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I’m just going to start this post off with a spoiler-warning! If you have not read the Throne of Glass series, The ACOTAR series, or The Crescent City series, please go read them. Once you’ve got them finished, come on back and let’s deep dive together! 

So, are Sarah J. Maas books connected? Yes! We can now verify that they are. House of Sky and Breath confirmed a long-believed fan theory that there would be a cross-over between SJM’s other series.

You can definitely read the Throne of Glass Series without reading any of Maas’s other books, but after House of Sky and Breath, you’ll need to be up to date on the Crescent City books to be fully informed.

So happy reading babes! There’s a LOT of pages to catch up on, but as your resident fan girl, trust me when I say it is well worth the reading time! 

The ending of House of Sky and Breath left us with quite the cliffhanger, and a huge reveal. Bryce uses the gate in the Eternal City in an attempt to travel between worlds and travel to Hel to find help.

However, she instead travels to Prythian, landing basically in Rhys and Feyre’s front yard, confirming the long-held theory that SJM worlds are connected (now this is MY kind of multiverse of madness).

So now that it’s confirmed that the stories are in fact intertwined, let’s go over some of the proof from the text that shows just how connected these three series might be! 

Aelin’s Fall Through Worlds (Chapter 99 of Kingdom of Ash)

The first big indication that the worlds cross over can be found in Kingdom of Ash, the final installment in the Throne of Glass series.

When Aelin falls between worlds, we see Rhys and Feyre. Rhys uses his power to slow down Aelin’s falling between worlds to help her land back in Erilea. 

“She passed through a world of snowcapped mountains under shining stars. Passed over one of those mountains, where a winged male stood beside a heavily pregnant female, gazing at those very stars. Fae. They were Fae, but this was not her world.”

Now that we have also been introduced to the world of Midgard in Crescent City, we can assume that the world Aelin describes as…

“…a world where a great city had been built along the curve of a river, the buildings impossibly tall and glimmering with lights.” 

…is the same world of Midgard that Bryce lives in, and that the city Aelin sees as she falls through worlds in fact Lunathion. 

The Fae in Midgard (Chapter 73 of House of Sky and Breath)

Bryce discovers that the Dusk Project is in fact the Asteri feeding off the first light of the Vanir of Midgard. They have been siphoning different species into Bryce’s world to feed off of their power.

It is revealed that the Fae and the shifters are actually both Fae, just from different worlds. 

“‘Danika realized that the shifters are Fae.’ Bryce blinked. ‘What?’ ‘Not your kind of Fae, of course—your breed dwelled in a lovely, verdant land, rich with magic.‘” 

(Also…is that land Pythrian?!)

“The Midgard shifters were Fae from a different planet. All the Fae in that world shared their form with an animal.” 

I think it’s safe to conclude that the shifter Fae are from Erilea, and that the shifting-into-animals ability is the type of power that Rowan, Gavriel, Lorcan, and Fenrys have, to name a few. 

I believe the Valbaran Fae are from Pythrian. The Autumn King being titled that also aligns with the seasonal courts in the ACOTAR series; hard to believe that it’s just a coincidence!

The Avallan Fae are very likely related to the Night Court, with Cormac and Azriel have very similar powers. Both have the ability to teleport, and their shadows have very similar descriptions. 

The Starborn Fae are clearly connected with Rhys. You can see this at the end of House of Sky and Breath, where Rhys and Ruhn look very similar. They also both have the same shadow powers!

Jesiba’s Great Library (Chapter 78 of House of Earth and Blood)

“Her tingling fingers brushed over the titles. On the Divine Number; The Walking Dead; The Book of Breathings; The Queen with Many Faces…” 

We know that “The Walking Dead” is from Throne of Glass, and Celeana/Aelin found it in the library in the glass castle. 

“The Book of Breathing” is from A Court of Mist and Fury and was created to nullify the cauldron. 

Why does Jesiba have these books from other worlds? I’m sure we will find out more about her in the next Crescent City book.

Jesiba is also described as having white hair and is a sorceress/witch, and we do see other white-haired magic-wielding women in both of SJM’s other series as well (Merril in the ACOTAR world and the witches and priestesses in the TOG world).

