Rebecca Yarros couldn’t sell her first novel. No publisher would take it. But this week, 14 years later, legions of her devoted readers turned up to more than a thousand midnight-release parties held to celebrate the publication of her latest book.
In the UK alone, more than 180,000 copies of Onyx Storm, the third instalment of Yarros’s blockbuster Empyrean series, sold on day one of publication on Tuesday. Nearly 60 Waterstones branches held late-night parties or opened early on Tuesday morning to mark the occasion. And after some TikTok users posted videos showing that they had managed to buy the book in Asda ahead of its official release, other fans filmed themselves scouring their local branches trying to get their hands on early copies too.
Along with Sarah J Maas, Yarros is at the forefront of the romantasy genre, writing stories that combine elements of fantasy and romance. The first two books of the Empyrean series, Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, follow 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail as she makes her way through dragon-rider training at Basgiath War College. Her enemies-to-lovers romance with Xaden Riorson is central to the story, and in the third instalment, her mission is to save him.
On the eve of publication, fans queued outside Waterstones branches all over the country. “Quite a few people were dressed up as characters from the books which was so fun to see,” said Jennifer, 27, an ocean logistics agent who runs the TikTok account @Jennifersbookcase_ and who attended a launch party in the Liverpool Waterstones.
Once inside, attendees made friendship bracelets, decorated tote bags, and competed in quizzes. There were dragon-themed temporary tattoos and cupcakes, as well as raffles and lucky dips.
“The atmosphere was amazing”, said Dana Holland, a teaching assistant who was inspired to create her TikTok account, @abookishbae, because of Yarros’s books, and who attended a Waterstones launch party in Portsmouth. “We all went for the same purpose, so everyone was really friendly.” Holland has already made plans with people she met at the event.
“The closer it got to midnight, the more buzzed the atmosphere was, as everyone was so eager to receive their book,” said 28-year-old Sarah Walters who runs Sarah’s Book Nook, selling “blind date with a book” boxes, and who attended a launch party at Manchester’s Trafford Centre.
“The extraordinary momentum of the Empyrean series has been nothing short of remarkable, and we are absolutely thrilled by the first-day sales,” said a spokesperson from Yarros’s UK publisher Little, Brown. “Seeing fans come out in large numbers to be the first to get their hands on Onyx Storm at midnight is a testament to the spectacular growth of the series and Rebecca’s fanbase.”
Why are Yarros’s books such a hit? For Walters, they have an “addictive” element – the fast pacing makes readers “race through”. BookTok – the corner of TikTok where users share book recommendations – has a lot to do with it: Yarros “has a very loyal fanbase on socials”. There are already more than 125,000 TikToks tagged #OnyxStorm.
That the Empyrean series rewards rereading may also contribute to its popularity, says Jennifer, who has read the first two books three times. You “finish each read with a new favourite character or new piece of the world that had gone completely unnoticed in previous readthroughs”. Yarros also “excels at breathing life into side characters”, she says.
Like Yarros and her four sons, Violet has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). “I can’t speak on behalf of the EDS community, but I think a lot of people feel seen by a main character who suffers from symptoms of EDS,” says Walters. “For that community, it’s been the first time it has been portrayed in a fantasy book, and it’s important that she is still portrayed as a tough and capable character.”
Walters said that there has been “such bad discourse in the media lately” in response to the rise of romantasy. “No one should be shamed for the books they enjoy, and no one should be made to feel less than others for the books they read.”
