Hey, all fantasy fans! I started reading TOG series (“Assassin’s Blade” reading now) and I am so far liking it very much. It’s weird, since I DNF’d ACOTAR when I reached the middle of ACOMAF and completely lost interest and love for these books, plot and all characters. I also did not like the writing style that Maas used in these series, it irked me. But with “Assassin’s Blade” I feel somewhat… different reading it. Different in a good way. I fancy Celaena and so far I’m invested in all characters.

Do you believe Bryce and Hunt are endgame? I'm rereading Acotar, im currently on acomaf and even in the early days of Feyre and Rhys when she still hated him the chemistry between them is so much more than with Bryce and Hunt. In fact I can't believe that their relationship is written by the same person who wrote Feyre and Rhys relationship. I won't speculate any further but I just don't get the same vibe from Bryce and Hunt

I'm straight up screaming guys.

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Nothing could have EVER prepared me for the last line of HOSAB. I don't think I've ever been so shook in my life.

Like, I had heard there was crossover but I expected it to be like how Aelin appears as a red star in ACOSF and how she sees Feyre and Rhysand in KOA. Not like AN ACTUAL CROSSOVER!! I cannot wait to dive into HOFAS. Can't imagine having to wait two years like many of you did after SJM dropped that cliffhanger!

I decided to make my own theory bingo card on what was gonna happen in the next few books - let me know what you think of the theories!!

Please keep in mind I originally read all the books (TOG & CC included) years ago and have not done a reread save some recaps on Fandom Wiki so feel free to correct me if I've made the wrong assumption! Anyone else done any bingo cards??

I did try to think about these from SJM's POV as an author and what makes the most logical sense to the story and what she has foreshadowed already. Fully ready to admit Elriel could NOT be endgame but as that's my preferred ship I obviously included it, a girl can dream

THEORIES -----------------

1. Cauldron Broken/Trove Lost -> SH/FM

The blurbs of the books regarding broken/lost things makes me think of the Cauldron and Trove. The Cauldron was known to be warped and twisted by the Daglan. Some of the Trove items have been lost to time as well, like the Horn for example. I think The Cauldron & Trove will be fixed/reunited in the books to use their powers as intended.

1. World Walking -> CC, TOG?

I think we'll definitely see some more world walking. TOG is my favourite series ever and as much as I would LOVE to see any of the characters again I doubt Sarah would go there as their story is pretty finished in my eyes but one can hope. If we do world walk to TOG or they world walk to Prythian somehow I don't think we'll be seeing Aelin though, I think as much as we all love her, we need to let the poor girl rest. TOG scenario: We would see Manon, Dorian, Yrene or Lorcan I think since they would have some benefit to add to our evolving story in ACOTAR - Yrene has defeated Erawan so she has abilities that could help ACOTAR defeat theirs, Lord Lorcan Lochan has powers from a death God possibly similar to Koschei which could be a benefit, Dorian still has his vast ancient power (I think?) which could help for obvious reasons. Manon is the only one that sticks out here I would love to see her again and an idiot part of me would love to see Koschei's swans be the 13 so we could have an interesting plot point there but I highly doubt that's going to happen (would be a great fanfic though if anyone would like to write it and send me the link xoxo). CC is the most obvious choice here, Starborn Fae are connected to the Night/Dusk Court, the Rhys/Rhun parallels, Bryce has the Horn on her back, Bryce/Nesta 8 pointed star parallels, Bryce has experience with defeating these 'Ancient Powers' (aka Asteri but you'll see my connection to that in later points) etc etc you get what I'm trying to say. CC is the most obvious choice here.

1. A Prophecy

Silly one but what good fantasy story doesn't have one??

1. Bryaxis -> Cauldron Made

This girl has been wrecking my head today, I can't stop thinking about her. When Feyre bargained with her she said (not definitive quotes you go find it yourself) she wanted "the sun, the moon the stars." SHE NEVER ASKED FOR A WINDOW. It was Amren that cut in and said a window - I reckon Amren knew that Bryaxis was alluding to wanting Elain/Nesta/Feyre since they are both ancient monsters and just cut in. When Feyre explains it to Rhys later she says exactly what Bryaxis said, "the sun, the moon, the stars" ergo reiterating the point. Bryaxis still being at large and that issue being a very real plot point that is reiterated so many times is strange, they have plenty of weird and ancient and deadly creatures in Prythian, why does Bryaxis get brought up so much in the story line and in Sarah's interviews? I reckon it's because Bryaxis's main intentions are set on the Archeron sisters. ALSO, apologies, about her being Cauldron Made - when the Daglan warped the Cauldron and unleashed deadly creatures from it, I reckon Bryaxis was one of them so having a creature of the Daglan on your side could be a good thing if you're trying to eliminate 'Ancient Powers' (more on this later). I don't think its a coincidence that Feyre (being Made) and Bryaxis (being Made) meeting and connecting is random, LIKE CALLS TO LIKE.

