Fantasy & Magical Realism
Forced by her commanding mother into Basgiath War College - where cadets die trying to bond with dragons and rivals will happily hasten the process - the small, chronically ill Violet Sorrengail is not expected to last a week.
Rebecca Yarros's blockbuster opener to the Empyrean series turns that brutal training-ground premise into a propulsive blend of high-stakes fantasy and steamy enemies-to-lovers romance, the two genres that fused, under its influence, into the publishing juggernaut called 'romantasy.' Yarros writes for momentum and swoon rather than lyricism, stacking cliffhangers, banter and dragon-fueled set pieces into a book engineered to be devoured, then to leave readers desperate for the sequel.
Purists may resist its conventions; millions of readers, and a #1 bestseller run, suggest it delivers exactly what its audience wants.
For anyone seeking an addictive, romantic, fast-flying fantasy - the definitional title of a genre moment - it is irresistible escapism, with a television adaptation on the way.
The book
Ordered into an elite war college for dragon riders despite her fragile health, twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail must survive lethal training, bond with a dragon, and navigate rivalries and a charged relationship with a dangerous fellow cadet.
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