The Throne of Glass tandem read is a way of reading Sarah J. Maas’s Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn side by side, switching between the two books at planned chapter points instead of finishing one before starting the other. The two novels cover the same stretch of the story from different places: Empire of Storms stays with Aelin Galathynius and her closest allies, while Tower of Dawn follows Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq on the Southern Continent, where Yrene Towers and the healers of Antica come into the picture.
This guide gives you the full chapter-by-chapter order, a printable checklist you can copy or print, and practical tips for Kindle, paperbacks and audiobooks. It also covers the question a lot of readers quietly worry about: do you actually have to do this? (Short answer: no.)
Already know you want the order? Jump to the section called “Throne of Glass Tandem Read Guide: Chapter-by-Chapter Order,” or go straight to “Printable Throne of Glass Tandem Read Checklist.”
Quick answers
- Which books? Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn.
- How many switches? 50 reading blocks in the most widely shared version of the sequence.
- Is it official? No. It is a fan-created method. The publisher’s standard order is Empire of Storms, then Tower of Dawn.
- What comes after? Kingdom of Ash.
What Is the Throne of Glass Tandem Read?
To “tandem read” simply means reading two books at the same time. In the Throne of Glass community, it almost always refers to Empire of Storms (EoS) and Tower of Dawn (ToD), the sixth and seventh novels if you count The Assassin’s Blade in the series, or the fifth and sixth if you only count the numbered main books. You may see both numbering styles online, so go by the titles rather than the numbers.
The reason this works at all is that the two books run on roughly the same timeline. Events in one are happening while events in the other are underway, just in a different part of Erilea and with a different cast of characters. A tandem read lets you experience those parallel storylines the way they happen in the world of the story, with a few chapters from one book, then a few from the other.
Readers tend to like it for three reasons:
- The timelines stay together. Instead of finishing a huge, high-stakes book and then rewinding to an earlier point on the calendar, you move forward through both storylines at once.
- The pacing evens out. The two books have noticeably different moods, and alternating between them can smooth out the emotional highs and quieter stretches.
- It’s a cleaner path into the finale. You reach Kingdom of Ash having finished both books without a long gap between the end of one storyline and the start of the next.
One thing to be clear about up front: the tandem order is a community tradition. Maas did not publish a chapter-by-chapter switching chart, and publisher guidance places Empire of Storms before Tower of Dawn. More on that below.
Throne of Glass Tandem Read Guide: Chapter-by-Chapter Order
This is the part you’ll come back to. Each row is one reading block. Read everything in the range shown, then move to the next row, which will be in the other book.
How to use the table
- Start at step 1 and read the whole range, including the first and last chapter listed.
- When you finish a block, mark your place in that book (bookmark, sticky tab, or a note) and open the other one.
- Tick the box so you always know which step is next.
- If you’ve already started Empire of Storms, find the last chapter you finished in the table and begin with the next step. Your Tower of Dawn starting point is whichever Tower of Dawn block comes next after that step.
A note on chapter labels. The sequence below treats Empire of Storms as opening with a section called “Nightfall” that comes before Chapter 1, and ends Tower of Dawn with Chapter 58 through the book’s closing section, which the guides circulating online call “Fireheart.” Chapter numbering is consistent across the guides we compared, but section titles and front or back matter can look different between editions and formats. If your copy labels the opening or closing sections differently, read everything before Chapter 1 in step 1, and read from Chapter 58 to the end of the book in step 50. Page numbers are deliberately left out because they change from edition to edition.
