By: Cait Marie

I saw this done by Autumn over at Autumn Book Reads and immediately had to do it. As you all know by now, I'm obsessed with Sarah J. Maas. Both of these series are incredible and mean a great deal to me. I was super late to the SJM train, though. I read both series back-to-back at the end of 2017/beginning of 2018. They re-sparked my love for reading, and ultimately lead to this blog's existence!

Reviews:

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
  • A Court of Mist and Fury
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin
  • A Court of Frost and Starlight
  • Kingdom of Ash

Alright, let's see if this helps decide which series is better! This will have some slight spoilers, so beware.

1. Favorite Main Character: Aelin or Feyre?

This one is tough, right from the beginning… I think I'm going to go with Aelin. She's just so intense and smart and brave. She goes through so much, and continues to fight for her people through everything. Plus, she loves reading, chocolate, and puppies, and her snarky responses make me happy.

Throne of Glass: 1 | A Court of Thorns and Roses: 0

2. Favorite Love Interest: Rowan or Rhysand?

Rhys for life. Like zero hesitation. I love Rowan, don't get me wrong, but no one will EVER beat Rhys. When I read ACOTAR for the first time, he briefly became my favorite fictional of all time, beating out Magnus and Alec. I've never felt the emotional attachment that I did to Rhys. I mean, look at the photo above, I have a Rhys plushie!

Malec is back in their rightful first and second places, where they've been for a decade, don't worry (The Red Scrolls of Magic review here).

Throne of Glass: 1 | A Court of Thorns and Roses: 1

3. Better First Book: Throne of Glass or A Court of Thorns and Roses

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This is really hard, too, but I think I have to go with ACOTAR. I mean, it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it was my first SJM book. It led to the rest and changed my life, not to be dramatic. It not only re-sparked my love for reading as a whole, it really got me into fantasy.

Throne of Glass: 1 | A Court of Thorns and Roses: 2

4. Favorite Strong Female Supporting Character: Manon Blackbeak or Nesta Archeron?

Manon, obviously. She's the best. However, one of my biggest ships is Nessian. I am trash for Nessian! The amount of Nessian fan fic I've read over the last year and a half is ridiculous, and I cannot wait for the next book to be focused on them.

Throne of Glass: 2 | A Court of Thorns and Roses: 2

5. Better Squad: Aelin's Court or Rhys's Inner Circle?

Inner circle, hands down. They're the reason I love the ACOTAR series so much and why A Court of Mist and Fury is now one of my favorite books of all time. I literally named my kitten Azriel. My cat had 5 kittens and I named 3 of them Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel, even though I couldn't keep them all. Characters are vital to me and SJM does such an incredible job of making the reader grow completely attached to them.

Throne of Glass: 2 | A Court of Thorns and Roses: 3

6. Favorite Female Friendship: Aelin and Lysandra or Feyre and Mor?

Aelin and Lysandra. I didn't care for them at first, but after reading The Assassin's Blade, I had a better appreciation for their evolution and everything they had gone through, especially when they hated each other.

Throne of Glass: 3| A Court of Thorns and Roses: 3

7. Best Villain: King of Adarlan or Amarantha?

Everything with the king still blows my mind, so I'm going to go with him. However, if we're talking about villain we hate the most, I'd say neither. Maeve is the worst and destroyed my soul in ways I didn't know were possible.

Throne of Glass: 4| A Court of Thorns and Roses: 3

8. Better Setting: Erilea or Prythian?

Prythian! I love the different season and time courts.

Throne of Glass: 4| A Court of Thorns and Roses: 4

9. Better Ex-Boyfriend: Chaol or Tamlin?

Chaol, absolutely. I loved him from the beginning and still do. Yes, he had his bad moments, but his reactions felt real and I couldn't blame him for all his actions. Not that I'm condoning all of them.

Throne of Glass: 4| A Court of Thorns and Roses: 5

10. Better Novella: The Assassin's Blade or A Court of Frost and Starlight?

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This feels like an unfair question. One takes place before the first book of the series, the other takes place at the very end of the other. They serve two completely different purposes. One made me bawl hysterically, while the other gave me all the happy feelings. One is about the characters' lives leading up to all the struggles, and the other is after everything, when they can finally relax and be happy. So, naturally, me being me, I loved ACOFAS more because it made me happy.

Before the final score, I'm going to tag Amanda at Classy x Book Reviews and Stephanie at Between Folded Pages . As well as anyone else who wants to do it!

FINAL SCORE:

Throne of Glass: 4| A Court of Thorns and Roses: 6

A Court of Thorns and Roses wins!!

Okay, this isn't actually that surprising. I usually tell people I like ACOTAR a little more anyway. Both series are fantastic. As a writer/editor, I do think ToG has a better plot overall. However, when it comes down to it, I love the Inner Circle more than I have ever loved a group of characters.

What are some of your responses? Please tag me so I can see your answers if you do the whole tag!

Want a copy of any of these books, check them out a Book Depository*:

  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
  • A Court of Mist and Fury
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin
  • A Court of Frost and Starlight
  • The Assassin's Blade
  • Throne of Glass
  • Crown of Midnight
  • Heir of Fire
  • Queen of Shadows
  • Empire of Storms
  • Tower of Dawn
  • Kingdom of Ash

*Functionally Fictional is an affiliate of Book Depository. I receive a portion of the commission from any product purchased through these links.