After what happened inIron Flame, anticipation for the next installment in theEmpyrean Seriesis at an unprecedented scale—andthe end-of-book twist gave audiences the perfect hook to keep them guessinguntilOnyx Stormreleases in January. Until then, the popular Tik-Tok series,The Prison Healer,will make for the perfectFourth Wingreplacement book to fill the void left byIron Flameand its cliffhanger ending.
The Prison Healertrilogy by Lynette Noni is a young adult fantasy story following Kiva Meridan as she attempts to survive the notorious death prison, Zalindov. Sentenced at the age of 10, the now 17-year-old Kiva has become the prison healer and is charged with keeping the captured rebel queen alive to compete in the Trials by Ordeal—but instead of leaving a dying woman to this fate, Kiva volunteers in her place and must endure a series of elemental challenges. One of severalbooks similar toFourth Wing,The Prison Healerhashigh stakes, a unique magic system, and an epic romance budding with tension.
The Prison Healer Can Fill The Void Left By Iron Flame’s Ending (Until Onyx Storm Debuts)
The Completed Series Makes It An Easy Binge
The Prison Healerand its sequels allow for plenty to read during the wait forthe nextFourth Wingbook.The trilogy shares many similar themes toFourth Wing, including high stakes, a series of deadly trials, a unique magic system, and a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance plot that helps drive the entire story. Similar to Violet, our main heroine, Kiva, is forced into less than ideal circumstances that test her character’s strength, abilities, and tenacity—all of which change the course of her life.
10 Perfect Fourth Wing Replacement Books To Read While You Wait For Onyx Storm
Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean book Onyx Storm is due to release in January 2025, but there are many romantasy series that could fill the gap until then.
WhereFourth Winghas the rider’s quadrant of Basgiath,The Prison Healerhas a prison known as Zalindov—a death sentence in itself, as most only survive a few years. Kiva proves to be one of the few exceptions, striving to hold onto hope while enduring the atrocities of prison. The events ofThe Prison Healerseries set up huge cliffhangersthat affect Kiva’s future and threaten to destroy her most cherished relationships. Unlike theEmpyrean Series, it is a fully completed trilogy—eliminating the emotionally grueling wait times between sequels and answers to its shocking plot twists.
Each Book In This Fantasy Series Ends With Plot Twists You Don’t See Coming
The Endings Will Make You Question Everything You Just Read
BothFourth WingandIron Flamehave ended with massive cliffhangers, which can be equally devastating to its characters and also make for incredible storytelling.The Prison Healerseries ends both book one (The Prison Healer)and book two (The Gilded Cage)in a similar pattern—raising the stakes with each subsequent book and propelling the reader to question every bit of informationrevealed earlier in the series. While some fantasy series prove to be predictable, Lynette Noni drops clues that are incredibly hard to catch on the first read and makes the narrative that much more enjoyable.
Noni’s incredible writing gives the story the ability to hide key information from readers, making the end-of-book reveal all the more shocking.
Most fantasy books written in a first-person POV can make it hard to conceal plot twists and cliffhangers, but Noni’s incredible writing gives the story the ability to hide key information from readers, making the end-of-book reveal all the more shocking. LikeIron Flame,the plot twists help to create a larger world-building narrativeand hint at what’s to come in the next book. Audiences who enjoy the anxiety-inducing endings of bothFourth WingandIron Flamewill surely findThe Prison Healera compelling fantasy alternative to binge while wewait forOnyx Storm.
