You don’t really know me yet, but I’m an obsessive reader at times. In fact, after five years of being more focused on parenting than reading, I’m finally getting back into the craze again. Like many of you, I hope (or this is probably the wrong blog for you). Of course, I’ve spent months and even years not reading. In other stages of my life, I’ve plowed so quickly through books I ran out of money to buy more. These days I think I dance on the line between “too many books to read so I’m reading four at a time” and “too many saved Booktoks to keep track of BUT I’M TRYING TO READ THEM ALL.”
It’s a slippery slope, trying to climb my massive TBR pile and also not get bowled over by it. especially with kids, dogs, a spouse, and friends who deserve (and in some cases require, those dang kids) as much attention as the fictional people I want to spend all my time with. In fact, just this weekend, I had to shop for another TBR bookshelf because I ran out of room and couldn’t abandon any (here’s to a year of reading 300 books?? Please future me PLEASE).
In high school it was easy – most of the well-known authors have been around since the early 2000s, and since I’m old according to my five-year-old, I was in my prime reading moment when they were starting out. You know that moment, you’re thirteen, your homework’s done (or not, in some – my – cases). You got your allowance yesterday and went straight to pick up the cool new book Twilight that everyone’s been talking about. You read about crushed cars and smoldering eyes AND YOUR WORLD EXPLODES.
If that was you, I’ve got the best writer for you. I know, spoilers, you already know because it’s the title, I’ve been posting and she’s also everywhere all the time now. But really, you’re going to love her. But moving on through the introduction of the genre. But we all know who started this craze in (most) of us (I understand there are two books I could mention here. But this is an LGBTQ+ ally page. So, while we love Hagrid and all he embodies, his author might as well be She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named). The Twilight Saga opened a portal to the fantasy book world in a big way.
Stephanie Meyer opened a can of worms for me I have never tried to close back up. Suddenly, authors like Maggie Stiefvater, Kristen Cashore, P.C. Cast, Tamora Pierce, were filling up my Kindle faster than the mainstream romances I’d previously been inhaling in secret at two o’clock in the morning. Not to mention, for all the people who were aware enough to discover these other authors I found on Goodreads when I searched “best books of the 2010s” (and then immediately realized why I feel like I have so many more books to read than my peer), it must have been like an entire world full of worlds had opened. A multiverse if you will. Neil Gaiman, Leigh Bardugo, V.E. Schwab, and about 100 more I don’t recognize and feel deep guilt about. So, I challenge you to search for the year you first loved your favorite genre, so you too can bury yourself in books.
So many of the authors I found, and all of the authors I mentioned are still writing. I’m exhausted just thinking about that. I had to decide along the way who to keep track of and who to let go of, and it was like abandoning friends. I had no idea how to plan for preorders and there was no room in my cute but small one-bedroom apartment I was pretending I wasn’t sharing with my boyfriend (now husband, thank the universe).
I both curse and worship today’s new authors, even as I’m trying to become one of them and keep up with everyone I loved from the last decade (I’m looking at you Tomi Adeyemi, who’s coming out with the most anticipated third installment I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. But you’ll find out about her from me when that book comes out this summer, she AND her books are both getting their own damn posts. I’m anticipating it the most, make it work). You all are so amazing! I can’t even come close to keeping track of the Threads I see that say “my editor said I made her cry” or “all my ARC readers loved my book” BUT LIKE HOW WILL I READ THEM ALL. ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THAT? HOW WILL ANY OF US HAVE THE TIME TO READ YOU ALL?
Sarah J Maas is also a worthwhile author to start with if you’re not sure what your spice level is. Do you like closed door romance, or are you not sure if you want sex on the page? Throne of Glass Series is for you! Does a slow burn with great but limited sex sound better to you, or are you ready to try something with a little more bite? You’ll love ACOTAR and the obstacles between the characters and their bed. Did you devour all that and are ready for a feminist perspective on enjoying sex? You’re going to want to read the Crescent City Series as soon as you can. Bryce is adventurous, sassy, and sexy in her own right. And she knows it. It changes a lot, especially the spicy chemistry between her and the men who want to be with her.
The more books that come out every year with beautiful covers and fantastic plots EAT AT MY SOUL. How will I finish them all? How will I choose which ones I should read? Sometimes just those thoughts lead to the bad times of no books at all.
But the books that always have me coming back are the same ones that have us all devouring books and showing up to bookstores after closing for book launches. I’m talking, of course, about Sarah J. Maas, who has revolutionized what it means to be a book girlie. Maybe she invented the feeling in all of us, or maybe we had it from our Harry Potter and Twilight days and she unlocked it. Either way, she has given us hope in the purest and most magnificent three series imaginable. And I do A LOT of imagining.
Hope, because she was SIXTEEN when she came up with the idea for Throne of Glass. According to BookTrust, an organization in the UK that donates books to children all over the world and gathers tips and information for budding writers, she said, “I began writing Throne of Glass when I was 16 – and it became a project that I worked on through high school and college, and several years after that. I decided by the end of high school that I wanted to be a professional writer – that I wanted to publish Throne of Glass.” Since then, she’s written 2 other series. In her own words, on her own website, it says: “Maas is one of the most successful authors of the modern era, generating a far-reaching and ever-growing fanbase of readers,” and I think that says enough.
I’m not the only one who thinks so. Hey.amandahere says “Sarah J. Maas got me back to reading after 10 years, so for me it’s worth the hype. If you want badass female characters, great storylines, epic love, little smut, friendships, plot twists, emotional rollercoasters… Welcome to the “Maasverse”. Every series is different so they don’t feel repetitive.”
But that’s the only spoiler you’re going to get from me in this post. I’m only here to convince you to give any one of her series a try, if you think it’s up your alley (if you feel inclined to reach out on Instagram after you have read it and want someone to chat too, I am WAITING FOR YOU!). But I will tell you what other people who loved it have said, so you don’t have to just take my word for it.
