There comes a moment, dear reader, when one finishes a book so thoroughly magnificent that the world seems a dimmer place without it. If you have closed the final page of Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing and found yourself longing for more dragons, more peril, and more deliciously dangerous romance, then you have come to exactly the right place.
What follows is a carefully curated collection of tales for those who fell quite hopelessly in love with Violet Sorrengail and her magnificent Tairn. Each book holds within its pages that particular magic—the sort that makes one forget to eat supper entirely.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Here is a tale that begins with a huntress in the frozen woods and transforms into something altogether more extraordinary. Young Feyre Archeron kills a wolf that is not merely a wolf, and finds herself dragged into the faerie realm of Prythian as payment.
What awaits her there is a world divided into seven magnificent courts, a masked lord named Tamlin, and an ancient darkness creeping ever closer. The romance unfolds like the petals of a night-blooming flower—slowly, inevitably, and rather breathlessly.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
In a realm ruled by vampires, where humans exist as little more than prey, there lives a young woman named Oraya who refuses to accept such a fate. The adopted daughter of the fearsome Nightborn vampire king, she enters the Kejari—a deadly tournament hosted by the goddess of death herself.
To survive, she must forge an alliance with Raihn, a mysterious rival who is everything dangerous and forbidden. Their dance between survival and attraction grows ever more perilous as war brews and secrets unfold.
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
In this realm, dear reader, dragons do not simply die—they sail skyward and become moons themselves. What a peculiar and wondrous world this is! Raeve works as an assassin for the rebellion, completing her orders until a rival bounty hunter upends everything she knows.
She finds herself imprisoned, and there encounters Kaan Vaegor, a man crushed by the loss of his great love. Together they seek truths that threaten to shatter everything. The romance blazes through the ages, as epic as the dragons themselves.
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Two young rival journalists. A magical correspondence through enchanted typewriters. A war between gods. This is the stuff of which the finest adventures are made.
Eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow slips letters beneath her wardrobe door, never knowing they vanish into the hands of Roman Kitt—her cold and handsome rival at the newspaper. When war calls her to the front lines, their connection follows, forged in ink and longing. Winner of the Goodreads Best YA Fantasy of 2023, this tale aches with hope and heartbreak.
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
In sun-drenched Sicily, twin witches Emilia and Vittoria work at their family’s restaurant, hiding their magic from a world that would destroy them. When Vittoria is murdered most horribly, Emilia does the unthinkable—she summons a demon prince.
The Prince of Wrath arrives, all danger and dark bargains, and an uneasy partnership blooms into something far more complicated. Italian cooking, the seven princes of Hell, and forbidden attraction collide in this delicious tale.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Once there was an assassin named Celaena Sardothien, the most feared killer in her land, imprisoned in the salt mines of Endovier. Now she is offered a chance at freedom—if she can defeat twenty-three of the kingdom’s most vicious criminals in a competition to become the king’s champion.
What follows is a journey of seven books, filled with ancient magic awakening, fierce battles, and slow-burn romance that shall leave you quite undone. TIME Magazine has called it one of the best fantasy series of the past decade.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
This is not a tale for the faint of heart, dear reader. Rin, a war orphan, shocks everyone by passing the empire-wide exam and winning a place at the most elite military school. But within those walls, she discovers shamanic powers and a vengeful god who has chosen her as vessel.
Inspired by the history of twentieth-century China, this grimdark military fantasy offers the same brutal academy setting as Fourth Wing, though considerably darker. Named among TIME Magazine’s 100 best fantasy books of all time.
Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
In a world once ruled by fierce warrior queens and their legendary Phoenix Riders, a great war between two sisters destroyed everything. Sixteen years later, young Veronyka dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider herself—even if she must disguise herself as a boy to join their ranks.
Instead of dragons, here we have phoenixes—magnificent birds of flame and fury. The same fierce bonds, the same high stakes, the same heart-pounding adventure await. Now also a WEBTOON series for those who wish to see it illustrated.
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
Freya dreams of becoming a warrior and putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back. When she is revealed as a shield maiden blessed by the goddess Hlin, capable of repelling any attack, her dreams become a most dangerous reality.
The jarl believes she is the key to uniting their fractured Norse nation, and his handsome son Bjorn is tasked with protecting her. Forbidden romance, forced proximity, and Vikings collide in this spicy romantasy. “THE must-read fantasy of 2024,” declared Jennifer L. Armentrout.
The Aurelian Cycle by Rosaria Munda
Annie’s lowborn family was executed by dragonfire. Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship; seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.
The whole trilogy is complete—no waiting required—and it delivers everything that made Fourth Wing so exciting: dragonriding, emotional bonds between dragon and rider, high stakes, and battles that shall leave you breathless. Booklist called it “one of fantasy’s best series.”
Daughter of the Drowned Empire by Frankie Diane Mallis
Lady Lyriana is nineteen years old, a mage, and third in line to power in Bamaria. When a ceremony reveals she possesses forbidden magic, she faces death in exile—unless she accepts a deadly contract and trains as a warrior.
Her trainer? Lord Rhyan Hart, the man she has secretly loved since girlhood, forbidden to her in every way. Politics, slow-burn romance, and a magic system inspired by ancient empires await. Described as “Cleopatra meets Fourth Wing.”
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Scarlett and her sister Tella escape their abusive father to attend Caraval—a magical game of illusion, lies, and wonder held on a mysterious island. But when Tella is kidnapped by the enigmatic Legend, finding her becomes the game itself.
Is it real? Is it performance? The line blurs most deliciously. Entertainment Weekly called it “The Hunger Games meets The Night Circus,” and indeed, it captures that same intoxicating sense of dangerous enchantment.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Diana Bishop is a historian at Yale, a descendant of witches who has chosen to reject her magical heritage. Then she discovers a long-lost alchemical manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, and her carefully ordered world shatters entirely.
The discovery summons vampires, daemons, and witches—including the compelling vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Three seasons of a beloved television adaptation await those who wish to continue the journey beyond the page.
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
In a Southeast Asian-inspired world ravaged by storms, Talasyn wields forbidden light magic against the Night Empire’s shadows. Prince Alaric is his father’s weapon, sworn to destroy any threat. Their magical clash creates something neither expects—a dangerous attraction.
What follows is one of fantasy’s most beautifully written enemies-to-lovers slow burns, complete with an arranged marriage and political intrigue. An instant New York Times bestseller that absolutely lives up to the hype.
Your Next Great Adventure Awaits
Each of these tales offers what Fourth Wing so brilliantly provided—fierce heroines who refuse to be underestimated, impossible odds, magical bonds both human and beastly, and romance that builds slowly into an inferno.
So light your candle, dear reader. Draw your blanket close. The next adventure is but a turned page away, and I suspect you shall not emerge again until the small hours of morning.
After all, that is exactly how it should be.
