Reading Orders
ACOTAR Reading Order: Every Book, Novella and Next Release
Reading order at a glance: The ACOTAR reading order is simply publication order: A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, the novella A Court of Frost and Starlight, then A Court of Silver Flames. Two new books follow, dated by Bloomsbury for 27 October 2026 and 12 January 2027.
Questions about this series tend to arrive in the same handful of forms. Which book comes first? Is the short one optional? Is book five out, and what is book six? Do readers need Throne of Glass before any of it? Most confusion online comes from lists written before the two newest titles had names.
This guide answers those questions one at a time, in the order readers usually ask them. Order, titles and dates come from Bloomsbury, the series publisher, and from the author’s own FAQ, both checked in October 2026. Page counts are the figures printed on Bloomsbury’s US book pages, labelled by edition, so the numbers line up with a single source rather than a mix of formats.
What is the ACOTAR reading order?
Read the books in the order they were published, novella included: A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), A Court of Mist and Fury (2016), A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017), A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018) and A Court of Silver Flames (2021). Bloomsbury lists the series in exactly that sequence on every book page.
Unlike the author’s other fantasy series, there is no prequel collection and no tandem read to plan around. Publication order and story order are the same thing here, which is why the ACOTAR reading order is the easiest of the three to follow. The only place readers hesitate is book four, because it is much shorter than its neighbours and looks like an extra.
Spoiler-light, each book has one clear job in the run:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses: introduces Feyre, a mortal huntress, and carries her into the faerie land of Prythian, which Bloomsbury’s series page names as the setting.
- A Court of Mist and Fury: widens the map and the cast considerably, and changes how the first book reads in hindsight.
- A Court of Wings and Ruin: brings the conflict the first two books build toward and closes the original trilogy.
- A Court of Frost and Starlight: a winter interlude after that war, which Bloomsbury describes as the bridge to the next book.
- A Court of Silver Flames: moves the point of view to Nesta, Feyre’s sister, a change Bloomsbury’s reading guide states openly.
Prythian itself is divided into seven courts, each with its own ruler, and that map deserves a separate guide of its own. For now, a reader only needs the five titles above, read top to bottom.
How many ACOTAR books are there?
As of October 2026, the series has five published books: four full novels and one novella. Bloomsbury’s series page says the series “so far includes five” books, and two more are scheduled, which will bring the total to seven by January 2027 if both dates hold.
The count trips readers up because some lists call the series a trilogy, some say four novels, and some already say seven. All three are partly right. The first three books were written as a trilogy around Feyre. The novella counts as book four in the publisher’s own numbering, because every Bloomsbury book description lists it fourth. And the seventh title already has a page, a price and a release date on Bloomsbury’s site, although it is not out yet.
The size of the run matters for planning. Adding up the page counts on Bloomsbury’s US paperback listings gives 2,896 pages for the five published books: 448, 656, 736, 272 and 784 pages in order. The two new hardbacks add 352 and 896 pages, according to their Bloomsbury pages, for a little over 4,100 pages across all seven. Hardcover and special editions paginate differently, so treat these as one edition’s numbers rather than a universal figure.
Where does A Court of Frost and Starlight fit?
It goes fourth, after A Court of Wings and Ruin and before A Court of Silver Flames. Bloomsbury’s description calls it a book “bridging the events” of those two novels, and the publisher’s reading guide says it marks the end of Feyre’s story arc and sets the scene for the fifth book.
The reason for that placement is structural rather than sentimental. The third book ends a war; the fifth book opens with characters already living with its aftermath. At 272 pages in Bloomsbury’s paperback listing, the novella is where that shift is shown on the page, set around the Winter Solstice, as Bloomsbury’s description notes. Readers who skip it arrive at book five without the change in mood that the opening chapters assume.
Community opinion splits, and both sides are worth hearing. In an r/acotar thread arguing that the novella is not skippable, one commenter described skipping it on others’ advice after reading the trilogy in 2018, then rereading the full run years later and deciding it held many small but important details (the thread is here). In another thread, a reader who skipped it to move faster felt flat partway through book five, and a reply suggested the skip was the reason (discussion). When a third reader admitted finding it slow, replies leaned toward skimming it rather than skipping it outright (that thread). The safe answer is to keep it; it is the shortest book in the series and the cheapest insurance against confusion.
