of cystic fibrosis. Eventually, Selina is recruited by the League of Assassins, where she is trained to become a deadly weapon. After two years, Selina returns to Gotham City, disguising herself as a socialite, where she goes on crime sprees with pals Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. All the while, she toys with Batman's protege, Batwing (aka Luke Fox). Selina is a flawed, complex character; even while she commits crimes against the wealthy people of Gotham City and teases authorities, she shows a vulnerable side. Diverse characters are featured throughout, from Luke, who is black, to Poison Ivy, who is in love with Harley Quinn. The story starts out gritty, becoming less so as it unfurls, but readers will not forget where Selina started. The staccato writing style nicely matches the occasionally bleak setting. Ideal for fans of the TV show Gotham.--Suzanne Temple
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Temple, Suzanne. "Catwoman: Soulstealer." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 22, 1 Aug. 2018, pp. 80+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A550613343/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ac052a02. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.