Iron Flame (The Empyrean)

The world-building of Leigh Bardugo meets the romance of Sarah J. Maas in this breakout fantasy novel from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros Violet Sorrengail isn’t meant to be a rider. She was supposed to be a scribe, living quietly among books. Now, under orders from the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—Violet joins the hundreds striving to become the elite of Navarre. Dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away. Because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. But some would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader of the Riders Quadrant. But with each day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly. Their protective wards are failing, the death toll keeps rising, and even first-years like Violet might be called to the front lines. She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to live to see the next sunrise. Friends, enemies, lovers—everyone at Basgiath War College has a secret. Because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.