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Fourth Wing Spice Level and Content Notes

By Rebecca Yarros. Last checked .

Spice level

4/5

Several explicit scenes

“There are a few fairly explicit sex scenes, make-out scenes, and scenes that describe desire, longing, and lust.”

Source: Common Sense Media, checked Oct 12, 2026. We place that description on the FaeShelf 0 to 5 spice scale.

Looking for chapter numbers? Fourth Wing spicy chapters lists the 3 chapters that at least two independent guides name (18+).

Book facts

Author
Rebecca Yarros
Series
Book 1 of The Empyrean
Publisher
Red Tower Books (Entangled Publishing)
First published
May 2, 2023 (Goodreads)
US edition on sale
May 2, 2023, Entangled edition, ISBN 9781649374080 (publisher)
Pages
514, Entangled edition, ISBN 9781649374080 (publisher)
Shelved as
New adult (publisher)
Age rating
16+ (Common Sense Media)
Goodreads
4.56 from 4.00M ratings on Goodreads as of Oct 12, 2026

On screen: Fourth Wing TV series at Prime Video (Amazon MGM Studios). Status: series ordered, reported May 11, 2026. Adaptation status and sources

Content notes

  • Violence: War, battle, hand-to-hand combat, blood, intense violence and brutal injuries. “war, battle, hand-to-hand combat, perilous situations, blood, intense violence, brutal injuries” (Rebecca Yarros's site)
  • Death: Death and poisoning. “brutal injuries, death, poisoning, graphic language” (Rebecca Yarros's site)
  • Strong language: Graphic language. “poisoning, graphic language, and sexual activities” (Rebecca Yarros's site)
  • Sexual content: Sex shown on the page. “sexual activities that are shown on the page” (Rebecca Yarros's site)

A book missing from this list is not guaranteed to be free of that content.

Tropes and creatures

Only tags the publisher’s own description names, with its wording.

  • Dragons“Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders” (source)
  • Enemies to lovers“TROPES: OVERCOMING ODDS, ENEMIES TO LOVERS” (source)
  • Overcoming odds“TROPES: OVERCOMING ODDS, ENEMIES TO LOVERS” (source)
  • War college“Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders” (source)

Read it or skip it

Read it if

  • You want several explicit scenes that are a notable part of the book (4/5 per Common Sense Media).
  • You want dragons, enemies to lovers and overcoming odds, as the publisher's description puts it.
  • You want to start a series: this is book 1 of The Empyrean.

Skip it if

  • You want romance without explicit sex (4/5 per Common Sense Media).
  • You want to avoid violence on the page (listed by Rebecca Yarros's site).

Fourth Wing FAQ

Is Fourth Wing spicy?

It is 4/5 (several explicit scenes) on the FaeShelf 0 to 5 scale, based on Common Sense Media: "There are a few fairly explicit sex scenes, make-out scenes, and scenes that describe desire, longing, and lust."

Is Fourth Wing YA or adult?

The publisher shelves it as new adult. Common Sense Media rates it 16+ (checked Oct 12, 2026).

Is Fourth Wing part of a series?

Yes. It is book 1 of The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros. The next book is Iron Flame.

When did Fourth Wing come out?

Goodreads lists it as first published May 2, 2023. Entangled Publishing lists this edition on sale May 2, 2023: Entangled edition, ISBN 9781649374080.

What content notes does Fourth Wing have?

Rebecca Yarros's site lists war, battle, hand-to-hand combat, blood, intense violence and brutal injuries, death and poisoning, graphic language and sex shown on the page. A book missing a note is not guaranteed to be free of that content.

Same series: The Empyrean

In our guides

How we checked this

This page draws on 4 source pages, each linked next to the fact it supports, last checked on Oct 12, 2026. Spice comes only from a named review or the author’s or publisher’s own content notes, quoted as published and placed on our 0 to 5 scale; reader shelves and fan sites are not used. Ratings change daily, so the Goodreads figure is a dated snapshot. Read more about our sources, or browse all books.