Yarros, Rebecca. (2026). Threshing Day. Entangled Publishing, LLC.
“Threshing Day” is the newest volume in the romantic fantasy “Fourth Wing” Empyrean series. It is a compilation of short stories from the perspective of a number of characters in the novels of Threshing, the event at Basgiath War College where first year dragon rider cadets bond with a dragon, die, or get skipped and have to try again the following year. The latter is often a situation embroiled with shame.
I really got into this series when the second book came out and was definitely jonesing for a new volume, though the author, Rebecca Yarros, was taking a break. She has EDS (Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome), as do her sons, as do I. If I remember correctly, she was taking the break to focus on her health and take a break. I can’t fault her that. But when I heard she put out a series of short stories I was both intrigued and a little disappointed, because who isn’t waiting for the next full book? Also, full disclosure, I am not typically a huge fan of short stories. However, this was an excellent dive back into the series universe, reminded me of some things that had happened (there are some spoilers), but was also a great volume to read in between work, obligations and recuperation myself.
Requeza’s dragon illustrations are stunning. Every dragon in these books has their own attributes and detailed description and Requeza is very faithful to them, recreating their image at the beginning of their bonding story.
I don’t think I really made up my mind about this book until I got to the chapter on Dain’s Threshing, which is about halfway through the book, but is also interesting because he is not my favorite character. In fact, by the end of book three, I pretty much detested him, and for good reason.
There isn’t a lot of spice in these short stories, which I am perfectly fine with. (There is plenty in the original three books and frankly, it’s something I can live without). There is swearing and violence, again, which are in the original books, but also intense emotion and character building and a deeper explanation of the motivations of each dragon, which I love. You don’t always get to learn a lot about their personalities unless they belong to a main character in the other books. So, this was great for me, and I really enjoy Rebecca Yarros’s writing style, though for some reason, the repeated reference to people’s performance “on the mat,” meaning the sparring mat, really started to annoy me. I can’t tell if it’s the repeated phrase or just the focus on it. But that was really my only annoyance.
Otherwise, I finished it in, I think, 3 days, after starting and stopping it, multiple times and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hopefully, it will tide me over until she is done with her fourth full book in the series.
Recommended Ages: Adult