Read Next · Updated June 2026
You tore through the Empyrean series and now the dragons are gone and the world feels quiet. These are the romantasy reads that scratch the same itch: deadly academies, war that gets personal, and enemies-to-lovers tension with real heat. Each one is rated on the 1-5 chilli scale so you know how spicy you are getting before you start.
by Rebecca Yarros · The Empyrean #2
The obvious first step: book two opens the moment you close Fourth Wing, with higher stakes, more dragons, and the slow burn turned all the way up. Have Onyx Storm ready for straight after.
by Sarah J. Maas · ACOTAR #1
The series that built modern romantasy. It opens as a fae Beauty-and-the-Beast and detonates into one of the genre's defining love stories by book two. If you want world plus romance plus spice, this is the other essential.
by Carissa Broadbent · Crowns of Nyaxia #1
A human raised by the vampire king enters a lethal trial and has to ally with the rival she should kill. The same do-or-die competition energy as Basgiath, set in a gorgeously dark vampire court.
by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti · Zodiac Academy #1
The academy setting at its most savage and spicy: twin heroines, celestial powers, dragon shifters, and a magic school that wants them dead. Much darker and steamier than Fourth Wing, so check the content warnings first.
by Danielle L. Jensen · The Bridge Kingdom #1
A princess trained her whole life as a weapon is married into the enemy kingdom she was raised to destroy. Lower on spice, high on the warfare-meets-romance tension that makes Violet and Xaden work.
by Danielle L. Jensen · Saga of the Unfated #1
A shield-maiden bound by a blood oath to a jarl who wants to use her power to conquer the north. Big, bloody, Norse-flavoured romantasy with a slow burn that delivers. Pairs neatly with our own Norsewood Saga world.
by Lauren Roberts · The Powerless Trilogy #1
An ordinary girl hiding in a kingdom that executes the powerless falls for the prince hunting people exactly like her. Lighter on spice, addictive on forbidden-romance pacing for when you want the feelings most.
Stop reading about other people's slow burns and step into your own. Play a choose-your-own-adventure romantasy where every choice shapes the plot and the romance, or write your own spicy book boyfriend from scratch and bring him to life.
Finish the Empyrean series itself: Iron Flame, then Onyx Storm. After that, A Court of Thorns and Roses and The Serpent and the Wings of Night are the most-recommended next steps for dragon-rider and enemies-to-lovers fans.
Zodiac Academy sits at the top of the scale (a full 5 chillies) and leans dark, so check its content warnings. ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, and The Serpent and the Wings of Night land around a 4.
Yes. The Bridge Kingdom and Powerless sit closer to a 2, focusing on tension, longing, and slow-burn payoff rather than explicit scenes.
It is the standard romance-reader heat scale, from 1 (sweet, closed-door) to 5 (very explicit, open-door). It rates only how steamy the on-page romance gets, so you can match a book to your taste before you start.
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