Throne of Glass Reading Order Guide 

I read Assassin's Blade first because I'm a stickler for Chronological order. It makes my brain the happiest. Also, I saw a light spoiler about the cliffhanger and side character while I was in the middle of Empire of Storms. I stopped right toward the end of Empire of Storms, when it started to feel heavy, and then read Tower of Dawn, and then finished Empire of Storms 😆

Super helpful information about the reading order, ive been conflicted on how I should do it but you helped me make up my mind! Also your love of these books has me so excited to read them now 😊 Thank you!!

I just want to say that I really adore this series, but I read it in a very different order. I started with Assassin’s Blade, which was actually one of my favorite books of the series, and then read Throne of Glass. I liked the order because I knew what the main character was talking about in Throne of Glass when she was going through memories, and I don’t think I would have cared as much if I didn’t read the prequel first. I also think it sets up who she is in a way that the first few chapters of Throne of Glass couldn’t by itself. And, 4 of the 5 novellas were written before Throne of Glass. I then read the rest of the books in chronological order, except I flipped Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. Queen of Shadows’ last chapter ended by talking about the characters of Tower of Dawn, which was a smooth transition. Kingdom of Ash also starts by talking about the characters of Empire of Storms, and the cliffhanger between the two is INCREDIBLE. I didn’t have any spoilers reading it that way, and I feel like all the emotional points were hit amazingly. Important edit: I forgot about this when I wrote the comment but remembered since I am now preparing to reread the series (trying Tandem order). If you read Tower of Dawn before Empire of Storms you MUST leave the epilogue until after you read Empire of Storms because it spoils the whole book.

I started with Throne of Glass and fell in love with her way before ACOTAR was published. She’s one of those authors that whatever she publishes I WILL READ IT! She could publish a manual on how the Cauldron works. I’ll read it. Contact list for all the characters and how to reach them? I’ll read it. Description of everyone’s favorite foods? I’m there for it 😂 I never really thought about reading those two novels in tandem. It feels a bit daunting but since I want to re-read everything in anticipation for the upcoming crossovers, that might be the way I re-read those books this time

Thank you sooooooooo much for clearing that up! I am almost finished with Throne of Glass and saw the "Throne of Glass Series" list printed on the first page it listed The Assassin's Blade and I freaked out! I never read out of order. You and Jared are so fun!

This video has helped me so much! I was going to start reading the series but was confusing and this video saved me!

I haven’t read any SJM books yet, but I own multiple of her books in my TBR pile. I would love to see a video on what order to read all of SJM’s books if you’re brand new.

Ready new order for you that I think worked the best lol I read assassins blade second! I didn’t know about assassins blade. I started throne of glass and learned about it half way through that their was a book before. So I read it second and it was perfect! I got attached to the characters from throne of glass and picked up on all the hints to her past and was sooo curious. So reading it second was perfect for me because I got connected first then learned of her past and then continued in the story. At first I was pissed about tower of dawn because like ummm hello that cliff hanger from empire but then I LOVED tower of dawn! It is a beautiful book and I flew through it and was so happy it’s in there.

Thank you so much for this! You explained this so well ! I’ve been putting this series off because I don’t know where to start. You definitely made it clearer for me.

I just bought the Throne of Glass Box set from pre-order and the have assassin's blade as the first book of the series. Hopefully I'll start there and it will work for me lol

I agree with every single thing you said! That's how I read it and I am so happy I did it this way!! Thank you for speaking the truth haha

Same! I read ACOTAR series first, and of course was overwhelemed and in love with SJM world building...to find an entire universe that awaited me lol. But seriously to decide which series to read next did require some BookTok research! I'm also one to want read this as the author deemed it; I just finished COM and will start AB before diving into the rest of the series 😊 . CC is next but on my re-read of TOG I will for sure give that tandem read a chance. I'm also listening to ACOTAR's dramatized audible version while I work and OMG!

