What spice level is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros?

Fourth Wing rates at Level 3 on the romantasy heat scale — open door with a handful of explicit scenes, but balanced heavily with action and plot. Its sequel Iron Flame escalates to Level 4, with more frequent and detailed scenes. If you're calibrating your tolerance, start with Book 1.

How explicit is A Court of Thorns and Roses compared to the rest of the series?

ACOTAR Book 1 is a Level 2 — relatively restrained, with brief physical content and a quick fade to black. The series escalates sharply: ACOMAF (Book 2) jumps to Level 4, and A Court of Silver Flames reaches Level 5. The first book is a dramatically different reading experience from the later entries.

What are the steamiest romantasy books?

The most explicit romantasy titles are A Court of Silver Flames (Nesta and Cassian), Iron Flame, A Court of Mist and Fury, and the later books in the From Blood and Ash series (A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, The War of Two Queens). These all feature multiple fully explicit scenes throughout.

Romantasy Spice Level Guide: Every Heat Level Rated, From Sweet to Scorching

“Wait, is this book spicy?” is the question every romantasy reader has asked, either before picking something up or — more memorably — while reading in public and suddenly needing to lower the brightness on their phone.

Heat levels in romantasy matter in a way they don’t in other genres. You’re often dealing with slow-burn setups that run for 400 pages before anything happens, and when something does happen, the range is enormous: a fade-to-black kiss at one end, pages of explicit content at the other. Reading the genre without any sense of where a book falls on that spectrum is how you end up at a very awkward point while reading on the train.

This guide rates more than twenty popular romantasy and fantasy romance novels on a five-point heat scale — from pure romantic tension with no explicit content to books that belong firmly in the open-door, fully explicit category. Whether you want all the enemies-to-lovers emotional devastation with none of the heat, or you’re specifically looking for the steamiest entries in a series, here’s exactly where everything falls.

Understanding the Romantasy Heat Scale

Every rating in this guide uses a five-point chili pepper scale calibrated specifically to the romantasy genre. Here’s what each level means in practice:

🌶 Level 1 — Sweet tension only. Romantic longing, charged moments, kissing at most. No explicit scenes. These books are driven entirely by emotional intimacy and unresolved desire — often the most delicious romantasy of all.

🌶🌶 Level 2 — Closed or nearly closed door. Physical intimacy is present but brief, vague in detail, or fades to black before the scene fully develops. You know what happened; you just don’t have a play-by-play.

🌶🌶🌶 Level 3 — Open door, moderate heat. Scenes are unambiguous and described with some detail, but they’re typically not the book’s main event. You’d notice them, but they don’t define the reading experience.

🌶🌶🌶🌶 Level 4 — Steamy, explicit, central. Multiple explicit scenes with significant detail. Heat is a deliberate and prominent element of the story. These books are unambiguous about what they’re doing.

🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 Level 5 — Highly explicit throughout. Frequent, detailed scenes that form a major part of the reading experience. Often, though not always, bordering on dark romance territory.

One important note: heat level and content warnings are different things. A Level 1 book can still have intense violence, trauma, or dark themes. A spice level tells you about explicit sexual content only — not overall comfort level.

Level 1: Sweet Tension — All the Longing, None of the Explicit Content

For readers who want the emotional devastation of romantasy without explicit scenes, there’s a significant library of options — and they include some of the most beloved books in the genre.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is the cleanest high-tension romantasy you’ll find, and it works entirely because Holly Black is a master of charged moments without release. Jude Duarte and Cardan Greenbriar have one of the most electrically constructed antagonistic relationships in fantasy romance, built from power dynamics, mutual hatred, and the specific thrill of wanting someone who is also your enemy. There are no explicit scenes in this book — not even close. What it gives you instead is glances, threats, and a slow dawning realization that the hatred might not be the only thing happening. The entire Folk of the Air trilogy stays in this range, though it becomes somewhat warmer in Book 2 (The Wicked King) and Book 3 (The Queen of Nothing).

