These Long Island women can't wait for the latest 'ACOTAR' fantasy book

Chelsea Barbieri was an avid reader as a child but underwent a reading hiatus as she studied to become a mental health professional.

Around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she picked up a novel in Sarah J. Maas' "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series, which she had seen suggested on social media.

"It was the exact escape I needed," said Barbieri, 34, a Coram mental health professional and content creator. "I zoomed through it."

Barbieri is among the Long Islanders who say Maas' novels have helped them process difficult emotions, make friends and find new creative outlets. With the release of the next installment in the series, also referred to as ACOTAR, set for next week, fans are preparing for another return to her magical world.

Maas' books have been a cultural phenomenon in the genre of romantasy, a portmanteau of romance and fantasy, selling more than 75 million copies worldwide, according to her publisher, Bloomsbury. The sixth book in the ACOTAR series, "A Court of Splintered Harmony" is set for release on Oct. 27 and the seventh, "A Court of Forgotten Melody," on Jan. 12.

Faeries and magic

The series begins with 19-year-old human Feyre Archeron, who is forced to live in a dangerous realm of Faeries and other magical creatures. 

The narrative explores themes including sexual relationships, experiencing trauma, grief, the concept of a chosen family, enduring and escaping toxic relationships and the importance of female friendships and empowerment.

Mallory Braun, owner of The Next Chapter bookstore in Huntington, said while romantasy has been around for some time, Maas’ books brought the genre to the mainstream.

"When she writes books, people read them," Braun said.

Maas’ works center on strong female characters detailed descriptions of their sexual relationships — something that resonates with and empowers many female readers, said Olivia Kush, 26, event coordinator for Theodore’s Books in Oyster Bay.

"It also doesn't have to mean something profound, but it is part of the story, and it [the graphic content] is part of what moves the plot forward in a lot of ways," Kush said.

As a mental health professional, Barbieri said many of her clients who have read the books bring them up during sessions. Women’s feelings can often be discredited by society, Barbieri said, and by reading about female protagonists dealing with complicated relationships and mental health issues, her clients feel validated, and they begin a conversation and can process their own emotions. The series inspired her to create a "Bookstagram" account, @whatchelseareadslately, that now has more than 12,000 followers. 

"Despite the fact it obviously takes place in a fantasy world and the characters have wings and special powers, they're still very relatable, especially their mental health struggles," she said. "It's just allowed them [clients] to feel seen and heard, like they're not crazy or they're not overreacting or they're not being dramatic."

Bloomsbury representatives said Maas, 40, is not doing interviews for the new book but in an interview on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast in March, she said she wrote certain scenes to process her own traumas, such as the difficult births of her children.

Maas is also the author of the eight-book series "Throne of Glass" and the three-book series "Crescent City," set in magical worlds similar to that of ACOTAR and collectively known as the "Maasverse" to fans.

A boon for booksellers

Krista Lochren, owner of Book & Mortar bookstore in Mount Sinai, told Newsday she had sold out tickets in September to a book release party Monday night at The Victorian Studio in Port Jefferson, with 150 attendees.

Lochren announced the event in July and originally offered 100 tickets. But after it sold out within a month, she was asked by numerous customers if she’d consider adding more spots.

"You always see these really fun balls and release parties, but they're always in, like, major cities," she said. "A lot of us don't want to travel into the city at midnight on a Monday. So I thought that it would be exciting if I brought it here to us instead for once."

Since the shop opened more than a year ago, Lochren said Maas books have been a consistent purchase by customers.

"When we first opened, I definitely got stuck with a lot of, like, random middles of series because people read the first and then they didn't like it so much," she said. "But with the Sarah J. Maas books, I have to always have all of them on hand because they just sell very consistently."

Theodore’s Books in Oyster Bay will also host an ACOTAR party on the release date from 5 to 7 p.m. for those who want to discuss the series with others but don’t want to stay up until midnight.

Kush said she often meets customers who said that ACOTAR is the first book they have read in years.

"She has a way of writing these characters and their emotional journeys that even though it's happening in a fantasy world ... it is so grounded in real human emotions and real human experiences," she said.

Tattoo tributes 

At Line Theory Tattoo Co. in Bay Shore, tattoo artist Jessica Roberts, 30, said she inks two to three book-related tattoos a week.

"We all resonate to the stories for different reasons, and to be able to produce that permanence of what that moment meant for them, is such an honor," she said.

Inside her studio, fantasy decor lines the walls, including a bookshelf, a rack of "Harry Potter" wands, a map of the fictional land of Prythian from ACOTAR and outlines of bats to represent several winged characters.

After she finished her tattooing apprenticeship, Roberts created her first ACOTAR flash book and posted the designs on her social media.

The flash book garnered a wave of attention and attracted numerous clients including Skyla Bredekamp, 33, of West Babylon, who now has several ACOTAR-related tattoos from Roberts.

Bredekamp received her latest tattoo from Roberts in October — a book featuring the mountains of the ACOTAR city Velaris on its cover — in preparation for the new release.

"I feel like there is ... a character for everyone in the story," Bredekamp said. "I think for me, personally, I've gone through bouts of anxiety and depression, and ...   [I’m] feeling like I'm going through the journey with somebody else and feeling ... seen." Bredekamp said she also created a Bookstagram account, @buried.in.books_.

Michele Albanese, 36, of Smithtown, said she is taking off work on Tuesday to read the new book. She also plans to attend the Port Jefferson party with friends she has met at other Book & Mortar events.

"I'm not even exaggerating. It literally changed my life," said Albanese, who was inspired by the series to attend book conferences. "Book two is my whole heart, and book five is quite literally the air I breathe."

Not long after beginning the ACOTAR series, Barbieri said she felt compelled to talk to others about it.

"I have an amazing group of friends, but not all of them are avid readers as I was," she said. "I started a Bookstagram to make those connections."

The platform also gave her the confidence to begin cosplaying, or dressing up as different book characters.

"I was about to turn 30, and I really just wanted to start putting myself out there and doing things that I knew scared me, but I knew would be worth it," Barbieri said.

Barbieri also appreciated that one of the characters was described as having curves.

"I struggle with my body image and my weight, and seeing that ... you could have a main character who wasn't this tiny, skinny girl, just made me feel such a deep connection," Barbieri said. "As soon as I read 'Crescent City,' there was no going back after that."