10 Books Like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Finished A Court of Silver Flames? Now you’re wondering about other books like A Court of Thorns and Roses.

If you’re like me, you loved ACOTAR and devoured the whole series. From the amazingly crafted fantasy world to the addictive enemies to lovers romance, the book hangover you are experiencing is real and it’s hard.

You need something else, of the same style, that’s just as good to give you the strength to move on.

With that in mind, I’ve compiled this list of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses for your enjoyment. To the best of my ability, I’ve ordered them from most like ACOTAR to least, starting at the top.

I’ve read most of the books on the list but not all.

The members of my Facebook group, YA Fantasy Addicts, helped me curate this list for you.

Books like A Court of Thorns and Roses

Throne of Glass Sarah J Maas, Books like A Court of Thorns and Roses

1. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Number of Books: 8
Goodreads Rating: 4.22 – 530,642 ratings – 40,563 reviews

There can’t be a list of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses without mentioning Sarah J. Maas’s other series, Throne of Glass.

If you loved ACOTAR, then Throne of Glass is an easy comparison. While there’s not nearly as much smut, there is still plenty of romance to go around.

Celaena Sardothien is a trained assassin who’s been serving a prison sentence in the salt mines of Endovier when the king requests her presence.

He’s holding a competition to see who is the mightiest warrior in his kingdom and he’s chosen Celaena as his champion.

The prize if she wins? A job as the king’s personal assassin.

If you know nothing about Throne of Glass, please, at all costs, avoid Googling it. There’s a huge plot twist in the series that will be spoiled for you if you do.

But with how popular this series, there’s a chance you already know what I’m talking about anyway.

There are two ways to read the Throne of Glass series in order, so before you start, you should decide which one is right for you and stick with it.

Even diehard fans of the series should consider my suggested timeline and see if they don’t like it better.


House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

2. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Number of Books: 2 (as of May 2022)
Goodreads Rating: 4.50 – 25,084 ratings – 5,609 reviews

The newest book (and series) from Sarah J. Maas is called House of Earth and Blood, sometimes referred to by it’s series name, Crescent City.

I devoured this book as soon as it came out, and you can read about it here in my spoiler-free review of House of Earth and Blood.

True to her form, Sarah J. Maas focuses on relationships and love interests, though the sex scenes were not as revealing as many assumed they would be.

Perhaps there’s more to come in future installments.

House of Earth and Blood is most like A Court of Thorns and Roses in that it features winged males as love interests, has a few sex scenes, involves Fae, centers around an otherwise powerless female main character in a power-dominant society.

A word of warning. Don’t read the book blurb. If you love Sarah J. Maas, just dive in. Reading the book blurb will ruin the first surprise for you. Just don’t do it.


Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa, Books like A Court of Thorns and Roses

3. Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 4.14 – 26,825 ratings – 2,586 reviews

Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa is a book I’ve not yet had the opportunity to read. But according to the folks on Facebook, this is the best book like A Court of Thorns and Roses aside from Sarah’s books.

I can’t tell you what it’s about except to repeat what the blurb says.

Rhapsodic is about a siren who’s been collecting magical debts for years. Only death or repayment will fulfill the debt.

When the Fae King of the Night comes to visit Callie in her room, she gets more than she bargained for.

There’s more to it than that, and I didn’t do it just. Check the link below for more details.

This one sounds really good, and I’ve already got it preloaded on my kindle. I just need the time to read it.


Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

4. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 4.30 – 41,163 ratings – 8,322 reviews

Nevernight by Jaw Kristoff is another book that I haven’t read. But tons of people talk about it all the time.

The primary reason I haven’t read it is that I’ve heard it’s dark. Very dark, with lots of cursing and smut.

Now, House of Earth and Blood was a cursefest with 500+ instances of the f-bomb, and I did okay with that. So maybe I should give Nevernight a try, cause I don’t think it could be worse than that?

I also don’t do smut, but I know for many that’s one of the biggest appeals for ACOTAR.

I could read this and skip the smut, but again I’ve also heard it’s dark, and I don’t really do dark.

The story is a classic revenge plot about a killer who joins a school of assassins to learn to be an even deadlier weapon so she can enact her vengeance.

There’s a huge following for these books, and a guaranteed 5-star series if you’re into this sort of thing.


The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

5. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 4.15 – 154,433 ratings – 23,081 reviews

Another series I haven’t read.

*sigh*

I did say I had read most of these didn’t I?

I promise I have read most of the later ones. But these are the top responses from the YA Fantasy Addicts group.

The Cruel Prince has a lot of mixed opinion.

You’re either going to hate it or you’re going to love it. There’s not much of an in-between here.

