Rise of the Romantasy

Violet Sorrengail thought she would be a scribe. The bookish 20-year-old was trained by her father to transcribe the empire of Navarre’s archives — but when Violet’s father dies, and her ruthless commanding general of a mother demands that she become an elite warrior known as a “dragon rider,” Violet must accept. Violet’s arrival at Basgiath War College is complicated by her weak bones, terrible fighting technique, and a boy: the dreamy son of a revolutionary whom Violet’s mother killed years earlier. So begins Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing, the first book in her Empyrean series. The third novel in the series, Onyx Storm, was released in January. After selling nearly 3 million copies in its first week, the book became the fastest-selling adult title in at least 20 years. Yarros’s novels have taken the fantasy/romance scene (romantasy, they call it) by storm.

Thriller and fantasy novels are making young adults love to read again and are particularly appealing to a generation of readers who grew up with Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson series and spin-offs, The Hunger Games, Twilight, City of Bones, and more. Most of these series for teenagers were consuming. We were swept up in fantasy worlds until we aged out of them.

About the Author

Haley Strack

Haley Strack is a former staff writer at National Review.

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Violet Sorrengail thought she would be a scribe. The bookish 20-year-old was trained by her father to transcribe the empire of Navarre’s archives — but when Violet’s father dies, and her ruthless commanding general of a mother demands that she become an elite warrior known as a “dragon rider,” Violet must accept. Violet’s arrival at Basgiath War College is complicated by her weak bones, terrible fighting technique, and a boy: the dreamy son of a revolutionary whom Violet’s mother killed years earlier. So begins Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing, the first book in her Empyrean series. The third novel in the series, Onyx Storm, was released in January. After selling nearly 3 million copies in its first week, the book became the fastest-selling adult title in at least 20 years. Yarros’s novels have taken the fantasy/romance scene (romantasy, they call it) by storm.

Thriller and fantasy novels are making young adults love to read again and are particularly appealing to a generation of readers who grew up with Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, the Percy Jackson series and spin-offs, The Hunger Games, Twilight, City of Bones, and more. Most of these series for teenagers were consuming. We were swept up in fantasy worlds until we aged out of them.