The closest books to Fourth Wing are Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass, Fireborne, The Cruel Prince, Red Queen, and, for dragons, Eragon and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
A ready-made idea to start: «Xaden Riorson's POV of Conscription Day: he watches General Sorrengail's daughter step onto the Parapet and decides whether to let her fall.»
Generate this storyBelow are 8 picks, each with what it shares with Basgiath, what's different and how spicy it gets. After the list you'll find fanfic directions for the wait until Empyrean book 4.
"Books like Fourth Wing" means different things to different readers. Most Rebecca Yarros fans are chasing one of these:
Quick routing: for dragons, go to Eragon, Fireborne and Priory. For romance and tension, go to Maas and Holly Black. For a school where you can die, go to Throne of Glass and A Deadly Education.
Why FW fans like it: this is the series that kicked off the romantasy boom. A mortal heroine lands in a faerie world where everyone outclasses her, and the most dangerous man in the room turns out to matter most. The Rhysand/Xaden comparisons are everywhere for a reason.
What's different: no dragons, no army, no college. Book one is a Beauty and the Beast retelling; the series really takes off in book two. Spice level is similar to Yarros.
We collect fanfics set in Maas's world under ACOTAR. Want both worlds at once? Write a Violet-in-the-Night-Court crossover.
Why FW fans like it: Celaena Sardothien is pulled out of a prison mine to compete for the title of King's Champion, and rivals start turning up dead. It has the same "survive this week" pressure as Violet's first year. From book three on, the Ironteeth witches ride wyverns, and Manon's storyline with Abraxos is the closest Maas gets to dragon riders.
What's different: book one is more palace intrigue than combat, and it's an eight-book series that takes a while to open up.
Why FW fans like it: the most direct match on this list. Young dragonriders compete for the top rank in their city's aerial fleet. Annie and Lee grew up together and are now rivals, and the tension between them builds slowly.
What's different: it's YA with no explicit scenes and a heavier focus on politics and the aftermath of a revolution.
Why FW fans like it: Jude is a mortal raised among the fae, who despise her and could kill her on a whim. She can't out-muscle them, so she out-schemes them. Her rivalry with Prince Cardan is one of the best-loved enemies-to-lovers arcs in the genre.
What's different: court politics instead of dragons and war. Sharper and meaner in tone, with very little spice.
Why FW fans like it: Mare Barrow is a lowborn Red who suddenly manifests lightning, just like Violet's signet. Society is split between a privileged elite and the people sent to die at the front, and nobody at court can be trusted.
What's different: YA, no explicit content. There's romance, but betrayal and politics drive the plot.
Why FW fans like it: if the telepathic dragon bond is what hooked you, this is the classic. Saphira talks to Eragon in his head, argues with him, and has a pride that will remind you of Tairn.
What's different: very little romance. It reads as traditional epic fantasy, not romantasy.
Why FW fans like it: a huge standalone where dragons are both allies and threat. Tané has trained her whole life to become a dragonrider, which is the closest thing here to Threshing.
What's different: no college or squad, multiple POVs, a sapphic romance, and a slower pace.
Why FW fans like it: the Scholomance is a school that actively tries to kill its students. El is sarcastic, abrasive and sitting on a terrifying power. If you loved the "any day could be your last" mood, start here.
What's different: no dragons, and the romance is slow and secondary.
Fourth Wing is book one of Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series. The reading order so far:
As of October 2026, book 4 has no official title or release date. Yarros has confirmed she is writing it.
Until book 4 lands, the fandom fills the gaps itself. Our Fourth Wing fanfiction shelf has finished stories, and these are the directions readers ask for most. Each link opens the generator with the idea already filled in.
The books stay in Violet's head, so everything Xaden thought on the Parapet is off-page. Write chapter one from Xaden's side.
Basgiath as a real-world military academy: Xaden is a senior, Violet is the cadet who was never supposed to be there. Find more under alternate universe. Try the modern AU.
Rhiannon, Ridoc, Imogen and Liam all have their own dragons and their own pasts. Write Rhiannon's story.
If you want the tension to last longer than it does in the book, browse slow burn. Write a Violet and Xaden slow burn.
For the world rules worth knowing before you write, see our Fourth Wing fanfic guide.
Written by the Fanficia editorial team: drafted with AI assistance, edited and fact-checked by a human. How we write: editorial policy
Describe the idea — the AI drafts a chapter and you stay the editor.
A ready-made idea to start: «Xaden Riorson's POV of Conscription Day: he watches General Sorrengail's daughter step onto the Parapet and decides whether to let her fall.»
Generate this story →56 concrete fanfic ideas and prompts, sorted by trope (enemies to lovers, fake dating, found family) and by fandom, each with a one-click link to start writing. Plus a five-step method for finding your own.
A complete fanfic tropes list: 54 romance, emotional, plot, and AU tropes, each explained in a line or two with a fandom example.
AU stands for alternate universe: the same characters in a changed world. Here is how an AU differs from regular fanfic, what Modern AU means, and 15 AU types with fandom examples.
What Y/N stands for, how reader inserts differ from imagines and preferences, how to write second person well, and which fandoms have the most x Reader fics.
The Fanficia blog is written by the Fanficia editorial team. We draft with AI assistance; a human editor checks the facts and fandom terminology, rewrites the text and signs off on every post. Spotted a mistake? Email support@fanficia.com and we will fix it and update the article date.
How we write: editorial policy →