Recommendations
What to read after Fourth Wing: 7 dragon-adjacent romantasy picks
July 23, 2026 · 5 min read read
You've inhaled Fourth Wing and Iron Flame and now you're waiting for book three like the rest of us. Here's what to read in the meantime.
Fourth Wing did to my sleep schedule what Basgiath did to Violet's ribs. If you're in the same boat — book two devoured, book three not out yet, and you need something right now — here's the shelf.
If you want more dragons
1. His Majesty's Dragon — Naomi Novik
Napoleonic Wars, but with a dragon corps. Temeraire is one of the great dragon characters in fantasy full stop. Less romance-forward than Fourth Wing, more historical adventure, and completely charming.
2. Eragon — Christopher Paolini
Yes, really. If you missed it as a teenager, the dragon-bond and quadrant-style riders' academy DNA is right there. It reads younger than Fourth Wing but the worldbuilding holds up.
If you want the magic-academy pressure cooker
3. A Deal with the Devil — Elizabeth O'Roark
Not an academy — but the enemies-to-lovers antagonism between Drew and Sloane is the closest thing to Xaden and Violet in contemporary romance. Perfect emotional palate cleanser.
4. A Study in Drowning — Ava Reid
A magical university, a gothic house, a woman doing thesis research on a poet who might be a fraud. Slower and moodier than Fourth Wing, but that "smart heroine outside her comfort zone" energy is identical.
5. Zodiac Academy — Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
This is the "I need eight more books immediately" recommendation. Rejected mates, fae academy, four love interests, and enough drama to fuel a small country. It's a lot. That's the point.
If you want the enemies-to-lovers slow burn
6. A Court of Mist and Fury — Sarah J. Maas
If somehow you haven't — this is the book. Read A Court of Thorns and Roses first, then this. The Rhys-and-Feyre reveal in ACOMAF is the same kind of "oh, oh" moment as Violet finally understanding what Xaden has been doing.
7. The Serpent and the Wings of Night — Carissa Broadbent
Vampires, a tournament to the death, a heroine who is not what she seems, and a love interest whose motives change chapter by chapter. If you loved the Threshing and the Gauntlet, this whole book is basically that vibe.
The one I'd start with
A Court of Mist and Fury if you haven't. The Serpent and the Wings of Night if you have.
And tell me — is it Team Xaden or Team Liam? I need to know.