This is more theory than fact, but I am excited to see exactly what Jesiba’s involvement is in the connection of these worlds! 

Lidia and Aelin’s Relation (Chapter 94 of House of Flame and Shadow)

House of Flame and Shadow confirms a popular fan theory (due to her blondness, appearing as fire, and being a deer-shifter fae babe) that Lidia Cervos and Aelin (from TOG) are related! 

After Lidia takes the antidote and receives her full powers, we see that she has powerful flame magic, very similar to Aelin in the Throne of Glass series.

“She knew her flames were…different.”

Lidia also talks about how she named her son Brannon because of her bloodline. I mean that is KING BRANNON…sorry I got too excited! ❤️‍🔥

“It confirmed what Lidia had long guessed. Why she had named Brannon after the oldest legends from her family’s bloodline: of a Fae King from another world, fire in his veins, who had created stags with the power of flame to be his sacred guards.”

The Under-King is From the Throne of Glass World (Chapter 81 of House of Flame and Shadow)

When Ithan is in the Bone Quarter at the end of the third Crescent City book, the Under-King makes an admission about where he really came from…

“I crept through when they charged so blindly into Midgard. This place is much better suited to my needs than the caves and barrows I was confined to.” 

“Ithan reeled. ‘You came from the shifters’ world?’ ‘You were not known as the shifters then, boy…And she,’ the Under-King went on, gesturing to that unusual depiction of Urd towering about him, ‘was not a goddess, but a force that governed worlds. A cauldron of life, brimming with the language of creation. Urd, they call her here—a bastardized version of her true name. Wyrd, we called her in that old world.’”

The Eight Pointed Star 

The eight-pointed star has been sprinkled throughout both the Crescent City series and A Court of Silver Flames.

We see the eight-pointed star in Court of Silver Flames when Nesta and Cassian make a bargain. The tattoos that the bargain leaves are matching eight-pointed stars on both Cassian and Nesta’s spines. 

“There, dead in the center of the Illyrian tattoo snaking down his spine a new tattoo had appeared. An eight-pointed star, whose compass points radiated in sharp lines across and up the groove of his back, twining with the Illyrian makings long inked there.”

We also see the eight-pointed star lying beneath the Harp when Nesta finds it in the prison in chapter 53. 

“The Harp sat atop a large rendering on an eight-pointed star.”

Bryce also has an eight-pointed star. After she saves the city at the end of House of Earth and Blood, she is left with an eight-pointed star on her chest.

In House of Flame and Shadow, the eight-pointed star lore continues. 

The first mention of the star in the third Crescent City book is in chapter 13 when Nesta asks Bryce about the meaning of the eight-pointed star in her world. 

“The magic, the power of the bargain that caused that tattoo to appear…it chose the design. The star meant nothing to me. I thought maybe it was related to my training, but its shape was identical to the scar on your chest.”

Nesta tells Bryce that she knows that there are forces that are powerful enough to guide them, and that she believes there is meaning behind the matching eight-pointed stars. 

In chapter 15, Nesta tells Bryce that her tattoo isn’t the only place she has seen the eight-pointed star before and finally tells Bryce about the Prison.

This is where Bryce, Nesta, and Azriel find themselves led to by following Bryce’s magic through the caves. 

They arrive at the Prison in chapter 17, and you’ll never believe what they find…another eight-pointed star!

Along with the star, Bryce also finds Midgard constellations, which leads her to the conclusion that the symbols all around her have been left for someone to find the truth about what really happened between the two worlds.

Bryce steps on the eight-pointed star and a recording of Theia tells Bryce, Nesta, and Azriel about the fae who left Prythian and traveled to Midgard. 

In chapter 62 of HOFAS, Bryce and company find an eight-pointed Star in the caves at Valbara, where Theia hid her last drop of power. 

At the end of House of Flame and Shadow, Bryce tells Nesta that she believes that the eight-pointed star had to have been used in the bargain tattoo for a reason and that she should look further into it (ACOTAR 6?!).

“I think that eight-pointed star was tattooed on you for a reason. Take that sword and go figure out why.”

