Shield of Sparrows

About the Shield of Sparrows series

Shield of Sparrows marks Devney Perry's first move into fantasy after two decades writing contemporary small-town and sports romance, and it landed as an instant bestseller. The trilogy is epic, slow-burn romantasy: political intrigue between warring kingdoms, monsters and magic, and a central couple kept apart by duty and secrets who circle each other across a full-length novel before anything is resolved. Shield of Sparrows introduces the world and its central pairing, and Rites of the Starling, published the following year, escalates both the political stakes and the romance, becoming a #1 New York Times bestseller in its own right.

What carries over from Perry's contemporary work is the banter and the emotional groundedness of her leads; what's new is the scale, multiple kingdoms, court politics, and fantasy worldbuilding she'd never attempted in twenty-plus prior books. The shift has made the series a crossover hit for readers who came to romantasy through Rebecca Yarros or Sarah J. Maas and discovered Perry's version has the same slow-burn tension with a distinctly different flavor of found family and banter.

The trilogy concludes with Seven and the Swift, confirmed for release in March 2027, which will complete the story arc begun in Shield of Sparrows.

How to read this series

Publication order: Shield of Sparrows, Rites of the Starling, Seven and the Swift. This is a single continuous story told across three books, not a linked set of standalones, so reading in order is essential and each book ends expecting you to continue to the next. Shield of Sparrows and Rites of the Starling are both published; Seven and the Swift, the confirmed finale, is scheduled for March 2027, so readers starting now will need to wait for the conclusion.