The extreme cult of Sarah J. Maas

For the past 12 years fantasy author Sarah J. Maas has been gaining popularity, but due to the portion of TikTok called BookTok, Maas’ series have been taking over the fantasy world. Her most well-known series is ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses,’ also known as ACOTAR. She has sold more than 13 million copies– but why is it so popular?
Some might argue it’s because of the quality characterization and worldbuilding, but, I think it’s because of the smut within. Maas, however, has a much better series called ‘Throne of Glass’. The series follows an assassin named Celaena Sardothien trying to win back her country of Terresan. The debate of which series is better is huge among her fanbase.
Yes, ACOTAR may have a good concept, but the writing behind it seems more driven by lust than by the plot itself. Even though Maas has a better series out there, the community on BookTok focuses on this one specifically because of the ‘spicy,’ ‘steamy,’ and otherwise adult aspects.
The #ACOTAR hashtag on TikTok has over one million posts, many of which include middle-aged women going feral for the love interest Rhysand, who is outwardly portrayed as a man in his early 20s (but is in fact over 500). The series has developed a cult-like fanbase, and it’s frankly a little creepy.
However, this series does not define Sarah J. Maas as an author– my preferred series of hers is ‘Throne of Glass’. The story is much more plot-driven and though there may be a couple of smutty scenes, they don’t compare to the intensity of ACOTAR’s. The series also has much more complex lore, especially involving a runic spellcasting language called Wyrdmarks. This gives the books so much more depth to immerse yourself in.
Along with the toned-down smut and tuned-up lore, TOG has an overall more likable main character, Celaena. Feyre, the main character in ACOTAR, is more submissive, dull, and more romantically driven throughout the books. Meanwhile, Celaena in TOG is an independent woman who has a much deeper character arc. She fights her battles alone and doesn’t ask for help. In ACOTAR Feyre is often seen needing a man to help her win her fights.
Celaena’s character is built upon her being an assassin trying to survive in a corrupt kingdom, and throughout the series, it brings the reader to make a deeper and deeper connection with her while she struggles and fights to rebuild the kingdom herself. She also has the most physical and emotional strength out of any character in the series, while ACOTAR takes the more misogynistic route of giving the main love interest the most power in the series.
Rhys, said love interest, is said to be the most powerful person in the series’ entire history, which is honestly extremely disappointing considering he isn’t even the main character of the story. Granted, this doesn’t mean that Celaena didn’t have romance within the series. In fact, through the whole series she has four relationships, but never once did any of those men take dominance in power over her.
To be completely honest, I would read more of Maas’ writing if it toned down on the smut and focused more on the plot. What I have noticed recently is fantasy taking a turn to the spicy side and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Sarah J. Maas may be partly to blame for this. Her extreme rise to fame because of the romantic series potentially has inspired other writers to get their work noticed by having unnecessary romance. Whenever I enter Barnes and Noble and go towards the science fiction and fantasy table, the majority of books are romance-focused with a heavily smutted-up plot. Though this may be fine for some, it is not my personal cup of tea. Throne of glass’ condensed down romance has made it much more enjoyable to read compared to the other fantasy books like ACOTAR. I have no real problem with the books– I just want my For You page to have fewer annoyingly lonely middle-aged women on it.