A Court of Splintered Harmony, the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series, has arrived in bookstores this week, but its physical format has left many fans frustrated.
The new release, which follows the viral BookTok phenomenon that began with the 2015 original, has drawn criticism over its length and dimensions. Some readers attended midnight release parties and finished the book by sunrise, while others booked time off work to read it, yet a significant number have voiced complaints about the publication's form.
Fans Question the Book's Thickness
Reader Aiya Raslan sparked debate by holding up one of Maas's Crescent City books alongside the new release, highlighting the stark difference in thickness. Raslan questioned why Maas had not published one substantial volume instead, a sentiment shared by many fans.
"She told us that there were physical limitations to making this volume as large as she wanted it to be. And then proceeded to print something this large," Aiya said, showing that A Court of Splintered Harmony is just 352 pages, while the Crescent City books are all upwards of 800 pages.
Maas has confirmed that the sixth, seventh, and eighth books will comprise volumes one to four of the latest instalment. Aiya added: "I don't know what the length is of the three volumes that are to come. She told us that the second book, the second physical bound book, is gonna have volume two and volume three in it, and then there will be a fourth volume that will be its own single book."
"So three books for four volumes... and it could not physically be bound, there are limitations to what you can physically bind in a book, coming from the woman who did this," she remarked sarcastically, while brandishing her thicker Crescent City book.
Supporters Defend the Author
Nevertheless, some supporters rallied behind Maas. One commented: "Can you guys, just... think for a second? I don't think she could have possibly fit ALL of the story in one book like she wanted to, as she said in the interview - so she had to find natural breaks in the narrative that would've made sense in story flow to separate the story into multiple books with natural story arcs."
Another added: "She can't put out a 2,000+ page book. Y'all are acting like it was only going to be 900 pages, and she only has the first two completed, as she said, and wanted to get them out for people to read."
One fan fumed: "Book 1: 332, Book 2: 800+, Book 3: Unknown... So, a 2,000-page book, possibly yes, sounds like it's a physical limitation for her printer." Another joked: "And half of it is explaining what happened in Crescent City," while a fourth said they are "fed up with people complaining".
Other Reader Complaints
A further source of frustration concerns the book's physical dimensions, which do not match existing ACOTAR collections. Being a hardback and considerably larger, it disrupts the uniformity of bookshelves.
Readers have also expressed dissatisfaction with the colour scheme of recent releases. A Court of Splintered Harmony and A Court of Forgotten Melody both feature multicoloured covers, in contrast to the original editions of books one to five, which had single-colour covers, such as ACOTAR being red.