Theia, Helena, and Silene- HOFAS Chapter 19-21

One of the biggest connections between the ACOTAR series and Crescent City is Theia and learning that she is actually from Prythian. 

Bryce travels to the Prison with Nesta and Azriel, where they find a hologram of Silene the daughter of Theia.

Silene tells the story of how the Dalgan tricked the Fae from the world of Prythian to travel to Midgard (this takes place over chapters 18-21). 

Okay, there is a LOT of information to cover here, so I’m going to summarize what Silene tells Bryce. 

The High Fae were slaves to the Dalgan and forced to make a tithe of power to the Dalgan, just like the first light that the Asteri feeds off of. 

Theia learned of the powerful weapons the Dalgan possessed, the Dread Trove, which was FOUR items: the Mask, the Harp, the Crown, and the Horn. 

Theia, along with her lover, Fionn, planned to take down the Asteri.

The Asteri took the Cauldron, which came from Prythian and turned its power into something darker. Fionn created the Star Sword from the Cauldron, and they used their powers to destroy the Daglan ruling over them.

We learn the island that became the Prison belonged to Theia, and she used that territory as her own private island 😉 

The dagger, Truth Teller, belonged to Fionn, but after Fionn was killed by a Created left behind by the Daglan, both the dagger and Gwydion (aka the Starsword) were drawn to Theia and the power in her blood.

Theia took both the two-made weapons and The Dread Trove and became a tyrant. 

Theia always told her daughters that evil was right under their feet. This turns out to be literal because there is an Asteri living under the Prison, trapped and giving the island all its oooky gooky creepy powers.

Nesta kills that b-word Asteri, but back to Silene’s story. 

Theia, with manipulation from Pelias, sought to use the Horn to travel to different worlds to take power from them. Pelias wants to reunite with the Dalgan and tricks Theia into going to Midgard, where the Asteri/Dalgan were.  

Theia didn’t recognize the Dalgan and brought both The Dread Trove and a bunch of her fae people into the new world. 

When they got to the new world, Theia killed a bunch of the humans because she was a jerk and took humans as slaves.

The gates opened again, and other fae came through into Midgard. These fae had different powers, elemental magic, and the ability to shift into animals. FROM TOG BABBBBBY.

Theia realizes that they have walked into a trap and she finds the maps in the Crystal Palace just like Bryce did at the end of House of Sky and Breath with the worlds that the Asteri had defeated and one world that won against them, Hel. 

Thus, the love affair between Aidas and Theia begins. Aidas and Theia team up with Hel to try to take down the Asteri. 

When Theia tries to get the humans to team up with her, the humans tell her that the Asteri has poisoned them with a parasite that contains their powers, giving the Asteri ownership over all of Vanir. 

They went to war against the Aestri, but it wasn’t enough. Silene used the harp to travel back to Prythian, where they returned three of The Dread Trove items to their home world. 

The Star Sword

This is where we see worlds finally combine with The Truth Teller (Az’s knife) and Gwydion (The Star Sword), who are finally reunited. 

Both swords are described as having a black hilt and blade made of obsidian. 

In Crescent City, the prophecy about the Star Sword is… 

“When knife and sword are reunited, so shall our people be.”

Gwydion is described in the ACOTAR series as having been missing for a millennium, and that it went missing at the same time as the final item of the Dread Trove.

Ameren recognizes Gwydion as the Star Sword immediately when she first encounters Bryce. 

In House of Flame and Shadow, the star sword and truth-teller are reunited.

Bryce takes the dagger with her and uses it to send the Asteri to “nowhere”. When Bryce returns the Mast to Nesta in chapter 100, she also gives her Truth Teller back and Gwydion. 

Are The Asteri The Dalgan? (Chapter 55 of A Court of Silver Flames)

Yes! we learn in HOFAS that the Asteri and the Dalgan are one in the same. This is confirmed in chapter 18 of HOFAS. 

“‘The Fae were not the first masters of this world. According to our oldest legends, most now forgotten, we were created by beings who were near gods—and monsters. The Daglan. They ruled for a millennia and enslaved us and the humans. They were petty and cruel and drank the magic of the land like wine.’” 

