1 2011 Series Should Have Been Book Tok’s First ACOTAR (But Came Too Early)
Unquestionably, Book Tok’s greatest success to date has been A Court of Thorns and Roses, but if it had not arrived too soon, a 2011 book series would have easily been the first ACOTAR. Romantasy literature is not new, but in recent years, works like Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing and Sarah J. Maas’ Court of Thorns and Roses have given the genre a renewed energy. Even though the books would be bestsellers without Book Tokers, they have undoubtedly contributed to their greater success than even their publishers could have predicted.
Romance and love are two popular draws in fantasy literature, as the two genres blend seamlessly. Even though ACOTAR turned things up a level, it is not the first book series with more adult, sensual scenes or even the first to combine a powerful fantasy world with an intense love story. Indeed, if the social networking app had been around 13 years ago, one outstanding romantic comedy novel series may have easily outperformed A Court of Thorns and Roses on Book Tok.
OVERVIEW
Daughter of Smoke & Bone shows how romance and fantasy may coexist before Book Tok’s ascent. It is published before ACOTAR.
In 2011, the book became popular and even attracted interest for a possible Universal Studios movie adaptation.
Even though the story and characters are similar, Daughter of Smoke & Bone has a distinct magic system and concept.
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone Was a Great Romantasy Series Long Before ACOTAR
It Had All the Elements of a Great Romantic Fantasy Story
Romantasy would have been a wonderful fit for Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy long before the term first appeared on Book Tok, first used to characterize Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses. Among YA fantasy, the books include one of the most original plots and magical systems. The narrative centers on 17-year-old Karou, a Prague-based art student who keeps a secret about her identity as a chimaera—a creature that blends elements of both animals and humans. She was reared as a child by Brimstone, a strong chimaera who trades teeth for wishes. Karou’s human appearance allows her to transition between the dimensions of chimaera and angels, sometimes known as seraphim, who are their mortal adversaries.
Romance, of course, is essential to a romance novel, and the daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy has plenty of it. Karou meets Akiva, a formidable soldier in the army of seraphim. Even though seraphim and chimaera are at war, Karou and Akiva are drawn to one another and quickly experience an overwhelming love. They communicate with other pals who are chimaera, seraphim, and humans through them, and they quickly come to the realization that they have been battling the wrong foe.
Many of the themes seen in Daughter of Smoke & Bone are also present in ACOTAR: a convoluted romance, strong friendships, and magic all set against the backdrop of conflict. Additionally, there are parallels between the characters. Even though the idea of angels as warriors is not new, the seraphim warriors in Daughter of Smoke and Bone seem like a model for the Illyrians in ACOTAR, and Akiva’s friendship with his squad members, Liraz and Hazael, is a lot like that of Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel. Due to their difficult upbringing, Karou and Feyre are even more alike than they may realize: they are both fiercely independent, self-sufficient, and intelligent beyond their years.
Book Title Publication Year
Daughter of Smoke & Bone 2011
Days of Blood & Starlight 2012
Night of Cake & Puppets (tie-in standalone) 2013
Dreams of Gods & Monsters 2014
Daughter Of Smoke & Bone Was a Hit When It Was Released In 2011
It Was Even Going to Be Adapted as A Movie
Daughter of Smoke & Bone was a huge hit when it was first published, even though it came out before both TikTok and the Book Tok romance craze. Reviews commended the story’s heightened vocabulary, clever, hilarious banter, and stunning romance at its core. It appeared on several lists of the Best Books of 2011 and was also a finalist for the Andre Norton Award. Regardless of the era, it was an amazing achievement to be published in nearly three dozen languages and sell over a million copies.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone was so successful, in fact, that Universal Studios bought the movie rights to adapt it in late 2011. It was a hot property at the time, with four studios fighting for the chance to adapt Laini Taylor’s book. Regrettably, studios were put off adapting it after a few YA adaptations failed, and as of right moment, the project is still on hold. Nevertheless, Daughter of Smoke and Bone had an audience, and if it were published now, its popularity might match that of A Court of Thorns & Roses.
Why is ACOTAR so well-liked now?
Although the “Throne of Glass” volumes have always been well-liked in the YA and fantasy genres, “ACOTAR” was the series that achieved success because of a combination of a slower development of the fantasy world, framing reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, and a spike in Book Tok attention.