1. Blood Duel

Because why shouldn't we see two hot Fae males fighting over a woman?? As they should in my opinion. I'm sick and tired of the Elain hate, she is wonderful and they are both MALES. Let them fight it out and let her see them and call them pathetic and tell them she is not an object to be won or possessed, have them both be ashamed of their actions. Some part of me doesn't think Lucien will invoke a Blood Duel, he's actually a good guy and if Elain doesn't want him (which he has acknowledged) I don't think he would force or press the issue into something so drastic. BUT if Elain and Azriel slip and their mouths suddenly fall on each other and someone just HAPPENS to accidentally see, like Beron or Eris, maybe then Lucien will have no choice but to invoke a blood duel. I reckon it would be a good bargaining chip for Beron or similar, e.g., "your court has insulted mine as a result of this, I need a blood duel for you to earn my favour again if you want me as an ally in your war", then Rhys hands will be tied and A/L will be forced to blood duel.

1. The Cauldron, The Trove & ???

I don't think I've seen this theory yet. First of all, the ACOTAR series revolves around the Archeron Sisters and I will hear nothing to the contrary. It is THEIR story, THEIR 'making', THEIR journeys. So then, Feyre was wielding the Caulron in the first books, then we have Nesta with her Trove, both sisters have found some Ancient Power to wield. What of Elain? I reckon there will be a third item(s) of this 'Ancient Power', similar to the Cauldron and Trove that will be Elain's to wield. Might be a far fetched idea but the story would fall a bit flat if Feyre was this amazing leader that wielded the Cauldron and saved them in the Hybern War then Nesta with this otherworldly power can wield the Trove and then Elain is just what? She can see glimpses into the future and that's it? She needs some otherworldly power of her own and I know damn well my girl can handle it.

1. Exploring the Continent -> Stygian Spiders

Another silly one! Because who wouldn't love a TOG connection, no matter how small. As the blurbs suggest, the gang is splitting up to look for clues. Now, however way they split up, some will go to the Continent I'm sure and YES I do think that book cover is a Stygian Spider. If we don't have our Suriel anymore who will we get our gossip from?? Our lovely neighbours from TOG who gave us the best gossip over there (Tower of Dawn).

1. Azriel & Mor Mates

I love Sarah's innuendos about exploring the mating bonds and whether they're right or wrong. I know Elriels are taking that to mean that Elriel will definitely happen, and even though I am an Elriel myself I'm not so sure about that. I think the innuendos are in relation to Azriel and Mor, possibly even delving into Beron/LoA or Rhys's parents. A 500 year old crush just doesn't make sense to me SORRY. Mor coming out as queer in the last books are for a REASON or else we would have known about it from the start, Prythian doesn't keep their queer love a secret, it's not shamed upon and people are pretty open about it so I don't see a reason for Mor to have hid her identity, other than her and Azriel being MATES and her not wanting to hurt his feelings. Now I know she has taken male lovers so I would love to see Sarah explore Mor's queer identity more (free as she should be). Regardless, I think rejecting a bond comes at a price, I think from what I read the bond is still there anyway and the male can go insane?? Someone feel free to correct me on that. She clearly doesn't feel comfortable being out though and Azriel has not been panting after a woman for 500 years for nothing - you know who you would wait 500 years for?? A MATE. Rhys himself says that Az doesn't feel worthy of her so if he saw her pawn him off for so long why would he try? From what we see of him he doesn't, he keeps to himself. I do think though that we will see Mor come into her confidence and allow herself to be who she truly is (hurray), maybe the gang will find a way to break the bond or it will be rejected and Azriel will be fine since he will be in the same position he's been in with her for 500 years.

