Book Information
Author: Rebecca YarrosGenre: Fantasy, Romance, YA
Published: Piatkus, May 2023
About the Book
Welcome to the brutal and elite world of Basgiath War College . . .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.
Everyone at Basgiath has an agenda, and every night could be your last. So, sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
My Review
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is a TikTok sensation that I recently had the pleasure of reading. It may not surprise you to know that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in a day.
Fourth Wing is a fantasy enemies-to-lovers romance set in the elite but brutal War College of Basgiath and tells the story of Violet Sorrengail as she is ordered by her mother to become a dragon rider instead of a scribe. She is smaller, brittle and has many obstacles in her way if she is to bond with a dragon. There is also the small problem of Xaden Riorson, who is intent on killing her. To survive to see the next sunrise, she’ll need every bit of wit and strength she possesses. As each day passes, the war outside grows more terrible still, and Violet suspects a terrible secret is being hidden. When everyone around you has their own agenda, you only have two choices in Basgiath. Graduate or die.
This is the first book I have read by Rebecca Yarros, and I loved it. I read it in a day and fell in love with her writing and the world she built. The premise of the book is very interesting to me and others. I haven’t read many fantasy books, but I loved this one. The way she wrote the book is very easy to read and easy to understand, which made me fly through the pages. The chapters were not too long or short, and I found that made it much easier to read.
One of my favourite things about Fourth Wing was the world of Basgiath. It is such a dangerous place, and I never felt as though Violet was truly safe. Every challenge seemed to come with another opportunity for something to go horribly wrong. There are physical challenges, deadly obstacles, enemies and the constant pressure of knowing that not everyone who starts the course will make it to the end. It created a real sense of tension throughout the book because I genuinely didn't know who would survive.
And, of course, there are the dragons!
I absolutely loved the dragons in this book. They aren't simply enormous creatures that Violet rides around on. They have their own personalities, opinions and relationships with the riders they bond with. I especially enjoyed the communication between Violet and her dragons and found myself wanting more and more of those moments. The dragons add something really special to the story and are one of the reasons I am so excited to continue with the series.
My favourite character in Fourth Wing was the main character, Violet Sorrengail. She is first an underdog and has a hard time getting through the obstacles that will get her a place in the Riders Quadrant. Despite knowing that she is weaker than everyone else and has next to no training, she tries her hardest not to die. To make it to the stage where she can have the chance to bond with a dragon. Every time she dances with death, she manages to survive and become stronger for it. Using her wit and intelligence, she scrapes through and lives to survive another day.
She knows she has an enemy in many people due to who her mother is, and she has to not only survive the dangerous tasks but also the people she is surrounded by. She is a strong, intelligent and persistent character and one that I love. I also loved her bond with the dragons and found it interesting to read the conversations between her and the creatures. I found myself hankering for more of her character and loving every moment she was written on the page.
What I particularly liked about Violet was that she doesn't suddenly become the strongest person at Basgiath. She has to work with what she has. Her intelligence becomes one of her greatest strengths, and she learns to use her knowledge and quick thinking to compensate for the things she lacks physically. Watching her grow throughout the book was one of my favourite parts of the story.
Another character I grew to like was Xaden Riorson. He starts as this bloodthirsty character, convinced he is better than everyone else. Convinced that he will murder Violet Sorrengail in revenge for his father. For a large chunk of Fourth Wing, he is this character. He also has a nickname for Violet, which, over the course of the book, becomes a pet name.
I love the idea of his character and how he changes throughout the book. I love how their relationship changes throughout the book and cannot wait to see what happens in Iron Flame.
The enemies-to-lovers relationship between Violet and Xaden is definitely one of the things that kept me reading. There is so much tension between them, and I loved watching their relationship develop. At the beginning, Violet has very good reasons not to trust Xaden, and he certainly doesn't make things easy for her. Their relationship changes gradually, and I enjoyed discovering each little shift between them.
There are also plenty of other characters who make the story interesting, and I liked seeing Violet develop friendships alongside her complicated relationship with Xaden. At Basgiath, friendships can be just as important as strength because you never quite know when you are going to need someone to help you. I enjoyed seeing Violet find people she could trust and watching those relationships develop as the story progressed.
The ending of tFourth Wing was manic. It was action-packed and fast-paced, and each word grabbed me and never let go. So much happened in only about 50 pages. I loved the way the story wrapped up, and it left me hankering for more. It left me on the edge of my seat, and I am still thinking about it days later.
Another thing I loved about Fourth Wing was the little quotes from various in-world texts above each chapter. They gave little hints about the world and its history, and I enjoyed reading them before getting into each chapter. I also loved the design of the cover, the dragons, the world building, their relationship and the whole book.
I cannot remember a time I was uninterested in any words on any page. Even when I wasn't sure what was going to happen next, I always wanted to keep reading to find out. That is probably why I managed to finish a book of this size in a single day!
Fourth Wing is one of the best books I have read in the last year, and I cannot wait to read the sequel. I really enjoyed this book and gave it 5 stars!
