8 Authors & Books Like Sarah J. Maas to Read Next

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I have read a dozen Sarah J. Maas books. All four ACOTAR books, all seven Throne of Glass books (roughly 4,500 pages, in one month), and the first Crescent City doorstopper. I once rated A Court of Mist and Fury 5,000 out of 5 stars on this blog, and I stand by the math.

So when the Maas backlist runs out, I understand the specific panic that follows. Finding books like Sarah J. Maas is now a genuine part of my reading life, and after 80+ romantasy and fantasy reads in 2024, I can tell you which authors actually deliver that blend of pageturner momentum, fae courts, and slow-burn romance. Every book below is one I finished, rated, and reviewed. No spoilers, ever.

The short answer: the authors most like Sarah J. Maas are Jennifer L. Armentrout (the banter and forbidden romance), Carissa Broadbent (dark courts and deliberate worldbuilding), and Rebecca Yarros (the can’t-stop-turning-pages momentum). Five more picks below.

Let’s dive in.

1. Jennifer L. Armentrout: Start with From Blood and Ash

This book is about… Poppy, the Maiden, whose entire life is scheduled around a destiny nobody asked if she wanted, and Hawke, the new guard who becomes the one person who actually sees her. Forbidden wanting ensues.

The Maas overlap: Armentrout is the closest thing to Maas working today, and I say that with eight of her books behind me. Same addictive quality, same forbidden-romance engine, and honestly better banter. The dialog between Poppy and Hawke is the sparkliest thing in the book, and banter is the hardest thing to fake in a romance.

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. The pacing takes the scenic route through its 600-plus pages, and I bought the sequel the second I finished anyway. Read my full review here!

2. Carissa Broadbent: Start with The Serpent and the Wings of Night

This book is about… Oraya, a human raised by the vampire king, entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament where the prize is a wish and the entry fee is usually your life.

The Maas overlap: a mortal surviving among beautiful monsters, courts with real politics, and a romance built on an alliance neither party can afford. Broadbent’s writing is polished and thoughtful in a way a lot of self-published-turned-megahit romantasy isn’t, and she takes her worldbuilding as seriously as Maas does.

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. More somber and less witty than the Maas books that sent you here, but the ending genuinely surprised me into starting the sequel immediately. Read my full review here!

3. Rebecca Yarros: Start with Fourth Wing

This book is about… Violet Sorrengard, bookish and fragile in a world that punishes both, forced into a war college where cadets bond with dragons or die trying.

The Maas overlap: momentum. Yarros understands it structurally the way Maas does — every chapter ends with a hook, the set pieces escalate, and the enemies-to-lovers turn feels earned instead of scheduled. This is the book the ACOTAR fandom stampeded toward, and I’ve got a whole list of books like Fourth Wing for when you finish it.

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. I didn’t think dragons were my thing. I was wrong at a pace I can only describe as medically inadvisable. Read my full review here!

4. Danielle L. Jensen: Start with The Bridge Kingdom

This book is about… Lara, a princess raised in secret as a weapon, sent to marry the king of a rival kingdom and destroy it from the inside. Her husband is infuriatingly not the monster she was promised.

The Maas overlap: if you loved the assassin competence of Throne of Glass but wished it were tighter, this is that wish granted. I was genuinely shocked by how much interlocking world Jensen builds in 356 pages, and the writing itself is a pleasure to read.

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. This is the book that broke my post-ACOTAR-and-Fourth-Wing reading slump. I closed it a new fan and went hunting for everything else she’s written. My full review hits the blog later this month!

5. Callie Hart: Start with Quicksilver

This book is about… Saeris, a thief in a water-rationed desert world, who falls into the world of the fae and ends up forging quicksilver weapons alongside an irritable fae warrior for a coming war. (The fae court has opinions about her, obviously.)

The Maas overlap: fae, bargains, and an enemies-to-lovers arc the entire ACOTAR fandom adopted for a reason. Like Maas, Hart builds on old myths and fairytales (this one has a sword-in-the-stone flavor I loved).

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5. Kingfisher’s dialog alone earns a chili.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. One of my top reads of 2024: witty, energetic, and an electrifying rush after a run of duds. Read my full review here!

6. Stacia Stark: Start with A Court This Cruel and Lovely

This book is about… A heroine hiding forbidden magic in a world where the gods confiscate human power, forced into a bargain with a ruthless mercenary who once left her for dead.

The Maas overlap: it’s right there in the title. Deadly bargains, a dangerous male lead, and forbidden power as the engine — comfort-food ACOTAR energy, and I mean that as praise.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. Not deep, extremely fun. I read it in a single day and immediately started book two, which is the most honest review a book can get. My full review is coming to the blog soon!

7. Sarah A. Parker: Start with When the Moon Hatched

This book is about… A world where dying dragons drift into the sky and become moons, a rebel with gaps in her own story, and a genuinely original magic system underneath it all.

The Maas overlap: the self-published-phenomenon-turned-Big-Five-deal trajectory, and worldbuilding ambitious enough to earn it. This is the pick for readers who love Maas’s lore more than her pacing.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. Breathtaking moments, poetic prose, and an ending that reads like a midpoint. Worth it if you like your fantasy dreamy and unhurried. Read my full review here!

8. 🔥 Amy Suto: The Ash Trials (Yes, Me)

In the grand tradition of this blog’s transparent self-promotion: Maas is the reason I write romantasy at all, so of course my own book goes on this list.

This book is about… Saffron Vale wakes in a ruined wedding dress, locked in a prison for the kingdom’s deadliest criminals, with no memory of who she is. To survive the brutal Ash Trials, she must outlast shifters, spellcasters, and something even more dangerous: the truth about herself.

What I hope you’ll love about it: deadly trials, a slow-burn romance, and a heroine with everything to prove. It’s on Kindle Unlimited, and if tonight’s the night you stay up too late with a book, I’d love it to be mine.

FAQ: Life After Sarah J. Maas

What Should I Read After Finishing All the Sarah J. Maas Books?

Start with From Blood and Ash. It’s what half the fandom reads next, the banter is better than most of the genre, and the series is long enough to hold you for months.

Which Sarah J. Maas Series Is the Best?

ACOTAR, and for me it isn’t close. Throne of Glass is epic but uneven (3 out of 5 across seven books), and Crescent City makes you survive 200+ pages of setup before its excellent third act. ACOTAR is the one I rated 4 and 5 stars book after book.

Are There Books Like Sarah J. Maas on Kindle Unlimited?

Yes! From Blood and Ash, Quicksilver, and my own The Ash Trials are all on Kindle Unlimited. My ranked list of the best romantasy books on Kindle Unlimited covers the wider field.

More Romantasy for Your TBR

If you want book-level (not author-level) recommendations, I keep dedicated lists of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses and books like Fourth Wing, plus my ranked Kindle Unlimited romantasy list and the full book reviews shelf.

I’ll keep this list updated as new Maas-shaped authors earn their spot — I’m scraping every Reddit recommendation thread and BookTok account so you don’t have to. Subscribe to my newsletter and you’ll know when someone new makes the cut. Here’s to the next series that eats your sleep schedule alive.