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15 Books Like Rebecca Yarros' 'fourth Wing' To Read After You Finish 'onyx Storm'
There are plenty of books you can read when you finish "Onyx Storm."
Bloomsbury/Bramble
- "Onyx Storm," the third installment in Rebecca Yarros's "Empyrean" series, was released on Tuesday.
- Fans will have to wait a while for the fourth installment of the series.
- Other fantasy books, such as "Crescent City" and "Divine Rivals," can help with the wait.
The much-anticipated third book in Rebecca Yarros' "Empyrean" series was released on Tuesday.
"Fourth Wing" introduced readers to the world of Basgiath War College, where Violet Sorrengail must train to be a dragon rider — or die.
Her education — and romance with her former nemesis Xaden Riorson — continued in "Iron Flame" and "Onyx Storm," and the stakes are higher than ever as Violet discovers secrets about her world and finds new depths to her power she never expected.
The "Empyrean" series is set to have five books in total, and though she has fully plotted the series, Yarros told Elle she plans to take a break before writing the fourth book.
If you're already struggling to wait for the next installment in the "Empyrean" series, you can read novels with similar themes or enemies-to-lovers romances to help tide you over.
"A Court of Mist and Fury" by Sarah J. Maas"A Court of Mist and Fury."
Bloomsbury
If you discovered "Fourth Wing" on BookTok, you're probably already familiar with Sarah J. Maas' "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series about faeries.
The second book in the series feels most similar in tone to the "Empyrean" series." In "A Court of Mist and Fury," Feyre Archeron is adjusting to her newfound life as a faerie after she almost died Under the Mountain — as well as coming to terms with the deal she made with Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, to spend a week with him every month. But despite it all, she got what she wanted: an immortal life with Tamlin, the High Lord of the Spring Court.
Feyre's life in the Spring Court starts feeling more claustrophobic by the second, especially when Tamlin forbids her from leaving the house. To her shock, she finds refuge with Rhysand, where she uncovers truths about the Night Court, Rhys, and herself that will change everything she thought she knew.
"A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire" by Jennifer L. Armentrout"A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire."
Blue Box Press
"A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire" is the second book in Jennifer L. Armentrout's ongoing "Blood and Ash" series, and protagonist Poppy is reckoning with the realization that nothing in her world is what she thought it would be in the sequel to "From Blood and Ash."
Poppy was raised as the Maiden, believing it was her divine duty to sacrifice herself to the Ascended, the immortal beings that rule over her world. But after falling in love with her new guard Hawke and running away with him, she realizes she's been betrayed by the Ascended — and Hawke.
It turns out the Ascended are actually monsters that prey on humans, and Hawke is the dark prince she has been taught to fear her whole life. Poppy doesn't know who to trust, but Hawke is determined to protect her — especially as Poppy develops powers that could change their world.
"The Magicians" by Lev Grossman"The Magicians."
Penguin Random House
If you're a fan of the magical school setting in "The Empyrean" series, you will love "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman (which was also turned into a Syfy series of the same name).
At the top of the trilogy, Quentin Coldwater feels apathetic about the future, even though his aptitude for math could get him into any college he wants. Instead, he still longs for the simplicity of his favorite fantasy series, taking comfort in the magical world of Fillory whenever he can.
So when he gets accepted into a secret magical college, Quentin feels like all of his dreams are coming true. However, Quentin accidentally taps into a darker side of his power and starts a chain of events that puts him and his classmates in danger — and opens the doors to Fillory.
"Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross"Divine Rivals."
Macmillan
"Divine Rivals" has the enemies-to-lovers fun and secrecy of Yarros' series, though Rebecca Ross sets her fantasy story against the backdrop of a newsroom instead of a war college.
Iris Winnow is desperate to get promoted to columnist at the Oath Gazette to keep her family afloat. Her mother has fallen into alcoholism since her brother left to fight in a war of the gods, and Iris feels like she is one missed paycheck away from falling into ruin.
She's competing for the promotion against Roman Kitt, her infuriatingly handsome coworker who makes her feel small every time she sees him, and her chances of success feel slimmer and slimmer with each passing day.
The only comfort Iris has is writing letters to her brother on her grandmother's old typewriter. She doesn't know where he is, so she slips the letters under her wardrobe, where they completely disappear. Iris is hopeful her letters are somehow reaching her brother — until a stranger writes back.
Ross's story evolves into an intoxicating fantasy full of romance and longing, and its sequel, "Ruthless Vows," is also available.
