Books Like ACOTAR
After ACOTAR, choose Fourth Wing for dragon-rider trials, The Serpent and the Wings of Night for a dangerous alliance, or The Bridge Kingdom for political romance.
Choose the part you want
After ACOTAR, choose Fourth Wing for dragon-rider trials, The Serpent and the Wings of Night for a dangerous alliance, or The Bridge Kingdom for political romance.
Use the differences below to choose one book that fits your reading mood.
What each book offers
Each choice keeps a different part of the experience. The content notes help you decide what to leave for another time.
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Fourth Wing
Dragon-rider training makes attraction compete with immediate physical danger.
What changes: A military college replaces the fae courts, and the pace is quicker.
The appeal: Choose this when danger and romance should move together.
Before you start: Violence and explicit intimacy make this an adult choice.
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The Serpent and the Wings of Night
A human raised among vampires enters a lethal tournament.
What changes: The competition gives the first book a more concentrated shape.
The appeal: Choose this for survival pressure and a dangerous partnership.
Before you start: Blood and violent trials are central, rather than background detail.
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The Bridge Kingdom
An arranged marriage places a trained spy inside the kingdom she was taught to undermine.
What changes: The conflict depends more on strategy and divided loyalty than magical discovery.
The appeal: Choose this when trust and political consequences were the attraction.
Before you start: The romance grows out of deception and brings adult content.
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Throne of Glass
An assassin enters a royal competition before the story expands across an eight-book series.
What changes: The opening gives more space to a contest and mystery than to adult romance.
The appeal: Choose this when you want a larger adventure and can commit to several books.
Before you start: Do not expect the first book to reproduce ACOTAR’s romantic intensity.
If you choose one
Choose this when danger and romance should move together.
Fourth Wing puts training and danger near the front. The Bridge Kingdom makes deception the obstacle to trust. Decide which conflict you want to spend a book inside.
Sources checked September 8, 2026
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Publisher record for Fourth Wing
Confirms the adult Basgiath premise. It establishes identity and publisher content guidance, not a universal rating for every reader.
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Professional review of Fourth Wing
Supports the fast action and romance setup while preserving criticism of character work and worldbuilding.
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Professional review of Serpent
Confirms the Kejari tournament, hostile alliance, political stakes, and duology-opener identity in the reviewed edition.
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Author record for The Bridge Kingdom
Confirms the adult spy-marriage premise and lists title-specific content guidance. It is not a standardized heat score.
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Sarah J. Maas’s reading guide
Shows the separate series entry points and their internal reading sequences.
A few practical questions
What should I read after ACOTAR?
Choose Fourth Wing for fast training-and-danger scenes, The Serpent and the Wings of Night for tournament survival, or The Bridge Kingdom for divided loyalties within a romance.
Are these books all as explicit as ACOTAR?
No single heat label describes every book or sequel. Fourth Wing and The Bridge Kingdom are adult choices; Throne of Glass begins differently and becomes heavier later. Check the specific title before choosing.
Do I have to read Throne of Glass next?
No. Choose it for its assassin-contest opening and long fantasy arc. The ACOTAR reading-order guide explains the sequence within that series.
Keep exploring
- Check the ACOTAR sequence
Make sure you have the companion tale in place before branching out.
- Start the Empyrean series
Follow Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm in order.
Prefer to explore? See books near Fourth Wing in Atlas.