The latest book in Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses (known as ACOTAR by its fans) series came out on Tues., October 27. The night before its release, thousands of fans flooded big box and indie bookshops alike for midnight release parties across the country.
At Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., dozens of fans perused the bookshelves in tight leather costumes, pointy faerie ears and sparkly tiaras, waiting to get their hands on A Court of Splintered Harmony.
Dalia Luque is one of the eager readers who attended the event. A Monday night might not sound like the opportune time for a party running from 10 p.m. to midnight — after all, she could have preordered the book online — but Luque said she wanted to experience this moment with other fans.
"I just want to have fun with the community and get to share with my friends as we read along," Luque said.
Fans waiting to get their hands on the new book passed the time playing trivia, making friendship bracelets, getting their faces painted and enjoying champagne.
Luque found herself in the face paint line, where staffer Amber Lovold painted green shrubbery onto her face. The design is meant to represent the Summer Court, one of the seven territories that make up the ACOTAR world. Each Court is ruled by a High Lord and has a trademark color palette and vibe, allowing fans to self-select which Courts they'd be part of in a way that's similar to identifying with an astrological sign or a specific faction in Veronica Roth's Divergent series.
Hot guys are a mainstay in ACOTAR, which is one of the most popular in the genre known as Romantasy, a mix of romance and fantasy. The series follows a lineup of attractive faeries and humans as they engage in battle, embark on quests and, of course, fall in love.
"I've always enjoyed stepping into a new reality, or a different version of reality," Luque said. "And so I think these books create a whole new world, and that's pretty exciting."
The ACOTAR saga has been on hiatus for almost five years. The first book in the series came out in 2015, and new installments from author Sarah J. Maas came out pretty regularly until she took a break from the series in 2021.
Now five years later, Ivana Wong is more than excited for the new book. She wore a black dress adorned with sequin stars, a silver headpiece and a sheer, flowy cape. Her ensemble won the night's costume contest.
"I've been waiting for this since the very first book came out," Wong said.
She said she's taking a couple days off work to read.
Chastity Mayhaus recently moved to Washington, D.C., and she attended the midnight release party to meet likeminded fans.
"I'm hoping to make some friends, just talk to some people," Mayhaus said. "I'm looking around to see any good book clubs that are like in the area, so maybe I can scout out some new ones."
A large part of the ACOTAR fanbase was built on social media on places like BookTok, a corner of TikTok dedicated to books. But there's a hunger from readers like Mayhaus, Wong and Luque to come together in real life.
"I think that online community wants to be in a room together," said Politics and Prose event organizer Nicole Davidow. "In general, we find that with all of our events, people are craving a community."
Monday's event was the first midnight release party she's organized for the bookstore during her five years there. Davidow originally planned on selling just 50 tickets, but she ended up packing the place with around 70 people.
Once the clock struck midnight, fans made haste to the checkout line for their copies. With the pink and yellow hardcover in hand, the readers flowed out of Politics and Prose, presumably to get lost in the book's pages.
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