‘A way to escape’: Fan excitement as new ACOTAR book hits shelves
About 30 fans braved heavy rain and high winds to attend a midnight launch for Sarah J Maas’s newest ACOTAR novel at an independent bookshop in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. The event celebrated the sixth instalment, released after a five-year wait, and showed how readers use fantasy and romantasy as a way to unwind and escape everyday pressures.
The Secret Bookshelf hosted activities including felting, friendship-bracelet making and a fan-chat area, with some attendees wearing pyjamas, crowns and elf ears. The series is set in the fictional world of Prythian and has helped fuel interest in romantasy, boosted by discussion on TikTok’s BookTok community. Maas announced the sixth book in March, and the seventh, A Court of Forgotten Melody, is due on 12 January 2027.
In short
- Around 30 fans attended a midnight ACOTAR book launch in Carrickfergus.
- The sixth novel arrived after a five-year wait.
- The seventh book is due on 12 January 2027.
Explained simply
ACOTAR is short for A Court of Thorns and Roses, a fantasy series by American author Sarah J Maas. Its stories take place in Prythian, an imagined world of faeries, magic and romance. The books have helped popularise “romantasy”, which combines fantasy with romantic storylines.
Readers often share recommendations and reactions through BookTok, the book-focused community on TikTok, helping the series reach a large audience. For some fans, its imagined worlds offer a break from everyday pressures; independent bookshops also use launch events to bring readers together.