Im currently ready acosf and eyeing on a next book and decided to go with the throne glass however, i got confused which one is first. 😂 Then bumped into your video. Thanks for the guide! Will follow yours. 💖

My brain can’t handle all of this I’m reading in order of publication😭 I’m 10 pages away from finishing ToG

Thank you for your video, I’ll start to read it and it really helps

I actually think learning her backstory first actually draws you into the other books going into throne of glass I was happy I knew who she was and what she had gone through.. I appreciated her and the other characters so much more.. if you never read any of the books it’s hard to say Assassins blade would “bore” you because you have nothing to compare to.. chronological or not I say get Assassins blade out the way each novella in the book is so captivating in its own way and they all play off each other.

I agree with everything you said! I don't think I would have continued if I read Assassins Blade first. And. I NEEDED Tower if Dawn! Not only do I love the new Characters but jumping into the enormous Kingdom of Ash after that cliff hanger? Nope, some breathing room was necessary

I want to do a reread of this series, so this is really helpful!

I read The Assassin’s Blade after Heir of Fire because it was recommended to me, and having it fresh on my mind showed some comparisons in Queen of Shadows that I don’t know if I would’ve caught if I read it in a different place. But with how Heir of Fire ends, I was very tempted to just not read TAB at all. The ebook bundle puts TAB as the last book??? But I picked up Throne of Glass from the library, so I read it first because they didn’t have TAB so I didn’t read it first lol. I finished Queen of Shadows tonight, and it’s my favorite so far. Trying to decide if I’m going to conquer the tandem read starting tomorrow.

I weirdly read Assassin's Blade scattered thoughtout reading the series 😂 I just would get bored and want to go back to the main books. I didn't read the last two series until after I finished KOA and yes it still killed me. As for EOS and TOD I totally 100% agree! And I would even actually say do not do the tandem read on the first time! That is way too much plot to keep tract of and I wanted to both read them as she published them and to keep the stories separate and give them the attention they both deserve! TOD deserves all the love! It's actually (probs controversially) my favorite in the whole series.

I am going to formally request your comprehensive review a la Crescent City of this series please and thank you ❤

What are all the books behind you??? Can we get a picture or them? Lol! They look so pretty behind you, plus I need more books to read! Starting Throne of Glass right now and doing your order. 😊

Read Assassins Blade LAST. The series was fabulous and didn't need AB until the rest are read

Technically Maas released the individual novellas first (before throne of glass) and then later published them as a bind up. But I actually think its better if you read them after ToG.

I just finished heir of fire and now assassin's blade😅. First book I was like who the hell is Sam and almost changed the reading order, but now you feel more about for example chaol and Dorian so now it's Sam's turn.

Based on Reddit's advice, I read The Assassin's Blade after either COM or HOF (I forget which) and it felt a little weird. I sort of wish I'd started with TAB because pausing the main story and going back in time kinda took me out of the flow and I had a hard time getting into it because of that. I think if I'd started with the prequel, I might've still had to push myself through it but I would've understood Celaena more in the first book. But at the same time, I was emotionally destroyed by the end of TAB so it's a good thing I knew what was coming.

I keep suggesting to my friends to read AB after ToG because it’s the biggest time gap

Okay, so I have read throne of glass , Crown of midnight, Heir of fire, Queen of shadows and empire of storms. And completely missed the prequel. Now my question is, do I read the prequel now or do I just carry on tower of dawn and read it assassins blade last? Help please😅

I also like reading in order of publication but knowing that there is a chronological order is hurting me. I have a goldfish memory and tend to forget as things move forward (which is prolly why i’ll be writing mini summaries for myself lmfao) so im going to read the two books suggested to read together,,together. Thank you for your guide!! It’s helping me understand how im going to get started on this series! Off to the library i go tomorrow 😂

I'm currently reading this series for the first time (queen of shadows rn) and I need some help. I really can't do tandem read of those books and someone recommended me to read tower of dawn before empire of storms. Will this work?? And like you said I should have read assassin's blade after crown of midnight, but I read it after hier of fire. But its still going amazing so far

I just finished this book. But I found the excess drama unnecessary.

Ugh! I needed this so badly, started ToG last night and have been so confused and overwhelmed on the order to read them in! But it’s now decided I will read in publication order bc tandem sounds far to overwhelming to me! Thank you for not spoiling anything!

