Last Updated on October 1, 2026 by Sierra Richard

My spoiler-free Threshing Day review: 13 short stories from riders hoping to get picked by a dragon. It’s fan service for Empyrean fans, and I loved it.

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Book Recap

Top Tropes/Themes

• Multiple POV (13 different riders)
• Dragons
• Death and murder, particularly by dragons
• Rebellion and rebellious thoughts
• Defiance against expectations
• Self-doubt, but also confidence
• Forbidden love between characters who feel like they cannot be together
• Secrets kept by riders and dragons
• Romantasy

Spice Rating: 🚫 (plenty of romantic tension though…)

Release Date: September 29, 2026

Let’s talk about it…

Overall, I absolutely loved Threshing Day. Was it a bit of a money grab? Maybe. But as somebody who loves this series, I think it was a really fun way to let us get different points of view and learn more about the dragons than we have ever seen before. If you love Rebecca Yarros‘ world, especially the dragons, this book is for you.

Threshing Day is designed for the true Empyrean series fans. It brings to light a lot of answers to questions that readers likely have. I am not going to have spoilers in this review, so read it yourself, and hopefully you pick up on some of the same things I did. If you need somebody to talk to about it afterward, you can always email me at [email protected].

This Book Is Not Required to Complete the Series

Threshing Day is not required reading to complete the series, so realize that it is designed to be optional when you start reading.

As an avid reader of this series, there were a lot of things I picked up on. If you are a fan, you’re going to catch the little nuances that might be foreshadowing, or that explain some of the backgrounds we’ve been missing on key components of the story.

However, I think there are probably going to be other pieces of information that come out in the fourth book that make it to where you don’t have to read this in order to understand the next book. So take that as you will. Go into this knowing it’s not going to drastically move the plot of the series forward. It’s kind of fan service, and something that is fun for readers who really like the lore behind the dragons and understanding more about the Empyrean itself.

The Riders Have Secrets, but So Do the Dragons

One of the things that really stood out to me is that the riders have secrets, but so do the dragons. Again, no spoilers, but the secrets don’t come to light in this book. You just discover that there are secrets.

We know from the previous books that the riders have been keeping secrets, sometimes from themselves and sometimes from each other. They can’t keep anything from their own dragon, but they may be trying to keep it from other dragons. We also know some of the dragons were keeping secrets, and the Empyrean was keeping secrets too.

I think this book really solidifies that the secrets run deep, and we just don’t know how deep. We do get a glimpse of the first layer of how deep it goes, though.

This Book Is Just Fun

As a big, big fan of this series, I really enjoyed getting to revisit some of these characters and see things from their point of view. Throughout the series we’ve seen a few other characters, but it’s mostly been Violet. Until the end of Onyx Storm, it was really only Violet and occasionally Xaden.

So we’ve really only gotten to see Violet in her dragon bonds and Xaden in his. But we also know the temperament of those dragons is going to be different from some of the other dragons, like Ridoc and his dragon, Aotrom. Getting to see the actual bond between rider and dragon come onto the page is great.

And if you got the first printing, Wing and Claw Edition, you get the colored pages. If you aren’t getting the first printing, they will be black and white. The color ones are absolutely gorgeous and really well illustrated, which adds to the fun. Getting to see what these dragons look like from Rebecca Yarros’ brain, brought to life by an artist, Joe Requeza, is just really fantastic.

Not the Book of the Year, but Still Five Stars

Threshing Day is not perfect or the best thing I’ve ever read, but I gave it five stars because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

It took me a little over three hours to get through the entire book, even taking breaks to Snapchat my best friend with my honest reactions and thoughts. Because let’s face it, I was reacting to everything. We like to buddy read all of our books, and there were so many things we both caught that were either nods to something we already knew, fan service in some way, or maybe a clue to things we’re going to learn about in the future. It’s a little heads up on what might be important later.

It’s very fun to read, and it will kind of hold you over until book four comes out (which we still don’t have an answer on).

If this is just not enough for you, Rebecca and her team have released a new website called Dragon Kind where you can go through Conscription Day and Threshing and try to see if you can get yourself a dragon. There’s also some more dragon lore on the website, so if you want to do something a little bit fun, go check that out.

Who Should Read Threshing Day?

If you are a true Empyrean series fan and you love Rebecca Yarros’ world, especially the dragons, this book is for you. It’s for readers who really like the lore behind the dragons and want to see the bond between rider and dragon from more than one point of view.

If you’re looking for something that drastically moves the main plot forward, go in knowing that’s not what this is. It does contain spoilers for Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, so read those first. I’d also read it after Onyx Storm, because some things are foreshadowed that will be more meaningful once you have.

Grab your copy here.

I hope you enjoy Threshing Day! Don’t Die.

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