What to Read After ACOTAR: 12 Books Like A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Jessica Jones
You finished the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and now you're staring at your shelf like you’ll never love another series so much again. I've been there. That specific ache, the book hangover, where nothing seems quite as good as what you just read, needs a very particular kind of remedy, so here's what I'd hand you if you walked into my bookish corner right now and said "I need something like ACOTAR, and I need it immediately."
🥀 If You Want More Maas
Obvious starting point, but worth saying anyway: Throne of Glass and Crescent City are both right there waiting for you, same author, same guarantee you'll be emotionally leveled, different worlds, and characters. If you haven't made your way through the whole Maasverse Reading Order yet, that's genuinely step one.
🐺 If You Want the Slow Burn to Hurt More
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout gives you a sheltered heroine, a forbidden bond with the guard assigned to protect her, and a kingdom built on secrets that unravel book by book, basically the same itch as watching Feyre and Rhysand's dynamic unfold, just with its own lore. If you tear through that, A Shadow in the Ember picks up generations before in the same world and doesn't slow down. I recommend reading the two series in tandem.
🐍 If You Want Fae Courts, But Meaner
The Cruel Prince gives you a human girl raised in the world of Faerie surrounded by people who'd love nothing more than to see her fail, extra vicious court politics, enemies-to-lovers done right. Read my full review here.
🩸 If You Want Vampires Instead of Fae
The Serpent and the Wings of Night swaps fae for vampires and gives you a heroine fighting to survive a deadly tournament, with a romance built on distrust that turns into something else so, so slowly. Read my full review here.
🐉 If You Want Higher Stakes (Dragons, Basically)
Fourth Wing trades fae courts for a war college full of people who want the heroine dead and a love interest who should absolutely not be trusted, until, somehow, he can be. I've also got more books like Iron Flame and the Empyrean series if that's the direction you want to go, and Onyx Storm (book 3) is already out if you want to read everything published so far.
📜 If You Want the Romance to Kill Softly Instead
Divine Rivals is a softer pick, rival journalists exchanging letters across a magical divide during a war between gods, but the yearning is every bit as potent as anything in the Maasverse.
🌬️ If You Want Mythology Instead of Fae
The North Wind swaps faerie courts for wind gods, same morally gray, larger-than-life love interest energy as ACOTAR, with a huntress heroine and a slow burn set against a moody, gothic backdrop. It's the first in Alexandria Warwick's Four Winds series, and I've got my full review here if you want the details before diving in.
🖤 If You Want to Go Bigger
Zodiac Academy is the next step up if you want reverse harem instead of a single love interest, twin fae sisters, a brutal magic school, four love interests instead of one. I wrote up the full reading order here if you want to commit to all nine books.
Which of these have you already read, and which court (or kingdom, or academy) are you diving into next? Drop it in the comments, I love a good recommendation swap.
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New to Zodiac Academy and not sure where to start? Here’s the full reading order for all nine books, plus a spoiler-free taste of what each one brings.