Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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

My Review:

Fourth Wing is the first book in Rebecca Yarros' The Empyrean trilogy, which introduces us to a world filled with magic, dragons, and deadly battles. I love dragons, and there's nothing like a good romance in the middle of a paranormal and fantasy world, so I was quite interested. This series has gained a lot of popularity, but despite the expectation of a thrilling story, I must admit that I struggled to connect with the plot and characters at first.

The protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, left me with mixed feelings. She’s the typical weak girl, with no family support and seemingly no chance of survival, who somehow makes it. Although I appreciated her growth throughout the novel and her cleverness in compensating for her physical fragility, I was frustrated by her innocence and the way she blindly trusted people she barely knew. Despite being in constant danger, she seemed far too gullible when, from my perspective, it was obvious she was being manipulated. A clear example is her relationship with her "best friend," who I found insufferable from the first dialogues. It was obvious they had no future together, and her persistence in the story ended up being a huge annoyance for me.

Now, something that prevented me from fully connecting with Violet was the way she made decisions. In every key situation, I probably wouldn't have acted the way she did, especially when she discovers she’s been manipulated by those she considered her friends and allies. Her reactions felt unbelievable more than once given the circumstances she was in. At times, she seemed immature, but I’m well past my 20s, so I tried to remind myself that I was probably the same way at that age.

On the other hand, Xaden perfectly fits the archetype of the strong, mysterious, and sexy guy. His dark personality and forbidden relationship with Violet, who should consider him her mortal enemy, is one of the points that hooks readers in this type of story, even if their interactions aren't always completely realistic. They are a typical cliché, but that’s to be expected and probably what keeps readers invested in the 'romance' that is being built and sought after in the story.

The dragons are undoubtedly one of the most interesting elements of the book. Stories involving dragons usually have a special appeal to me, and this one was no exception. However, I felt somewhat betrayed by how they interacted with Violet. Dragons are supposed to be powerful, have an extremely strong bond with their rider, and be wise creatures, but there were moments when they didn't act as I expected, leaving a bittersweet taste in that part of the plot.

Despite all these criticisms, once I connected with the story, I couldn't stop reading until the early hours of the morning. I don't mind clichés as long as the reading becomes addictive, and I think this book achieves that. Now I’m eagerly awaiting the second installment of this series, Iron Flame, to see how Violet evolves after everything that’s happened.

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