The China Mail - 'Faerie' nights: 'ACOTAR' fans finally get their book

Waiting to get their hands on "A Court of Splintered Harmony," readers thronged midnight parties at bookshops across the nation, including The Ripped Bodice in Los Angeles, where fans sporting "faerie" ears and wings took in performances by fire breathers and acrobats.

"To see the new one come out and have everyone around, this is really what we've been waiting for," Taylor Capizola, the bookstore's general manager, told AFP.

The series -- known to fans by its acronym "ACOTAR" -- is one of the most successful in the romantasy genre -- a heady combination of the swords-and-sorcery of "Game of Thrones" and the breathless passions of Danielle Steel.

Maas, who has sold 75 million books in 40 languages, was the best-selling author in the United States in 2024.

"'A Court of Thorns and Roses' really is the backbone, is the foundation of this genre," said Capizola.

Romantasy -- a genre that also includes "The Fourth Wing" series by Rebecca Yarros and "Quicksilver" by Callie Hart -- has been propelled by BookTok, the corner of TikTok where readers review and recommend titles in short videos.

But reviews are no longer enough for some fans.

With no film or series in sight since Hulu dropped its adaptation in 2025, some are now using AI to make their own trailers and short episodes of ACOTAR, propelling the series' heroine Feyre to an even bigger audience.

- The Maas Effect -

Tuesday's release of "A Court of Splintered Harmony" is expected to be good news for Bloomsbury -- home also to the "Harry Potter" series.

The publishing house will be looking for a bump to turn around a year that saw first half revenue slip five percent and adjusted pre-tax profit down 30 percent.

"Sarah J. Maas is a publishing phenomenon," Bloomsbury founder and Executive Chairman Nigel Newton said in 2024, when her novels carried the company to record profits.

She's also a durable one: the original ACOTAR -- which first came out in 2015 -- has now spent 92 consecutive weeks on the New York Times paperback bestsellers list.

Such is the demand for Maas's latest installment that several translations are being released almost simultaneously.

At the midnight party in Los Angeles, fans said they were ready to jump straight in -- despite the novel's hefty 350-page count.

"I imagine most people will read it at least once or twice by the weekend," said Natalie Jean, 44, who co-hosts the Sarah J. Maas podcast "LNP Deep Dives."

"I'll buy all the merch and I'll buy all the books, I'll buy every edition," laughed her co-host Jackie Zebrowski, 39.

"And I'll love it."

A.Sun--ThChM