If Fourth Wing left you desperate for more dragon riders, military academies, and enemies-to-lovers tension, these 13 authors like Rebecca Yarros will keep you reading all night.
Rebecca Yarros became one of the biggest names in publishing when Fourth Wing landed in 2023 and took over BookTok practically overnight. The Empyrean series — set in a brutal dragon-rider military academy — blends high-stakes fantasy with scorching romance in a way that hit a nerve with millions of readers. Before that, Yarros had already built a loyal following with her contemporary romance novels, including the Flight & Glory series and The Things We Leave Unfinished.
What makes Yarros stand out is her ability to write genuinely dangerous worlds where the romance feels earned. Violet Sorrengail doesn’t just fall for Xaden Riorson because he’s brooding and attractive — their relationship grows through conflict, trust, and survival. The “romantasy” genre (romance plus fantasy) existed before Fourth Wing, but Yarros brought it to a mainstream audience in a way no one had managed before.
For more recommendations, explore our guides to best fantasy authors, authors like Sarah J. Maas, and best dark romance books.
Authors Like Rebecca Yarros
1. Sarah J. Maas
Sarah J. Maas is the undisputed queen of romantasy. Her A Court of Thorns and Roses series has sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, and A Court of Mist and Fury in particular delivers the kind of slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers arc that Fourth Wing fans crave. Maas started with the YA Throne of Glass series before pivoting to adult fantasy romance with ACOTAR and Crescent City.
If you loved the political intrigue and escalating tension between Violet and Xaden, Feyre and Rhysand’s relationship in ACOTAR follows a similar trajectory — mistrust, forced proximity, and a bond that becomes unbreakable. Maas writes longer books with more elaborate world-building, but the emotional payoff is massive.
“To the stars who listen — and the dreams that are answered.”
Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Mist and Fury
2. Jennifer L. Armentrout
Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash kicked off a series that reads like it was engineered in the same lab as Fourth Wing. You get a chosen-one heroine, a dangerous love interest with secrets, and a fantasy world where everything is trying to kill the main character. Armentrout is incredibly prolific — she publishes multiple books a year across several series.
The Blood and Ash series leans heavier into the romance than some pure fantasy readers might expect, but that’s the appeal. Armentrout doesn’t make you wait hundreds of pages for the tension to pay off. She writes fast, she writes hot, and she keeps the plot moving.
“I am the first and the last. The beginning and the end.”
Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash
3. Carissa Broadbent
If Fourth Wing scratched an itch you didn’t know you had, The Serpent and the Wings of Night will tear it wide open. Broadbent self-published this vampire fantasy romance that exploded on BookTok in 2023, and for good reason — it features a deadly tournament, a human heroine fighting to survive among vampires, and a slow-burn romance that builds beautifully across the Crowns of Nyaxia series.
Broadbent’s writing is sharper than you might expect from the genre. Oraya is a fantastic protagonist: smart, stubborn, and unwilling to be anyone’s damsel. The power dynamic between her and Raihn mirrors the Violet-Xaden tension in the best way.
“I had spent my whole life fighting to not be prey. I refused to start now.”
Carissa Broadbent, The Serpent and the Wings of Night
4. Holly Black
Holly Black writes fae fantasy with teeth. Her The Cruel Prince trilogy follows a mortal girl raised in the faerie court who goes head-to-head with the cruel, magnetic Prince Cardan. If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers where the “enemies” part is genuine and not just mild inconvenience, Black delivers.
Black has been writing fantasy for over two decades, and her understanding of faerie politics and power dynamics is second to none. The Folk of the Air trilogy is tighter and darker than most romantasy, with a heroine who schemes and fights her way to power rather than having it handed to her.
“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”
Holly Black, The Cruel Prince
5. Leigh Bardugo
Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows is one of the best fantasy heist novels ever written, and her Grishaverse world spans multiple series with distinct flavours. Shadow and Bone offers a chosen-one narrative with a dark, compelling antagonist, while Six of Crows delivers an ensemble cast pulling off an impossible heist. Her adult novel Ninth House takes a hard left into dark academia at Yale.
For Fourth Wing fans, the Shadow and Bone trilogy is the closest match — military setting, magical abilities, and a romance complicated by loyalty and betrayal. Bardugo’s prose is more literary than most in the genre, and her villains are genuinely menacing.
“No mourners. No funerals.”
Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows
6. Kerri Maniscalco
Kerri Maniscalco’s Kingdom of the Wicked series combines Italian-inspired fantasy with a demon prince love interest and a witch protagonist out for revenge. Kingdom of the Wicked starts as a murder mystery and evolves into a full-blown enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance across three books.
