Book Review :: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
ISBN: 1649374046
Series: The Empyrean #1
Also in this series: Iron Flame
on 2 May 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Magic, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 500
Goodreads

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

Last updated on 21 August 2023

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What is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros about?

Fourth Wing is the story of Violet Sorrengail, a twenty-year-old, who is pretty on track to lead a quiet life surrounded by books and history inside the Scribe Quadrant. But that’s not her mother’s plan for her. Now, instead of her scholarly pursuits, Violet finds herself among the contenders striving for the prestigious role of a dragon rider in Navarre.

But one of the reasons Violet never saw herself as a dragon rider, is that she’s physically a lot smaller and more fragile compared to all the other dragon riders. Life as a Scribe was much more suited to her (and what she wanted). And besides, a dragon won’t bond with humans who are ‘fragile’, so what’s the point in trying to become a dragon rider? She’ll probably end up as a pike of human ash anyway.

“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead.”

As Violet finds herself in the throws of competition with her peers (all of whom are much stronger and bigger than she is), she’s not only trying to make it through every challenge laid out before, gain the strength to actually be given a shot as a dragon rider, and find a dragon to bond with and not die … but Xaden Riorson, a prominent and ruthless (and pretty hot) leader among the dragon riders, hates her guts. With a passion.

To survive each day and witness the sunrise, Violet must rely more on her intellect and resourcefulness, over her, albeit growing, physical strength. Yet, amidst her personal struggles, an external war is gearing up and escalating, and the protective enchantments around the kingdom of Navarre seem to be crumbling. To make matters worse, Violet begins to suspect that the leadership conceals a disturbing secret.

“Hope is a fickle, dangerous thing. It steals your focus and aims it toward the possibilities instead of keeping it where it belongs—on the probabilities.”

Within the confines of Basgiath War College, Violet navigates a messy web of relationships, some friendly and others very much enemy vibes, and perhaps even a little romance. Despite everything, at the end of the day there are two outcomes: graduate or die.

My thoughts on Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing has been hyped. Like, so much so that I was really really worried I wasn’t going to like. Sometimes the masses love a book so much that it gets overhyped and you’re really let down by the story when you finally get around to reading it. Thankfully, that was not the case with Fourth Wing.

It was everything I was hoping it would be and somehow more. The storyline, the characters, the romance, the relationships, the setting … the DRAGONS. Pure genius. 10/10, 5 stars, will definitely read it again.

But before this book review of Fourth Wing just turns into a gush-fest from my end, let’s break it down a little bit more, so hopefully you’ll get a better picture of what this book is about and why you should read it.

Fourth Wing Characters

There are a few main characters in Fourth Wing, and even the supporting characters are somehow epic. Yarros has done a brilliant job, in my opinion, at crafting her characters.

First up you have our protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, who tells us the story in first-person. Despite me not loving a lot of main characters/protagonists in the books I read, I really liked Violet. She’s bookish and wants to just dive into histories and stories and all things written word … but when she’s flung into a situation she really isn’t prepared for, she uses those book smarts and her intellect to not only make the best of the horrible situation but thrive in it. She’s cunning in a non-evil sort of way, makes the most of her so-called disadvantage to the others in her cohort, is loyal to her friends and questions the authorities above her when she doesn’t think something is right.

“Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”

The leading man, the grumpy hot one, the enemy-to-lovers lover, Wing leader at the academy, Xaden Riorson is pretty much what you’d expect from that wee intro there. He’s the one with immediate hate for the Sorrengail family, and so, therefore, Violet (her mother was responsible for his father’s death), is the son of a traitor, very much an anti-hero sort of vibe, probably deeply broken. But as we get to know him more, through Violet, he’s also very loyal, cares deeply, and pretty wise, actually. And he’s seemingly up to no good.

Then there’s Dain Aetos, Violet’s good friend from childhood. Who is a downright idiot. I hated him. He’s supposed to be Violet’s best friend and I just … If you’ve read the book, you get it. If you haven’t read it yet … you WILL get it.

The other supporting characters such as Rhiannon, one of Violet’s friends, Liam (oh my goodness Liam is my favourite), and the dragons are all brilliant characters. Violet’s family is a bit rough; her mother is very demanding and also high up in the kingdom so there’s not a lot that Violet can do. Violet’s sister is a dragon rider, so was their brother who passed away, so the very thought of a Sorrengail being a Scribe was 100% out of the question.

The plot

The plot of Fourth Wing very much follows a familiar storyline. The underdog girl gets thrown into a place she doesn’t want to be in and, typically, wouldn’t do well in. She’s bookish, but she needs to be strong physically. She meets people to whom she can relate and those that literally want her dead. There’s a hot brooding man in the corner who ends up being not what she expected, and by the time she accomplishes what she set out to accomplish – prove everyone wrong, even herself, and especially her so-called best friend – she discovers that there are lies upon lies upon lies and she doesn’t know who to trust anymore.

It’s a storyline we’re all familiar with. It’s been done. Even the twists have been done. Even the dragons have been done.

And yet.

And yet Fourth Wing was an adventure that felt fresh for me. A lot of people on Goodreads don’t feel the same (if you look at the reviews, be careful for spoilers!), as there are swathes of 1-start reviews and DNFs (did not finish). But I can honestly say that I loved the plot, I didn’t think it dragged at all, we were thrown right into the story and it just kept going at a good pace.

The setting of Fourth Wing

I really love an academy, school, or university setting. It’s one of the reasons I love Harry Potter, The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell … all these stories are set in schools or academies. It’s just so good.

While they didn’t have classes, as such, it was more about strength building, and history of the land, and being able to be a dragon rider with the knowledge of the world they lived in, and the history between their kingdom and others. It is a war college after all.

Speaking of which. There is a map in Fourth Wing. Granted, it’s not of the world, but it’s of Basgiath War College, and it has the layout of the buildings on it, wrapped with dragons as a border. I do love a good book map, no matter what the map is of.

One thing I’m really looking forward to in the second in the Emperyan series, Iron Flame, is exploring the world a little more; seeing what’s beyond Basgiath and Navarre. I suspect Yarros has created quite the setting that we’ve yet to fully explore.

Fourth Wing merch

Honestly, the internet has blown up over this book! There are so many pieces of Fourth Wing merch that I’ve discovered recently. T-shirts, mugs, totes, Fourth Wing stickers … you name it! Here are a couple of my faves that I’ve spotted recently. Just for fun. 😉

• Fourth Wing Tee – Officially Licensed Fourth Wing merch on Books Know No Age
• Fourth Wing stickers – Love these from Sweet Bean Plans
• Fourth Wing Dragon Quote Sticker – Always need a good quote sticker from a book. This is by Biancacaleman on Redbubble
• Basgiath War College Tote Bag – I have far too many tote bags but I do love this one from Teson Store on Etsy
• Vintage Basgiath War College Shirt – Also love this sweatshirt from Black Eagle Tee on Etsy
• Fourth Wing bookmarks – Wish I were a bookmark person. Check out SbBookish Boutique on Etsy for these ones.

Conclusion

Okay, so if you’ve read this entire Fourth Wing book review and you’re still not convinced, I probably lost you a long time ago. But you need a one-word summary of this book it’s simply this: dragons.

Honestly, do you even need more information? Off you pop to your nearest bookstore to pick up a copy! Or check it out at your library (or rather, join the long line of people wanting to read a copy!).

Have you read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarrows? What did you think?

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Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

The second book in The Empyrean series is called Iron Flame and it will be released in November 2023.