I wish I knew this before I started as I purchased the entire series as a set and Assassin’s Blade was the first in the set so I started there. It wrecked me so hard that I haven’t been able to pick up Throne of Glass. I’m here at this video because I was thinking enough time has passed for me to continue the story.

I am at Queen of Shadows, that’s my next read and I looooove the witches. I get excited when it goes back to then so I cannot wait for more of them!!

I might be weird, but I read AB after TOG. It gives me the intro to Celina but then I get the back story early so that the references that are made about the characters from AB or the events from AB make more sense and have a more emotional impact. I've never heard anyone else mention reading it this way, but its how I always do it and recommend it.

The tandem read of EoS and ToD is incredibly rewarding. I find it easy to keep up and it winds all the characters and storylines together beautifully. As for Assassin’s Blade, I think it helped a lot with my understanding of ToG having read AB first. I would have been impatient to break the chronology of the story after Crown of Midnight and go back to the events of AB. Keep up the good work and thank you for not including any spoilers.

I literally started reading Throne of Glass series this week. I am definitely reading them in the order that you recommend!

I really enjoyed reading assassins blade after heir of fire. I felt like it was a good change of pace and a good spot to learn more about the main character through the backstories. Now I need to finish the rest of the series!

Loved this! I just started Kingdom of Ash. I’m surprised my heart is still going 🙈 I read Assasins Blade after Heir of Fire and really liked it that way but I did find it slow and wanted to get back to the current story. I might tackle the tandem read when I do a reread 😉

A: I am ALSO a rule follower and was distraught when hearing about tandem reads, etc. so THANK YOU. B: Thank you for staying to careful for no spoilers because it is hard to research any series and how to read/annotation, etc without getting spoiled! Even looking up name pronunciations is dangerous so I appreciate you!

I read it based on publication when it was my first time and I have to say I really struggled through Tower of Dawn. I did a reread this year and did the tandem read and it was so worth it!!! Bumped my rating of Tower of Dawn up and made this my favorite series by her. I already want to read it all over again.

Everyone is an ACOTAR fan but I was not drawn in like I was the Throne series. I never got into ACOTAR but I’m on Heir of Fire for this series. I agree with all you have said but I was one who was told to read Assasin novellas first and I was glad I did. I felt like I “knew” her going into the series. So I felt her more. I don’t know what is going to happen next for her but I sure hope she gets some stable happiness eventually?? Oh! And I snuck a peek at something Sapphiria?? I dunno what that is but I didn’t feel drawn to it even though it’s her because it seemed sci-fi? Intergalactic? Weird? I am okay with realms of magical creation but space? Myeh.. I dunno. What do you think?

So question🤔 Im about to start Queen of shadows Since most of y'all have it already read the books instead of reading it as tandem cuz I'm also having a hard time grappling my head around that as well and I haven't even started Queen of shadows lol! Could one read Tower of Dawn first before empire of storms and not be confused lol😅

I just started on the series so I'm late, but no I read assassin's blade first I like someone else said I'm a stickler for chronological order and I would have been so lost not knowing any of her back story I hate watching TV shows that have one episode dedicated to the past and backstory But to each his own😅

I read Assassins Blade first because I wanted to read it in the way Sarah J Mass recommended 🤭. I’m still in the series. Just like you I started with ACOTAR 😍.

Ugh, I appreciate the pep talk for the witches POV. I keep finding myself putting it down and deciding I’m done for now when I get to the witches

I didn’t realize the controversy! I just accidentally read TOD before EOS because I messed up the publication order 😅 and in the end I think that was probably the best way for me to read the series. I might have given up if I read it the “right” way.

I think assassins blade is PERFECT after Heir of Fire- especially since we get so invested in all these characters and then get to see them all come back in Queen of Shadows

Jus started TOG .. But I deside to read AB between each books so that I can understand her more

Okay….but ToG or ACOTAR first?!

When I read this series, the kindle has all the books bundled, and assassin’s blade is last in that (it’s one big download, not separate books). I personally liked it last, going back to see how she met all the different characters that come throughout the stories.

