If you liked
Books like Fourth Wing
by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing is what got a million BookTok readers to admit, finally, that they like dragons. Rebecca Yarros pulled romantasy into the mainstream with a war-college survival plot, a dangerous-but-tender bond between rider and dragon, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc that the genre has been refining for years. If you tore through Empyrean books one and two and need somewhere to land while you wait for the next one, these are the read-alikes our editors keep recommending. They split the elements that make Fourth Wing work: the magic-school setup, the political fantasy backbone, and the high-stakes intimate stories that romantasy borrowed from epic fantasy in the first place.
The shortlist
What to read next
Six of Crowsby Leigh Bardugo
“Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 2015 review. A crew of six outcasts attempts an impossible heist in the corrupt city of Ketterdam. The YA fantasy heist novel that defined the contemporary Grishaverse and made Bardugo the major YA fantasy writer of her generation.”
The Way of Kingsby Brandon Sanderson
“The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 2010 review. On the storm-blasted continent of Roshar, an enslaved bridgeman, a disgraced scholar, and a young prince converge as the world races toward a forgotten war. The most ambitious epic fantasy debut since A Game of Thrones.”
Mistborn: The Final Empireby Brandon Sanderson
“Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson 2006 review. A street urchin named Vin discovers she can use magic by ingesting and burning metals, and a crew of thieves recruits her for the impossible: kill the immortal Lord Ruler.”
A Game of Thronesby George R. R. Martin
“A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin 1996 review. The book that rewrote what epic fantasy was allowed to do. Westeros, the Iron Throne, the deaths nobody saw coming. Required reading.”
Children of Blood and Boneby Tomi Adeyemi
“Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 2018 review. In a West-African-inspired fantasy kingdom, a young woman fights to restore magic to her people after the king has it eradicated. The YA fantasy debut that defined the late-2010s book-club moment.”
The Fifth Seasonby N. K. Jemisin
“The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin 2015 review. On a continent where seismic activity defines life, three women's stories converge as a fifth season begins. Hugo Best Novel 2016, the first volume of the Broken Earth trilogy, and the most important fantasy debut of the 2010s.”
FAQ
Common questions about Fourth Wing read-alikes
- Are these all romantasy like Fourth Wing?
- No, and that is on purpose. Romantasy as a published category is still young and the deepest catalog of titles that scratch the Fourth Wing itch lives next door in epic fantasy. Six of Crows gives you the ensemble dynamic and the slow-burn pairings. The Way of Kings and Mistborn give you the high-stakes magic system and the intimate found-family bonds. Children of Blood and Bone has the genre-defining mentor-rider-mount tension that Fourth Wing leans on.
- Which one is closest to Fourth Wing tonally?
- Six of Crows. Same propulsive pacing, same ensemble of broken kids who become each others people, slow-burn pairings that take both books in the duology to resolve, and a willingness to put characters readers love in real peril.
- I want more dragons specifically.
- The Way of Kings has spren (not dragons but the same magical bond logic). The Fifth Season has orogenes whose power costs them everything, which mirrors Violet's bond cost. If you want literal dragons, Robin Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles and Naomi Novik's Temeraire series are the canonical recs — easy library finds, not yet reviewed here.
- What should I read while waiting for the next Empyrean book?
- Start with Six of Crows for the closest tonal match, then move to The Way of Kings if you want a deeper magic system and a longer commitment. Mistborn is the right pick if you want a complete, tightly plotted trilogy you can finish in a few weeks.
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