Yarros' Iron Flame becomes Waterstones' fastest selling pre-order title in a single day

Rebecca Yarros’ fantasy novel Iron Flame, the second in the Empyrean series, has become the fastest selling pre-order title in a single day on the Waterstones website. 

Gaby Lee, genre fiction buyer at Waterstones, commented: "The Iron Flame announcement truly landed with a bang; it became our fastest selling pre-order title in a single day on our website with our special edition selling out in just seven hours. Pre-orders for the standard edition have been going from strength to strength since.

"Excitement around the books is extraordinary and passionate bookseller and customer word-of-mouth recommendation on social media continues to secure Fourth Wing a regular spot in our hardback chart. Last week we welcomed Rebecca Yarros to our Piccadilly shop for a sold-out event, attended by over 100 very excited fans who were thrilled to have the chance to meet their new favourite author." 

Fourth Wing, the first in the series, has become a BookTok hit with #fourthwing amassing 185.1 million views at the time of writing. Set in Basgiath War College, the novel follows Violet Sorrengail who, previously destined to become a scribe, has been forced to enter the brutal Riders Quadrant, where candidates either live or die in the bid to become a dragon rider. Published by Little, Brown imprint Piatkus, Fourth Wing has sold 23,350 copies through the Total Consumer Market in hardback since publication in May 2023 for £412,000, sitting at number 5 in the Sunday Times’ fiction hardback chart last week. 

Rebekah West, editor at Piatkus who acquired Yarros’ series, said: "We are absolutely delighted at the success of Fourth Wing so far and from the reaction on social media it’s clear that a brand-new fandom has been born. Rebecca has created a world that is both utterly addictive and masterfully written — I’m thrilled to see that readers have fallen in love with her incredible story and characters. #HotDragonSummer." 

Yarros recently appeared at several events including the sold-out event at Waterstones Piccadilly where she was in conversation with fellow fantasy author Samantha Shannon on Tuesday 4th July. She also did a signing with Forbidden Planet and Goldsboro Books, an office-signing for staff at Hachette’s London office and appeared at London’s Romance & Reader Events on Saturday 8th July.