Romantasy fans fly to Parthenon Books for Onyx Storm midnight release

Through freezing temperatures, dragon lovers warmed Parthenon Books late evening on Jan. 20, waiting for the anticipated third installment of Rebecca Yarros’s The Empyrean series. The bookstore hosted an evening for fans of the series to enjoy themed refreshments, crafts and merchandise leading up to the midnight release of Onyx Storm.

The series follows the story of Violet Sorrengail as she attends Basgiath War College to become a dragon rider. Yarros, along with A Court of Thorns and Roses author Sarah J. Maas, found an audience through BookTok, where “romantasy” (a portmanteau of romance and fantasy) books flourish.

“I’ve always been a huge fantasy book reader, starting from Harry Potter,” Holly Daly, 37, said. “I got into reading romance fantasy, or romantasy, back in 2017, and it was with Sarah J. Maas and ACOTAR [A Court of Thorns and Roses], so [same] story as everyone else. But it wasn’t until I read Fourth Wing that I liked a book and a series as much as ACOTAR.”

Daly is a member of the “Enchanted Stories Society,” Parthenon’s romantasy book club. For around a year, the book club has met monthly at the store to discuss romantasy books. Members of the book club wore matching sweatshirts to Monday’s event, with one member donning a blow-up dragon costume.

Photo by Ally Watkinson

The Empyrean series has developed a dedicated fanbase since the first book’s release in 2023.

“It’s been really enjoyable to just get together and discuss them with like-minded people,” book club member Rebecca Bendell, 22, said. “Everyone who you’re talking to understands, and it’s just a really nice atmosphere.”

Fans’s excitement radiated throughout the store, conversation and music underscoring attendees shopping for books and The Empyrean merchandise. In the front of the store, small groups of friends colored dragon coloring sheets and ate cookies decorated with the book’s cover. Parthenon’s cafe offered a slate of themed mocktails, like the Feathertail Fizz, a drink named after a type of dragon from the book series, a translucent yellow drink complete with red fruit floating in it.

Attendee Sara Wean wore a “Save a Dragon, Ride a Wingleader” shirt, referencing the main maile character and love interest Xaden Riorson, or as the front of the shirt called him, “Xaddy.”

“If you’re gonna go deep into the smutty side of romantasy, you may as well jump feet first,” Wean said.

Photo by Ally Watkinson

Romantasy fans ditch normative Monday night bedtimes for Onyx Storm’s midnight release.

The power of romantasy readers cannot be overstated: Yarros’s Fourth Wing has spent 77 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, hitting the number one spot the week of January 26. 

However, some readers acknowledge a stigma that may come with reading romantasy.

“I think there is a little bit of a stigma, mainly depending on who you’re talking to, and if you’re explaining that you read romantasy, a lot of people think that you might have zero thought processes about what you’re reading if it’s not very intellectually based. But I beg to differ,” Bendell said.

As midnight approached, fans lined up, eager to get long-awaited answers from Yarros. Each attendee, with their ticket, received a sprayed-edge first edition copy of Onyx Storm.

Daly was the first to receive her copy with Bendell not far behind. Book in hand, Bendell was in awe.

“This is so good, look at the dragons!”