The Hybrid Prince

Wings of Fire #16

by Tui T. Sutherland

The #1 New York Times bestselling series is back with a brand new tale! Discover what happens next in this thrilling addition to the Wings of Fire saga.

Umber was never supposed to be a hero . . . .

As the youngest sibling of his MudWing hatching, Umber doesn't have the responsibilities of his bigwings, Reed, nor the heroic destiny prophesied for his brother, Clay. He's always been content with his role as the cheerful, goofy, little brother. But when his sister, Sora, causes a tragedy at Jade Mountain Academy, Umber finds himself on the run and thrown into a whole new role--that of protector.

Umber and Sora fly south in search of a place where they can live far away from other dragons . . . until a kind, hybrid dragon named Mulberry saves him from a kraken attack, and Umber realizes they don't have to survive alone after all. In fact, there's an entire community living on a forgotten island, full of dragons hiding from their own dark pasts.

As the two MudWings settle into the Court of Refuge, they start to realize that nothing in this place is quite what it seems, and the protection it offers comes with a price. Even as Umber falls for Prince Mulberry, he learns he must find a way to unlock the past of this mysterious island to ensure he and Sora have a future. And when the dragons in power try to stop him, he'll have to decide what he cares about most . . . and whether he can be the hero these dragons need after all.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 3, 2026

About the author

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Tui? What kind of name is that? Is it short for something?

Nope. Among the many great things to come out of New Zealand (the Lord of the Rings movies, cats that paint, my mom) is a bird called the tui—not as well known as the kiwi, but a heck of a lot noisier!

I was born July 31 (same birthday as Harry Potter!) in Caracas, Venezuela, and lived in Asuncion, Paraguay; Miami, Florida; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, before moving to New Jersey in high school, where I started doing theatre—mostly backstage work, because (a) it was fun, and (b) you got to hang out in the dark with cute boys. (Er, I mean . . . because it was artistically fulfilling, yes.)

I graduated from Williams College in ’98 and I currently live in Boston with my husband, my perfect new baby, and my adorable yoodle Sunshine (what’s a yoodle? A puppy that’s three-quarters poodle and one-quarter Yorkshire terrier, of course!).

Much to my parents’ relief, I abandoned my theatrical aspirations after college for the far more stable and lucrative career of fiction writing.

My first two official books were beginning readers, part of Grosset & Dunlap’s “First Friends” series for kids learning to read. MEET MO AND ELLA is tough to find now, but FUN WITH MO AND ELLA should still be out there somewhere.

My first novel for teenagers was THIS MUST BE LOVE, which retells Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a modern-day high school, from the POV of the two heroines, Hermia and Helena.

And now I'm writing in a new project called SEEKERS! It's a children's book series that I'm writing with Erin Hunter. Check out my blog to find out more!

Reviews

[Luci Arbon]

I'm DYING for this book to come out!
I was just minding my buisness, scrolling on Amazon when I saw this. Instant screams.
I NEED to preorder this!

[bex ✯ mizi’s wife ✯]

pre-read
OMGOSH OMGOSH NEW WOF BOOK WHEN?!

[mimi ౨ৎ {#1 gigi fan} #waljam]

FIRST OF ALL BEFORE YAPPING I NEED TO THANK TUI
so thanks so much tui for extending my comfort mg series

umber is our mc this time, and he’s got himself a prince
not sure how that will go
but interesting for sure

sora has made an appearance too
i hope she gets more star time in the new arc! she was so cute!

i also NEED some winter, kinkajou, turtle, and anemone crumbs (someone else on goodreads said this and it’s exactly what i’ve been thinking)

and i hope winter finally finds his love interest!!!! (though i’m thinking it might be lynx)

time needs to speed up
this is one of my most anticipated releases
and march 2026 is NOT COMING SOON

[Camden Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give Kinkajou a book!!! I know you said it is not happening but WHY?!

[Qiblis#1Fan]

IM SO EXCITED.
Tui... I'VE COME THIS FAR U BETTER MAKE THIS GOOD!

