It helps that Maas seems to be weaving a connected universe within her three different book series, with the latest additions to Crescent City actively featuring locations and ACOTAR — and hinting that Throne of Glass is in the same universe as well. Perhaps it's no surprise that these stories overlap, considering their romantic and fantasy themes tend to be very similar. But even with all the similarities between Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, and Crescent City, they stand out as distinct stories that are memorable in their own right. That's why they rank differently in of quality.

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3 A Court Of Thorns & Roses

2015-Present

A Court of Thorns & Roses may be Maas' most well-known series, but it's also her weakest in of individual installments. While additions like A Court of Mist & Fury and A Court of Silver Flames lift ACOTAR significantly, the other books in the series don't hold up as well compared to Maas' outside works.

On Goodreads, the first ACOTAR book has an average rating of 4.20. While this is by no means a low review score, it's one that falls short of all three of Maas' Crescent City books. It also ranks lower than most of her Throne of Glass novels.

A Court of Wings & Ruin has an average Goodreads rating on par with her more successful books, but the conclusion to the original A Court of Thorns & Roses trilogy is somewhat underwhelming. While ACOWAR isn't a bad book, it fails to live up to the success of its predecessor. It regresses when it comes to certain character relationships and uses convenience to further its plot. The twist with Feyre's father is enough to raise any reader's eyebrows, and the rest of the ending leaves much to be desired.

That's likely why Maas followed it with the novella A Court of Frost & Starlight, which holds the lowest rating of her fantasy series, sitting at a 3.77 on Goodreads. ACOFAS doesn't add much to the overall series, and it actively undermines some of the more impressive elements of ACOWAR, including Feyre and Rhysand's decision to wait to have children.

Although A Court of Mist & Fury and A Court of Silver Flames are some of Maas' best books — both have won Goodreads Choice Awards — the weaker points of this series drag it down, making it her worst overall. Perhaps the next ACOTAR book she's working on can change that.

2 Crescent City

2018-Present

Crescent City is Sarah J. Maas' most recent fantasy series, and it's received as much attention as her earlier work. This is hardly a surprise, as her writing has grown over the years — and fans of her earlier series eagerly await her new releases. House of Earth and Blood starts the series off strong with a 4.50 rating on Goodreads, and House of Sky and Breath maintains the series' quality with a 4.51. House of Flame and Shadow dips a bit, but its 4.27 rating is still an impressive way to close out Bryce and Hunt's narrative.

Even if parts of House of Flame and Shadow's finale aren't as strong as readers hoped, the second and third Crescent City books do manage to connect all three of Maas' fantasy series. This alone makes Crescent City her most ambitious series yet, and that bodes well for Crescent City 4 and future ACOTAR books. Bryce's characterization also fixes a common complaint about Maas' protagonists, as Bryce is far more relatable than characters like Aelin and Feyre. Crescent City's cast, in general, is a strong factor in the books' popularity.

House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath also won Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fantasy Book in 2020 and 2022. If House of Flame and Shadow takes home the same award during its Goodreads Choice Awards run, Crescent City will become Maas' most-acclaimed series. Unfortunately, while it's certainly a stronger story than ACOTAR, its flaws prevent it from ranking as her best series. A common criticism of Maas' Crescent City books is that they take several hundred pages to take off. That, combined with a weaker conclusion, makes them less compelling than Throne of Glass.

1 Throne Of Glass

2012-2018

Throne of Glass is Sarah J. Maas' first and longest fantasy series, and it's her best to date. This may be controversial, as Throne of Glass is probably Maas' least-hyped series regarding online book spaces. However, Throne of Glass' sprawling fantasy setting, compelling cast of characters, and consistent improvement throughout its run all work in its favor. Although the first Throne of Glass book has one of Maas' lower Goodreads ratings at 4.19, the remainder of the series gets better from there, with most of the sequels falling between 4.40 and 4.68 on the platform.

The first Throne of Glass book's flaws are also more forgivable, as the 2012 novel was Maas' first published work. Looked at through that lens, the 4.19 rating is fairly impressive. Although Throne of Glass leans too heavily into popular tropes, it's a fun and fast-paced read on par with other popular books at the time, like Divergent, Red Queen, An Ember in the Ashes, and other YA hits. The first two Throne of Glass books feature the same tone and pacing, but the later novels open the fantasy world up and make the series far more epic.

While Maas' other fantasy series struggle at the end, Throne of Glass also sticks the landing, with Kingdom of Ash boasting her highest Goodreads rating at 4.68 and taking home the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science-Fiction Book in 2018. Queen of Shadows won in the category in 2016, giving Throne of Glass as much acclaim as Crescent City. The fact its quality improves over time rather than dipping makes it Sarah J. Maas' best fantasy series, though — and a return to this world via Crescent City or ACOTAR could cement this further.

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Which Sarah J. Maas Series Is Getting Adapated?

It should come as no surprise that an author as popular as Sarah J. Maas would end up getting her work adapted into both movies and TV shows. It should also come as no surprise that her most popular series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, is the biggest lure for Hollywood. However, the series has not had the smoothest road, as Hulu stopped development on the series earlier in 2024 (via EW). It was also reported that Hulu is not shopping the series to anyone else, so it's just sitting on the option at the moment.

This remains disappointing because Maas herself excitedly said that the series was coming to Hulu and that she was working on it with Outlander showrunner Ron Moore. This should come as no surprise, though since Hulu also optioned Throne of Glass in 2016 for a TV series, and sat on it until the option expired without making it as well (via Deadline). While there has never been any talk of a Crescent City adaptation, it looks like Sarah J. Maas is just waiting to see what happens with A Court of Thorns and Roses.