Rejoice, romantasy lovers! After five long years, Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series is finally set to continue, with not one but two new books headed our way. Releasing in October 2026 and January 2027, respectively, the next installments in her sprawling story of a magical kingdom of High Fae, bonded mates, political intrigue, and ancient grudges are set to set the publishing world on fire. 

No information has been shared about the content of these next two books — we don’t even have titles yet — but that doesn’t mean we can’t start speculating wildly about what (and who) they’re likely to be about. During her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Maas indicated that ACOTAR Books 6 and 7 would be closely connected, pieces of a larger four-part story that will span several titles. (Yes, this also means an ACOTAR 8 is in the works. Buckle up.)

Here are some of the most likely options for the characters Maas might focus on next.

Elain

Elain Archeron is certainly the most likely pick for the lead character of ACOTAR 6. She’s tied to the bulk of the series’ current ongoing stories, and we’ve all been wondering about how the whole Lucien/Elain/Azriel triangle is going to play out for ages now. Lucien is technically Elain’s mate, but her deep and complicated connection with Azriel means that she’ll have to choose between the two sooner or later. (Preferably sooner.) Plus, it might be interesting to find out what happens to those who reject that powerful mating bond we’ve spent so much of this series hearing about.

She’s also the last of the three Acheron sisters to have her story told. The first three books (and a novella) focused on Feyre, and A Court of Silver Flames was Nesta’s story, which just leaves Elain to go. Maas has said for years that all three sisters would get their own books, and with so many outstanding plot threads connected to Elain, it just seems like the most natural choice. (Not to mention the right time.)

Azriel

While Azriel is almost certain to play a huge role if either of the next two ACOTAR books is focused on Elain — in much the same way that Cassian was prominently featured in Nesta’s story — wouldn’t it be interesting if Maas just surprised us all by giving the most mysterious member of the Inner Circle his own story outright?

It’s certainly possible. Though most of us have assumed that the bonus Azriel POV chapter from A Court of Silver Flames is a hint that Elain’s story is coming, it could just as easily be a sign that the book will focus on the Shadowsinger himself rather than Feyre’s sister. Or that it will be the focus of the seventh book, which Maas has said is connected enough to the sixth to warrant such relatively close release dates. After all, there are plenty of intriguing plot threads to dig into that have nothing to do with Elain, from his unrequited feelings for Mor and his growing closeness with Gwyn to the strange connection he (and his weapons) shares with Bryce Quinlan from Maas’s Crescent City novels. 

Mor

Mor is an intriguing figure in her own right within the world of Prythian. Third in command at the Night Court, a trusted member of Rhysand’s Inner Circle, and the overseer of both the Court of Nightmares and the Court of Dreams, she’s got a whole lot going on without the messy business of Feyre and her sisters crashing into her life.

Beyond her role in the larger story of ACOTAR, Mor has a tremendous amount of personal trauma and history worth unpacking in greater detail. She’s got mysterious powers we don’t actually know all that much about, has survived both assault and abandonment, and is such a badass fighter that she’s still a legend to the Mortal Queens in the human world. (Don’t believe me? Google “Morrigan” sometime.) She has complicated personal relationships with almost every other major character on the series’s canvas, and a demeanor that implies she’s much more than she initially appears to be. (Plus, who doesn’t want to see if all those Mor and Emerie relationship hints pay off?)

Amren

This is almost certainly not happening (or at least, not right now), but a girl can dream.

Surely we deserve to finally see the backstory of this bizarre, incredibly powerful (dare I say angel-like) being from another world who has somehow bound herself to a High Fae body? Is she, as the most popular fan theories attest, actually an Asteri from the Cresecent City universe who has fled to the world of Prythian? The people want to know. 

Nesta

Yes, yes, technically, the series’s fifth book, A Court of Silver Flames, was already about Nesta. But Feyre got a three-book trilogy dedicated to her story, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that her sister might too. (Especially since Nesta was involved in the ACOTAR/Crescent City crossover that took place in that series’s third book.) 

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