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson operates on the same principle: fae politics, forbidden longing, and a relationship that builds through proximity, peril, and deeply restrained physical tension. Isobel and Rook’s journey ends at a kiss. If you want a standalone romantasy with exceptional world-building and no explicit content whatsoever, this is one of the genre’s best.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh brings sensuality through prose style rather than explicit content. The atmosphere is lush and richly romantic — silk, moonlight, the weight of Scheherazade’s stories between two people who shouldn’t trust each other. But the physical relationship between Shahrzad and Khalid remains tasteful and restrained throughout. Ahdieh writes desire in the literary tradition; the reader feels it without ever being shown it explicitly.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber leans more toward high-stakes fantasy adventure than romance, but it belongs in this tier for readers who want emotional investment in a potential relationship without any explicit heat. The Caraval trilogy stays consistently low throughout.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor sits at the softer end of Level 1 heading toward Level 2. Taylor’s prose is intensely sensory, and the love story between Lazlo Strange and Sarai is built on yearning, loss, and the kind of impossible tenderness that makes romantasy readers feel things in their chest. Physical content is minimal and not detailed. This is emotional devastation dressed in beautiful sentences.

Level 2: Warm and Tender — Present but Restrained

Level 2 romantasy acknowledges that the romance is physical without making that physicality explicit or central to the reading experience. This is the sweet spot for readers who want the genre’s full emotional journey without open-door content.

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Book 1 only) belongs here, which surprises many readers who’ve heard the series described as spicy. The first book is remarkably restrained — there’s one brief physical scene that fades quickly, and the romance between Feyre and Tamlin is built primarily on emotional tension. First-time ACOTAR readers who are nervous about heat can approach Book 1 with relative confidence. (Book 2 is an entirely different matter; see Level 4.)

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is the opening entry of the Winternight trilogy — one of the most atmospheric and beautifully written fantasy series of the past decade — and it is genuinely low heat throughout. The emotional journey of Vasya navigating Russian folklore, her family’s faith, and her own wild nature is rich and consuming. Physical romantic content is not really part of the trilogy’s focus. These books are about survival, identity, and the old magic of the Russian winter.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir has real romantic tension — the four-way pull between Laia, Elias, Helene, and Keenan is one of the series’ great pleasures — but physical content remains limited and tasteful throughout. Subsequent books in the series don’t escalate much on heat, though the violence intensifies significantly. If you want emotionally complex romantasy where the stakes are primarily about freedom and survival rather than romance, this series delivers.

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova is a comfortable entry to elven court fantasy romance at the lower end of Level 2. The relationship between Luella and Eldas develops across the novel with warmth and genuine emotional development, and while physical content is present, it’s brief and not the focus.

Level 3: Open Door, Moderate Heat — Where Most Readers Begin

This is the territory where romantasy most frequently lives, and it’s the range most readers are thinking of when they describe the genre as “a little spicy but not too much.” Open-door content, scenes that are unambiguous and present but not the book’s defining characteristic.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros sits comfortably at Level 3, and it’s worth lingering on this rating because Fourth Wing is often described as though it were Level 4-5. The scenes between Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson are explicit — open door, no question — but they’re positioned amid dragon riding, war politics, and an increasingly complex fantasy world. The heat is real; it’s just not the main event. This is a useful calibration point. If you’re comfortable with Fourth Wing, you have a solid baseline for the genre.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik is mostly Level 2-3, with one notably explicit scene in the middle that bumps the overall rating upward. This isn’t a warning so much as useful information: if you’re reading Uprooted and wondering whether the book is about to become something different, it isn’t. The scene happens, it’s relatively detailed, and then the novel returns to its main interest in magic, folklore, and Agnieszka’s identity. The overall experience is moderate heat with one more intense moment.

From Blood and Ash (Book 1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout opens the series at Level 3. The relationship between Poppy and Hawke is built on forbidden tension across a long setup before anything explicit occurs, and when it does, it’s in the moderate range. Important note: this rating applies specifically to Book 1. The series escalates significantly.

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen offers political enemies-to-lovers romantasy with Level 3 heat — present, open door, and satisfying without dominating the narrative. The series increases in heat across its entries.

A Court of Thorns and Roses (with the Night Court chapters) — some editions and discussions include Feyre’s time with Rhysand in Book 1 as approaching Level 3, though the content is limited. The more relevant escalation point is Book 2.