GOODNESS. I really felt so much of this. I read ACOTAR first and it became my favorite series of. All. Time. And then I read TOG and lawd… I was thrown for such a loop because I loved it just as much OR MORE! I read the “romantic order” with the tandem read and I thought it was great. It was hard for me to leave the storyline after HOF to read AB (to go backwards) but once we deeply got to know Sam? DESTROYED. Gahhhhh. Gosh gosh gosh. I just read the series for the first time last month so it’s all incredibly fresh! My sister read them after me and just finished KOA a couple days ago & she chose not to do the tandem read & swears by reading it that way. It’s so interesting how everyone feels passionately about it one way or another. I also really did try to start the series with AB but I couldn’t get into it and picked up TOG a couple week later & could not put it down- it sucked me right in! I think TOG is so much better at world & character building. It’s a great place to start!

I just finished the series and although it took me to Heir of Fire to really get into it - I LOVED IT!! I read in the “romantic” theme and I tandem read EOS and TOD on audible… absolutely loved getting all the POV together!!

I feel like I trust your recommendations with my LIFE 😂 and thank you for no spoilers!!! Just finished Heir of Fire!!! Can’t wait to keep reading

I am so badly confused fr 😭. I received ToG today and i am so confused. How am i suppose to read ut? And why should I read the second and third last books together?. I am hella confused 😢

This is exactly what I needed

This is so helpful. Best summary I've seen

The first time I read ToG, I read The Assassin’s Blade at the very end, and everything else in pub order. On the readalong I just did with my bestie, we did ToG, CoM, HoF, TAB, QoS…rest in pub order. She loved it that way! I really should try the tandem read of Tower of Dawn and Empire or Storms! But I can’t recommend enough reading The Assassin’s Blade between Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. Such an emotional impact and keeps ALL these tiny threads fresh in your mind! 🔥

I just finished the series for the first time. Listen to my wisdom: Read it all in the publication order. Assassin's blade first (if you can handle the heart-crushing, I personally didn't want to deal with it and had no issue understanding the whole plot) If you dont read it first, you'll find yourself not wanting to read it cause you don't want to stop the main plot to go find out what f happened before. And For the love of God. WHY ISNT ANYBODY TALKING ABOUT THE EXTRA CHAPTERS?! Book 1 has an extra chapter which is a convo between Dorian and Chaol. Book 3 has like 4 extra chapters. And there are more from other books, all of them give extra insights of the main characters. LOOK THEM UP, they're around in wattpad and other places. You're f welcome -.- Sorry I'm bitter, but nobody bothered to tell me any of this, and yes, I investigated before I started reading. :c

Funny enough, I read in order BUT I did not (yet) read Assassin’s Blade 😮😅…. Yeah…. I was just too invested already, to pause the story. I will read it when I do a reread but far faaaaaar in the future (aka when the Graphic Audio TOG books come out). As for which I read first: ACOTAR series (not including ACOSF), TOG series, CC1, ACOSF, CC2. Can’t wait for CC3!! Edit: punctuation 😂

This is so helpful! I loved ACOTAR and ordered this set pretty much straight after.. not knowing about the different orders. I am so excited to read these now.

Just finished the series! I tried to do in in publication order. So, for the prequel/AB, I read that third, and it was great because I already had a connection and appreciation of the main character that got me through the short stories. Without that, I wouldn't have liked her character and might not have finished the book. Since she is younger she comes off as a brat lol. For the rest: I stopped reading EoS 4/5 in because I knew there'd be a killer cliffhanger at the end and wanted to avoid the wait. So I started reading ToD at that point and stopped also 4/5 of the way in as well. Then ran back to read the rest of EoS and then just went and finished reading the tiny bit I had left of ToD, so I didn't have 600+ pages to wait after the cliffhanger, only like 150. So I didn't quite do the tandem read because the thought of constantly going back and forth and keeping track of the chapters seemed annoying, BUT I get where it's coming from because I didn't want to have a whole book to go through before I got some answers, either. All that said, loved your video and the nuance given!

