ACOTAR fans put real life on hold for latest release

Fans of Sarah J Maas's bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series are waiting eagerly to get their hands on the latest instalment.

For Bray, the appeal goes beyond magic, romance and fantastical kingdoms. It is the feminism running through Maas's books that has kept her coming back.

And with the release of A Court of Splintered Harmony, Bray is prepared to put real life on hold, having booked an entire week off work to give herself time to recover from whatever awaits her between the covers.

Set in the fictional world of Prythian, the series has amassed millions of fans across the world.

There have been five books so far, 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).

A Court of Splintered Harmony, the sixth book in the best-selling series, was released on Tuesday - five years after fans last heard from the characters.

She said the books were her "gateway back into reading" aged 19.

"I think it's so popular because, yes, the romantic side of it is very good, but the strong women you see in the books are just a way to make other young women feel really empowered," said Wright.

"It just gives them a sense of power and [makes them] see you can start from nothing, like Feyre does, and just make your way up… you don't need a man to do all these things for you, you have the power to do anything you want to do."

Gabriella Booth, 29, was introduced to the series in 2013, but attributes ACOTAR's explosion in popularity to both the pandemic and "BookTok" - a TikTok community dedicated to sharing what people are reading and writing.

"The characters in general are so easy to read about. You can relate in different parts to a lot of them, I find," said Booth.

"For me, I love the fantasy world - that's something I've loved reading growing up. So, to have that combined with the romance side of everything... there's something that's just so exciting to read about."

Booth has previously taken time off work to read new releases and plans to do so when the seventh ACOTAR book is published in January.

Alice Boyce, a bookseller at Topping and Company Booksellers on Museum Street in York, said ACOTAR fans had made their way straight up to the science-fiction area of the store as soon as doors opened at 09:00.

"People are really enthusiastic; we've had emails saying, 'can you put a copy aside for me?', and last night we had people asking to put it on pre-order."

"You can dive into books and just escape a little bit," she added.

Events were held across the UK, including in Wolverhampton and Northern Ireland, to mark the new book's release, with Waterstones on York's Coney Street hosting its first ever midnight release event.

Eighty ACOTAR fans, some of whom were dressed as their favourite characters, attended the event, while 100 members of the fandom flocked to a party in Wolverhampton.

"The community was just lovely, it was so nice to see everybody come together and fan-girl over a book," Fellows said.

"It sounds like it's going to be incredible", she said.