"They don't match" or "I hate the ombre" like genuinely it is just a book cover. Its a new arc in an already established universe/universes, and people are hung up on colours and their precious book sets when this thematically makes sense.

Why wouldn't they look different if these are all apart of a new storyline of books in the acotar timeline?

Now you got people who are genuinely asking "who is koschei? Why isn't it about az or Elaine?" Just makes you wonder which fans actually read the fucking books. If you don't like the covers it's fine but please for the love of god shut up about it. My books are gonna be mismatched with hardbacks and you don't see me crying about it. I'm still gonna buy the damn book and so are you.

Also throne of glass better make an appearance. That's all.

: )

Help! I’ve only read the ACOTAR series. Do I need to read Throne of Glass and Crescent City before reading the upcoming releases of ACOTAR??

I saw a few comments yesterday about the titles of 6 & 7 being based upon music/a symphony/ an opera, but I can’t for the life of me remember it. Can anyone point me in the right direction so I can check it out?

I'm still excited nonetheless. I like multi POV. Gimme some Eris SJM I beg of you.

Book titles are hard, I'm writing my own and it's hard to come up with words that haven't been used a million times for a book title.

Ash, throne, glass, thorns, shadows...etc there are lots of them and you don't realize it until you notice all the other series in the same genre piggybacking off of each other.

Semi related but the shadow daddy trope is getting stale no offense I love my shadow daddies but c'mon y'all.

(Just ACOTAR spoilers)

I think it's cool to recap:

Broken:

Obviously, the cauldron

The wall

Nesta, Gwyn & Emerie (and the Priestesses): “You were trying to show me. Show others. Who you are, down deep. What haunts you. You were trying to show them all those dark, broken pieces because the priestesses, and Emerie, and I … We’re the same as you.”

Gwyn "I have been broken once before“ "I survived it. And I will not be broken again—not even by this mountain.”, "Gwyn lifted the blade. 'Nothing can break me.'" 

Elaine

The horn

Spring court

Lost:

Dusk court

Swords (Narben)

Bryaxis

Nesta's power

What else can you think of?

Disclaimer: The titles and covers discussed here have not been officially revealed by Sarah J. Maas/Bloomsbury as far as I know. They were apparently discovered by fans through Sarah's website/source code, so please take this with a grain of salt. If they are not the real titles/covers, then these are simply my theories based on the images the fandom has found.

Also, the fact that the upcoming story is one overarching story told across multiple parts/books is confirmed, so I am treating these as pieces of one larger narrative rather than two completely separate stories.

With that out of the way...

I HAVE THOUGHTS.

🔥 A Court of Splintered Harmony

First of all, the cover.

We have what appears to be burning bones/fire and this huge claw-like figure coming through.

And my immediate thought was:

Bryaxis.

Because we know Bryaxis is apparently still out there.

And if the information from Sarah's Call Her Daddy interview is accurate, Sarah referred to Bryaxis as “she” and confirmed that she is still around.

Which brings me to my completely unhinged theory:

What if Bryaxis and Elain are connected?

Bryaxis is essentially described as fear given form.

And Elain is a Seer.

She already exists in this strange space where she can perceive things that other people cannot. Her mind was fractured when she was Made, her visions are still not fully understood, and we really have no idea what the limits of her abilities are.

So what if Elain is somehow able to interact with Bryaxis in a way nobody else can?

Maybe Bryaxis isn't possessing her.

Maybe Elain doesn't literally become Bryaxis.

Maybe she simply learns how to use or manipulate fear.

And then I started thinking about the three Archeron sisters.

We already have:

Feyre → High Lady

Nesta → Death

So could Elain become associated with:

Elain → Fear?

Because Nesta has repeatedly been associated with death throughout Silver Flames, while Bryaxis is essentially associated with fear.

And honestly, I think that would be such an interesting direction for Elain.

Everyone sees her as the sweet, gentle sister who likes flowers, baking and gardening.

Imagine if the same character eventually becomes someone who can make other people terrified.

Not because she becomes evil, but because she finally learns what her abilities are capable of.

That would be such a fascinating character arc.

And then there's the title.

A Court of Splintered Harmony.

The word “harmony” immediately makes me think of Gwyn.

Gwyn loves music and singing, and we see her singing in the library throughout A Court of Silver Flames.

So obviously my brain immediately went:

Gwynriel? 👀

But then I started thinking about Elain.

Because “splintered” could describe Elain incredibly well.