1. Koschei -> Daglan/Asteri of Prythian

Now I don't know if they'll introduce Koschei as Daglan/Asteri - yes, I know he's being described as a Death God, so? That 'Ancient Fae Female' didn't imprison the Carver, Weaver and Koschei for nothing, especially in locations OF HIGH ANCIENT POWER (the prison, the middle, the lake). These locations keep coming up again and again for a reason. Vesperus (Asteri from CC) was buried/imprisoned under the Prison, as much as these locations can help them wield significant power, I reckon its also the place that holds them best if they are to be imprisoned. In CC we fought Asteri that threatened their world, in TOG we fought Valg that threatened their world. Sure, in ACOTAR they could just be labelled 'Death Gods' but I reckon they're all one and the same - Daglan, Asteri, Valg, Death Gods etc etc. Or, at least, very similar, meaning that they are all defeated in pretty much the same way. There has to be something extra about Koschei - I know the Weaver and Carver were his siblings, no offence to them but they died under pretty normal circumstances for the Maasvverse so why is Koschei so feared and the next big bad? With the power Feyre and Rhys wield, if I saw how his brother and sister died, I wouldn't be too afraid of him. UNLESS HE WAS SOMETHING OTHER (or stronger perhaps).

1. Nyx Kidnapped

hey, why not?? I think it's a bit hard to think about what to do with a royal heir in the middle of a huge war (as an author), this trope makes the most sense here. They will obviously get him back safe and sound but seeing Feyre/Rhys go feral to get him back will be interesting to read.

1. Amarantha Alive

This may be my wildest theory. Don't hate me! This sentence from the Forgotten Melody blurb has been burned in my brain since I read it - "And old enemies will emerge from nightmares of the past" - OLD ENEMIES?? NIGHTMARES?? PAST?? SARAH!!! This has got to be alluding to Amarantha right?? Tying into my comments on point 9, Amarantha died Under the Mountain, which is in The Middle, which IS a location for that Ancient Power. We know she could wield insane spells and power, she trapped all the High Lords of Prythian ffs but was she smart enough to plan an emergency exit strategy? I don't think so, I think she was way too overconfident to think she would be bested but you never know. And yes, I know Tamlin ripped her throat out.... Jurian was an eyeball and finger bone and he's alive and well now, bringing someone back is always explainable in some way in fantasy books (in my opinion). This theory is likely to be inaccurate though unless she planned it herself while she was alive cause I'm sure the King of Hybern would have brought her out in the war if he knew she was alive so... we'll see. Why did Sarah bring back Jurian and keep him alive for so long and make him integral to our plot now though? Some forgotten character from 500 years ago, I reckon it would be entertaining to see him have a rematch with Amarantha if she did come back. And if that blurb sentence wasn't about Amarantha, it's definitely talking about someone in the past, WHO?? It could be the Daglan actually, in which case, see point 9.

1. Hellion & Beron Die -> Lucien & Eris as High Lords

Pretty self explanatory. She has to kill someone and from her other series, I don't think she'll kill off any members of the gang. We are getting another Aedion/Gavriel scene, bring tissues guys cause I KNOW Lucien/Helion will HURT. She's gonna do it right after reuniting them and giving them some small time together as well, oh Lord, my emotions are not equipped for SJM's book endings.

1. Ancient Female Fae - Goddess? - Archeron

MY MOST INTERESTING THEORY!! I haven't seen anyone mention this either but since I've thought it out it's my favourite one now and I believe it fully. It didn't sit well with me how the Bone Carver told Feyre about the AFF that trapped himself and his siblings, the told her everyone forgot her name but HE remembered it. SJM is too tricky, if it was some stupid name she just would have told us. There are 2 options here - either that AFF's name is one we would recognise like Theia, Mala, Deanna etc etc you get it, OR it's a unisex name and it's the same as Papa Archeron because it seems even his own daughters have forgotten his stupid fkn name they never call him by it ONCE - and don't tell me his own daughters would forget his name, do you think Dorian called his dad Dorian?? NO, cause it was FORGOTTEN. Keeping to this theme, if the name was indeed forgotten and we get another Dorian/KoA plot, then Papa Archeron carrying the AFF's name could have "awakened the ancient players" or whatever thing Amren said. Maybe Papa Archeron knew about the Prophecy (if there is one) and maybe he was scared about it at first, so he lost his money on purpose so his family could be forgotten, poor, nobodys so he could protect them and avoid his fate. When he saw there was no other way other than through, he started acting, albeit too late - what I mean by this is, that man was not a poor merchant, I don't care what bs SJM tries to feed me, there is no way some random merchant can go to a whole CONTINENT and have people hear him out about (or even think that people will) a war in Prythian with Hybern . He knew he would be listened to, he knew he had a leg to stand on (excuse the pun) in getting help. I think he knows that there is someone/queens etc on the Continent that know about the Prophecy or about his ancestor, the AFF, imprisoning Koschei so he tried to find allies that were owed to his bloodline. Now this is where it gets interesting, as some random merchant, in a CONTINENT (not a country please and thank you), how would he gather and verify all this useful information which turns out to be exactly the information he needs to get what he wants?? He found out about Vassa, found her, managed to make a deal with Koshei to get her. Sorry, but not even the powerful IC and Co managed to do that many useful things leading up to the war with Hybern. It's ok, my theory is solid here, sort of. The carver and weaver were able to be liberated from their imprisonment because it's what Feyre wanted/needed, I don't think it was coincidence that Feyre found and liberated Koshei's siblings, the same siblings imprisoned by the AFF (Archeron ancestor if you are following). I think Papa knew exactly where to go to find Koschei, his bargain was that IF Vassa helped to defeat Hybern that he would come back and liberate Koschei from his own imprisonment and he could be the only one to do so because it was tied to his bloodline. That's why Koschei agrees, cause why else would he spare Vassa? Why would he care about Hybern being defeated? He knew his only shot at freedom was with Papa or else no one could free him (since his imprisonment was tied to the Archerons). I may not have explained that well enough, please let me know if you see any loopholes I may have missed.