I heard that UMBERS GONNA BE GAY IN THIS!!! XD SO EXCITED!

[dora ♡]

living at the bookstore until march 3, 2026
‎
(plsplspls moon crumbs turtle crumbs kinkajou crumbs plssss winter crumbs anemone crumbs 🙏🙏 i just want to see them again even just for 0.0001 second)

[Camden Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

GIVE KINKAJOU A BOOK!!!🥺

[Eclipse (totally not a nightwing) · Rating 5 out of 5]

preread — I’ve been intensely researching the possibility of a TV show and the fourth arc so when I saw this I was so so so so happy. Apparently they’re gonna introduce Beryl as Mulberry’s mom (from Scarlet’s murder list in A Guide to the Dragon World) so yay! Also maybe we’ll see who Umber ends up with and if his crush on Qibli is explained at all FOURTH ARC WHOOOOOOOOOOOO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Update: the description came out and HOLY CRAP YESSS

[livi]

OH MY GODDDD shut up this was my favorite in middle school i need to read this for the nostalgia

[Lily Knesevitch]

Before Book: WE GET A POV FROM THE MOST SLEPT ON GAY BOI IN THE SERIES!!!!! LET’S GO!!!!!!!!!!

[Harper Cearley]

im back in the fucking building again

[C R · Rating 3 out of 5]

my barnes and noble got this early so!!

first of all, i love that this took place in the wof universe equivalent of australia. a desert prison island with kangaroos, weta, and platapi? amazing.

that said.

this book was fine, very middle of the road for me. it kind of read like a fanfiction. i think tui may have gotten bored of writing the same tribes, or was tired of trying to come up with themed names (seriously… waterfall for a seawing doesn’t feel particularly inspired) and that’s why ‘wildwings’ were created. so she could play around with names and designs and powers etc. but it made me feel like i was 11 again, back on wings of fire fan forums where everyone was adding extra powers and physical differences to their ocs to stand out and be the most special. it was silly.

also the contrivance of ‘only someone who’s a descendant of these two dragons specifically has this specific power’ felt… lazy. why would they do that? i understand the two queens had precipice write it into the spell as a joke or something, but still… it felt contrived.

what was with the blood magic??

blob’s appearance was absolutely fan service. although i did wonder what became of him in the centuries since fathom and indigo, having him live on the prison island with their descendant felt like a stab lee in the bangers level cameo. he added little.

i thought there was going to be something interesting around sora’s ptsd, her crimes, and how she’s struggling with it. instead we got a few lines about how umber was worried about her, but then she gos to one concert and hangs around in the library a bit and is magically cured. okay…

ice/sky hybrid siblings being called aurora and borealis was clever.

snakeweed being half nightwing and somehow having powers, despite the fact that aside from moon (and her VERY SPECIFIC set of circumstances) no nightwing has had powers since darkstalker’s time… CONTRIVED. why couldn’t it have been a new nightwing hatched in the rainforest to deliver the prophecy? would have made more sense. except they needed the main characters trapped on prison island to hear it so… i guess.

the sharpwings randomly having skeleton keys to every lock ever on the island, including locks made THREE THOUSAND YEARS AFTER THEY WERE ENCHANTED TO LIVE, is ridiculous.

mulberry and umber were cute, but them deciding after looking at each other once that they had a crush on each other was silly.

anyway, those are the bulk of my problems. generally? aside from these points? it’s an average, typical wings of fire book. i just haven’t read one with so much contrivance before and i wanted to go off on a few points for my own reasons.

