Fantasy Writer Rebecca Yarros' Favorite Books Are Unexpected Gems

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If you read "The Empyrean Series" by Rebecca Yarros, which was the fantasy romance series that dominated the NYT best-sellers list in 2025, you may be wondering what fuels her writing process. The answer lies in her favorite books, which are rife with unexpected gems. It's easy to think she might be more keen on staying within the fantasy genre, even when reading for her own enjoyment, but her faves include a historical coming-of-age novel, as well as a provocative social thriller.

In a 2023 interview with "Waterstones", she let fans in on the books that were taking up shelf space in her mind. Among her top picks was R.F. Kuang's "Yellowface," which is also among "Young Sheldon" star Raegan Revord's favorite books. The book is a far cry from Yarros' world with skies full of magical dragons, but she loved the book for its 'quick, biting prose that drew [her] straight in and quickly did its job of making [her] feel superbly uncomfortable." 

The bestselling author also praised "The History of a Difficult Child" by Mihret Sibhat in the same interview, deeming it her favorite book of 2023. She described it as 'a thought-provoking, beautiful, moving, and sometimes harrowing look at family, religion, and revolution.' The author found the story being told from a child's point of view to be the book's greatest strength. Another book that earned honorable mention was a second-chance love story, "Love on the Byline: Plays and Players" by Xio Axelrod.

Even bestselling authors obsess over exciting stories that keep them on their toes, staying up until the wee hours — just like any other book lover — to find out how a story will end. For Rebecca Yarros, that page turner was "Fall of Ruin and Wrath" by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Speaking to "Waterstones", Yarros called the 2023 romantasy 'imaginative and seductive,' admitting that reading it kept her up all night. 

You just know it's going to be a good book if a gifted writer like Yarros pulls an all-nighter to read it. "The world-building is gorgeous, the characters are both swoony and determined, and you can't help but keep turning pages to see just how far Calista's intuition will take her," said the "Fourth Wing" author, which is a BookTok movie adaptation we can't wait for. 

Another fantasy book on the author's favorites list is Shannon Chakraborty's "The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi." Chakraborty tells the story of a retired pirate captain who's left with no choice but to go back to a life of crime. Yarros commended the book, saying, "This book grabbed hold of me from the first page and didn't let go." She also appreciated that the protagonist was in her forties and joked that the story was enough to inspire her own 'pirating era.'