The Short Version
If you finished Fourth Wing and want the same rush, read Iron Flame first if you haven’t, then The Serpent and the Wings of Night for the closest match (a deadly trial plus an enemies-to-lovers romance), Red Rising for a brutal school where students kill each other, and The Priory of the Orange Tree for dragons on an epic scale. Below are twelve books like Fourth Wing, a comparison table, and quick lists by what you loved most.
No spoilers for Fourth Wing beyond its premise: Violet Sorrengail, a twenty-year-old raised to be a scribe, is ordered by her mother, the general who runs Basgiath War College, into the Riders Quadrant, where cadets bond with dragons or die trying.
Jump to: Comparison table · Romantasy picks · Dragon books · Deadly school books · If you liked it for… · How to choose
Books Like Fourth Wing, Compared
Length is relative to Fourth Wing, which is a long book: well over 150,000 words by our count of our copy. Spice is my own opinion. I rate Fourth Wing four and a half out of five, with open-door scenes, so “lower” means less explicit. I’ve only rated spice where I’m confident.
| Book | Author | Year | Length | Spice (our view) | Why it’s similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Flame | Rebecca Yarros | 2023 | Longer | Similar | Book two of The Empyrean, same world and voice |
| The Serpent and the Wings of Night | Carissa Broadbent | 2022 | Long | Lower | A human heroine in a deadly tournament, rival turned ally |
| Red Rising | Pierce Brown | 2014 | Medium | None on page | A brutal school where students fight and die |
| A Court of Thorns and Roses | Sarah J. Maas | 2015 | Long | Lower | Adult romantasy with explicit scenes and a dangerous fae world |
| From Blood and Ash | Jennifer L. Armentrout | 2020 | Long | Similar | Spicy romantasy, a guarded heroine and a forbidden guard |
| Throne of Glass | Sarah J. Maas | 2012 | Medium | Low | A deadly competition with rivals who start turning up dead |
| The Cruel Prince | Holly Black | 2018 | Medium | None | A mortal girl surviving a court that wants her gone |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | 2008 | Medium | None | A girl out of her depth in a contest where losing means death |
| A Deadly Education | Naomi Novik | 2020 | Medium | None | A school that kills its students, and a sarcastic narrator |
| The Priory of the Orange Tree | Samantha Shannon | 2019 | Very long | Low | Dragons, dragonriders and queens in an epic standalone |
| His Majesty’s Dragon | Naomi Novik | 2006 | Shorter | None | A man and his dragon bonded for war |
| Dragonflight | Anne McCaffrey | 1968 | Short | Low | The classic telepathic dragon-rider bond |
Romantasy Books Like Fourth Wing
These are for readers who came for Violet and Xaden as much as the dragons.
Iron Flame
Iron Flame, by Rebecca Yarros, came out in November 2023 and is book two of The Empyrean. If you haven’t read it, it’s the most obvious next step, and it is the only book here with the same characters, dragons and first-person voice. It’s longer than Fourth Wing, and in my opinion just as spicy. I won’t say anything about the plot, because almost anything would spoil the first book’s ending. After it comes Onyx Storm, from January 2025. Our Fourth Wing series guide has the full reading order and the TV news.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night
The Serpent and the Wings of Night, by Carissa Broadbent, is from 2022. Oraya is a human, the adopted daughter of a vampire king, living in a world where humans are prey. To earn her place, she enters the Kejari, a deadly tournament held in honor of the goddess of death, and ends up in an uneasy alliance with a rival vampire, Raihn.
This is my closest match for the mix that made Fourth Wing work: a physically outmatched heroine, trials where people die, and a romance that starts with distrust. It’s long, dark and adult. In my view it’s less explicit than Fourth Wing, but it has heat.
A Court of Thorns and Roses
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas, is from 2015. Feyre, nineteen, keeps her poor family alive by hunting in the woods near the wall that separates the human lands from Prythian, the land of the faeries. One kill in those woods costs her more than she expects.
It’s the book most Fourth Wing readers try next, because it’s adult romantasy with explicit scenes and a world that wants the heroine dead. There are no dragons and no academy, and the first half is slower. Our ACOTAR review covers the content in detail, and books like ACOTAR goes further.
From Blood and Ash
From Blood and Ash, by Jennifer L. Armentrout, is from 2020. Poppy is the Maiden, chosen by the gods, veiled and kept apart from everyone. Then a new guard, Hawke, is assigned to protect her, and he doesn’t follow her rules.
If the slow-burn tension between Violet and Xaden was your favorite part, this hits the same notes: a heroine who is underestimated, a guard she shouldn’t want, banter, and a world with secrets. It’s long, first person, and in my opinion about as spicy as Fourth Wing. It’s the start of a long series, so pace yourself.
The Cruel Prince
The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black, is from 2018. Jude is a mortal girl raised in the High Court of Faerie by the man who murdered her parents. She wants a place in a court that despises her, and Prince Cardan makes her life miserable.