Is there an ACOTAR book 5, and what is announced next?
Yes. Book five is A Court of Silver Flames, released in February 2021 according to Bloomsbury’s listing. The next two are A Court of Splintered Harmony on 27 October 2026 and A Court of Forgotten Melody on 12 January 2027, dates confirmed by Bloomsbury’s March 2026 investor announcement and the author’s FAQ.
Searches for “book 5” usually come from readers who finished the trilogy and the novella. A Court of Silver Flames is that book, and it has been out for years; the newer question is what follows it.
Bloomsbury groups the two new titles under a shared name, The Valkyrie Cycle, and divides that story into three movements. The book pages are specific about the split:
- A Court of Splintered Harmony is listed as “The Valkyrie Cycle, Movement I”, the sixth book, 352 pages in hardback.
- A Court of Forgotten Melody is listed as “Movements II & III”, the seventh book, 896 pages in hardback.
- Both descriptions name the same threat, Koschei the Deathless, and both list all seven titles as one series, so they continue the main line rather than starting a spin-off.
- The two books arrive 11 weeks apart, a gap Bloomsbury’s chief executive called “almost unprecedented in publishing history” in the March 2026 announcement.
That split explains the odd page counts. Book seven is more than twice the length of book six because it carries two of the three movements. Readers planning a reread before October can take that as a hint that book six ends partway through a larger story; this is a reading of the publisher’s labels, not a statement about the plot. One more point of confusion shows up in reader forums: in a September 2026 r/Romantasy post, a reader halfway through book three believed books six and seven were already on shelves (reading order question). As of early October 2026, both are still pre-orders.
Is the ACOTAR series complete?
No. As of October 2026, the series is ongoing: five books are out and two are dated for October 2026 and January 2027. Bloomsbury’s own reading guide answers “Is this a complete series?” with “Not quite!”, while adding that the first four books and the fifth each wrap up in a rewarding way.
That second half of the answer matters for anyone deciding whether to start now or wait. The publisher is effectively pointing to two resting points already: after book four, where Feyre’s arc ends, and after book five, where Nesta’s ends.
What nobody can say yet is whether book seven ends the series. Neither Bloomsbury’s pages nor the author’s FAQ describe A Court of Forgotten Melody as a finale, and the publisher’s series page calls the two releases “the new ACOTAR books” rather than the last ones. Until one of those sources says otherwise, the accurate answer is that the series has no announced end point.
Do you need to read Throne of Glass first?
No. Bloomsbury’s reading guide says the author’s three series can be read in any order and suggests A Court of Thorns and Roses as a good place to start for readers who love romance or are newer to fantasy. Throne of Glass is a separate series with its own world and cast.
The question comes up because the author’s worlds do connect, and readers hear about that link without the details. The connection that affects reading order runs between this series and Crescent City, not Throne of Glass: the publisher notes that Crescent City reads as more rewarding with this series finished first. The full picture of how all three fit together is in the cross-series reading order guide.
Readers who later want the longer high fantasy series can pick it up at any point. Its prequel collection and its tandem-read option are covered in the guide to the three ways through that series, which is the place to settle those choices before starting.
Is there an ACOTAR TV adaptation?
Not as of October 2026. Hulu announced a series in 2021, but the project stalled, and in a March 2026 podcast interview the author said she had regained the screen rights and that her focus was on the books, as TheWrap and Collider reported at the time. No new studio or platform has been officially announced since.
A long trail of headlines keeps this question alive. TheWrap reported that the Hulu version had been in development since 2021 and was scrapped in February 2025. Later trade stories have described the rights being offered elsewhere, but none of those reports comes from the author or Bloomsbury, so they stay in the rumour column here. When an adaptation is confirmed, it will be announced by a studio and the author together; until then, any casting list or release date online is speculation.
