Which series is better: Throne of Glass or A Court of Thorns and Roses? Both fantasy series center around a strong female lead with likable characters and a carefully written plot. They’re both great in their own ways and always leave the readers wanting more. It makes sense that this is a heated debate amongst Sarah J. Mass fans everywhere. Luckily, I’m here to end this debate once and for all. 

Throne of Glass focuses on an infamous assassin, Celaena Sardithien. She is given the chance to earn her freedom after being in a slave camp for the past year. After arriving in Rifthold, a city known for its beauty and wealth, the heart of one of greatest empires in all of the continent, she meets the crown prince Dorian. He takes her on as his champion in a competition to become the king of Adarlan’s lead assassin. 

While training for the competition, Celaena is kept under strict watch of the Captain of the guard, which leads to a friendship of sorts. The competition turns brutal whensome of the contestants start to end up mysteriously dead. Celaena tries to keep a level head, but has trouble when she winds up in the center of the whole mystery. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) is all about Feyre, a poor huntress who accidentally kills a wolf. The wolf turns out to be fae, a magical human-like creature who is known to hate humans. Tamlin, the friend of the wolf Feyre just killed, comes to exact revenge. Instead of taking her life immediately, he offers her a deal: she has to live in the faerie realm for the rest of her life or die. Feyre has grown up hearing stories of the faerie realm and how dangerous it is for a human, after all the world has been divided for hundreds of years. Despite needing to provide for her two sisters and dad, she chooses to save herself. Now Feyre must deal with living in the faerie realm and her feelings for Tamlin. 

Both series offer strong fantasy with amazing world building. Throne of Glass has more of an action plot with a romance subplot. ACOTAR is more of a romance series and has a minor action plot. Both series have strong main and supporting characters. Throne of Glass is told from multiple 3rd person point of views and Acotar has a singular 1st person point of view. 

In my opinion, the Throne of Glass series is the better because you will feel like you have stepped through the pages of the book with plots you are invested in and characters you feel like are your friends. Even though ACOTAR’s romance is amazing, the plot disappoints. If I had to pick only one, Throne of Glass would be the winner; being the best fantasy YA series of the last decade.