Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Book Review

27 June

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Title- Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1)

Author- Rebecca Yarros

Publisher- Entangled Publishing

Links- Amazon | Goodreads

My Rating- ★★★★★

Goodreads Rating- ★★★★4.69

Fantasy | New adult | Fantasy romance | dragons | epic fantasy

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Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Blurb
MY REVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Blurb

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.

“Killing you wouldn’t be any trouble Violence. It’s leaving you alive that seems to cause the majority of my trouble”

— Fourth Wing

My Review

I finished this monster of a book in just three days and I loved it! My best read this year so far, and it will probably stay that way.

I was skeptical about this book due to the extreme hype surrounding it, but this was one of those times where the book actually lived up to it.

Plot

The story starts strong, going right into the action. There is very little time spent showing the MCs ‘old world.’ Rather, she is straight into the ‘new world’ in the first few chapters where she heads off to war college, which keeps you hooked and engaged right from the start.

The pacing is fast, and it’s so hard to put this book down.

I'd say the weakest point is the ending. I won't say anything with spoilers. But I don't think it wrapped up as well as it could have. I kind of feel like I missed something around the end and got a bit confused, like it skipped something. I know it is kind of open-ended for the next book (cliffhanger), but I was left with a lot of questions I still want answered.

But the plot twists were great, I didn’t even see them coming.

Characters

There's no denying that Violet is a great character. I'm not sure I've ever come across such a likable main character ever. She is highly motivated, capable, and clever. I like the way she never gives up on situations and finds an out of the box way to deal with seemingly impossible challenges.

My favourite thing in this book was the relationship between Violet and Xaden. It was really well written and created rising tension the whole way through.

It had good enemies-to-lovers vibes, though it couldn’t be called true enemies to lovers as they were never really enemies to begin with. The whole enemies thing seemed pretty one sided. It’s more along the lines of forbidden romance.

I must admit that I didn't like Dain. But I think that was the point of his character. He was well written and a good contrast to Xander.

All the characters were so well thought out. I especially liked/hated Violet's mum. She was so cold and felt like a true villain character, despite being on the same side. Her relationship with Violet was complex and interesting.

Setting and World Building

The military school is like an extreme and deadly version of Hogwarts for adults, but with dragons. Or a more serious and satisfying version of Zodiac Academy. I love everything about it. I know I keep saying that but this books hits the mark on so many levels.

The dragons are amazing. The magic system felt fresh and interesting, especially the way things work between dragons and humans. The dragons have their own politics and hierarchy, but clearly seem themselves as superior to humans—which is awesome.

The setting felt pretty much like any classic fantasy world. It works well for the story and is easy to visualise.

Summary

I highly recommend this book to all fantasy lovers out there. It truly encompasses everything I adore about fantasy stories and delivers a gratifying dose of romance filled with all the beloved tropes. Trust me, this book hits all the right notes and is sure to leave you thoroughly satisfied.

What to Expect:

Adult romantasy
Enemies to lovers
Dragon riders
Found family
Interesting magic
Forbidden love
Brutal deaths
High stakes
War college/ magic school setting
Chronic illness rep
Scarred anti-hero
Complex politics
A few spicy scenes
Cliffhanger ending

About the Author

Rebecca Yarros

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.