ACOTAR fans put real life on hold for latest release

As I arrive at Waterstones in York shortly before 08:00, there is already a queue forming outside the bookshop.

Fans of Sarah J Maas's bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series are waiting eagerly to get their hands on the latest instalment.

Among them is Olivia Bray, 28, who has spent more than a decade immersed in the American author's fantasy world.

For Bray, the appeal goes beyond magic, romance and fantastical kingdoms. It is the feminism running through Maas's books that has kept her coming back.

And with the release of A Court of Splintered Harmony, Bray is prepared to put real life on hold, having booked an entire week off work to give herself time to recover from whatever awaits her between the covers.

"I'll be done [with reading] by tomorrow," she said. "I've just got the whole week off in case it's traumatising."

Set in the fictional world of Prythian, the series has amassed millions of fans across the world.

The series follows Feyre Archeron, a young huntress drawn into the dangerous world of the fae, where she navigates political intrigue, war and romance.

There have been five books so far, A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), A Court of Mist and Fury (2016), A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017), A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018), and A Court of Silver Flames (2021).

A Court of Splintered Harmony, the sixth book in the best-selling series, was released on Tuesday - five years after fans last heard from the characters.

Another ACOTAR fan, 22-year-old Abigail Wright, hoped to finish the book on release day, which coincided with her day off, before returning to work.

She said the books were her "gateway back into reading" aged 19.

Like Bray, Wright believed the recurring theme of female empowerment was a key part of its appeal.

"I think it's so popular because, yes, the romantic side of it is very good, but the strong women you see in the books are just a way to make other young women feel really empowered," said Wright.

"It just gives them a sense of power and [makes them] see you can start from nothing, like Feyre does, and just make your way up… you don't need a man to do all these things for you, you have the power to do anything you want to do."

Gabriella Booth, 29, was introduced to the series in 2013, but attributes ACOTAR's explosion in popularity to both the pandemic and "BookTok" - a TikTok community dedicated to sharing what people are reading and writing.

"The characters in general are so easy to read about. You can relate in different parts to a lot of them, I find," said Booth.

"For me, I love the fantasy world - that's something I've loved reading growing up. So, to have that combined with the romance side of everything... there's something that's just so exciting to read about."

Booth has previously taken time off work to read new releases and plans to do so when the seventh ACOTAR book is published in January.

However, on this occasion, she hopes to finish A Court of Splintered Harmony after work.

Alice Boyce, a bookseller at Topping and Company Booksellers on Museum Street in York, said ACOTAR fans had made their way straight up to the science-fiction area of the store as soon as doors opened at 09:00.

"People are really enthusiastic; we've had emails saying, 'can you put a copy aside for me?', and last night we had people asking to put it on pre-order."

An ACOTAR fan herself, 26-year-old Boyce said she felt she could truly disconnect when she read the books.

"You can dive into books and just escape a little bit," she added.

Events were held across the UK, including in Wolverhampton and Northern Ireland, to mark the new book's release, with Waterstones on York's Coney Street hosting its first ever midnight release event.

Eighty ACOTAR fans, some of whom were dressed as their favourite characters, attended the event, while 100 members of the fandom flocked to a party in Wolverhampton.

Organiser Holly Fellows, from Redditch, told the BBC people were "ecstatic" when the book was finally released.

"The community was just lovely, it was so nice to see everybody come together and fan-girl over a book," Fellows said.

Fellows, who booked the day off work to read the book, said she was already through the first chapter.

"It sounds like it's going to be incredible", she said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on Tuesday, Abi Fraser, owner of the Throne and Heart bookshop in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, where a release party was also held, said: "We had about 45 people in the bookshop to celebrate the midnight release.

"We had quizzes, we had games, we had a countdown to midnight - there is a real community vibe to the fandom... it's fantastic."

Elizabeth Vaziri, commissioning editor at Voyager and Magpie at the publisher Harper Collins, told the programme fantasy had "always been a portal for escapism".

Combined with romance, Vaziri said the "romantasy" genre had "given people a safe place to navigate relationships or sexuality".

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