‘Fourth Wing’ vs ‘ACOTAR’ is the ultimate showdown between thirsty fantasy realms

When dealing with BookTok approved horny fantasy series, it can be easy to get names confused. A Court of Thrones and Roses? Fourth Wing? Both are centered around a 20 something protagonist surrounded by eligible fantasy babes. Here’s the difference, explained.

What is Fourth Wing about?

Fourth Wing, written by Rebecca Yarros, revolves around Violet Sorrengail, a 20 year old woman who likely has an undiagnosed case of Ehlers Danlose Syndrome. She’s got a slight build, joint pain, and hyper-mobility, and prematurely greying hair. Alas, medical science in the fantasy world that she lives in is not nearly as advanced as our own.Why not? Because the culture is dedicated to WAR. Violet lives in a dangerous realm called Navarre that is under constant sociopolitical turmoil. It’s a violent world, and Violet’s family is a part of it. Her own mother is a general in the army, and while Violet hopes that she’ll be able to serve the war effort by becoming a scribe at Basgiath War College, her mother instead orders her to join the Rider Quadrant. I.e The Most Dangerous Fall To Your Death Get Burned Alive By A Dragon Or Murdered By A Sociopathic Classmate Quadrant. Now Violet is stuck having to learn how to bond with a flying reptile while risking death on the daily. At least some of her classmates are really, really hot. The ones not trying to kill her, at least. The perks? She gets to bond with a dragon. Who doesn’t want that?

What is A Court Of Thorns And Roses About?

A Court of Thorns and Roses is set in a similar fantasy setting, except there ain’t no dragons. The most dangerous thing in this world? Faeries. Yes, faeries. These aren’t little Tinkerbell pixie types, these are elder fae creatures, like the ones from European myths. The ones that humans don’t often survive encounters with. Anyone unfortunate enough to go a-wanderin’ in the fae lands of Prythian never comes back to tell the tale. Human beings avoid the place, except of a certain 19 year old huntress named Feyre.

While hunting in the woods, Feyre shoots a wolf with an arrow in order to sell the pelt and feed her family. What she doesn’t realize is that the wolf was actually a faerie in a different form. Back at her cabin, she hears a knock at the door. When she answers, a very angry (and totally hot) faerie beast man tells her that she has to come with him back to the lands of Prythian in order to atone for her crime of faerie murder, or die by his hand then and there. Feyre chooses the former. Good decision. And so a romance begins. So there you have it, two branches of the same Booktok tree, but each bear different literary fruit.