Level 4-5: Steamy and Scorching — Explicit Is the Point

This is where content becomes central rather than peripheral. If you’ve built up your romantasy heat tolerance through Level 2-3 books and you’re ready for the genre’s most explicit entries, here’s what you’re looking at.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Level 4) is the pivot point of the ACOTAR series and one of the most-read books in the genre for a reason. The book resets the central romance, rebuilds it from an entirely different foundation, and by the time the relationship between Feyre and Rhysand is fully established, explicit content is a significant part of how that relationship is expressed. Multiple scenes, real detail. This is where many readers either lock into the series completely or decide the heat level isn’t for them. Both are valid conclusions.

A Court of Wings and Ruin (Level 4) and A Court of Frost and Starlight (Level 4) maintain the heat of ACOMAF without escalating further. A Court of Frost and Starlight is a short novella and lighter on content; ACOWAR is a full novel that operates in the same register as Book 2.

A Court of Silver Flames (Level 5) is the most explicit book in the ACOTAR main series. The relationship between Nesta Archeron and Cassian is constructed around physical tension in a way that Feyre and Rhysand’s wasn’t, and the book doesn’t shy away from that. Frequent, detailed scenes throughout. If you’ve been methodically building your tolerance for romantasy heat, ACOSF is the summit of the main series. If you’re not ready for Level 5 content, this is the one to skip.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Level 4 to Level 4.5) escalates significantly from Fourth Wing. The relationship between Violet and Xaden is given considerably more explicit page time in Book 2, and the scenes are more detailed than their equivalents in Book 1. The action and fantasy elements remain strong, but readers who were comfortable with Book 1’s balance should know Book 2 tips further toward heat.

From Blood and Ash (Books 2-4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout escalate from the first book’s Level 3 into Level 4 and Level 5 territory. A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and The War of Two Queens are both highly explicit. Armentrout is a prolific author of paranormal and fantasy romance, and her books do not underdeliver in this area.

The ACOTAR Effect: When Series Escalate

One of the most important things to understand about romantasy heat levels is that they are frequently not consistent across a series. The ACOTAR series is the most famous example of this phenomenon, but it’s not unique.

The pattern works like this: a first book that is moderate in heat introduces readers to the world, the characters, and the emotional dynamics. Once readers are invested, subsequent books escalate — sometimes dramatically. This is partly a narrative choice (relationships deepen over time) and partly a market response (readers who enjoyed Books 1-2 want more of what worked).

ACOTAR series escalation: Book 1 (🌶🌶) → Book 2 (🌶🌶🌶🌶) → Books 3-3.5 (🌶🌶🌶🌶) → Book 4/ACOSF (🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶)

Fourth Wing series escalation: Book 1 (🌶🌶🌶) → Book 2/Iron Flame (🌶🌶🌶🌶)

From Blood and Ash series escalation: Book 1 (🌶🌶🌶) → Books 2-3 (🌶🌶🌶🌶) → Books 3-4 (🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶)

The practical implication: never assume that your comfort with Book 1 means you’re prepared for the whole series. Always check the heat level of subsequent entries independently, or at least be aware that escalation is a common genre pattern.

How to Navigate Heat Levels as a Reader

There’s a real culture of pressure in romantasy communities around heat levels — pressure to want more, to be okay with more, to treat explicit content as synonymous with quality. It isn’t. The Cruel Prince and An Enchantment of Ravens are not lesser romantasy because they don’t have open-door content. Strange the Dreamer is not a compromise choice for readers who “can’t handle” spice. These books are brilliant precisely because of what they do with tension and restraint.

Your heat level is not a reading metric. It’s a preference. You’re allowed to stop a series when the content escalates past your comfort zone. You’re allowed to read Book 1 of ACOTAR and skip Book 2. You’re allowed to love romantasy at Level 2 and have no interest in Level 5. None of these choices require justification.

What does help: keeping track of what you’ve read and how you felt about it. If you note heat level in your reading log, you start to understand your own preferences more clearly — which books in a certain range satisfied you, which left you wanting more, which crossed a line you didn’t know was there. That pattern is useful information for your next TBR.

Bookdot’s reading tracker lets you add personal notes to every book you finish, which is exactly where heat level observations belong. Your private rating of “this was a lot” or “I wish it went further” is as useful as any public review — it’s information that makes your next pick more accurate.

Track every romantasy you read — spice level notes, personal ratings, and all — with Bookdot, the reading tracker built for readers who care about the details.