Fourth Wing Review

by Rebecca Yarros

Rating: 5/5

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...

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

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I’ve had this one on my shelf since it came out! And I don’t know why I waited so long to pick it up. But seeing so many others posting about reading or rereading this in preparation for the third book, I got a serious case of the FOMO and decided to finally take the plunge!

And OH MY GAWD! This book definitely lived up to the book hype! It was amazing. I loved reading this. I couldn’t put it down. I was entirely consumed by it. And I am obsessed now. Why did I wait so long?!

This gives some serious Divergent vibes while still being uniquely its own. We’re thrown into a whole new world as we follow Violet, who just wanted to be a scribe, get thrown into training to become a dragon rider by her own mother. It was so captivating as we navigate the war college as Violet does everything in her power to prove she belongs despite multiple people trying to kill her and her own body limitations. 

I loved and adored Violet, seeing her character grow as we journey through the book. And I can only imagine just how much she’ll grow as we continue through the series. Her spirit is admirable and a joy to watch. She definitely keeps us on our toes! I didn’t know what to expect when it came to what she would do. But I loved all of it!

And then we have bad boy, Xaden Riorson, who, from the moment we meet, has us fumbling for words. The relationship between Xaden and Violet was entertaining to follow. They’re enemies and are stuck at the same college. She should avoid him, but somehow he’s always there. And as we continue through the story, things just continue to become more and more complicated for them both. I can’t wait to see how things end for these two!

I’m already itching for the sequel after that explosion of an ending! While some parts I can’t say surprised me, I still thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book. And you know I immediately picked this sequel up after finishing this review.

If you enjoy fantasy and some spicy romance with an enemies-to-lovers trope, definitely pick this one up! Think Divergent but with dragons! I highly recommend this series!