A review by behindpaperbacks
Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks to Piatkus and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you mixed the academy parts of The Poppy War and How To Train Your Dragon, you would get this book!
Her entire life, Violet Sorrengail has trained to become a scribe. But when she's ordered by her mother to enter the rider quadrant, Violet's life is on the line. Because at Basgiath war college, you either graduate and become a dragon rider, or you die. Since she is chronically ill and far weaker and smaller than the other students, Violet's chances of survival are slim. With enemies surrounding her, she needs to outsmart everyone else and fight for her life if she wants to live to claim a dragon.
Normally, I'm wary of academy settings because the plots in academy books often get extremely tropey. That was not the case here. The trials to become a dragon rider were so deadly and action-packed, I could not put the book down. Apart from the risk of dying at the trials, Violet is also surrounded by people wanting to kill her - either to thin the herd of potential riders or because of her mother, the High General. One of those is Xaden Riorson, a squad leader that, like many others, was conscripted into the Rider Quadrant after his father led a rebellion.
Despite the book taking place almost exclusively in the war college, the worldbuilding was well-fleshed out. The way we got information about the world outside the academy felt really organic. Judging from the information presented, there will be a lot more focus on the war between Navarre, Violet's country, and the neighbouring kingdom. One thing that bothered me a little was the language - all the characters express themselves like a modern person would, although we're in a fantasy setting. We see this a lot in YA fantasy and it took me out of the story a little. At times, the prose even read like a contemporary romance or paranormal romance which irritated me. But the book was extremely fun and fast-paced, so I let that one slide.
Moreover, I loved all the lore we got about different dragons, which, again, really reminded me of HTTYD! I wished the dragons had been more prominent in the first part. As it was, they only really entered the plot around the halfway-mark. In that world, dragon riders enter a mental link with their dragon and also channel magic from them. The bonds between dragon and rider were explored well in the book and (view spoiler)
My favorite part of the book were the characters, however. You watch Violet really grow in this book and go from an underdog to someone who can hold her own in that deadly world. I loved how she didn't back down when other's challenged her and how she outsmarted her opponents when her physical abilities weren't enough. Her resilience and outspoken nature made her a great character to follow. The other members of Violet's squad (or Wing, as it's called here) were also really great characters and I loved their banter and found family dynamic. Although Violet herself isn't queer, the world is queernormative and there was some sapphic rep which I appreciated.
Since this is a fantasy romance, I can't get around talking about the love triangle, if you can call it that. On the one hand, Violet has had a crush on her best childhood friend, Dain, who is also a dragon rider at the Academy. On the other, there's Xaden, who hates her but who Violet is drawn to. Basically the whole situation reminded me a bit of the Juliette-Warner-Adam relationship in Shatter Me, except this was resolved way sooner and thank god. Never have I read a character that aggravated me as much as Dain (which I suspect was the point). The eventual romance developed really nicely in a slow-burn kind of story which I really enjoyed.
The ending held quite a few surprises which I won't spoil. Let's just say I almost threw my kindle across the room. Although I saw a few of the twists coming, I was still really enraged. I can't wait for book two, I'm so glad it comes out so soon!
All in all, Fourth Wing was a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy romance for fans of Throne of Glass. 5/5 stars.
If you mixed the academy parts of The Poppy War and How To Train Your Dragon, you would get this book!
Her entire life, Violet Sorrengail has trained to become a scribe. But when she's ordered by her mother to enter the rider quadrant, Violet's life is on the line. Because at Basgiath war college, you either graduate and become a dragon rider, or you die. Since she is chronically ill and far weaker and smaller than the other students, Violet's chances of survival are slim. With enemies surrounding her, she needs to outsmart everyone else and fight for her life if she wants to live to claim a dragon.
Normally, I'm wary of academy settings because the plots in academy books often get extremely tropey. That was not the case here. The trials to become a dragon rider were so deadly and action-packed, I could not put the book down. Apart from the risk of dying at the trials, Violet is also surrounded by people wanting to kill her - either to thin the herd of potential riders or because of her mother, the High General. One of those is Xaden Riorson, a squad leader that, like many others, was conscripted into the Rider Quadrant after his father led a rebellion.
Despite the book taking place almost exclusively in the war college, the worldbuilding was well-fleshed out. The way we got information about the world outside the academy felt really organic. Judging from the information presented, there will be a lot more focus on the war between Navarre, Violet's country, and the neighbouring kingdom. One thing that bothered me a little was the language - all the characters express themselves like a modern person would, although we're in a fantasy setting. We see this a lot in YA fantasy and it took me out of the story a little. At times, the prose even read like a contemporary romance or paranormal romance which irritated me. But the book was extremely fun and fast-paced, so I let that one slide.
Moreover, I loved all the lore we got about different dragons, which, again, really reminded me of HTTYD! I wished the dragons had been more prominent in the first part. As it was, they only really entered the plot around the halfway-mark. In that world, dragon riders enter a mental link with their dragon and also channel magic from them. The bonds between dragon and rider were explored well in the book and (view spoiler)
My favorite part of the book were the characters, however. You watch Violet really grow in this book and go from an underdog to someone who can hold her own in that deadly world. I loved how she didn't back down when other's challenged her and how she outsmarted her opponents when her physical abilities weren't enough. Her resilience and outspoken nature made her a great character to follow. The other members of Violet's squad (or Wing, as it's called here) were also really great characters and I loved their banter and found family dynamic. Although Violet herself isn't queer, the world is queernormative and there was some sapphic rep which I appreciated.
Since this is a fantasy romance, I can't get around talking about the love triangle, if you can call it that. On the one hand, Violet has had a crush on her best childhood friend, Dain, who is also a dragon rider at the Academy. On the other, there's Xaden, who hates her but who Violet is drawn to. Basically the whole situation reminded me a bit of the Juliette-Warner-Adam relationship in Shatter Me, except this was resolved way sooner and thank god. Never have I read a character that aggravated me as much as Dain (which I suspect was the point). The eventual romance developed really nicely in a slow-burn kind of story which I really enjoyed.
The ending held quite a few surprises which I won't spoil. Let's just say I almost threw my kindle across the room. Although I saw a few of the twists coming, I was still really enraged. I can't wait for book two, I'm so glad it comes out so soon!
All in all, Fourth Wing was a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy romance for fans of Throne of Glass. 5/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: War and Death of parent