"The Serpent and the Wings of Night" by Carissa Broadbent"The Serpent and the Wings of Night."
Bramble
You'll love the first book in Carissa Broadbent's "Crowns of Nyaxia" series, "The Serpent and the Wings of Night," if Violet's perseverance drew you to the "Empyrean" series as much as her romance with Xaden did.
Oraya has spent every moment of her life fighting to stay alive since her father, the Nightborn vampire king, adopted her after his forces killed her entire human family when she was a child.
Oraya is sick of being human in a world of vampires ready to kill her, so she decides to enter the Kejari, a tournament where the winner gets a wish granted to them by the goddess it's named for.
She plans to avoid the vampires competing against her at all costs, but when she is forced into an alliance with Rhain, a handsome vampire she knows nothing about, Oraya will have to trust someone besides her father for the first time in years.
The competition is deadly, especially as war looms beyond the arena, but Oraya's attraction to Rhain may be an even bigger danger.
"Divergent" by Veronica Roth"Divergent."
HarperCollins
If you somehow missed the "Divergent" craze when Veronica Roth's books or the films based on them were first released, it's the perfect series to binge while you wait for the third "Empyrean" book to come out.
In the first installment of the series, readers are introduced to 16-year-old Beatrice Prior, a girl on the precipice of changing her life forever. Beatrice lives in a society that is divided into factions based on people's aptitudes, and it's her turn to take a test that will tell her which faction she belongs to.
Beatrice's results put her entire society's system at risk, and the only way she can survive is to keep her results a secret. She abandons her home faction of Abnegation to join Dauntless, hoping she can hide in the group that values bravery and strength above all else. But she's not the only one with secrets.
"One Dark Window" by Rachel Gillig"One Dark Window."
Hachette
The only thing keeping Elspeth Spindle safe in her home of Blunder, a land cursed with darkness, is the monster she calls Nightmare, a spirit trapped in her mind.
A chance encounter with a highwayman leads Elspeth on a journey to free Blunder of the dark magic taking it over, but the highwayman turns out to be the king's nephew and a captain in charge of enforcing the kingdom's rules, increasing the risk of their mission.
Elspeth and the captain are on a time crunch to find a cure, and she has to deal with her attraction to him, even as the Nightmare threatens to take her mind over for good.
"His Majesty's Dragon" by Naomi Novik"His Majesty's Dragon."
Penguin Random House
If the dragons in Yarros' fictional world were the most exciting part of "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame" for you, you may want to give Naomi Novik's "His Majesty's Dragon" a try.
The novel is set in the 1800s during the Napoleonic Wars. Will Laurence is a normal captain in the British forces until he captures a dragon egg. When it hatches, he bonds with Temeraire and becomes a rider, fighting in the skies.
Laurence will have to learn how to fly and fight in the middle of the war — or risk his and Temeraire's lives.
"The Bridge Kingdom" by Danielle L. Jensen"The Bridge Kingdom."
Amazon
"Bridge Kingdom" by Danielle L. Jensen will definitely scratch the enemies-to-lovers itch "The Empyrean" series left behind.
Lara and her sisters have trained their entire lives to bring down the Bridge Kingdom, a society that decides which goods come in and out of her lands thanks to the intricate bridge it controls. Lara aims to marry the Bridge Kingdom's ruler, King Aren, and destroy him from the inside once she gains his trust.
When Lara finally arrives at Bridge Kingdom, it's nothing like she expected, nor is the kind and generous king who rules over it. As she makes a new home in Bridge Kingdom and sees the possibility of a life with Aren, Lara must determine who is lying — her father or the man in front of her.
"Eragon" by Christopher Paolini"Eragon."
Penguin Random House
"The Inheritance Cycle" series by Christopher Paolini may fall into the young-adult category, but the high-fantasy writing and emotional coming-of-age journey the hero goes on throughout the books will make it just as exciting for adults as it is for younger readers.
In the series opener, Eragon is just a teenager living a simple life on a farm with his family until he stumbles upon a blue stone — which turns out to be the first dragon hatchling born in his country in a century.
Eragon immediately becomes a Dragon Rider when his dragon, Seraphina, hatches, setting him on a path of magic and danger, as the only living rider is supposed the king.
Like Yarros' series, "The Inheritance Cycle" is an epic journey of dragons and their riders, full of magic, romance, and adventure.
"A Promise of Fire" by Amanda Bouchet"A Promise of Fire."
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Amanda Bouchet's "The Kingmaker Chronicles" is a three-part series full of magic, gods, and romance that will appeal to Yarros fans who were drawn to Violet's powerful signet, as well as Xaden's dedication to her.