| Step | Book | Chapters to read | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empire of Storms | Nightfall through Chapter 5 | ☐ |
| 2 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 1 | ☐ |
| 3 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 6–8 | ☐ |
| 4 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 2–3 | ☐ |
| 5 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 9–10 | ☐ |
| 6 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 4–6 | ☐ |
| 7 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 11 | ☐ |
| 8 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 7 | ☐ |
| 9 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 12–13 | ☐ |
| 10 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 8–10 | ☐ |
| 11 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 14–16 | ☐ |
| 12 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 11–12 | ☐ |
| 13 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 17–18 | ☐ |
| 14 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 13–16 | ☐ |
| 15 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 19 | ☐ |
| 16 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 17 | ☐ |
| 17 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 20–23 | ☐ |
| 18 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 18–21 | ☐ |
| 19 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 24–25 | ☐ |
| 20 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 22–23 | ☐ |
| 21 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 26 | ☐ |
| 22 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 24 | ☐ |
| 23 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 27–29 | ☐ |
| 24 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 25–28 | ☐ |
| 25 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 30 | ☐ |
| 26 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 29–31 | ☐ |
| 27 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 31 | ☐ |
| 28 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 32 | ☐ |
| 29 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 32 | ☐ |
| 30 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 33–35 | ☐ |
| 31 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 33–51 | ☐ |
| 32 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 36–37 | ☐ |
| 33 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 52 | ☐ |
| 34 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 38–40 | ☐ |
| 35 | Empire of Storms | Chapter 53 | ☐ |
| 36 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 41–42 | ☐ |
| 37 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 54–56 | ☐ |
| 38 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 43 | ☐ |
| 39 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 57–59 | ☐ |
| 40 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 44–48 | ☐ |
| 41 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 60–61 | ☐ |
| 42 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 49–51 | ☐ |
| 43 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 62–63 | ☐ |
| 44 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 52–53 | ☐ |
| 45 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 64–65 | ☐ |
| 46 | Tower of Dawn | Chapters 54–56 | ☐ |
| 47 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 66–67 | ☐ |
| 48 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 57 | ☐ |
| 49 | Empire of Storms | Chapters 68–75 | ☐ |
| 50 | Tower of Dawn | Chapter 58 through the end of the book | ☐ |
Two things worth knowing as you go
- Step 31 is the long one. It’s a single block of nineteen Empire of Storms chapters. That is how this version of the sequence is written, but a long stretch with no switch can feel like the tandem has stalled. If it bothers you, it’s a good moment to pause for a break before you start it. You are not required to split it up.
- Small variations exist. Fans have shared several versions of the tandem order over the years, with different block sizes. The 50-step version above is the one most commonly circulated, and it is the one the checklist below follows. If you’re using a different version from a friend or a printed bookmark, pick one and stick with it rather than mixing.
Once you’ve ticked all fifty boxes, you’re ready for Kingdom of Ash.
Printable Throne of Glass Tandem Read Checklist
The checklist below is a plain-text tracker you can copy into a notes app, paste into a document, or print. It contains only your own progress markers and chapter ranges, nothing from the books themselves. To print it, use your browser’s print option on this page, or save the page as a PDF from the same dialog.
EoS = Empire of Storms | ToD = Tower of Dawn
☐ 01 EoS Nightfall–Ch. 5 ☐ 02 ToD Ch. 1 ☐ 03 EoS Ch. 6–8 ☐ 04 ToD Ch. 2–3 ☐ 05 EoS Ch. 9–10 ☐ 06 ToD Ch. 4–6 ☐ 07 EoS Ch. 11 ☐ 08 ToD Ch. 7 ☐ 09 EoS Ch. 12–13 ☐ 10 ToD Ch. 8–10 ☐ 11 EoS Ch. 14–16 ☐ 12 ToD Ch. 11–12 ☐ 13 EoS Ch. 17–18 ☐ 14 ToD Ch. 13–16 ☐ 15 EoS Ch. 19 ☐ 16 ToD Ch. 17 ☐ 17 EoS Ch. 20–23 ☐ 18 ToD Ch. 18–21 ☐ 19 EoS Ch. 24–25 ☐ 20 ToD Ch. 22–23 ☐ 21 EoS Ch. 26 ☐ 22 ToD Ch. 24 ☐ 23 EoS Ch. 27–29 ☐ 24 ToD Ch. 25–28 ☐ 25 EoS Ch. 30 ☐ 26 ToD Ch. 29–31 ☐ 27 EoS Ch. 31 ☐ 28 ToD Ch. 32 ☐ 29 EoS Ch. 32 ☐ 30 ToD Ch. 33–35 ☐ 31 EoS Ch. 33–51 ☐ 32 ToD Ch. 36–37 ☐ 33 EoS Ch. 52 ☐ 34 ToD Ch. 38–40 ☐ 35 EoS Ch. 53 ☐ 36 ToD Ch. 41–42 ☐ 37 EoS Ch. 54–56 ☐ 38 ToD Ch. 43 ☐ 39 EoS Ch. 57–59 ☐ 40 ToD Ch. 44–48 ☐ 41 EoS Ch. 60–61 ☐ 42 ToD Ch. 49–51 ☐ 43 EoS Ch. 62–63 ☐ 44 ToD Ch. 52–53 ☐ 45 EoS Ch. 64–65 ☐ 46 ToD Ch. 54–56 ☐ 47 EoS Ch. 66–67 ☐ 48 ToD Ch. 57 ☐ 49 EoS Ch. 68–75 ☐ 50 ToD Ch. 58–end
Using it as a bookmark. If you’re reading physical copies, print the list at a narrow width, trim it to bookmark size and keep it in whichever book you’re currently reading. When you finish a block, move it to the other book. For ebooks and audiobooks, a screenshot saved as a phone wallpaper or a pinned note does the same job.