Lol she really could have just looked on Libby to see when the novellas were posted. On Libby, I had the option to read just the novellas on their own or the full Assassins Blade book, but TAB was so back ordered I just read the novellas and not only did Libby tell me the proper reading order, but also when they were published. It also gave a cute little blurb about SJM starting writing them at 15 before ever getting published inspo type story lol so I think it’s hilarious she couldn’t find that info. For me though, since I only read the 4 published novellas, I never even read the Healer one until I got to TOD and was like who tf are these people?! But I read the novellas as they popped up and were mentioned in the books, and I really liked that way as well!

I feel like everyone should read The Assassin’s Blade first because who would want to pause after CoM to hear a backstory for a character we already know? Also I was surprised you said you’d be bored if you read the AB first because it’s got a lot of action and personally, I hated reading ToG first because it felt like being in the middle of a story with a character so smug and confident in herself but we can understand why she’s like that by reading the AB first! Also the “I’m Celaena Sardothien and I will not be afraid” just isn’t the same if you don’t read the AB first 😭 but I can see why you chose this order, it’s better than reading the novellas after HoF where so much changes for Celaena and we have NO time for flashbacks and backstories 💀

I read Assassin's blade last and it mare everything so confusing... I'm gonna re read because I felt like I was so distracted wanting to know what happens to my characters that I didn't take everything in

Love your videos and especially this very passionate and informative one! I did the same of you ACOTAR, CC now excited to start TOG. I liked that a lot bc CC was so different it was like a palate cleanser. Feel the same as you “I don’t care what she does I’ll read it” 😂

Thank you soooo much for this video!! I just started reading this series and I thought I was reading in order of publication because when I purchased the box set The Assassin’s Blade was the first book at the top. I wish I had started with TOG because maybe I would be more invested. I don’t feel any passion for this character. Everyone keeps telling me she’s a badass and I can see that but I don’t truly care for her yet. Can’t wait to read the next 2 and see if I agree maybe I should have read it 3rd. Also I like your theory of which series you read first is your fave. I read CC First and it is my favorite book / series for sure!!

I wish I had known to read AB after CoM.. I just barreled through all the books, and needed a long break for my heart and now I’ve started AB. I gotta say, don’t be like me and read it after you finish the series. It’s HARD going back in time after going through KoA and having to “forget” all my friends, to go back. That was my bad, I never looked up when I should read that book. I think it would’ve been perfect after CoM for the same reasons you mentioned. 😅

I read assassin's blade after crown of midnight too. A few years ago I started assassin's blade but couldn't get past page 40. But after reading ToG and CoM it was easier to get into it. It's actually one of my favorite one of this series now.

I’m currently in the middle of Assassins Blade, (reading first) and I do think it’s a little boring, but not like I won’t finish. Just in the way that I’m not very connected to Celaena.

Honestly I found out that the Assassin's Blade existed AFTER I read the other TOG books. I enjoyed not knowing everything about her Backstory tbh, while reading, that made some moves she pulled a lot more interesting and added to my suspense level 😅. For a re-read I would like to read the backstory first though:)

I’m currently reading in the order you’ve suggested. I’m glad I read assassins blade 3rd in line. I think if I had read it first- I would have had a different feeling about our main characters personality-and that may have stopped me from reading the rest. It was interesting to see some earlier adventures when she was younger and watch the character development up to TOG. I’m currently reading Empire of Storms. I decided not to do a tandem read because I heard Tower of Dawn has different pacing. I didn’t want to feel like I was rushing through the chapters in TOD just to get back to EOS. So one at a time it is. There are 10 characters right now in EOS, and I’m fully vested in all of them. I know emotional destruction is coming 🥺

Thank you for all these informations ❤ I actually doesn’t remember in which order I read the series but I know I didn’t read Assassin‘s Blade first. Maybe for me it was the last one because.. well I didn’t know better? 😂 I plan to reread the series and I will follow your order because it just make sense ❤

I read ACOTAR first and it will always have a special place in my heart cuz it got me back into reading but for me throne of glass is actually my favorite series by her. Not by a lot but I’d say it’s my favorite with ACOTAR as an extremely close second

Been hassling my friend for what to do re order. She did recommend the romantic way but wasn't sure about tandem. I think you might be right about reading it as intended on the first way through. Thanks for the video!

