Fourth Wing: Empyrean, Book 1

A #1 New York Times bestseller • TV series in development at MGM Amazon Studios with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society • Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 • Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 • Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 • NPR “Books We Love” 2023 • Audible Best Books of 2023 • Hudson Book of the Year • Google Play Best Books of 2023 • Indigo Best Books of 2023 • Waterstones Book of the Year finalist • Goodreads Choice Award Winner • Newsweek Staffers’ Favorite Books of 2023 • Paste Magazine's Best Books of 2023

"Suspenseful, sexy, and with incredibly entertaining storytelling, the first in Yarros' Empyrean series will delight fans of romantic, adventure-filled fantasy."Booklist, starred review

"Fourth Wing will have your heart pounding from beginning to end... A fantasy like you've never read before." ―#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout


Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Fourth Wing
Book #2 Iron Flame
Book #3 Onyx Storm

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Published May 2, 2023

Average rating: 8.92

9,286 RATINGS

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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Fourth Wing* offers immersive worldbuilding blending dragon lore and magical tension, often captivating with its fiery romance and charac...

Hittlady26
May 15, 2025
10/10 stars
Loved it!!!
kanderson2906
Mar 02, 2026
9/10 stars
This book made me fall in love with dragons incorporated into the romance/fantasy genre. I expect to see them everywhere now.
The.readrose
Jan 28, 2026
10/10 stars
This book was great and it reminded me of Divergent, but with dragons! I had a lot of fun reading this story and these characters. It was nice to see a main character with chronic pain, so I liked seeing that representation. It was refreshing to see how our pain can be thought of as a strength, instead of just a burden.

“Mira, Violet deals with more pain before lunch than you do in an entire week. If any of my children is capable of surviving the Riders Quadrant, it’s her.”
RM
Jan 18, 2026
6/10 stars
I’m just not a dragon person. But I gave it a try due to all the hype. I really like otherRebecca Yarros books - just not this one.
CeLynasings
Dec 31, 2025
10/10 stars
Why did I wait so long to start this series!!! Not once did I see any of it coming!! The ending was so far from what I ever imagined!!! I can’t wait to dive into the next book.

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