Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Title: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Publisher: Red Tower Books
Publication Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042 

Synopsis:
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.

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Wow wow wow wow wow. Did I say wow? There hasn’t been a book this good to come out in I don’t even know how long. I’ve never even heard of Yarros until the release of the second book in The Empyrean series, Iron Flame (which thank GOD I have on order). This series has dragons, it has brutal challenges, it has tension and war, it has twists and turns you’ll never see coming, it’s got mysterious fables, and it’s got steamy romance. Can you get any better than that? I think not. Yarros has targeted everyone who was coming of age with Eragon and the Harry Potter books and written the next great series, specifically targeting them. It actually also really reminds me of Tamora Pierce’s work, an author I was OBSESSED with as a teen. Pierce is a writing goddess, but let me tell you, Yarros is giving her a run for her money. Only this time, in this series, everyone is aged up and are now all adults going through military training where every day is life or death.

I picked up this book one day and it consumed my entire world. I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. As I write this, it’s on the couch waiting for me because, yup, I’m going to immediately dive back in and read it again. I haven’t been able to say THAT about a book in well over a decade. Violet Sorrengail is exactly the kind of heroine I dreamed of becoming. She’s an unlikely warrior and an unsuspecting hero. To look at her, you’d think she’d be the first to fail and the first to fall. But despite all of the odds stacked against her, Violet prevails. There’s a deep determination in her to take the lemons that life has thrown at her and turn them into lemonade. She sure as hell isn’t going to let anyone see her weakness. Her determination, quick wit, elevated intellect, and fiery personality lands her in the center of the the Basgiath War College.

Xaden Riorson is our villain. On the surface, he’s everything we’re told to expect and he has every reason to want Violet dead. Which he does. Actively. Beneath his loathing and anger is an incredibly complex and calculating individual with a pure heart, not that he’d ever admit to it. He’s incredible. With his intelligence, leadership, cunning, and prowess, he is more than evenly matched with Violet’s own talent. He is a man of action, but also has a superior way with words. There are no games, not dancing around with Xaden. There is none of that shouting frustration at characters who are stupid. These two characters, and all those in their group, are mature adults who behave in a relatable and understandable way, even though they are living and fighting in absolute chaos. With Violet, Xaden, and their crew of allies the same squadron, they’ll make for a formidable team, if only they don’t kill one another first.

This book is breathtaking. It’s fast-paced, ever changing and there are surprises around every corner. Yarros has masterfully built this complex world that continues to grow and unfold as this first book in the series goes on. Her writing is the perfect blend of colourful and imaginative without diving too deep into over explaining. It’s perfectly thought out. I was amazed as scenes would unfold with incredible continuity, yet full of intense description. She makes dragons cool again! There are so many books in the fantasy genre that try and fall short of this perfection. It’s hard to make the world of magic and dragons sexy, but Yarros somehow wields a magic power that makes this book simply impossible to stop thinking about. My copy of book 2 should be arriving next week and I absolutely am hooked. I can’t wait to see where it’s going to go.

Happy reading!