Sarah J Maas's return to her A Court of Thorns and Roses series has become the UK's fastest-selling adult fantasy novel since accurate records began in 1998, with A Court of Splintered Harmony selling 188,914 copies in its first five days, according to NielsenIQ BookData. The book is also the fastest-selling hardback novel since Dan Brown's Inferno in 2013, and Bloomsbury says it had the biggest single week of sales for any adult fiction title in the UK since Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman in 2015.
The previous record was held by Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm, which sold 155,141 copies in its opening week in January 2025. Philip Stone of NielsenIQ noted Harry Potter still holds the record for the highest ever weekly sale for a fantasy novel, but said the new release was the biggest sale since records began for an adult fantasy novel. The novel went straight to No 1 in the UK's overall book chart, Maas's third time at the top; her previous chart-topper, House of Flame and Shadow, sold 44,761 copies in its opening week in January 2024.
A Court of Splintered Harmony is the sixth book in the Acotar series and Maas's first return to it in more than five years. The series began in 2015 with a Beauty and the Beast reimagining and follows Feyre through the faerie realm of Prythian. The new book is the first part of a four-part story. Maas is one of the most prominent writers of romantasy, the genre blending romance and fantasy that has come to dominate bestseller lists in recent years, with much of its growth playing out on TikTok, where hashtags related to Maas have more than 14bn combined views. Strong romance and fantasy sales helped UK fiction revenue pass £1bn for the first time in 2024.
Bookshops across the UK marked the release with parties and by opening past midnight. Waterstones hosted 60 midnight launches and 80 early openings and release-day parties across its shops. Lucy Jakes, Waterstones' science fiction and fantasy buyer, said: "As one of our most pre-ordered books of the year, excitement for Splintered Harmony was at fever pitch, and the astounding first week of sales has reflected this. It was amazing to see the hype translate into thousands of Sarah J Maas fans gathering in bookshops."
Bloomsbury said A Court of Splintered Harmony sold 1.7m copies globally in preorders and first-day sales, counting English-language print and ebook editions in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, but not audiobooks or translations. Maas's global English-language sales across all her series now exceed 100m copies.
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UK opening-week sales of recent adult fantasy novels, according to NielsenIQ BookData
copies
Source: NielsenIQ BookData
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Analysis
Why This Matters
The record confirms the commercial force of romantasy, with an adult fantasy title now outselling every predecessor in UK chart history.
Bloomsbury has a franchise event on its hands: the next instalment, A Court of Forgotten Melody, is due on 12 January, and global preorder and first-day sales have already reached 1.7m copies.
The release turned into a retail and fan occasion, with dozens of Waterstones midnight launches, underscoring how social-media-driven fandoms now drive book sales.
Background
A Court of Thorns and Roses, often shortened to Acotar, is one of the biggest franchises in publishing. It began in 2015 with a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and follows Feyre through the faerie realm of Prythian. Maas, an American author, is among the most prominent writers of romantasy, a genre blending romance and fantasy that has dominated bestseller lists in recent years, with much of its growth playing out on TikTok. Strong romance and fantasy sales helped UK fiction revenue pass £1bn for the first time in 2024.
Key Perspectives
NielsenIQ (Philip Stone): Says the book is the biggest sale since records began in 1998 for an adult fantasy novel, with Harry Potter holding the record for the highest ever weekly sale for a fantasy novel.
Bloomsbury: Says the book recorded the biggest single week of sales for any adult fiction title in the UK since Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman in 2015, and reports 1.7m global sales in preorders and first-day sales.
Waterstones (Lucy Jakes): Says excitement was at fever pitch and it was amazing to see the hype translate into thousands of Sarah J Maas fans gathering in bookshops.
What to Watch
The next instalment, A Court of Forgotten Melody, is out on 12 January and contains the next two parts of the four-part story.
Whether first-week sales extend into sustained chart-topping weeks, and how audiobook and translation sales, excluded from the 1.7m figure, add to the total.
Whether the new book's opening-week figures reset expectations for future releases in the romantasy genre.
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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SupportedA Court of Splintered Harmony became the UK's fastest-selling adult fantasy novel since accurate records began in 1998.UK news | The Guardian: “A Court of Splintered Harmony becoming the fastest-selling adult fantasy novel since accurate records began in 1998.”
SupportedThe book sold 188,914 copies in the UK in its first five days.UK news | The Guardian: “sold 188,914 copies in the UK between publication day on 27 October and 31 October, according to NielsenIQ BookData.”
SupportedNielsenIQ BookData is the source for the UK sales figure.UK news | The Guardian: “sold 188,914 copies in the UK between publication day on 27 October and 31 October, according to NielsenIQ BookData.”
SupportedThe book was the fastest-selling hardback novel since Dan Brown's Inferno in 2013.UK news | The Guardian: “That also makes it the fastest-selling hardback novel since Dan Brown’s Inferno, which sold 229,000 copies in its first week in 2013.”
SupportedBloomsbury says the book had the biggest single week of sales for any adult fiction title in the UK since Go Set a Watchman in 2015.UK news | The Guardian: “According to Maas’s publisher, Bloomsbury, A Court of Splintered Harmony is also the biggest single week of sales for any adult fiction title in the UK since Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman in 2015.”
SupportedOnyx Storm held the previous record, selling 155,141 copies in its opening week in January 2025.UK news | The Guardian: “Rebecca Yarros’s Onyx Storm held the previous record, selling 155,141 copies in its opening week in January 2025.”
SupportedPhilip Stone said Harry Potter holds the highest-ever weekly sale for a fantasy novel, while the new book was the biggest adult fantasy sale since NielsenIQ's records began.UK news | The Guardian: ““Harry Potter has the record for the highest ever weekly sale for a fantasy novel, but it’s the biggest sale since our records began [in 1998] for an adult fantasy novel,” said Philip Stone of NielsenIQ.”
SupportedThe novel went straight to No 1 in the UK's overall book chart, Maas's third time at the top.UK news | The Guardian: “The novel went straight to No 1 in the UK’s overall book chart, Maas’s third time at the top.”
SupportedLucy Jakes said: “As one of our most pre-ordered books of the year, excitement for Splintered Harmony was at fever pitch, and the astounding first week of sales has reflected this. It was amazing to see the hype translate into thousands of Sarah J Maas fans gathering in bookshops.”UK news | The Guardian: ““As one of our most pre-ordered books of the year, excitement for Splintered Harmony was at fever pitch, and the astounding first week of sales has reflected this,” said Lucy Jakes, the science fiction and fantasy buyer at Waterstones. “It was amazing to see the hype translate into thousands of Sarah J Maas fans gathering in bookshops.””
SupportedBloomsbury said the book sold 1.7m copies globally in preorders and first-day sales, counting English-language print and ebook editions in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, but excluding audiobooks and translations.UK news | The Guardian: “Globally, A Court of Splintered Harmony sold 1.7m copies in preorders and first-day sales, according to Bloomsbury. The figure counts English-language print and ebook editions in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, but not audiobooks or translations.”
SupportedA Court of Splintered Harmony is the sixth book in the Acotar series, and Maas returned to the series for the first time in more than five years.UK news | The Guardian: “The novel, the sixth in Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses (Acotar) series and her first return to it in more than five years”
SupportedHashtags related to Maas have more than 14bn combined views on TikTok.UK news | The Guardian: “much of its growth has played out on TikTok, where hashtags related to Maas have more than 14bn combined views.”