12 books like Sarah J. Maas
The gap after finishing everything Sarah J Maas has written is a real one: few writers combine court politics, a heroine who can level a room and a romance that takes three books to pay off. These are the titles readers of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass pass to each other, sorted by what you're actually chasing.
Updated September 2026
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Fae courts, bargains and political intrigue
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black 2018
A mortal girl clawing for standing in a faerie court, with the same barbed hate-to-love dynamic as A Court of Thorns and Roses; the writing is colder and sharper, and the heat stays firmly closed-door.
Court of Blood and Bindings by Lisette Marshall 2022
Fae lords, binding bargains and a slow-burn that earns its temperature, aimed squarely at Maas readers; it's self-published and less polished in places, but the world-building holds up on its own terms.
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning 2006
Dangerous, genuinely unsettling fae and a heroine who hardens across a long series, much like Aelin's arc; the setting is contemporary Dublin rather than an invented kingdom.
A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K. Hamilton 2000
Courts of many different faerie kinds, succession plots and a great deal of spice; it's noticeably more explicit and more noir than anything in the Maas catalogue.
Deadly trials and enemies-to-lovers
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 2023
A brutal war college, a rival who becomes something else and the same compulsive pacing that made Throne of Glass hard to put down; it's knowingly tropey where Maas plays it straight.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent 2022
A human raised by a vampire king fighting a lethal tournament beside the rival she shouldn't want — Celaena's competition arc in a darker key; vampires stand in for fae, and it's a tighter, shorter story.
A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet 2016
A fierce, secretive heroine taken captive by a warlord prince, with banter and chemistry that many readers compare directly to Celaena's; the mythology is Greek and the series is finished, so no waiting.
The Black Witch by Laurie Forest 2017
Magic school, prophecy and a heroine forced to unlearn everything she was raised to believe, with the addictive quality Maas readers want; the politics are more explicitly about prejudice and the romance moves slowly.
Hidden royalty, gods and long slow-burn romance
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout 2020
A cloistered young woman, a guard with a sharp mouth and a secret, and the swoon-to-revelation rhythm Maas fans know by heart; the prose is plainer and the spice arrives much earlier.
Gild by Raven Kennedy 2020
A gilded cage, a possessive king and a heroine who slowly reclaims her own power — the ACOTAR emotional shape, made bleaker; check the content warnings, as it goes to darker places than Maas does.
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco 2020
Court-style scheming between witches and demon princes, with a bargain-driven romance at its centre; the Sicilian setting and murder-mystery frame give it a different flavour from Prythian.
Sweeping romance without the fae
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 1991
Enormous books, a marriage plot with real heat and a heroine who keeps her nerve in hostile company — the immersion Maas readers are after; it's historical fiction with time travel and no magic system at all.
If you also liked…
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
- 1984 by George Orwell
Questions
- Which of these is closest to A Court of Thorns and Roses?
- From Blood and Ash is the nearest match for the hidden-identity romance and the swoon, while A Court of Blood and Bindings comes closest on fae courts and bargains.
- Is Fourth Wing as spicy as Sarah J Maas?
- It's comparable, with one or two explicit scenes in the first book rather than a running thread. Gild and A Kiss of Shadows go considerably further.
- I want something finished, not another series I'll wait years for.
- A Promise of Fire and The Serpent and the Wings of Night both have complete arcs you can read straight through, and Outlander has more volumes than you'll get through in a year.