I started with Throne of Glass and read through chronologically, then read The Assassins Blade prequel novellas. It was a nice way to come down from finishing the series.

Lol I’m glad I wasn’t the only one annoyed when she first started going to the witches POV. I was like who are these people 😂.

What do you think of reading assasians Blade last? Looks like that was the hand I was dealt with my local library.

I read this series 7 years ago before Tower of Dawn came out. Then a lot of time had passed. I forgot details so I actually reread the first 6 books again last year. Both times I read assassins blade first. I only did that bc I saw it was a prequel, when I finally read tower of dawn and kingdom of ash I did the random read and I loved it so much that way.

Thank you sm for making thisss video. Bcause i spent weeks just to finding the right order of this book. And i am so confuse about people who suggest to tandem read the 2 books and I just looking for some make sense reason of why we should do that. And watching your video just make me so sure about the reading order that I really want to follow. Thank you sm and please keep making these type of content ❤❤

I don’t know, I think the idea of a tandem read sounds like sooooo much fun! I’m currently on throne of glass but I actually started reading this series because I had seen other readers talking about the in famous tandem read and it just sounded like so much fun. Of course I have a while before I get to those books but I’m very excited for it!!!

Yes! I tried assasins blade first and couldn't get into it, I felt disconnected.

Thank you! Super helpful and explaining your “why’s”. I appreciate you!

Currently on Kingdom of Ash and I read it all just like you and it has been PERFECTION. I have friends who never read assassins blade and I’m like HOW COULD YOU NOT READ THAT YOU MISSED ALL THE AMAZING STORY INTERTWINING. Those are always the people who didn’t love it. And I tell them their opinion does. Not. Count. 😂 also read acotar then crescent city then these and I’ve liked that order too honestly. I wanted to read this before CC3 just in case. You know?!

your bookshelf behind you is so pleasing to look at.

I personally read this in the “romantic order” and EOS TOD tandem read and loved it. There is no wrong way to read this series except not reading it ❤

I love how passionate you are about these😂

I agree with everything you say! I read a few other authors first that I became invested in but Sarah really made me love reading! And I haven’t stopped since!

This is so perfect. Loved the video, it was exactly what I needed to start the reading. And… you are so fun.

Thank you!! Now I know it all and I can start the journey of ToG. ❤ I love you channel so far.

Thank you!

Currently reading this series for the first time. Currently half way through Heir of Fire. Plan to read Assassin’s Blade next. Still debating doing the tandem read. I’m a library girl so not sure how the tandem would play out with check out and book availability. Debating buying the series for later reread.

Tower of dawn is my favorite book of the series!! People who skip this… definitely little devils 😂 Also, totally agree on the witches. At first I was like but whyyyy? And then… oh and then… I love the witches!

Omg noooooo. I’ve started this series a month ago with the assassins blade. And I’m still not done in this book because I’m not invested 😢 I should’ve started with throne of glass 😔

any recommendations for which order to read the three sjm series in? are there any overlaps?

So I spent an ungodly amount of time trying to figure out the reading order I wanted to do. I’m like you - “well if she published it this way surely we MUST HAVE to read it this way” Now, I’m half way through assassins blade and I’m glad I read it where I did (after heir of fire). It’s a bit slow to me (I’m sure it’ll pick up 😂), so I’m not sure I’d be as keen to pick up the next books. Meanwhile after finishing throne of glass I was INVESTED. And 5 trillion percent invested after finishing heir of fire 😂. What are your thoughts on reading Tower of Dawn prior to Empire of Storms? That’s the way that was suggested to me but I’m worried about any Empire of Storms spoilers in ToD.

I've started with AB and read the first 2 novellas, but after this I kinda want to stop and start with ToG... should I?

I'm reading the assassin's blade first and I'm almost done but I kind of know where it's going and now I don't want to finish it. It's also true that is kind of slow in the beginning 😅

I’m the one who skipped tower of dawn and Assasin’s blade the first time i read the series 😩. I apologize 😁 but now i’m re-reading the series and this time no more skipping, I Promise 🤌 I want full experience of this masterpiece 🥰 So thank you for this video. It helped a lot 👍