If you’ve been scrolling through BookTok lately, you’ve probably caught wind of the sizzling fantasy fever that’s been taking over since 2020. As the site Women reported, Sarah J. Maas’ spellbinding series like A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City have set the stage, making fantasy novels with a touch of romance the hottest pick on Kindles and bookstore shelves. Now, as of 2024, there’s a new kid on the block making waves on BookTok: Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean. With titles like Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, this series is lighting up Kindles across the globe.
Fourth Wing is not just any book – it’s a New York Times bestseller, and guess what? It has found a home in over 2 million hearts around the world since its launch in December 2023. Now, its sidekick, Iron Flame, also seems to be on a similar track, flying off the virtual shelves with over 100,000 copies sold in just its first month. Shannon DeVito, the book guru at Barnes and Noble, spilled the beans, calling Iron Flame one of the most anticipated books of the year. It even snagged the top two spots on Amazon’s Most Sold and Most Read lists for fiction during the week of January 14, 2024.
Also, if you have been wondering what’s the hype all about, here is what the Empyrean series is all about. The Fourth Wing kicks off with Violet Sorrengail navigating the college scene at Basgiath, dreaming of a peaceful life away from the chaos. But life has other plans for her – dragon riders and all. To put it in another way, the story marks a perfect blend of slow-burn romance and fantasy.
In Iron Flame, Violet survives her first year at Basgiath, but the drama is just getting started. Learning the ropes of dragon riding is tough, and to add a cherry on top, the new vice commandant isn’t exactly Violet’s biggest fan. To make mattery even more tricky, Violet is sitting on a secret that could turn Basgiath upside down.
With reviews pouring in like a waterfall, it’s clear that readers are hooked. Book influencer @wordstoescape even said, “I will repeatedly recommend this series for newbies to romantasy.” Also, if you like your stories fast-paced, this one’s a winner.
But the Empyrean journey doesn’t end with Iron Flame. Hold on to your dragons because Rebecca Yarros spilled the beans to Entertainment Weekly – a third book is in the works, though it’s taking a bit more time. That’s not all; there are talks with Amazon and Michael B Jordan’s Outlier for a TV series as well sometime in the future.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
