What to know about ‘Onyx Storm’ by Rebecca Yarros

The blurb for Rebecca Yarros’ “Onyx Storm” was released Thursday, giving fans more details about what the highly anticipated book will be about.
Yarros shared an Instagram post featuring a video of voice actor Michael Eok reading the blurb for the novel, which provides a glimpse of what journey awaits for its protagonist, Violet Sorrengail.
“Hello Fourth Wing readers, it’s so good to see you again,” said Eok, who lends his voice to the character of Tairn in the series and whose voice was also featured in the “Onyx Storm” teaser.
“I am excited, I can’t stop smiling because Rebecca Yarros and Red Tower Books have given me the privilege, the honor of reading to you something very very special,” he added. “The synopsis, the blurb for ‘Onyx Storm.'”
Listen to Eok’s reading of the blurb here and read the blurb for “Onyx Storm” below:
After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons.
No more time for uncertainty.
Because the battle has truly begun; and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre.
The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves – her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.
They need an army.
They need power.
They need magic.
And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.
But a storm is coming… and not everyone can survive its wrath.
Read more about “Onyx Storm” below.
In early September, Yarros said “Onyx Storm,” is “finished and off to the printer.”
The author of the bestselling Empyrean series, which also includes “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame,” shared the news in an Instagram post with a photo of her laptop.
On the screen of her computer was a message from Yarros which read, “Having finished edits and sent Onyx Storm off to the printer, Rebecca will sleep. And sleep. And sleep — The Art of Rest and Recovery By Rebecca Yarros”
“But seriously, peeps. I can’t wait for you to read this one!” she added.
Her post also included a photos of her and her husband, who she thanked in the process of writing the book, along with her editor.
“I can’t wait for you guys to read this one in January. It’s my favorite!” she said at the end of her caption. “Get ready to brave the dark!”
We’re still months away from the release of “Onyx Storm” but here’s everything you need to know about the next installment of Yarros’ popular Empyrean series.
“Onyx Storm” will arrive on Jan. 21, 2025.
“Good Morning America” exclusively revealed the title of the upcoming novel in March.
In June, Yarros announced that she’d submitted the first draft to her editor.
“And BOOM,” she wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “The first draft of Onyx Storm is off to my editor!”
The cover of the book, which was revealed in early July, features a black and white gradient theme with the Empyrean series’ familiar graphic design in gold. The cover also features the dragons that are also present on the Empyrean series’ first two novels, “Fourth Wing” and “Iron Flame.”
When Yarros announced the release date of “Onyx Storm” to “Good Morning America” in March, she said that the upcoming book will include “politics, new adventures, old enemies and of course, dragons.”
In a press release in July, the author shared her excitement for the novel and said, “It’s amazing to be back with these characters again.”
“After three books, we’re on an incredible journey together and I’ve loved expanding the world around them as they discover more about it,” she said. “I can’t wait for readers to see what Violet, Xaden, and the rest of the quadrant have in store for them in Onyx Storm.”
Throughout the process of writing and editing her book, Yarros has shared updates on Instagram for her fans.
In July, she posted a photo of her laptop on Instagram with the cover of the book’s manuscript on the screen.
“Time to dirty up the desk,” Yarros wrote in the caption of the post. “(And yes, I turn into a complete gremlin on deadline 😆).”
“Honestly, editing is my favorite part of the process,” she added. “I love when the pieces all come together!”
“Onyx Storm” is available to pre-order now.
You can pre-order the book here:
The adult fantasy novel takes readers into a fantastical world full of dragon riders and magic at Basgiath War College.
The first book in the Empyrean series introduces its main character, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail, who intends to enter the Scribe Quadrant at the war college but is forced by her “tough-as-talons mother” to become a dragon rider.
Violet is thrown headfirst into a cutthroat environment where she’s tested every day to prove she has what it takes to graduate and become a dragon rider. “She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise,” the synopsis reads.
“Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda — because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die,” the synopsis teases.
Currently, there are two “Fourth Wing” novels in the Empyrean series: “Fourth Wing” and its sequel, “Iron Flame.”
“Iron Flame,” which continues Violet’s story, was released in November 2023 and has since spent 36 weeks on The New York Times best sellers list.
Following “Onyx Storm,” Yarros plans to release two more books in the Empyrean series.
With the popularity of Yarros’ books, which have gone viral on TikTok, “Fourth Wing” is being developed into a TV series.
In an Instagram post she shared in October, Yarros re-shared a headline from Deadline, which was the first to report the news, and said that “Fourth Wing” had been optioned by Amazon MGM Studios with Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society producing the project.
“I can’t wait to see their adaptation of Fourth Wing brought to life!” she wrote in the caption of the post. “Words can’t portray how excited I am and how grateful to work with such amazing people!”
Yarros also shared that she will be an executive producer on the project.