Throne of Glass×ACOTAR

The blueprint. Traumatized heroines who claw their way from captivity to queen-level power. Both make devastating sacrifices, both are remade by fire (literal and metaphorical), both would burn the world for their mates. SJM wrote the same thesis twice and we ate it up both times.

Devastatingly powerful immortal Fae males with tragic pasts, territorial mating instincts, and a habit of being unbearable before becoming everyone's favorite. Both play the villain to protect the woman they love. Same character. Different font.

The first love interest who can't evolve with the heroine. Both start as protectors, both become obstacles when their rigidity clashes with her growth. Chaol recovers; Tamlin spirals. Same starting point, divergent arcs.

Shapeshifters with secrets. Both contain multitudes — literally. Ancient power in a deceptively small package. Terrifying when cornered, devastating when unleashed. Would kill for the inner circle without blinking.

The loud, brash, hit-first-think-later warrior cousin/brother figure. Swagger that fills a room. Would charge into hell grinning. Fiercely protective. Absolutely insufferable and absolutely beloved. SJM's favorite archetype.

The brooding, deadly, shadow-wreathed loner of the group. Millennia old. Speaks in monosyllables. Absolutely lethal. Soft for exactly one person. The fandom's unhinged obsession made flesh.

Charming, loyal males bound by magical oaths to cruel masters. Both trapped serving someone they despise while their true allegiance lies elsewhere. The golden retriever of the cadre/court.

Rakish, book-loving, devastatingly charming leaders hiding real power beneath the flirtation. Both have complicated relationships with their fathers' legacies. Both deserve more page time.

Gentle, underestimated women with quiet steel. Both endure captivity and emerge softer than they should be, which is its own kind of strength. The difference: Elide acts on it. Elain is still loading.

Cold. Vicious. Wall of ice around a furnace of rage and pain. Both weaponize cruelty as armor. Both have redemption arcs that involve choosing softness after a lifetime of iron. SJM's best trick: making you love the "villain" sister/witch.

The healers whose magic turns the tide. Yrene is what Madja would be if SJM had given Madja a five-book backstory and a love interest. (Give Madja a novella, SJM.)

Principled leaders of oppressed peoples. Both operate with a moral clarity the protagonists envy. Both catalyze the heroine's transformation through their sacrifice or example.

Warrior women who are loyal, capable, and criminally underused by the narrative. Both deserve their own book. Both are waiting patiently while SJM writes about someone else's love life.

Ancient Fae rulers consumed by dominion. Both believe they're owed the world. The difference: Maeve is terrifying because she's smart. Hybern is terrifying because he has an army. Maeve wins that matchup.

Not a person — a force. Primordial, world-ending power that exists to unmake and consume. Both are less "villains" and more cosmic threats that the entire cast struggles to survive.

Cruel fathers and tyrannical rulers who maintain power through fear and abuse. Both create sons who must choose between loyalty and conscience. SJM's least favorite type of man, clearly.

Sadists who relish the personal, intimate cruelty of torture. Both exist primarily to make us hate them with every fiber of our being. Both succeed spectacularly.

Monstrous in appearance, unexpectedly gentle in nature. Both form unlikely bonds with fierce women. Both make us cry. The Suriel's death and Abraxos eating flowers are the two purest moments in the SJM-verse.

There is no ACOTAR equivalent of Fleetfoot because ACOTAR doesn't have a dog and that is its greatest failing. Feyre needs a dog. SJM, if you're reading this: give Feyre a dog.

Cryptic, ancient beings who dole out prophecy in exchange for something precious. Both know far more than they reveal. Both manipulate the heroine "for the greater good." Both are deeply annoying about it.

Sentient architecture with attitude. One's a snarky door knocker, the other passive-aggressively serves food. Both are inanimate objects with more personality than some actual characters.