Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is one of the most hyped books, and it felt good to read this fantasy romance. The novel was released in April 2023, and the book community went crazy over it.
It was like, ‘OMG, Fourth Wing this, Fourth Wing that,’ throughout the year!! You are bound to be intrigued when you see this much craze, right? Because I most definitely was!
Hi! I am Priyanka from Hooked to Books, and today, I will write my review of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
If you want to know more about the book and what I thought about the story, scroll down to read the synopsis and finally dive into my review.
So, without further delay, let’s start with the article.
Synopsis of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing is the first book in the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros. The story begins by introducing us to the main protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, the youngest daughter of Lilith Sorrengail, Commanding General of the dragon riders of Navarre.
The plot revolves around Basgiath War College, where youngsters are trained to become powerful soldiers to fight against the dangers lurking outside their kingdom and protect the natives.
The college is divided into four quadrants – Riders, Infantry, Scribes, and Healers.
Students trained ruthlessly to bond with dragons fall under the rider quadrants. The infantry are the foot soldiers. Scribes are the smartest who engross themselves in books. Healers are trained to heal and mend the injured.
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail always wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and enter the Scribes quadrant. But her mother forced her to the Riders quadrant.
The smart but fragile girl embarks on the deadly journey to become a rider unwillingly and fights every second to survive for the next day. The quadrant where her older brother died and her elder sister became one of the best riders of her year.
On the day of Conscription, she meets Xaden Riorson, the son of the rebellion leader, who is now dead, courtesy of General Sorrengail and other authoritative figures. Xaden is furious to see Violet and is ready to kill her once he gets the opportunity.
From here, the adventurous tale of the Basgiath War College begins, where Violet struggles to survive the challenges, saves herself from the enemies of her mother, fights her attraction toward Xaden, makes strong friendship bonds, tries to bond with scary dragons, and all in all, tries to live!
Oh, and the story ends with a cliffhanger.
My Review of Fourth Wing
I finally read this hyped book of last year!!!!!
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the one book I was waiting to read because it includes DRAGONS!! Yes, Dragons! I enjoy reading books that have dragons in them.
The scary, ruthless, yet beautifully created creatures can be tamed, and once bonded, they are your most loyal friend.
This book is the first part of the series, and the second part is already released. Fourth Wing has mixed reviews, although most readers loved the story.
In my view, this romantic fantasy book (in short, romantasy) is a satisfactory read, where you will get enough fantasy elements to enjoy but nothing new or fresh except tiny parts such as the signet power given by dragons to their chosen riders, or the way dragons can telepathically communicate with the riders.
So, yes, the plot is a cliche, with dragons (Game of Thrones), a fragile main character who does not know about the institute’s brutal challenges or the war that lies ahead (Harry Potter), and many more elements that are identical with already famous books.
But despite the familiarity, Rebecca Yarros did a great job with her writing by keeping it simple with the use of contemporary language, effortless worldbuilding, and adding those extra twists that make the story an enjoyable read.
For me, the characters, both humans and dragons, were the best part of the book. I didn’t find any characters as flat or dull; all were incredibly written with impressive traits.
Dragons were the most hilarious ones in the book. Their sarcastic, snarky, and moody comments cracked me up a lot! They carried an admirable aura and power throughout the book.
My favorites were Xaden, Tairn, Violet, Andarna, Sgaeyl, Liam, Mira, Ridoc, Imogen, and Rhiannon. Did I include all the main ones? I guess I did!
Violet and Xaden’s romance was the enemies-to-lovers trope. I really liked them together, although their romance scenes start very late in the story. Miss Violet Sorrengail spends most of her time ogling at Xaden from afar, and the same can be said for Xaden.
So, yes, cliche or not, the book was indeed an exciting read with all the necessary elements to make it a satisfactory fantasy romance book.
I recommend everyone to try reading it once; either you will be intrigued enough to finish it or heavily bored to drop the book and never touch it again.
Wrap-Up
Rebecca Yarros is a romance writer, and this is one of her fantasy romance books that gained a lot of attention from readers.
I hope my review of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was helpful and gave you an understanding of the plot. Now, the decision to pick it up or not will become easier.
Share your review of the book in the comments below!