Robin’s Rave Reviews 2024 – Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

*Note my warning below concerning this book’s content

Let’s start with-YES!  FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros was an amazing 5-star read for me. FOURTH WING was considered one of the best books of 2023, but I just got to it this year. The hype around it was crazy. Sometimes that worries me that a novel won’t stand up to the hype, but this one did.

Romance, fantasy, life and death action, magical dragons, friendship and betrayals, cut-throat competition, and training to fight for a kingdom that may be hiding secrets…what more could a reader ask for?

I’m wondering if FOURTH WING became so popular because it has wide appeal. Readers like me, who don’t regularly read fantasy, are picking it up.

Some hard-core fantasy readers giving bad reviews mention that this book stole ideas from other novels like Harry Potter, ACOTAR, Shadow and Bone, Hunger Games, and Divergent. These are books that also broke through those genre boundaries, enticing a wide group of readers. Is similarity to these beloved books really a problem or a magic formula? Besides, no book is fully unique.

Other popular stories may have inspired Yarros’s writing. So what? I don’t think that’s a bad thing. This story differs from those other books. I enjoyed that this female protagonist has everything riding against her, and yet her bravery, perseverance, inner-strength, and intelligence, along with help from some friends, get her through. She has a lot of plot armor, but hey-she’s our main character.

FOURTH WING Summary:

Twenty-year old Violet, a strong female protagonist, is at the age when she must commit to a quadrant. As her deceased father was a scribe, she’s been training for that path her whole life. She has a love of books and knows her people’s history well. However, her mother is General Sorrengail. The general knows a large percentage of dragon rider candidates die, but she still forces her daughter to enlist in the Dragon Rider Quadrant at Basgiath War College.

This quadrant represents the elite, the defenders of the kingdom. The other dragon rider candidates have been training for this opportunity, just as Violet has trained to gain entrance to the Scribe Quadrant. That leaves Violet lacking the training needed for the deadly Dragon Rider entrance exam.

If she somehow passes, it becomes a lethal competition to connect with a dragon since there are fewer dragons willing to bond than there are candidates. Violet is smaller than average and has a rare disease which causes loose ligaments and brittle bones. Even if Violet makes it through the initial physical tests, dragons would rather incinerate the weak rather than bond with them. Even after bonding, only a fraction of those riders live through the four years of training. There are only two ways dragon riding school ends: either graduate or die. And graduates are sent to the war.

In the FOURTH WING world, dragons are the superior species. This isn’t a dragon-taming book. Rather, the dragons put their riders through excruciating exercises to test their mettle. The dragons also have clear personalities, shown through their actions and the thoughts sent telepathically to their riders.

Violet is reunited with her childhood friend Dain, a third-year. Readers will wonder if he will turn into a love interest. His protective actions are good intentioned but keep her from becoming all she can be. Still, he’s there, watching her back.

She faces danger every day of training, but danger also lurks within the ranks, especially for the daughter of the general. Violet’s nemesis in the first half of the book is Xaden Riorson, the son of a rebel leader.

Back when the rebellion ended, Violet’s mother had the rebel leaders executed. The government forced their children to enlist as dragon riders when they reached the proper age. These riders have a vendetta against Violet because of her mother’s actions. Xaden, the most powerful wing leader, is one of these. As much as he wants to hate her, circumstances out of his control force him to reevaluate his relationship with Violet. As Yarros reveals the backstories of some students, readers better understand the characters’ actions and loyalties.

News continues to come in from the far reaches of the kingdom’s borders. Protective wards are failing, and perimeter villages are being attacked. More dragon riders are needed. As Violet continues her training exercises and classwork, she suspects the leaders, including her mother, are keeping secrets concerning the dangers across the border.

*FOURTH WING Final Note (and Content Warning)

Ok, so maybe FOURTH WING is a 4.75 read for me. I’m deducting part of a point due to a couple of SPICY sex scenes I personally could have done without. Since they come late in the book, I was taken off guard. It is consensual sex, but I like a more closed-door, committed relationship approach. It’s my personal preference.

Publishers usually label books with characters of this age as YA, but the sex and violence bump it into the adult category. I hope parents are aware of the sex, the violence, and the F-bombs before deciding on FOURTH WING’s appropriateness for their teens. For adults, if you can get past those issues, I highly recommend this book. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to ponder if I want to read it again before I start the sequel, IRON FLAME.

 

If you want to learn more about Rebecca Yarros, click here. If your ready to purchase, consider buying FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros here.  (The sequel IRON FLAME  is also available.) These links will take you to Bookshop.org, a business that supports Mom and Pop bookstores nationwide. I don’t receive anything from Bookshop if you buy from them. I just believe in their mission.

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