Should You Tandem Read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn?
It depends on how you like to read, and nobody is going to check your homework. Here is an honest look at both sides.
What tandem reading does well
- Keeps the parallel timelines together. Because the books overlap in time, alternating between them mirrors how the story unfolds across Erilea.
- Balances the emotional pacing. Empire of Storms is the larger, higher-intensity book, and many readers find the change of scene and tone in Tower of Dawn a welcome counterweight. Moving between them gives you breathing room without losing momentum.
- Makes Tower of Dawn easier to commit to. Some readers are hesitant to spend a whole book away from the main cast. Reading it in pieces keeps both storylines alive at once.
- Delivers a smoother run into Kingdom of Ash. You finish both books in one sweep.
Where it can get in the way
- Constant switching can feel disruptive. Two casts, two locations and two tones in the same sitting can be a lot, especially if you’re a first-time reader still learning who’s who.
- It takes upkeep. You need to track two bookmarks and a checklist, and a missed switch can leave you unsure where you are.
- It’s clunkier on audio. More on that below.
Who tends to enjoy it: readers who like parallel storylines, structured reading challenges, and having a checklist to tick off; and readers who’d rather not spend a whole book away from the Empire of Storms cast.
Who may prefer one book at a time: readers who like to settle into a single story, anyone who finds frequent switching distracting, and listeners who rely on audiobooks while commuting or doing chores.
Both approaches are legitimate. Neither one is the “correct” way to read the series.
Can You Read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn Separately?
Yes, and it’s a perfectly good choice. The standard publication order is simple: read Empire of Storms first, then Tower of Dawn, then Kingdom of Ash. This is the order the publisher presents, and reports on Sarah J. Maas’s own reading guide list the books the same way. It requires no tracking, no switching and no checklist.
The main thing to avoid is reading Tower of Dawn all the way through before Empire of Storms. Later parts of Tower of Dawn can reveal information from Empire of Storms, so finishing it first risks spoiling that book. Some fan guides suggest workarounds that split up the last section of Tower of Dawn, but those are reader-created ideas rather than publisher guidance, so treat them as personal preference and not as a safer official order.
It helps to keep two ideas apart:
- Publication order is the sequence the books were released and the one the publisher’s reading-order guidance supports.
- Tandem order is a fan-created method that interleaves the two books. The fact that the books overlap in time is part of the story. The specific chapter-by-chapter switching points are community work.
If you read them separately, you’ll still get the full story. You’ll just take in the two storylines one after the other.
Related Post:
- From Blood and Ash Spicy Chapters: Book 1 & The Primal of Blood and Bone Guide
- ACOTAR Books in Order: Complete Reading Guide
How to Tandem Read Throne of Glass on Kindle
Ebooks are one of the easier ways to manage a tandem read, because both books live in the same place and you never have to carry two doorstoppers around. A few habits keep it painless:
- Keep the two books as separate titles. If you own a collected or omnibus edition, switching can be more awkward, so a standalone copy of each book is the simpler route.
- Download both before you start. That way you can switch without waiting on a download or a signal.
- Bookmark your stopping point in each book. Use whatever bookmark or note feature your e-reader or app offers each time you finish a block, so you can jump straight back to it.
- Keep the checklist where you can see it. Open it in a second app, keep a screenshot in your photos, or save the checklist above as a note.
- Write down the next step. A one-line note such as “Next: ToD, Ch. 22–23” saves you from scrolling the whole list every time you switch.
- Track the last chapter you finished, not the one you’re in the middle of. If you stop mid-chapter, finish it before switching so the next step is always clear.