[Hans · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I'm not quite sure where to start, so I'll jump right into it. Oh, how far this series has fallen. Arc 3 was a great disappointment, as it just started to feel more like a fanfic than what the original arc was and what the second arc had. And if you're wondering what I mean by fanfic, I mean the slop that a few fanatic fans push out that really don't align with what this series was about and how it felt. With a focus on ampomorphizing the characters even further and creating uninteresting plots and introducing gay and queer characters just for the hell of it, arc 3 really didn't feel like the Wings of Fire that got me hooked in the first place. Unfortunately, it seems that time only made the series more sour as the introduction to arc four with this book is just going a full indulgence to the “ship” crazed fans that the author is taking notes from. The plot summary alone should tell you that is what is taking place, it just reads like generic fanfic slop with the gay main character having to choose between his newfound prince lover or doing the right thing. It was already on a downward spiral, with shallow characters, a scraped-together plot, half of the dialogue being useless and generic, and a writing style that somehow seemed to devolve from what it was. And this book is just going to fall deeper into that hole, and really, the only way to fix it is for Sutherland to just stop listening to the fans and stop writing these books as if they are their fanfics. But that ship has sailed. I know most are going to read this and think how homophobic of me, and that I'm just hating on it because this one has a gay main character. And to that I'll say this, at least I will temporarily look past some of the parts I don't like to analyze the book as a whole, something that can't be said for a large portion of other reviewers giving these books five stars. If you really doubt me, go look for yourself, especially on The Poison Jungle, and see how many simply give it a five-star review for having a gay main character.

[Nicole Miskel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I'm writing a review for the SIXTEENTH book! I was able to get an early copy through the B&N Exclusive editions with a beautiful new poster inside. I read this in a single sitting and I ate it up! As always, I started out very skeptically. Will the new arc be worthwhile? Will I like the setup and the new batch of characters? Will this feel too much like a spinoff?

I'm happy to say that Tui has captured my interest yet again. I am left with so many delicious questions, I'm confused in the best way, and I cannot wait to find out more. Umber is a very compelling protagonist, and I admired the writing of almost every character in this volume.

I will be wary of plot holes with a more convoluted story like this, but I'm so curious about how everything connects.

Wonderful time!

[Nora Klobucar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to get this book early at a Barnes & Noble that had some kind of promotional event. It was a pretty quick read yet still good. My only complaint is with how easy it was to lose track of some of the characters in the (well I won’t spoil it) but most major characters were full of life and weren’t just cardboard cut-outs. Plus the side characters, particularly dugong, were interesting

[Oobie Ooberson]

I'm so excited for this book I cant wait for the entire 4th arc to come. I've read the book pretty later on so all the books where avalible to read but this one might end on a cliff hanger (which I fully anticipate). I cant wait to find out who the rest of the arc will base around.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the book early!! I got an exclusive cover edition from Barnes & Noble. I’m not finished but it’s great so far with a great plot! It doesn’t take very long for it to get interesting (like after the first two chapters) I’m not gonna leave any spoilers but the book is good so far!

[Eric]

Comment: Why doesn't Goodreads have this under "Wings of Fire #16", listed on the same page as nos.1-15? There's no policy that such a list is restricted to books already available...

[Shiva ⋆｡°✩]

Yes this is for nine year olds yes I will still be reading it

shout out to wings of fire the most goated childhood book series ever

[Stephen Paul Chase, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books are educational.

[ur favorite rat]

i am so excited >.<

[Alex Kohnen]

I CANT WAIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT EEEEEEEEEEEE

[Erin Crouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO many secrets and mystery and can't wait for the next one. I do believe Tui is back

[Gelato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easily the most Australian installment in the series to date

[Anthony]

I had to time travel to get this early. It's doing good so far. "I'm at page 30."

[Sonny Reda]

The minute this comes out I will go to the bookstore and not come out for about 48 hours

[Eclipse (totally not a nightwing)]

I’ve been intensely researching the possibility of a TV show and the fourth arc so when I saw this I was so so so so happy. Apparently they’re gonna introduce Beryl (from Scarlet’s murder list in A Guide to the Dragon World) so yay! Also maybe we’ll see who Umber ends up with and if his crush on Qibli is explained at all FOURTH ARC WHOOOOOOOOOOOO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Update: the description came out and HOLY CRAP YESSS