‘romantasy’ genre<\/a>, blending romance with elaborate fantasy worlds.<\/p>\nFor some fans, its appeal has extended well beyond one author’s books.<\/p>\n
“[A Court of Thorns and Roses] is what got me back into reading,” fan Jade Watson said.<\/p>\n
![\""ACOTAR's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/acotars-what-got-me-back-into-reading-fan-jade-watson-said-QORHZXX2EBGZ5KA65RTCGHBMGA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
“ACOTAR’s what got me back into reading,” fan Jade Watson said. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
The midnight event was her first book launch and a chance to meet others who shared her enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
“I’ve met so many beautiful people in there, and it’s good to connect with people who also love books and love reading,” she said. “I’ve made quite a few friends out of it, which is awesome too.”<\/p>\n
Wackrow said some of those attending had previously known one another only through online book communities.<\/p>\n
“They bonded over their love of books and then they just all decided to come here and party together and meet each other.”<\/p>\n
She said rediscovering reading was a familiar experience among many of the customers and one she shared herself.<\/p>\n
“Because they’re so exciting and like myself and so many other people, it\u2019s really helped spark their love of reading again.”<\/p>\n
Spoilers and school bans<\/p>\n
The enthusiasm has come with debate over the series\u2019 sexual content.<\/p>\n
Titles from A Court of Thorns and Roses have been banned from some American school libraries, including state-wide restrictions in Utah. Those restrictions concern access in schools, rather than a general ban on adults buying or reading the books.<\/p>\n
Wackrow said the books contained adult themes but shouldn’t be dismissed for that.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s spice and it\u2019s nice.<\/p>\n
![\"Wackrow](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/wackrow-said-the-books-contained-adult-themes-but-pushed-bac-OBUHVJDZ2FDF3OAUDCSAZOY4MU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Wackrow said the books contained adult themes, but pushed back against dismissing their appeal. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
“I just think it\u2019s so wonderful and it\u2019s got people back into reading and what\u2019s wrong with having a little fun?”<\/p>\n
Ahead of the latest release, the author appealed to fans not to circulate leaked material, asking readers to allow others to experience the story in full.<\/p>\n
For Wackrow, avoiding spoilers was about protecting the experience.<\/p>\n
“People have waited so long they need time to actually sit down and read it.”<\/p>\n
At Book Hero, the release rules meant the books remained sealed until midnight.<\/p>\n
Once the boxes were opened, another operation began: packing orders for readers who had opted to wait at home.<\/p>\n
![\"Once](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/once-the-boxes-were-opened-another-operation-began-packing-o-63CHJBASZNA4HNDT3MIIJAXCQA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Once the boxes were opened, another operation began: packing orders for readers who had opted to wait at home. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
The shop received more than 1000 pre-orders, with staff working into the early hours to prepare hundreds for same-day delivery.<\/p>\n
NZ Post said it was working with the retailer to get copies to customers in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch on release day.<\/p>\n
For those leaving the midnight launch with a copy already in hand, the question was how much reading they could fit in before morning.<\/p>\n
One fan had a practical reason to resist.<\/p>\n
“I have a classroom full of kids at 8 o\u2019clock tomorrow morning, so nope, home to bed \u2013 but definitely tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
Others had no intention of putting the book down.<\/p>\n
“And I\u2019m not going to get any sleep tonight.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The boxes were sealed. The readers were ready. And when the countdown reached midnight, rose petals filled the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2567,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-642541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-arts-and-culture","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Book](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/book-heros-sacha-wackrow-V4JUCUXEONEYVFO4NSXY4AUCCY.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Evelyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/some-readers-had-travelled-across-the-country-for-the-occasi-M6HBIT3FZFFJ3B5YGGFIBX6OQ4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n