Sarah J. Maas’s young adult fantasy books, with their intricate worlds and well-crafted characters, have gained great popularity among readers of all ages since she first published her work in 2012.
Bloomsbury published Maas’s first novel, titled “Throne of Glass,” in 2012. The story follows 18-year-old Celaena Sardothien, who is the most famous assassin in the land. After being freed from prison, Sardothien finds herself competing against 23 other thieves and assassins in order to become the King’s Champion.
Maas released the sequel, “Crown of Midnight,” a year after the first book in the series, followed by “Heir of Fire,” “Queen of Shadows,” “Empire of Storms,” and “Tower of Dawn.” A compilation of various companion novellas, “The Assassin’s Blade,” was also published the same year as “Heir of Fire.”
Sophomore Anjali Nimmala says, “Maas’s storytelling abilities definitely improve with every book she writes. Not only do each of the books become longer and longer, but the themes become more mature, the characters become more multi-layered, and the writing itself becomes richer and more intricate.”
The same year that “Queen of Shadows” was published, Maas also released the first book in a new series, titled “A Court of the Thorns and Roses.”
This series follows 19-year-old Feyre Archeron as she hunts in the woods in order to feed her family. In doing so, she kills a faerie and is forced to live in the faerie lands as retribution.
The series continued with “A Court of Mist and Fury” and the trilogy’s conclusion, “A Court of Wings and Ruin.” Maas also wrote a novelette, “A Court of Frost and Starlight,” which occurs after the events of the last book.
Freshman Celina Lin says, “I enjoy reading Sarah J. Maas’s books because of the intensity in her writing. Each scene includes a lot of suspense, making you excited. As the series progresses, more details add up together like a puzzle, making you want to keep reading.”
Maas’s fame in such a difficult industry makes it easy to wonder where her path to success began.
Maas was born in New York on March 5, 1986. She developed an interest in reading books at a young age, especially fantasy stories, and her teachers encouraged her to continue this passion. She later graduated Hamilton College where she majored in creative writing.
Maas was inspired to write “Throne of Glass” at age 16. She was listening to the sound track of “Cinderella” when she thought that the music was rather intense for a fairy tale movie. Maas then thought that the music would sound more fitting if Cinderella had actually been an assassin sent to kill the prince, and this became the premise of her first story.
Bloomsbury published “Throne of Glass” when Maas was 24. From there, Maas gained popularity that only grew as she continued writing.
Maas is specifically known for her strong, well-rounded female characters, all of whom have complex personalities and are essential to the storyline. In addition, while romances are definitely present in her novels, they do not take away from the individuality of each character and are not as important as the main plot.
With this noticeable theme, Maas’s many fans continue to wait in anticipation for her new releases.
The final book in the “Throne of Glass” series, “Kingdom of Ash,” is set to release in October 2018. Maas is also currently working on a spinoff series to “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” which will follow after the events of “A Court of Frost and Starlight.” In addition, Maas has also written a Catwoman novel, which will release in August 2018.
Maas also recently announced that she will be releasing her first adult fantasy book, titled “Crescent City” in 2019.
Are you interested in reading Sarah J Maas’s books, and why?
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