Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Series: The Empyrean #1
Published by Red Tower Books on May 2, 2023
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 528
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
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Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die
my thoughts:
It’s damn near impossible for me to put my love for this book into words and I’m sure at this point, my review isn’t even necessary. I’m pretty sure everyone and their brother has professed their undying love for this book all over the internet but I’m going to add my two cents anyway.
Fourth Wing feels like you are reading an adult Disney movie. If Mulan, How To Train Your Dragon, and The Hunger Games (I know this isn’t Disney) had a baby, it would be this book. Readers will immediately feel immersed in this world of battle, backstabbing, and dragons. This has to be one of the quickest 500+ pages I’ve ever read.
Violet Sorrengail is a badass with brains. She’s at a disadvantage with her size and her disability but she doesn’t have a choice. She either survives and becomes a Rider or she dies. She does whatever it takes to come out on top and is not afraid to fight dirty. She uses her brain to balance out the fact that in a hand to hand battle, there isn’t any way she could win against people much larger than her and who trained for it much longer than her.
There is an eclectic cast of characters that were pretty well-developed for the first book in a series. Some could definitely use some more backstory but I believe we will see more of that in future books as this is a planned 5 book series. I will warn you, don’t get too attached to anyone. No one is safe at Basgiath War College. No spoilers here but there was one death at the end that had me crying so hard I couldn’t see the pages. Rebecca Yarros completely ripped my heart out with that one.
The romance was the perfect slow burn. The blend of tension and chemistry is some of the best I’ve read. Violet and Xaden have this instant hate-filled attraction that will have enemies-to-lovers fans drooling. There are some seriously spicy scenes but they didn’t overpower the rest of the story. I’m not gonna go into Xaden other than to say that I adore him with my whole heart.
Overall, Fourth Wing has solid writing, steamy romance, and a story that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. If you haven’t read this one yet, stop putting it off. There is a reason for all the hype surrounding it and it’s completely well-deserved. Be warned though, once you start you won’t be able to put it down. And once you finish, you’ll be dying for Iron Flame.
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