Known for her incredibly popular romantic series A Court of Thorns and Roses, author Sarah J. Maas has sold over 40 million copies of her books worldwide. She has also written multiple fantasy series and has cultivated a rather dedicated fan base. But like many authors, when not writing, she likes to read.

Back in 2017, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the website Goodreads, Maas revealed her top ten books, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of her picks were fantasy reads. Topping the list was 1996's The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, the first book in the popular Queen's Thief series, which only concluded in 2020, 24 years after the publication of the first book.

The Thief tells the story of master thief Eugenides who, after landing himself in the King of Attolia's dungeons, is sent on a seemingly impossible quest to steal a legendary object and win back his freedom.  And it's certainly a hit with readers, with the majority of its Goodreads reviews coming in at four stars.

Second on the list was the somewhat polarising Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat. This book, which tells follows the story of a usurped prince who is exiled from his lands and forced to serve another prince, has rather mixed reviews on Goodreads, and elsewhere, but still makes an appearance on the list of Maas's favourites.

In third place was Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning, a fae romance novel published in 2006, just six years before Maas would publish Throne of Glass, the start of her first fae fantasy/romance series.

See the full list of Mass's top ten books below...

Sarah J. Maas' Top Ten Books

1. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
2. Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
3. Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning
4. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
5. Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh
6. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
7. Sabriel by Garth Nix
8. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
9. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beale
10. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The influence of these fantasy and romance titles can be seen clearly within Maas's own writing.

And there are a number of other authors and books who didn't make her top ten list but that Maas has previously stated have influenced her writings, including Anne Bishops' Black Jewels trilogy and Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown duology.