Books Like Fourth Wing

The book that arguably started the modern romantasy boom. Poppy is a Maiden destined for the gods, Hawke is her guard with a dangerous secret, and their forbidden attraction builds with the same slow-burn intensity that makes Fourth Wing so addictive. The world-building expands dramatically across the series and the romance delivers everything it promises. If you loved Xaden and Violet, Hawke and Poppy will own you.

Jude is a mortal girl in the faerie world, desperately wanting to belong, and Cardan is the cruel fae prince who despises her. Black pioneered the enemies-to-lovers slow burn that Fourth Wing perfected — the banter is sharp, the tension is unbearable, and the power dynamics shift in ways you won't see coming. The Folk of the Air trilogy is essential reading for anyone obsessed with characters who hate each other until they absolutely don't.

If Fourth Wing is your first Maas, you have a treat waiting. A Court of Thorns and Roses builds a fae world with the same addictive pacing and romantic tension, and ACOTAR and ACOMAF are two of the most beloved romantasy novels ever written. Feyre is a hunter who ends up in the fae world, and what follows is a sweeping romance with real darkness underneath. The series only gets bigger and bolder as it goes.

For readers who want dragons but with more epic fantasy weight and less romance. The Priory of the Orange Tree is a standalone 800-page epic with female dragon riders, political intrigue across multiple kingdoms, and a mythology built around the ancient war between dragons and their enemies. Shannon's world-building is extraordinary and the dragons here feel genuinely ancient and alien rather than romantic companions.

If what you loved about Fourth Wing was the bond between rider and dragon, Sanderson's stormspren bonds in the Stormlight Archive scratch a similar itch with much more elaborate world-building. Kaladin's bond with Sylphrena is one of the great relationships in modern fantasy. The books are slower and more complex than Fourth Wing but reward patience with some of the most satisfying payoffs in the genre.

Dark fantasy romance that went viral on BookTok for similar reasons to Fourth Wing — a deadly tournament, a forbidden romance with a dangerous man, and a female protagonist who has to be ruthless to survive. Oraya is a human raised by the vampire king, entering a brutal competition where everyone wants her dead. The pacing is relentless and the romance has the same push-pull tension that Yarros does so well.

A sweeping fantasy inspired by the Chinese legend of Chang'e, following Xingyin as she trains as a celestial soldier to free her mother from imprisonment. The training arc, the forbidden romance with a prince, and the mythological world-building give it a similar feel to Fourth Wing's academy sections but in a completely different cultural register. Gorgeous, emotional, and with a romance that earns every moment.

Maas's other mega-series starts with a female assassin competing in a tournament to become the king's champion and builds into one of the most beloved multi-book fantasy romances ever written. The later books in the Throne of Glass series go places that will genuinely shock you, and the slow-burn romance across eight books has a payoff that fans still talk about years later. Essential for Fourth Wing readers who want more Maas-style intensity.