PREVIEW: Celebrate the Release of A Court of Splintered Harmony with Northshire and UPH
10/26 @ UPH, Saratoga
**This article originally appeared in our October 2026 issue**
“I think there's a lot of people really looking for books to take them someplace else, for books that will take them to a world that feels very far removed from ours.”
Whether you’re a book lover, a casual consumer, or an “I haven’t read a book since middle school” type of reader, you’d have to be living under a rock to have evaded an encounter with the “Maasverse” over the last decade. With 16 books currently in her three series universe — Throne of Glass, Crescent City, and A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) — Sarah J. Maas holds a cult following on BookTok and a legion of devoted readers, all of whom are over the moon for Maas’ two new additions to the ACOTAR series, coming October 2026 and January 2027. Thankfully for Capital Region fantasy fans, Northshire Bookstore and Universal Preservation Hall have their finger on the pulse, ready to celebrate these two momentous releases with midnight release parties.
On the evening of October 26, partygoers at UPH will be celebrating with “a DJ dance party, a costume contest, trivia, book bedazzling, all sorts of fun,” says Rachel Person, Director of Events at Northshire Bookstore. In addition, there will be themed cocktails and mocktails, fine line tattoos by Amp Tattoos available for purchase, as well as custom hats by Happywear also available for purchase.
When the clock strikes 12, Northshire employees will begin slicing open the boxes, handing a fresh copy of A Court of Splintered Harmony to each attendee on their way out. Person jokingly tells me that she has multiple members of the team “ready to arm wrestle over who gets to work this event,” they are so eager to be on site for the festivities.
While I have yet to dive into any of Maas’ books myself, I began my own journey into the fantasy genre this past summer thanks to Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House. Person and I discussed the lure of these mythical, otherworldly novels, which have surged in popularity as we’ve watched the previously dominant dystopian genre simmer down. “I think there's a lot of people really looking for books to take them someplace else, for books that will take them to a world that feels very far removed from ours,” she explains.
Her sentiment is precisely why I picked up a fantasy read for the first time and it sounds like, if escapism is what I’m seeking, ACOTAR might have to be my next read. “Part of what is so successful about these books is how immersive they are and how much they pull you in and pull you through,” Person says. “You're not being distracted by your phone or the dishwasher that needs to be emptied or whatever it is. You're just truly immersed in another universe.”
Beyond the immersion into the fantastic, there’s an element of childhood nostalgia for many millennial and Gen X readers who grew up with fantasy novels like The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Ella Enchanted, and His Dark Materials. “Now as adults, fantasy is also on some level a bit of a comfort read. Even fairly dark fantasy is something that feels a little bit like going home, going back to childhood,” Person tells me.
The eve of the release party is bound to feel a lot like Christmas Eve and morning for attendees, amplifying that childlike wonder and joy in the pursuit of sharing that magic with others. Sure, you could pre-order the book, get it on your Kindle in your bed at midnight, but you’d be missing out on the communal aspect of fandom. “There always is this sense in [Northshire’s] events… of not exactly shared identity, but that might be the closest thing I have to it,” muses Person.
Shared identity is fitting; this release party goes beyond the book and the genre. Instead, it’s about seeking celebration, companionship, and a blissful escape, even if just for a single night. Now that’s a tale as old as time.
Purchase your tickets for this event through proctorscollaborative.org, and head there or northshire.com for more details about the evening. Festivities will commence at 9 p.m. at UPH, 25 Washington St, Saratoga Springs.