This is the best pick for pure enemies-to-lovers energy, and like Violet, Jude survives by being smarter and more stubborn than the people who look down on her. It’s young adult, with no explicit content, so it’s a good choice if you loved the tension and could do without the open door. It’s quick and sharp, with lots of scheming.
Dragon Books Like Fourth Wing
If the dragons were the best part for you, as they were for me, start here.
The Priory of the Orange Tree
The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon, is from 2019. In the West, Queen Sabran must produce an heir to keep her realm safe, and Ead Duryan, secretly a mage, guards her. In the East, Tané trains to become a dragonrider. The two halves of the world have very different ideas about dragons.
It’s a big, serious standalone, much longer and slower than Fourth Wing, with a world that’s far more developed. If you wanted more history and politics behind the dragons, this is the one. There is a romance, but the heat is low.
His Majesty’s Dragon
His Majesty’s Dragon, by Naomi Novik, is from 2006. During the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Will Laurence’s ship captures a French vessel carrying a dragon egg. The hatchling, Temeraire, chooses Laurence, and he has to leave the navy for the Aerial Corps.
This is the book for the bond itself. Temeraire is clever, curious and loyal, and his friendship with Laurence is the heart of the series. There’s aerial combat and military life, but no romance to speak of and no spice. It’s shorter than Fourth Wing and the first of a series.
Dragonflight
Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey, is from 1968, and it’s where a lot of modern dragon-rider fantasy comes from. On the planet Pern, dragonriders protect the world from Thread, a deadly threat that falls from the sky. Lessa, a young woman hiding in plain sight, gets the chance to bond with a queen dragon.
The telepathic bond between rider and dragon will feel very familiar after Fourth Wing. It’s short and old-fashioned, with dated attitudes in places, and the romance is mild. Read it for the history of the genre and for the dragons.
Deadly Academy Books Like Fourth Wing
For readers who loved the parapet, the Gauntlet and the list of the dead.
Red Rising
Red Rising, by Pierce Brown, is from 2014. Darrow is a Red, a miner deep under the surface of Mars, at the bottom of a society divided by color. When he learns how badly his people have been lied to, he is remade to pass as a Gold and sent to the Institute, where the elite’s children are sorted into houses and fight.
The Institute is the closest thing in fiction to Basgiath’s brutality. Like Fourth Wing, it’s first person, present tense, and fast. There’s no romance focus and nothing explicit, but the violence is very high.
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is from 2008. Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister’s place in a televised contest where children fight to the death.
My review of Fourth Wing calls its academy The Hunger Games meets a military school, and this is the other half of that pitch. Katniss, like Violet, is underestimated and survives by thinking. It’s young adult, first person, present tense, with no spice and medium violence. See books like The Hunger Games for more.
Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas, is from 2012. Celaena Sardothien, an eighteen-year-old assassin, is taken out of a prison camp and offered her freedom if she wins a competition to become the King’s Champion. Then competitors start turning up dead.
It shares the tests, the rivals and the sense that anyone could be next. The romance is a slow, young-adult love triangle rather than open-door heat. It’s a good bridge if you want a long series with a heroine who grows into her power.
A Deadly Education
A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik, is from 2020. The Scholomance is a school of magic with no teachers, where monsters come up through the drains and many students don’t survive to graduation. El, the narrator, has a talent for dark magic and a very bad attitude.
If you liked Violet’s sarcasm and her survival math, El is your kind of narrator. There’s no spice and the romance is a slow, prickly rivalry. It’s a school that wants you dead, played with humor.
If You Liked Fourth Wing for This, Read That
For the dragons:
- The Priory of the Orange Tree, for dragons and dragonriders on an epic scale
- His Majesty’s Dragon, for the bond between one rider and one dragon
- Dragonflight, for the classic telepathic dragon bond
- Iron Flame, for more of the same dragons and the same world
For the war college and the trials:
- Red Rising, for the most brutal school on this list
- The Serpent and the Wings of Night, for a tournament where people die
- Throne of Glass, for a deadly competition
- A Deadly Education, for a school that kills its students
For enemies-to-lovers:
- The Cruel Prince, for the sharpest rivalry
- The Serpent and the Wings of Night, for a rival turned ally
- From Blood and Ash, for a guard she shouldn’t want
For the spice:
- From Blood and Ash and Iron Flame, about as spicy as Fourth Wing in my view
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, explicit but less frequent
For a lower-spice version:
- The Cruel Prince, Throne of Glass, Red Rising or A Deadly Education
How To Choose
For more of the same, Iron Flame. For the closest new match, The Serpent and the Wings of Night. For brutality, Red Rising. For spice, From Blood and Ash. For the most popular next step, A Court of Thorns and Roses. For the best dragons, The Priory of the Orange Tree or His Majesty’s Dragon. And for no spice at all, The Cruel Prince or A Deadly Education.
Want more Fourth Wing first? Read my Fourth Wing review for the spice guide, the ending explained (spoilers), the characters, dragons and signets guide, or the series order.
