How to read throne of glass series

Now that the Throne of Glass series is officially complete with the publication of Kingdom of Ash a whole new legion of readers are being exposed to this highly acclaimed series. If you’re like a large majority of people, you might have waited until the series was finished before you picked up Throne of Glass in order to binge read the whole series at once.

For you, that time is now and perhaps you find yourself staring at title after title in the Throne of Glass series wondering in what order you’re supposed to read them?

The next few paragraphs will deep dive into the Throne of Glass series order and explain why and when you should read certain books. Get ready for an epic adventure from author Sarah J. Maas who has sold more than 12 million fantasy books.

Now let’s get on with the ways to read Throne of Glass in order.

Best Throne of Glass Series Order

Do I start with Throne of Glass or The Assassin’s Blade? If I don’t start with The Assassin’s Blade, when is the best time to read it? And what do I do about Tower of Dawn? Is it essential reading?

If you are asking yourself these questions, then you’ve come to the right place as we’re about to look at the proper Throne of Glass order. Let’s start with a visual history of Throne of Glass courtesy of The World of Sarah J. Maas.

When to read The Assassin’s Blade

As you can see from the graphic above, Throne of Glass wasn’t published until August 2012, but four novellas were published before that point. Those novellas are no longer available individually, but have been packaged into The Assassin’s Blade which was released in March of 2013 with a fifth novella included.

The Assassin’s Blade is a prequel. In the strictest order, all of the stories compiled take place before Throne of Glass. So if you are a purist who wants to read chronologically, then starting with The Assassin’s Blade is the way to go. But many readers disagree.

I run a large group of YA Fantasy Addicts on Facebook and they all have a very different story to tell about proper Throne of Glass reading order.

Many of our members swear by reading The Assassin’s Blade after Heir of Fire, but before Queen of Shadows. The stated reason is that the conflict in The Assassin’s Blade centers around a relationship between Celaena and Sam, and that relationship means much more to you after you understand more about these characters from the later books.

So if you’d rather forgo some surprises for greater emotional engagement with the characters, then I’d strongly recommend first reading Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, and Heir of Fire before reading The Assassin’s Blade.

When to read Tower of Dawn

Now that we’ve got that cleared up, what’s up with Tower of Dawn? You might be thinking: I read a lot of mixed feelings about this book and it’s cover is so different from the rest of the series. Is it essential? And if so, when do I read it?

The answer is an unequivocal YES. After reading the previous books, you may not be a big Chaol fan (I don’t get this personally, I think he’s fine, but I know plenty of people who hate him), but the response is undeniable: Tower of Dawn is a must read.

The question then is, where does it belong in the proper Throne of Glass reading order? It can be read either before or after Empire of Storms as the two books run concurrently in two separate parts of the world with two different sets of characters. But if you’d like to stick with publication order, then Empire of Storms is first and Tower of Dawn second.

That being said, some recent discussion has led me to wonder if Tower of Dawn before Empire of Storms is perhaps the better way to read it.

Hear me out.

Empire of Storms leaves off at a bit of a cliffhanger (spoiler, sorry) and many people might be tempted to skip Tower of Dawn altogether. To let you go straight from Empire of Storms to Kingdom of Ashes, try reading Tower of Dawn first.

This will let you keep Chaol’s story cohesively together, as well as make sure you aren’t begrudging the cliffhanger at the end of Empire of Storms.

Be aware that there may be potential spoilers reading them in this order.

Of course, you could always read them at the same time.

For that, I’ve created this helpful resource for you. A printable checklist that includes both ways to read Throne of Glass listed below as well as chapter by chapter arrangements of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn for a tandem read.

If you’d prefer, I can also email you a copy.

Now that all the details are out of the way, let’s summarize the two Throne of Glass reading orders.

Level up your reading experience with my printable Throne of Glass reading guide and checklist. It includes both ways to read, plus the Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn tandem read instructions.

Throne of Glass Order in Summary

The Purist

Read the Throne of Glass books in this order if you want to stay true to publication date and the intended order of reading.

1. The Assassin’s Blade
2. Throne of Glass
3. Crown of Midnight
4. Heir of Fire
5. Queen of Shadows
6. Empire of Storms
7. Tower of Dawn
8. Kingdom of Ash

The Romantic

This reading order of Throne of Glass is meant for those who want the most impactful emotional connection to the characters and story. Yeah, it’s kind of out of order, but the story will mean so much more if you read it this way. Trust me.

1. Throne of Glass
2. Crown of Midnight
3. Heir of Fire
4. The Assassin’s Blade
5. Queen of Shadows
6. Tower of Dawn
7. Empire of Storms
8. Kingdom of Ash

A visual representation

The Purist

The Romantic

So there you have it, all eight books in the Throne of Glass series in order for two different types of readers. Which one are you?

Interested in discovering other books like Throne of Glass?

You might also find this list of all of the Sarah J Maas books in order helpful.

Don’t forget about your reading guide:

In what order do you read the Throne of Glass series?

Should you read assassins blade or Throne of Glass first?

What order should you read Sarah J Maas books?

Is Throne of Glass series finished?