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Few books have taken over the reading world like Fourth Wing. Rebecca Yarros's tale of Violet Sorrengail - thrust into a brutal war college where dragons choose their riders and failure means death - turned millions of readers into romantasy devotees, hungry for dragons, danger and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance with real heat.
The good news: if you've torn through the Empyrean books and need your next fix, the genre is having a golden age. Here's where to go next.
What to read if you loved Fourth Wing
Readers fall for Fourth Wing for a particular cocktail - a fierce heroine, a deadly trial, a brooding love interest and a romance that smoulders against high-stakes fantasy. The books below deliver different measures of the same: some lean harder into the romance, some into the world-building and the war, but every one scratches the same itch.
A note on heat: like Fourth Wing, several are adult romantasy with explicit content, so they're best for grown-up readers.
Our pick of the best books like Fourth Wing
- Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
The second Empyrean book and the obvious next step: pick up exactly where Fourth Wing left off, with the stakes - and the romance - raised even higher. - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The romantasy juggernaut: a huntress is drawn into a dangerous faerie court. If you loved the romance and the world-building, start here.Reviewed by Liz Robinson - Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
A teenage assassin competes to win her freedom; the series that built the modern fantasy-romance fandom, with a heroine to root for.Reviewed by the LoveReading team - From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
A chosen maiden, a forbidden guard and a kingdom of secrets; fast, addictive and full of the slow-burn heat romantasy readers crave. - The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
A human competes in a deadly vampire tournament, allied to a rival she shouldn't trust; dark, romantic and brilliantly plotted. - The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
A warrior princess is married to the enemy as a spy - and falls for her target; enemies-to-lovers done to perfection. - Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Rival journalists, a war between gods and letters that cross by magic; a touch gentler on the heat, huge on yearning and heart.Reviewed by Freya Davies - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
A reluctant witch and a vampire scholar in a forbidden romance across centuries; for readers who want their fantasy romance with depth and history.Reviewed by Sarah Broadhurst
Who chose these books, and why that matters
This is not a list pulled from a bestseller chart. Every title here was read and chosen by the LoveReading editorial panel, and we turn far more books down than we put forward.
The panel includes a judge of the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger; a past Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals; a former children’s editor of the Guardian, who is also Children’s Director of the Hay Festival; a Managing Director of the Hay Festival of twenty years; the founder of the Murder One bookshop, who has reviewed for the Guardian, The Times and the Daily Telegraph; and two UK School Librarians of the Year.
Each is named, with a photograph and full biography, on our editorial experts page.
Members of the panel include:
Liz RobinsonLoveReading reviewer since 2014 and former judge of the CWA Gold Dagger
Sarah BroadhurstVeteran book trade critic and former Hatchards paperback buyer
Joanne OwenAuthor, publishing expert, and LoveReading’s Literary Fiction Champion and YA Lead Reviewer
Lois CudjoeBook critic, content creator and passionate cross-genre reader
Their judgements are informed by our Reader Review Panel — several hundred readers across our adult and children’s sites who read titles before publication and tell us plainly whether a book delivers.
LoveReading has been recommending books since 2004 and has reviewed more than 33,000 titles in that time. We review for schools, for publishers and for readers, and we are a winner of the Small Business x Sage pop-up shop competition on London’s Oxford Street.
Every physical book bought through us donates 25% of the cover price to a school of your choice — more than £100,000 in books so far.
Where to go after that
Romantasy moves fast and the next big series is never far away. The best way to choose is to follow what you loved most about Fourth Wing - the dragons, the heat, or the enemies-to-lovers tension. Browse our fantasy and romance reviews and editors' picks to keep the next obsession coming.
Your questions answered
What should I read after Fourth Wing?
Start with Iron Flame, the next book in the Empyrean series. When you've finished, A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash deliver the same dragons-danger-and-romance high, while The Serpent and the Wings of Night and The Bridge Kingdom bring fresh worlds with the same enemies-to-lovers tension.
What is romantasy?
Romantasy is fiction that blends fantasy and romance so that both matter equally - a fully built magical world and a central love story with real heat. Fourth Wing is the genre's breakout hit. If you want the romance to drive the plot as much as the quest does, romantasy is your shelf.
Are books like Fourth Wing suitable for teenagers?
Some are, many aren't. Fourth Wing and several titles here are adult romantasy with explicit content. Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass starts more YA-friendly and matures across the series. Our reviews flag content and age suitability, so do check before handing one to a younger reader.
How do you choose what to recommend after Fourth Wing?
By matching the things readers actually love about it - the dragons, the danger and the romance - not by what an algorithm pairs it with. Our editorial team curates these picks, informed by our Reader Review Panel, so each delivers the same romantasy high.
More from the LoveReading blog
- What to Read After: Fourth Wing by Rebecca YarrosApril 2024
- What Is Romantasy? The Complete Guide to the Genre Everyone's Talking About (Plus Our Must-Read List)July 2023
- Debut Author Cassandra James on her swashbuckling romantasy CapitanaFebruary 2025