Sarah J. Maas
The queen of romantasy. ACOTAR and Fourth Wing share a huge overlapping fanbase.
Rebecca Yarros was a well-established romance author for a decade before Fourth Wing turned her into a global phenomenon in 2023. The dragon-riding military academy novel took BookTok by storm and sold millions of copies in its first year. Yarros is a military spouse who draws on that background for the military settings in many of her books. She writes both contemporary romance and the newer romantasy series that made her a household name.
New to Yarros? Start with Fourth Wing (2023) - a tight, self-contained read that is the definitive Yarros experience.
Every major novel in the order they were published. Start anywhere or read top to bottom.
| # | Book | Year | Rating | Where to read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full Measures Full Measures Contemporary Romance | 2014 | 4.1 | |
| 2 | Eyes Turned Skyward Eyes Turned Skyward Contemporary Romance | 2014 | 4.2 | |
| 3 | The Last Letter The Last Letter Contemporary Romance | 2019 | 4.3 | |
| 4 | Great and Precious Things Great and Precious Things Contemporary Romance | 2020 | 4.2 | |
| 5 | The Things We Leave Unfinished The Things We Leave Unfinished Contemporary Romance | 2021 | 4.3 | |
| 6 | In the Likely Event In the Likely Event Contemporary Romance | 2023 | 3.8 | |
| 7 | Fourth Wing Fourth WingStart here Romantasy | 2023 | 4.3 | |
| 8 | Iron Flame Iron Flame Romantasy | 2023 | 3.9 | |
| 9 | Onyx Storm Onyx Storm Romantasy | 2025 | 3.7 |
Yarros's standalones are most of the work, but these series reward reading in order.
The most complete on-ramp to Yarros: a contained story that shows exactly why this author matters.
Authors and series with the same grip.
The queen of romantasy. ACOTAR and Fourth Wing share a huge overlapping fanbase.
From Blood and Ash has the same fantasy-romance blend. If you want more while waiting for the next Empyrean book.
A different genre, but the same BookTok-driven readership. If you came to Yarros through romance rather than fantasy.
No. Fourth Wing is a completely separate series from her contemporary romances. You can start there and go back to her earlier books if you want.
Yarros has said the series will be five books. Three are out as of 2025.
Fourth Wing and Iron Flame have explicit romantic content. Her contemporary romances vary, but most are on the steamier side. They're marketed as adult, not YA.