If you were anywhere near BookTok or Reddit this week, then you probably heard rumours that the hotly anticipated ACOTAR book 6—A Court of Splintered Harmony, the newest instalment in Sarah J. Maas’s wildly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series—had leaked. I don’t know if the chapters circulating online are real or not, though I did reach out to her publisher to inquire. But does it really matter?
This is a new Sarah J. Maas book we’re talking about. A Court of Thorns and Roses, and her other romantasy series Throne of Glass and Crescent City, wouldn’t be as popular as they are if it wasn’t for the author’s skill at delivering unexpected curveballs. Seeing a few chapters out of context is not going to deliver the same thrill as cracking open the new book and reading as the author intended. It’d be like skimming through parts of chapter five of A Court of Wings and Ruin and thinking that means Feyre and Lucien end up together. (And if that sentence means nothing to you, keep scrolling straight to the section titled “Do I need to read the previous ACOTAR books before A Court of Splintered Harmony?”)
So ahead of A Court of Splintered Harmony’s release on October 27, let’s separate what is fact, what is rumour, and what is coming next. Here’s everything you need to know.
When is ACOTAR book 6 coming out?
The sixth book in Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series, titled A Court of Splintered Harmony: The Valkyrie Cycle, Movement I, will be published globally by Bloomsbury on October 27, 2026. The audiobook will also be available that same day, and you can preorder both now.
Do I need to read the previous ACOTAR books before A Court of Splintered Harmony?
Honestly? Yes. Absolutely. Don’t even try to jump right into the sixth book of a romantasy series, no matter how much chatter you hear about it on BookTok. I haven’t read A Court of Splintered Harmony (ACOSH) yet, but I already know there is way too much lore for anything to make sense to someone new to the series.
And also, the fun really is in the journey. Start with the first book: A Court of Thorns and Roses, a romantasy riff on Beauty and the Beast that follows a young mortal woman named Feyre Archeron who agrees to live out the rest of her days in Prythian, the magical land of the High Fae, to save her family. You’ll be hooked enough to pick up the next in the series, A Court of Mist and Fury, which follows the love story between Feyre and her mate. The third book, A Court of Wings and Ruin, essentially wraps up Feyre’s story and establishes the storylines and characters that will propel the series forward.
After that comes A Court of Frost and Starlight, which I like to think of as a Christmas special. It’s a short bridge novella containing multiple characters’ POV that takes place over the winter solstice. Speed through that so you can get to book five, A Court of Silver Flames, which focuses entirely on Feyre’s sister, Nesta Archeron, and her (extremely spicy) story.
What is the plot of A Court of Splintered Harmony?
There are a lot of theories about this, depending on whether or not you believe the ACOTAR 6 leaks are real. But here’s what the publisher has told us:
What was broken will be remade.
Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he’s been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories, attracting powerful allies hell-bent on reclaiming what was once theirs: the human lands.