In the first installment "A Promise of Fire," Cat Fisa has been on the run for years. She was born with the ability to tell when people are lying, a once-in-a-generation power that makes her the "Kingmaker." But Cat wants nothing to do with her power — or her family in the North that would use her for it — so she stays hidden, pretending to be a soothsayer in a traveling circus in the South.
When Griffin, the general of a newly established human kingdom, sees her, he knows what Cat is immediately and takes her in the hopes of protecting his family's throne. Cat won't go down without a fight, though, and Griffin's hostage becomes even harder to control when powerful members of her family come looking for her.
As they make their way toward his family's castle, Griffin will have to convince Cat his family is worth working with — a task that becomes even more difficult when he realizes he doesn't want Cat to just work with him; he wants her to be his wife.
"House of Earth and Blood" by Sarah J. Maas"House of Earth and Blood."
Bloomsbury
If you liked the modern flair in the "Empyrean" series, you'll fall head over heels for Sarah J. Maas' steamy "Crescent City" series.
In "House of Earth and Blood," half-fae Bryce Quinlan thrives after graduating from Crescent City University, living with her best friend, the werewolf and alpha of the Pack of Devils Danika Fendyr.
Bryce has everything she wants — until she comes home to find Danika and the Pack of Devils murdered by a demon. She thinks the culprit was arrested, but a year later, similar murders start up again in the city.
Because she's the only one who saw the demon that killed her friends, Bryce teams up with Hunt Athalar, a Fallen angel enslaved to work for the Archangels who run Crescent City, to solve the mystery. As the investigation progresses and Bryce and Hunt's attraction to each other grows, the unlikely pair will discover secrets about Crescent City that could upend their world as they know it.
Maas published three books in the series to date, including "House of Flame and Shadow" in January 2024.
"Neon Gods" by Katee Robert"Neon Books."
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Just as Violet was raised to hate Xaden Riorson, Persephone Dimitriou's fear of Hades was instilled in her from childhood in "Neon Gods" by Katee Robert.
Trusting Hades feels like Persephone's only option after her mother promises her hand in marriage to Zeus, the leader of the 13 houses in the city of Olympus whose wives mysteriously end up dead.
Persephone decides to run away from the city instead of marrying Zeus, seeking refuge with Hades, a man she wasn't even certain existed until she winds up on his doorstep. Luckily, Hades wants revenge on Zeus, too, and they agree making him jealous is the best way to do it.
Hades and Persephone decide to put on a show, but neither expects the real, palpable attraction that develops between them.
"Throne in the Dark" by A.K. Caggiano"Throne in the Dark."
A.K. Caggiano
A.K. Caggiano's "Villains & Virtues" trilogy has all the magic and enemies-to-lovers fun of the world of "Fourth Wing" with a heap of slow-burn tension and a lighter tone than Yarros' work.
In "Throne in the Dark," Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne is determined to free his demon father from his magical imprisonment and take over the world by his side. There's just one problem: a beautiful, sickeningly sweet human named Amma, who accidentally becomes one with the magical weapon he needs to bring down the mortal powers that be.
Damien has no choice but to travel the realm with Amma to find a way to separate her from the weapon. He could just kill her, but Amma proves to be surprisingly helpful — and to his horror, she isn't the worst travel companion he could imagine.
Amma has secrets of her own, though, and she and Damien will have to work together to get through their respective missions unscathed. And worst of all, as he spends more time with Amma, Damien starts to wonder if what he truly wants is the human by his side.
"Bride" by Ali Hazelwood"Bride" by Ali Hazelwood.
Penguin Random House
Ali Hazelwood is best known for her New York Times bestselling, STEM-centered romance books, but her first paranormal novel "Bride" can definitely help "Empyrean" fans with their book hangover after they finish "Onyx Storm."
In "Bride," vampire Misery Lark is about to marry Lowe Moreland, the Alpha of the Weres, as part of a historic peace deal. Most vampires would be afraid of agreeing to bind themselves to their natural enemies, but after spending most of her childhood as an emissary among the humans, Misery is ready to take on the risk — especially since she needs the Weres' resources to try to track down Serena, her human foster sister who went missing without a trace.
Misery plans to avoid Lowe as much as possible, but from the moment they meet at their wedding, Misery seems to perplex and infuriate Lowe for reasons she can't understand (aside from their species' century-long feud). Soon, he's keeping a closer eye on her than she would like, and she might not mind his presence as much as she thought.
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