What to read after Fourth Wing and Iron Flame

[TooManyChangesTooSoon]

I am not usually a fantasy reader, but I just read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame in quick succession. I now need something that will captivate me as much as they did. What would you read next? Do you have a favourite fantasy book or any other book that took you out of the world and daily life?

My favourite fantasy book is The Black Witch by L Forest. Love it. Fourth Wing and Iron Flame are on my list.

A deadly education. First of a trilogy - all excellent.

Seconded

Following, I’m in exactly the same boat. Nothing is scratching the itch FW & IF have left me with. I tried ACOTAR but hated it!

Someone recently recommended the Throne of Glass Series but I haven’t read it yet

It's good and the writing matures as you go from book 1 towards kingdom of ash. One of my faves.

Btw I changed genre and read something completely different afterward which helped with my expectations as I wasn’t for the same thing

I loved these books too and felt a bit bereft after finishing them so I plunged straight into the Twilight series! I'd never read them before (or seen the films) because I thought I wouldn't like vampires, but, pre Fourth Wing, I'd thought I wouldn't like dragon books either so I gave the vampires a go. I demolished the whole series pretty quickly and can't believe I never considered reading them at the time they were published.

It seems that the onset of the menopause has caused me to have a serious emotional regression in my reading material, but an obsession with YA fiction feels like a fairly harmless mid-life crisis.

@QueenOfToast I have a bit of a love/ hate relationship with the films. I have watched them all many times. Are they worth reading even if you know the films really well?

I just remembered that I read the discovery of witches trilogy some years ago and absolutely loved the books. Much better than the series…. even with Mathew Goode

I second throne of glass which apart from the odd writing quirk (please stop with the throat bobbing....), I thought was really enjoyable and I loved the story and characters. I think it's streets ahead of acotar.

I love dragon riders of pern, but it's old school and I think it's more if you like the dragons rather than the sexy fantasy element. I love a good dragon story...

@TooManyChangesTooSoon I think you might enjoy the books more than the films. This is nearly always the case for me; if I enjoy the book I don't usually enjoy the film. I started watching the first Twilight film recently but gave up because the vampires weren't as good looking as I'd imagined in my head so I was disappointed 😂

There is a (relatively) new Twilight book - it was published in 2020 I think - that re-tells the first book from Edward's point of view. I loved that one too and maybe it would offer you a different perspective if you already know the films well.

Oh- try black jewels trilogy by Anne bishop. A bit different on the fantasy genre but very good series but some triggers.