Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, recently named Spotify’s top author for audiobooks, has thrilled fans by teasing the next installment in her A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series. With Book 5 on the horizon, Maas shared exciting tidbits about its length and hinted at its mystery-filled, plot. Keep scrolling to learn everything we know about this highly anticipated ‘romantasy’ release!
All about the new Sarah J. Maas book
In a video posted to Instagram by Spotify, Maas first starts by thanking people for listening to her books, saying, “I am thrilled to be the top author for this year’s Spotify Wrapped.”
She then went on to thank the narrator, Elizabeth Evans, who, according to the author, is “actually in the process of re-recording all of the ACOTAR audiobooks, to be released with the 10th anniversary of ACOTAR this spring.”
Once she brought up her beloved bat-boy series, Maas simply couldn’t resist letting her fans know what’s in store for them once the next installment is released.
“No surprise, it’s going to be a long book,” the author quipped. “It’s too early for me to tell you who it will be about and what’s going to happen, but I hope to have more details for you soon.”
Fans of the series will remember that the first three books—entitled A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Wings and Ruin revolved around a girl named Feyre Archeron after she gets swept away to the magical, faerie-run world of Prythian. Maas then released a novella entitled A Court of Frost and Starlight that followed not only Feyre but also her mate Rhysand, her friend Cassian and her sister Nesta.
Nesta and Cassian then became the sole narrators and focus for the fourth book, A Court of Silver Flames, which was released in 2021.
Given that Maas has chosen to switch from one sister to the next, fans have assumed that the next book in the series is going to be about the third sister, Elain. They have also speculated that the third “bat boy,” Azriel, will serve as her love interest, although that might get messy since, technically, Elain already has a mate named Lucien, and Azriel had a connection with Nesta’s friend Gwyn in book four.
However, there have also been rumors that book five will follow Rhysand’s cousin Morrigan “Mor” since she was gone on some secret mission for all of book four, but since Maas has yet to write in Mor’s POV and has yet to hint at any sort of future for her, it is unlikely.
The magical plot of the book remains the biggest mystery. Since the beginning of Maas’ most recent Crescent City book, A House of Flame and Shadow—released in January 2024—did take place in Prythian and heavily featured both Nesta and Azriel, it is safe to assume that the characters will still be dealing with the aftermath of that, but it is unclear if it will be the main plot or just serve as a side quest.
Who do you want ACOTAR 5 to be about?
It remains unclear when you will be available to purchase ACOTAR 5, but here’s hoping it’s sometime soon!
Other Sarah J. Maas book news
Speaking of Crescent City, Maas has gone on record saying that she does have plans to return to the world of Lunathion and see how characters like Bryce, Hunt, Hypaxia, Ruhn and Lidia are doing after the downfall of their corrupted government, but did warn that “You will have to wait a bit.”
Although she did say, she knows “Who the book’s about. I know the big ideas of what I want to happen.”
Another world that fans want Maas to return to is Aelin’s, who was the main character in the author’s first-ever series, Throne of Glass.
Based on past books, there is a potential for a crossover, especially given that Lidia is confirmed as a descendant of Aelin’s. Plus, at the end of Kingdom of Ash, Aelin flew over Prythian and Lunathion but never interacted with any of the characters, making fans wonder if there will ever be a prolonged crossover between worlds.