In the rest of this post I’ll give you a brief overview of Sarah J. Maas’s genre, writing style, favorite tropes, and what to expect of her books without spoiling characters or plots – trust me, you do not want me to. The webs she has woven for you to unlock deserve your fresh mind and undivided attention.
Just to make sure NOTHING I say is spoilers, I have only included some of the coolest creatures that make up the “sexy sentient creature” (this is probably really bad. HOW CAN I MAKE IT BETTER?) character list she’s created. Backed by Throne of Glass Wiki, I hesitantly tell you about the Fae, a super strong version of humans with typical Faerie ears and swoon-worthy abs and abilities. They’re often the overlords of humans or on a separate “better, magical” continent. It’s the best. That’s, unfortunately, all I can tell you about them, but hopefully, I can judge you toward reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, where you’ll learn about them the fastest.
I can tell you that most of her earlier books are typical size, but she had way more to say once she was really invested in A Court of Thorns and Roses because her word count expanded delightfully. All of the Throne of Glass series is around 400 pages per book. She writes slow burn books, expounded by the slow burn cadence to each series as a whole. The best part, in my opinion, is how deeply ingrained the foreshadowing is. No spoilers, of course, but just wait till you find out what you didn’t know was going to lead to the epic climax at the end. In every book, in every series, that culmination of events is mind boggling, especially in the later books and Crescent City Series.
However, according to the Internet and Sarah J. Maas, there are correct orders to reading her books. I’m (hopefully – figuring out WordPress has me feeling like a mom who can’t make the remote work) including visuals of the correct order. But just know one thing: besides the basic “don’t read the second/third/etc. before the first” rules, you can read either ACOTAR or TOG and like them fine. However, you will find too many spoilers in Crescent City if you start that first. Because it’s her third series, she has perfect all the sentient creatures and characters and she pulls magnificently from her arsenal to make a book series worth waiting for.
Hey.amandahere also has the best description and order:
“Here is my little guide about the series.When you read all the series you can notice things that connect them. Some of the “easter eggs” are small, some are more obvious, some make you think like crazy. Some details are important and can also be found in the other series.
- Throne of Glass: World building, character growth, twists and turns, finished series
- A Court of Thorns and Roses: Romance, characters that will get you hooked:
- Crescent City:More complex and modern world, mysteries”
Another thing SJM only gets better at are themes. Luckily, she seemed to find her niche with Throne of Glass, because the same powerful themes seem to run in all of her series, just becoming better and deeper as they go. I just finished the latest book and it feels like a culmination of all the hints she’s made throughout the years. And there are SEVEN books still to be made. SEVEN. I can’t even imagine how life changing her messages are going to be by then. I used Books That Slay to do my research these themes to confirm their accuracy, and have added my own thoughts as explanations.
Every character Sarah J Maas gives life to experiences a transformation that demands self-acceptance and self-love. No character written by SJM escapes without discovering self-acceptance. Whether it be an ordeal, a lost love, a long journey, or a culmination of all three, the stories require the acceptance of self to be able to access whatever they may have waiting on the other side.
Each of the main characters in her series addresses the complexity of identity, but in WILDLY different ways. I’m not going to tell more than that, except that sometimes it’s literal and sometimes it’s metaphorical, but no matter what it changes the direction of the book and in turn the series.
The moral ambiguity of power and rebellion, both in war and out of it, is also a recurring theme in the series. She addresses traumas that people experience in real life, but in a magical and important distinction – all humans are the weaker species. It adds such a dimension of humanity and humility, that it changed at least this author’s experience of life and the real world. I’ve become a deeper thinker, a brighter light, and a more determined advocate because of these books, and I hope the books I write make people feel that way too.
The final, and in my opinion most delightful, theme I think is the most important for you to know is her study of friendship and loyalty in a treacherous world. Her best trope is by far Found Family, and she explores it in different ways in each book. All of her worlds are treacherous. Sometimes because of the main character, sometimes to the danger of the main character, sometimes just by default. But friendship outweighs love, war, and even the crumbling of worlds. There aren’t stronger ties than those forged in the trust gained from shared experience. I could literally go on and on about this one (maybe this summer I’ll make a spoiler post).
Those are just my opinions, but mine isn’t even the loudest one out there, by far. I wasn’t previously a Deep Diver of the internet, I’m only just learning. There are people on every social media platform who dedicate their contact to her, and have since the beginning. I have gathered the ones my followers have said are the most important, along with quotes from them in encouragement of reading. I will try to update this if I get feedback from it.
I couldn’ say it better, so in the words of hey.amandahere: “Books that are my personal favorites from SJM are The Queen of Shadows and The Court of Mist and Fury. So if you hesitate to continue the series after the first books, don’t give up! They can surprise you in the best way.”
SJM Social Media Fanpages:
- Youtube: ndravengirl says Becca at “A Guide To Sarah J. Maas // 2020 is the best.
- Facebook: Sarah J. Maas; Sarah J. Maas Book Club; The World of Sarah J. Maas
- Instagram: @sarahjmaas, @thecourtofmemes,
- Podcasts: DTFae (also on Youtube), A Court of Faeries and Fangirls: A Sarah J Maas Fan Podcast
*This blogger thinks Twitter is for the birds and does not understand Tiktok. Sorry. If you comment I’ll add yours!
Resources
- https://www.booktrust.org.uk/
- https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/38633.Best_Fantasy_of_the_2010s
- https://throneofglass.fandom.com/wiki/Fae
- https://booksthatslay.com/
Sources
- https://www.Instagram.com/hey.amandahere
- ttps://www.Instagram.com/ndravengirl
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