Every book in one table
The table puts the whole ACOTAR reading order in one place. Years are first US release on Bloomsbury’s listings; page counts come from Bloomsbury’s US pages and are labelled by edition, checked in October 2026.
| # | Book | Year (publisher) | Length (Bloomsbury US page count) | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Court of Thorns and Roses | 2015 (Bloomsbury) | 448 pages, paperback | Main novel, trilogy opener |
| 2 | A Court of Mist and Fury | 2016 (Bloomsbury) | 656 pages, paperback | Main novel |
| 3 | A Court of Wings and Ruin | 2017 (Bloomsbury) | 736 pages, paperback | Main novel, trilogy close |
| 4 | A Court of Frost and Starlight | 2018 (Bloomsbury) | 272 pages, paperback | Novella and bridge to book 5 |
| 5 | A Court of Silver Flames | 2021 (Bloomsbury) | 784 pages, paperback | Main novel, new point of view |
| 6 | A Court of Splintered Harmony | 27 Oct 2026 (Bloomsbury, announced) | 352 pages, hardback | Main novel, The Valkyrie Cycle Movement I |
| 7 | A Court of Forgotten Melody | 12 Jan 2027 (Bloomsbury, announced) | 896 pages, hardback | Main novel, Movements II and III |
The novella is barely a third the length of book three, which is why it looks optional at a glance, and the longest book in the series has not been released yet.
Before you start: a short checklist
A few decisions up front make the run smoother, especially with new releases weeks away.
- Read in publication order and keep the novella in fourth place.
- Budget for length: the five published books total 2,896 pages in Bloomsbury’s US paperbacks.
- Finish book five before 27 October 2026 if the goal is to read book six on release.
- Expect book six to stop partway through a larger story, since Bloomsbury labels it Movement I of three.
- Check release dates on Bloomsbury or the author’s site, not fan wikis, which lag behind.
- Know that the books include mature romantic content; this guide does not describe it.
- Stay out of comment sections for books six and seven until finishing book five, since spoilers circulate fast after release day.
More series order guides, organised one series at a time, sit in the reading orders section.
Series questions
Is publication order the same as chronological order for this series?
Yes. Each book picks up after the one before it, and the novella sits between books three and five in story time as well as release date, which Bloomsbury’s description of it as a bridge confirms. There is no separate chronological order to choose.
Can a new reader start with A Court of Silver Flames?
It is possible but not recommended. The fifth book follows a character introduced in the first three, and Bloomsbury’s guide describes the novella as setting the scene for it. Starting at book one gives the relationships and the aftermath of the war their intended weight.
How long does the whole series take to read?
The five published books total 2,896 pages in Bloomsbury’s US paperback editions. At a steady 50 pages a day, that is about two months; the two new hardbacks add another 1,248 pages, according to their Bloomsbury listings.
Why is book seven so much longer than book six?
Bloomsbury labels book six as Movement I of The Valkyrie Cycle and book seven as Movements II and III, so the seventh book carries two thirds of that story. That is why their listed lengths are 352 and 896 pages.
Will there be more books after A Court of Forgotten Melody?
Nothing has been announced. As of October 2026, neither Bloomsbury nor the author’s FAQ lists a title beyond book seven, and neither describes book seven as the final one, so the question is open.
The short version
For a first read, the ACOTAR reading order needs no strategy: start with A Court of Thorns and Roses, go straight through to A Court of Silver Flames, and do not drop the novella in fourth place. Nothing from the author’s other series is required before starting.
The only moving parts are the two new books. A Court of Splintered Harmony arrives on 27 October 2026 and A Court of Forgotten Melody on 12 January 2027, on the dates Bloomsbury has published, and until a source says otherwise the series remains open-ended.
Series order and release dates follow the publishers’ own listings; spoilers are flagged before they appear. A first draft was prepared with AI and rewritten by an editor.
Sources: Bloomsbury series page, Bloomsbury reading guide, Bloomsbury listing for book six, Bloomsbury listing for book seven, Bloomsbury investor announcement, author site questions page, TheWrap on screen rights, Collider on the podcast interview, Wikipedia series page