By the sounds of the title, and what I’ve learned from others. The Cruel Prince has a very toxic relationship. I mean, the prince is cruel.

Some say the further you go in the series, the more you like the characters. The story is unputdownable and the plot twists are out of this world.

Or so I’m told.

More faerie books for you to enjoy!


A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

6. A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 4.21 – 35,673 ratings – 7,704 reviews

Anyone up for a retelling? A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast.

Some retellings are hard to identify. Throne of Glass, which we mentioned earlier, is supposedly a Cinderella retelling, but I have a hard time drawing any similarities.

But there’s no question about this one, and that’s not a bad thing.

Prince Rhen was cursed by an enchantress to relive the autumn of his 18th year over and over and over until he convinced a woman to fall in love with him.

Which seems all well and easy until he turns into a vicious beast that destroys his family and his home.

Everyone loves stories where the girl falls for Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Just look at Feyre.

It’s easy to see why A Curse So Dark and Lonely made a list of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses.


Frostblood by Elly Blake Books like A Court of Thorns and Roses

7. Frostblood by Elly Blake

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 3.87 – 19,428 ratings – 2,745 reviews

Many people I’ve spoken to have found Frostblood to be overly simplistic and predictable.

There’s no denying that follows the pattern of most YA Fantasy novels, and for me, that’s a key straight to my heart.

I do love a unique tale, but I also like my comfortable girl has magic powers but is weak or is trying to hide them. There’s a big bad evil government trying to wipe her out and along the way she falls in love with the enemy.

Similar to Feyre receiving the short end of the stick biologically and then falling in love with what her family had always perceived as the enemy, Frostblood might be for you.

I know I loved it.


Soul Render by T.L. Branson

BONUS: Soul Render by T.L. Branson

I’d be remiss if I didn’t make a shameless plug of my own novel.

While I’d venture to say that almost all of you reading this will not have heard of me or Soul Render, I hope that you’ll not immediately right it off.

Sarah J. Maas is my favorite YA Fantasy author and was huge inspiration for me. So it’s safe to say if you like SJM, you’re at least going to be at home in my fantasy world.

Soul Render features a revenge plot against a wicked king with the unusual ability to suck the life and very soul of a person.

Will and a girl he calls “Red” (a quippy Celaena Sardothien-type) set out on a harrowing adventure to find a Soul Stone. These legendary objects are said to hold the soul of the gods and bring the bearer great power.

Both want the stone, but for very different reasons.

You can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited.


The Young Elites by Marie Lu

8. The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 3.90 – 99,674 ratings – 12,531 reviews

The Young Elites by Marie is similar to ACOTAR in a slightly different way than we’ve looked at so far.

Adelina has been granted special illusion magic after surviving the bloodfever and being marked for her troubles.

The government wants to wipe out all these “freaks” called malfettos.

In ways I can’t describe, The Young Elites has a very dark vibe to it and features an anti-hero rather than a hero. That means that Adelina is sort of morally gray and you don’t know whether she’s the good guy or the bad guy.

But since we are reading her story from her point of view, you can’t help but cheer her on, even if you’re not sure if you should be. It’s like how you feel about Rhys before all the cards are laid on the table.


Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

9. Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Number of Books: 6
Goodreads Rating: 3.80 – 49,972 ratings – 7,406 reviews

I’ve only read the first book in the Falling Kingdoms series, and I read it a long time ago. Back then, there was only one book, and I haven’t gone back to the series since it was completed.

But I have been meaning to.

I hear nothing but praise for this series, and do remember it being filled with blood pumping moments.

I couldn’t tell you what this book was about. Not even after reading the blurb.

I remember a naive princess, a tough guy, and an entitled jerk. I remember warring kingdoms. And I remember deception and intrigue but that’s about it.

Falling Kingdoms showed up a time or two in the recommendations for books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, so I included it for your reading pleasure.


The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson

10. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Number of Books: 3
Goodreads Rating: 4.02 – 78,920 ratings – 10,543 reviews

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson might be the least of the books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, but it’s no less deserving of this list.

It’s a great sword and sorcery YA Fantasy novel with an excellent romance subplot and one of the most cleverly guarded plot twists I’ve read.

I don’t believe this series gets enough recognition, so I want to recommend it to you.

While you wouldn’t be able to tell from reading the blurb of the first book, the Remnant Chronicles features an overarching story interkingdom conflicts and potential societal obliteration.

The stakes are no less as high as A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Want more book recommendations?

If you’ve already ready Sarah J. Maas’s other series, Throne of Glass, you might like this list of 10 Books Like Throne of Glass.

And for those of you who have also finished Crescent City might enjoy a list of 10 Books Like House of Earth and Blood.

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