The series gets progressively steamier and more complex, which mirrors the Empyrean series’ trajectory. Maniscalco also wrote the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, proving she can handle both historical mystery and fantasy equally well. If you want your romance served with a side of vengeance, she’s your author.
“I am not the girl who needed saving. I am the one who does the saving.”
Kerri Maniscalco, Kingdom of the Wicked
7. Elise Kova
Elise Kova’s Air Awakens series follows a librarian who discovers magical abilities and gets pulled into a war alongside a brooding prince. Sound familiar? Kova wrote this series before Fourth Wing existed, and the parallels are striking — an academic heroine forced into a military role, developing both powers and a complicated romance.
Kova is an indie author who has built a dedicated readership through consistent quality and direct engagement with fans. Her Vortex Chronicles continues the world of Air Awakens, and she’s also written A Deal with the Elf King, a standalone fantasy romance that works perfectly for readers who want the romantasy vibe in a single book.
“Books were my first love, but I found something even more powerful in the magic of living.”
Elise Kova
8. Grace Draven
Grace Draven’s Radiance is a fantasy romance about an arranged marriage between two people from different species who find each other physically repulsive — and then slowly, genuinely fall in love. It’s the opposite of instalove, and the slow build is what makes it extraordinary.
If you appreciate how Yarros builds the relationship between Violet and Xaden through grudging respect before affection, Draven does something similar but with even more patience. The Wraith Kings series is warm where a lot of romantasy is dark, which makes it a refreshing change of pace. If you’re writing your own romance, tools like Grammarly can help you polish dialogue and pacing to this standard.
“I think you are beautiful, wife.”
Grace Draven, Radiance
9. Danielle L. Jensen
Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom features a princess trained since birth to destroy a neighbouring kingdom who falls in love with its king. The enemies-to-lovers setup is baked into the premise, and Jensen handles the shift from antagonism to trust with real skill.
Jensen writes military fantasy romance where the strategic and political elements aren’t just window dressing — they drive the plot. The Bridge Kingdom series has been compared to Fourth Wing frequently, and both share a focus on competent heroines in dangerous political situations who refuse to be used as pawns.
“I was raised to be a weapon. I chose to become a queen.”
Danielle L. Jensen, The Bridge Kingdom
10. Ilona Andrews
Ilona Andrews is the pen name of a husband-wife writing duo behind the Kate Daniels series and Hidden Legacy series. Magic Bites kicks off a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy with one of the best heroines in the genre — Kate Daniels is sarcastic, deadly, and fiercely independent.
The romance in Kate Daniels is a genuine slow burn across multiple books, which is rare. If you liked how Yarros made readers wait for Violet and Xaden to get together, Andrews stretches that tension even further. The world-building is wild (magic and technology alternate in waves), and the action sequences are some of the best in urban fantasy.
“I don’t need to be saved. I need ammunition.”
Ilona Andrews, Magic Bites
11. Laura Thalassa
Laura Thalassa’s The Bargainer series starts with Rhapsodic, a dark fae romance about a woman who made hundreds of bargains with a dangerous fae king — and now he’s come to collect. The premise alone hooks you, and Thalassa’s execution lives up to it.
Thalassa also wrote the Four Horsemen series, which reimagines the biblical apocalypse as a dark romance. If that sounds unhinged, it absolutely is, but it works. Her heroes are morally gray to the point of being genuinely dangerous, which mirrors the appeal of Xaden Riorson.
“I’ll be your salvation or your ruin. The choice has always been yours.”
Laura Thalassa, Rhapsodic
12. Susan Dennard
Susan Dennard’s Truthwitch launched the Witchlands series, featuring two best friends with magical abilities caught up in political intrigue and war. The world-building is complex, with multiple magic systems and warring nations, and the friendships are as central as the romance.
Dennard co-created the blog “Pub(lishing) Crawl” and is deeply involved in the writing community. Her work appeals to Fourth Wing fans who appreciate the military and political dimensions of Yarros’ world, not just the romance. The action set pieces in the Witchlands series are genuinely thrilling.
“We are the Threadsisters, and we will not be broken.”
Susan Dennard, Truthwitch
13. C.L. Wilson
C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series, starting with Lord of the Fading Lands, is a fantasy romance about a fierce Fey king who discovers his fated mate is a shy woodcarver’s daughter. The series is older than the current romantasy boom, but it helped establish many of the tropes that Fourth Wing and similar books use today.
Wilson writes epic fantasy romance with genuine stakes — wars, political betrayals, and dark magic that threatens to destroy everything. The fated-mate bond between Rain and Ellysetta is intense, and the world-building is detailed enough to satisfy readers who come for the fantasy as much as the romance.
“I would burn the world to ash before I let anything happen to you.”
C.L. Wilson, Lord of the Fading Lands