Her mind was fractured when she was Made. Her relationship with her sisters has changed. Her place within the Inner Circle is complicated. Her Seer abilities seem fragmented and not fully understood.

So perhaps “splintered harmony” isn't referring to music at all.

Maybe it refers to the Inner Circle itself.

The harmony that has existed between these characters for years could finally begin to fracture.

And that would make a lot of sense if Elain's story involves stepping away from the Inner Circle or questioning where she belongs.

🕷️ A Court of Forgotten Melody

And then we get the second cover.

A spider, with what appears to be thread/spindle imagery.

And immediately I thought:

Throne of Glass.

Because of the Stygian spiders.

If that imagery is intentional, could we possibly be getting an actual Throne of Glass × ACOTAR crossover?

We already know the Maasverse is connected.

We know Crescent City and ACOTAR have crossed over.

So why couldn't Throne of Glass become more directly involved?

And then there's the apparent eight-pointed star imagery.

Which immediately made me think of Crescent City and Bryce.

So now we potentially have:

🕷️ Throne of Glass imagery

⭐ Crescent City imagery

🔥 ACOTAR imagery

all appearing across this new story.

And I am very interested in what that could mean.

And then there's “Melody.”

Again, we have the music connection.

Harmony.

Melody.

Which could absolutely point toward Gwyn.

But “forgotten melody” could also mean something much larger.

Something lost.

Something ancient.

Something that existed before the current courts and was forgotten.

Maybe an ancient history of Prythian.

Maybe something connected to the Dusk Court.

Maybe something connected to another world.

Maybe something connected to the larger Maasverse.

We simply don't know yet.

And here's the part that makes this even more interesting:

Since these books/parts are one overarching story, I don't think we should necessarily look at Splintered Harmony and Forgotten Melody as two completely separate plots.

They could be two stages of the same massive storyline.

Splintered Harmony

Something established begins to break apart.

The Inner Circle.

The courts.

Relationships.

The existing political order.

Maybe even the boundaries between worlds.

Forgotten Melody

Something lost is rediscovered.

An ancient power.

A forgotten history.

A lost court.

A connection to another world.

Or something from the Maasverse that has been forgotten by Prythian.

And then we still have the third part/book of the story to come.

Which makes me think these titles could be describing the progression of one enormous conflict, rather than simply telling us which character gets which romance.

And I STILL cannot stop thinking about the three sisters.

Because imagine if SJM really is building toward something like:

Feyre — the High Lady

Nesta — Death

Elain — Fear

That would be such an interesting thematic progression.

And it would completely subvert the way Elain is currently perceived.

The sister everyone thinks is the softest could potentially end up being associated with one of the most primal forces imaginable.

And Bryaxis being connected to her would make that even more interesting.

Again, I am not saying this is confirmed.

This is purely me looking at the possible titles, cover imagery, existing ACOTAR lore and the information we already have and trying to connect the dots.

But if A Court of Splintered Harmony really does involve Elain and Bryaxis somehow...

I am going to need several business days to recover. 😂

And if A Court of Forgotten Melody really does involve Throne of Glass or Crescent City connections?

I will simply cease to function.

What are everyone else's theories? Because I feel like there are approximately 900 different ways these covers could be interpreted.

I will die on this hill: TOG was based on a second chance timeline. The first timeline failed, and the board was reset / the fabric of time rewoven after someone (probably the King) bargained with the Stygain spiders.

So at the end of KOA whilst the kingdom might have been saved (unlike the first timeline) - perhaps it was without realising that pulling tight on one side of the web to fix a broken loop, creates immense tension and structural fractures everywhere else. Maybe it fractured threads in other worlds within the Massverse i.e creating a “splintered harmony". And perhaps “forgotten melodies” are from past / original timelines that were reset?

A world doesn't exist in a vacuum; if you yank a single thread in the grand tapestry of the Maasverse, the neighboring threads in Prythian are bound to snap, fray, or splinter. Perhaps this explains why the harmony is broken - the "fix" for one reality became the fracture for another.

I'm throwing a midnight release party for A Court of Splintered Harmony and I need ideas for Cosplaying. I'm a natural dirty blonde with blue/green eyes. Fair skin. I wanted to do a Valkyrie because of the announced theme today. But I'm not sure how to stand out as a Valkyrie. Really don't want to be Nesta though because I'm not the biggest Nesta fan. Any ideas?

I read the first 5 books quite a while back and I don’t remember most of it now. I have absolutely no interest in reading then again. Is there a website or a video which gives a detailed recap of all 5 books ?