The Dread Trove

When Nesta has her vision of the fourth item in A Court of Sliver Flames, she describes it as “ancient bone,” and we know that the horn is made of bone. In addition to this, it’s also connected to the Starborn Fae magic.

In the beginning of House of Flame and Shadow, Bryce is in Prythian and is being questioned by Rhys and other members of the inner circle.

Both Amren and Nesta point out that there is something clearly “made” about the magic Bryce has. As fans suspected, the Horn is the fourth item in The Dread Trove. We learn that the Dread Trove is from the Asteri/Dalgan in chapter 19. 

Bryce Borrows the Mask (Chapter 77 of House of Flame and Shadow)

Bryce opens a portal to Nesta before she opens the portal to Hel to let the Princes of Hel into Midgard to destroy the Asteri.

Bryce asks Nesta to borrow the Mask and promises to give it back after she frees her world of the Asteri. Bryce gives her mom and Randal as collateral, and Nesta agrees and gives Bryce The Mask. 

Of course, Bryce returns The Mask as well as Truth Teller and the Starsword.

It was fun to end the book with a little bit more cross over between characters, and we learn from Bryce’s mom that the House of Wind gave her chocolate cake, which was a fun little House of Silver Flames Easter egg! 

Do You Need to Read Sarah J. Maas’s Books in Order?

No, you do not need to! Though my recommended reading order for all of Sarah J. Maas’s books would be:

1. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)

2. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2)

3. Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3)

4. The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass Prequel)

5. Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4)

6. A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR #2)

7. A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2)

8. A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3)

9. Empire of Storms* (Throne of Glass #5)

10. Tower of Dawn* (Throne of Glass #6)

11. Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7)

12. A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #4)

13. A Court of Silver Flames (ACOTAR #5)

14. House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)

15. House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)

16. House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3)

Do You Need to Read Throne of Glass Before You Read Crescent City?

Technically, all of Sarah J. Maas’ series can be read separately and understood for the most part.

The Throne of Glass series, for instance, is the most standalone, even though it’s been confirmed through House of Sky and Breath and House of Flame and Shadow that they exist within the same universe.

There are crossovers between the worlds of each series, which can be a thrilling discovery for readers. Sarah J. Maas provides enough explanations in each individual book that you wouldn’t feel lost if you hadn’t read all 16 of her books.

However, for those seeking the optimal reader experience and excitement, it’s recommended to read all of her series in publication order. 

1. Throne of Glass
2. ACOTAR
3. Crescent City

Are Crescent City and ACOTAR Connected? 

Yes! At the end of House of Sky and Breath, Bryce accidentally travels to Prythian instead of to Hel to find help against the Asteri.

In House of Flame and Shadow, Bryce interacts with several of the ACOTAR characters, and she ends up using the Mask from the Dread Trove, which is the inner circle found in A Court of Silver Flames.  

Will There Be Another ACOTAR Book After ACOSF?

Yes! There will be. Sarah has confirmed that there will be a sixth ACOTAR book, and readers (myself included) are hoping that this book will include Azriel POV and finally learn who his mate is.

It is a safe guess that the sixth book will include Elain as a main character, but I am personally going to need a HUGE character arch to get on board with Elain because I am a bit of a hater…

What Book Is Sarah J. Maas Publishing Next?

Sarah confirmed during her book release tour for House of Flame and Shadow that her next published book will be ACOTAR 6!

As stated earlier in this post, Bryce tells Nesta at the end of HOFAS that she believes there is a reason that the eight-pointed start was tattooed on her and she should learn why.

I anticipate that the eight-pointed star lore will continue in the next ACOTAR book, though as of now, we do not know who the main characters of ACOTAR 6 will be. 

SJM has not teased a release date yet, but she has teased on her Instagram that she’s in the draft phase of her next novel! 

Hopefully, we don’t have to wait as long for the next SJM book as we did between Crescent City 2 and 3, but the longer it takes, the more crazy theories our fans can come up with, which is fun in its own way 🤪

Comment any SJM connections I missed (cause, honestly, there are so many at this point) and your favorite fan theories!

-Paisley 

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