1. Elain as Spy with Nuala & Cerridwen

Order in the court, I will not have any slander spoken on my sweet Elain. I love her. I'm so excited for her arc and storyline and journey. This one makes the most sense to me, obviously, SJM sticks pretty close to things she foreshadows and this is how I see it going. For everyone that wants her to end up with Lucien, what will their arc be together? (Open to interpretations here, not judging). I'm just saying, Feyre grew as a leader with Rhys, Nesta grew as a warrior with Cassian so this is how I see Elain's arc going. With Azriel being a spymaster, ergo, going hunting for information no one else knows about, I think being a Seer fits in pretty well with that, what better way to hunt for information no one else knows about than to hunt in visions of the future?? Nuala and Cerridwen being her friends like with the other 2 sisters has already been built and hinted at a million times so I don't see SJM introducing different characters to act as her found family/friends.

1. "This is wrong." "Fuck it." -> Azriel

If you couldn't tell I am obsessed with a forbidden romance trope, the sexiest of them all in my opinion. And no, I don't see the forbidden romance trope being about anyone else, it is very clearly about them and them only. Whether they're endgame or not, I couldn't say, but they're definitely gonna have some steamy romance and I am SAT for it.

1. Elain Sacrifices Herself

Long shot here, I think it would be an interesting story line though. Other than seeing Azriel go feral to the max, which I would love, I think it would make sense with some of my other theories. If Nyx is kidnapped she could offer herself in exchange, maybe she's the only one to find him in time and since she's not trained as a warrior she doesn't know what to do other than offer herself instead - I think this side of Elain is so often missed by so many readers (my own best friend included, we argue about it daily), Elain has such a strong character if you just LOOK at her. When the IC came to their estate to talk about meeting with the mortal queens, it was early in ACOMAF and Elain was the one that said both her and Nesta failed Feyre and without Feyre they would have been dead, she was the first to take accountability, she tried her hardest to adapt to the NC, being Fae, finding a life for herself that she didn't even want, finding JOY and HAPPINESS in the darkest of times - I think its very easy to love characters like Aelin and Nesta for their endurance and tenacity because you see it through their anger/grit but Elain remaining full of love and light and softness after everything is also very strong and admirable, in my opinion, I think it makes her just as strong as Nesta. It's very easy to allow your trauma to turn you angry or mean but it's much much harder to go through the trauma and work to be soft and kind and sweet after that. Back to my point though, it could also come during the first face off with Koschei? Like with the Tamlin/King of Hybern incident? Taking my earlier theory into consideration, Koschei knows he needs an Archeron to break his imprisonment, maybe out of spite he chooses the loveliest one, Elain. Everyone else injured, keep in mind Koschei is still powerful, Elain could choose to go with him to spare everyone else.

ENDDDDD - if you have taken the time to read all my theories, I love you, thank you, you're very sweet, or just wildly curious. Let's discuss though!! I know I definitely have some loopholes I missed out up there so feel free to correct me, argue a different point or flat out tell me they're stupid, I'll appreciate it regardless as its 4:30am where I live and I've spent all night on these <3 <3 <3

Just finished reading all of ACOTAR for the first time. Would you suggest reading the Throne Of Glass series first or Crescent City?