For the second time in three months, Rebecca Yarros, the author of The Empyrean series, has a new book coming out. Unfortunately, it's not the book that Fourth Wing fans want, but it might be the one they need right now.
Peculiar Stars by Rebecca Yarros will be hitting the shelves at bookstores and online retailers on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026. Of course, it's not Book 4 of The Empyrean series, but it's definitely a book that will catch the eye of Fourth Wing fans.
Less than two months ago, Yarros released Threshing Day, a collection of Threshing Day stories about 13 characters from The Empyrean series. I don't think any Fourth Wing fans actually expected Book 4 to be released just a short time after the latest Empyrean project, but in covering news about books, movies, and TV shows for as long as I have, there's bound to be at least a handful of fans who get confused. Yes, Yarros does write other books; it's not all about The Empyrean series.
Peculiar Stars is not a fantasy novel, just to be clear. Yarros writes a lot of contemporary romance, which could be exciting for Fourth Wing readers.
Peculiar Stars is the perfect new book for Fourth Wing fans this holiday season
If you're looking for a new book for yourself or the Fourth Wing fan in your life, the first book I would recommend is obviously Threshing Day. With that said, if you need a new book this holiday season, Peculiar Stars seems like a great choice.
Fourth Wing fans love a slow-burn romance, and that's exactly what we have here. According to Montlake Publishing, Peculiar Stars tells the story of Callista, a woman who goes on a sailing trip that leaves her stranded on a deserted island with a few others.
Here's the official synopsis for Peculiar Stars:
"Callista Moran has spent a lifetime putting her own plans aside to care for other people. Once she and Darren Knight announce their engagement, she thinks her future is finally set. But when a routine sailing trip goes tragically wrong, a cyclone blows those carefully made plans away.
"Stranded on an island for the next eighteen months alongside the crew and her fiancé’s cousin, Callista discovers a strength she never knew she had. And begins to question the life she always thought she wanted. With Dominic, an ex–army medic, she finds true peace―and a version of herself that she doesn’t need to explain. They resist their connection at first, but as months wear on, and the hope of rescue fades, something real starts taking shape, built on who they are when everything else is stripped away.
"When they’re finally found, the world hasn’t changed. But they have. In the height of a modern media frenzy, learning to live as the people they’ve become will challenge not only their definition of survival, but love."
As a fan of Yarros and her work, I'm interested in Peculiar Stars, but I'm probably not going to read it. It's just not my cup of tea, and I have too many books on my list. I'm also closing in on my annual The Lord of the Rings reread, as well. That shouldn't stop other Fourth Wing fans from picking up the book and giving it a read!
Yarros is currently writing Book 4
Although we've gotten a lot of Fourth Wing news lately, about Book 4 and the upcoming TV show on Prime Video, we still have a long wait ahead for Book 4 of The Empyrean series.
On her book tour for Threshing Day ahead of the release of Peculiar Stars, Yarros revealed that she's still writing Book 4 of The Empyrean series. We know thanks to Yarros' updates that she started on the book in the spring of 2026, but we don't know how much longer Yarros will be writing Book 4.
We'll continue to share updates along the way as we find out, but it's probably going to be quite a while until Book 4 of The Empyrean series hits its publishing date. Based on industry trends, it's probably rather unlikely that we'll see Book 4 much earlier than the end of 2027 at this point. Typically, there's about a year-ish between when the manuscript is finished and when the actual book is released. That can vary depending on a lot of factors, but it's not just a very speedy process.
So, with your long wait ahead for the next book of The Empyrean series, you might as well check out Yarros' other works, including Peculiar Stars, while you wait.
Yarros is rescheduling a few Threshing Day events and also has other events scheduled for Peculiar Stars very soon. It's possible we'll learn more about Book 4 as we find out. We'll definitely let you know if that happens. Stay tuned for more news about Book 4 and the Fourth Wing TV series.
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