The Mortal Queen of Faerie Smut
Sarah J. Maas writes massively popular books that mix fantasy lore with soft-core romance — and a whole lot of
traumas.
Feyre, the main character in Sarah J. Maas’s phenomenally popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, ultimately hooks up with Rhysand, an old Fae king with bat-like wings and a deep reservoir of emotional trauma, more over 500 pages into the book A Court of Mist and Fury. On a table covered in Feyre’s art supplies, Rhysand abuses her. He then picks her up and drags her to a shower where they wash off the paint that has covered them. Maas tells the story from Feyre’s perspective: “Rhys picked up a bar of that soap that smelled like pine tar and handed it to me before passing a washrag.” “It looks like someone dirty my wings.” My stomach constricted, but my face heated. The sensitivity of Illyrian guys and their wings. She peeks into the bathtub over Rhys’s shoulder as she begins to wash him. She tells him, “At least the rumors about wingspan and other parts’ sizes matching up were true.”
Like most sex scenes taken out of context, this one read as either hilarious or perplexing, or both. the tub. the subtle hint. The wings! But in “ACOTAR’s” entire story arc, it symbolizes the climax of a grand fairytale metamorphosis. Feyre is completely enamored with a different man at the start of the series—a golden faerie named Tamlin—and does not recognize that the possessive, protective Tamlin is not the right fit for her until after going through severe trauma and a difficult time trying to put herself back together.
She needs almost the entire book before she can come to terms with the fact that Rhysand is her kind of faerie—the kind that gets tattoos on both knees to remind him that he kneels to no one. That is, until, of course, he bows down to Feyre.
Maas’s writing has been a mainstay of the fantasy genre for more than ten years; her debut book, Throne of Glass, was released in 2012. But lately, she has become impossible to avoid. Over 13 million copies of her books have been sold, and they consistently rank first in the New York Times bestseller list. Her writings have also sparked many discussions on social media, Goodreads analyses, and YouTube explanations. (Many Maas aficionados have matching knee tattoos to Rhysand.)
Eight full-length “Throne of Glass” novels, five “A Court of Thorns and Roses” books, and three installments of her most current series, “Crescent City,” have already been released by the author. The most recent book in the series, House of Flame and Shadow, is available now. Although the “Throne of Glass” volumes have always been well-liked in the YA and fantasy genres, “ACOTAR” was the series that achieved success because of a combination of a slower development of the fantasy world, framing reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, and a spike in Book Tok attention. All these books are enormous, frequently surpassing 200,000 words, and frequently include six or seven groups of characters who travel through fantastical settings in search of love, fate, prophecy, and vengeance. From one series to the next, elements are repeated: Faeries exist. It is possible for people to transform into faeries. Authoritarianism, brutality, and the repression of the hero’s powers are all potential threats. To save her beloved and the world, a heroine needs to take charge of her own destiny. That lover is usually hundreds of years her senior, grieving over the death of a former flame, and endowed with great dark magic (oh, and wings). Even though “Throne of Glass” and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” are frequently categorized as young adult fiction, both shows have more explicit sexual content than is customary for that genre.
12 Romantasy Authors to Know
Here are some of the most popular creators of sexy fantasy worlds.
These days, Maas is at the forefront of the “romantasy” genre, which combines fantasy with romance and is experiencing a boom thanks to the success of authors like Jennifer L. Armentrout, Carissa Broadbent, Rebecca Yarrows, and many others. White women make up the bulk of the most well-known writers. Their stories occasionally lean more dragon-like than faerie. There are those that lean toward vampires. Novels of this genre have existed at least since the 1960s, when Anne McCaffrey began penning tales about dragons whose ecstatic mating rituals arouse similar emotions in their riders. (McCaffrey chose to refer to her “Dragonriders of Pern” series as science fiction rather than fantasy because a lengthy digression about spaceships would be necessary to argue the point.) What unites these tales is the emphasis on a happily-ever-after conclusion set in a fantastical setting, with equal attention paid to fantasy storytelling and the romantic arch. The two are intertwined and equally important to the goal, which is an orgasm of structural devices occurring simultaneously.