Because features and menus differ between devices and apps, check how bookmarking and notes work on yours before you start.
If you’re reading physical copies instead, two bookmarks do most of the work, and some readers like to place sticky tabs at the switching points ahead of time and remove each tab as they pass it.
How to Tandem Read Throne of Glass Audiobooks
It is possible to tandem the audiobooks, but it asks more of you. You can’t glance at a checklist while you’re driving or washing up, and switching between two titles in a listening app means remembering where you left each one.
A few things make it manageable:
- Plan before you press play. Before each listening session, look at the next step and write it down or say it out loud. The switch itself then happens at the end of a chapter, not at a moment when you’re distracted.
- Bookmark your positions. If your audiobook app supports bookmarks, set one at the end of each block so you can return to the right chapter. If it doesn’t, make a note of the chapter number.
- Keep a separate checklist. Put the list somewhere you can reach quickly, such as a pinned note, a widget or a lock-screen screenshot.
- Check the chapter markers. Audiobook track divisions don’t always match print chapters exactly, so confirm in the first few chapters that the app’s numbering lines up with the guide. If something looks off, go by the story rather than the track number.
- Batch your commute. If you listen in short bursts, choose blocks that fit naturally. The single-chapter steps are easy to finish in a short session, while the longer ranges suit longer drives or walks.
If you’re a mostly-audio reader and the planning sounds like a chore, publication order is a perfectly good option. Plenty of listeners simply play Empire of Storms and then Tower of Dawn.
What Should You Read After the Tandem Read?
After you finish both books, the next one is Kingdom of Ash, the eighth and final novel in the Throne of Glass series. It continues directly from where the Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn storylines leave off, which is one reason many readers finish both before moving on rather than skipping Tower of Dawn.
If you’re also exploring the rest of Sarah J. Maas’s work, the Throne of Glass books sit alongside her other series, A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) and Crescent City, and each has its own reading order.
FAQs about Throne of Glass Tandem Read Guide
What does tandem read mean in Throne of Glass?
It means reading Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn at the same time, switching between them at set chapter points so that the two parallel storylines move forward together.
Which Throne of Glass books should you tandem read?
Only Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. They take place during the same period. The earlier books, including Queen of Shadows and The Assassin’s Blade, are read in their normal order, and Kingdom of Ash comes afterwards.
Do you have to tandem read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn?
No. It’s an optional, fan-created approach. Reading Empire of Storms first and Tower of Dawn second is the standard publication order and works well.
Does Sarah J. Maas recommend tandem reading?
We couldn’t find a verified statement from Maas recommending a specific tandem chapter order, so it’s best treated as a fan-created method. Publisher guidance places Empire of Storms before Tower of Dawn, and various articles describe tandem reading as an acceptable alternative rather than a requirement.
Can I read Empire of Storms before Tower of Dawn?
Yes. That’s the publication order, and it’s the simplest route if you don’t want to switch between books.
Can I read Tower of Dawn before Empire of Storms?
It’s not recommended. Later parts of Tower of Dawn can reveal information from Empire of Storms, so reading it completely first risks spoiling that book.
Is the Throne of Glass tandem read worth it?
It depends on your reading style. Readers who enjoy parallel storylines and don’t mind a bit of tracking often love it, while readers who prefer to stay with one story at a time are better off in publication order. Neither choice is wrong.
How do you tandem read Throne of Glass on Kindle?
Keep the two books as separate downloads, bookmark your place in each at the end of every block, and keep the checklist open or saved as a note. Write down the next step each time you switch.
Can you tandem read the Throne of Glass audiobooks?
Yes, but it takes more planning. Use bookmarks if your app supports them, keep the checklist somewhere easy to reach, and decide your next switch before you start listening.
Is there a printable Throne of Glass tandem read guide?
Yes. The checklist in this article is a plain-text tracker you can copy or print, and it works as a bookmark. Use your browser’s print option, or save the page as a PDF from the print dialog.
What book comes after the tandem read?
Kingdom of Ash, the final Throne of Glass novel.
Hi, I’m Nisbah – a blogger with over 2 years of experience creating content and a fantasy enthusiast who loves exploring magical worlds, fantasy books, captivating stories, and unforgettable characters. I share book recommendations, reviews, fantasy insights, and story discussions and creating guides to help readers discover their next great adventure.
