I have a bad habit I’ve recently realized I need to break ASAP. As soon as I finish a book, I rate it on Goodreads. The problem is I’m far too generous with these ratings. Books I absolutely loathe will still somehow get a 2 or 3-star rating (I can always find something to like and realize not every book I find is meant for me). While books I generally enjoy will probably get 4 or even 5 stars, I’ll often finish a book I liked and fully believe it’s the best thing I’ve ever read. Then rate it as such only to forget every single thing about it two days later. All of this to say, I need to stop handing out 5-star reviews so frivolously and reserve them for the books that really deserve it.
The reason for this epiphany? I recently read a book that was so damn good giving it a 5-star rating wasn’t enough. Because it was miles and away better than every other 5-star book on my Goodreads shelf. Gentlefriends, I’m here today to share the book that made me rethink everything: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
20-year-old Violet Sorrengail spent her life preparing to go into the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet life among books and history. Her mother, the commanding general of Navarre, had other plans. Violet instead finds herself competing with hundreds of candidates to become one of Navarre’s elite: a dragon rider. While her competitors have spent their lives training for this very moment, Violet is leagues behind them and, on top of that, has a chronic illness that makes her even more vulnerable at Basgiath, the deadly war college she's being forced to enroll in. All she has on her side are her wits, which are admittedly better than most, and the ever-frustrating Xaden Riorson, who can’t seem to decide whether to kill her or help her survive long enough to bond a dragon of her own.
Why Fourth Wing is My Favorite Book of the Year… So Far
The Worldbuilding Makes It Feel Like You’re Watching a Movie
One of the biggest issues with the fantasy genre is that it can be hard to get into a new book. It’s an entirely new world, with a new magic system, and largely made-up words, names. And places you have to first figure out how to pronounce and then remember what they even mean. Even as someone who considers themselves a professional fantasy reader, I get how hard it can be. Fourth Wing, however, is a masterclass in worldbuilding. From the very first page, the world is mapped out clearly and compellingly.
I often find myself flipping to a book’s glossary or map to remember what a term or place is. But with Fourth Wing, this isn’t at all necessary. Yarros creates a vivid yet easy-to-understand magical world the likes of which I rarely see in the genre. When you drop into the world of Fourth Wing, it really feels like you’re watching a movie that draws you in from the very first clip.
The Heroine is Badass & Complicated
When it comes to enjoying a book, I can often look past vague worldbuilding (which isn’t even the case with Fourth Wing), a sketchy magic system, or even a meh plot. The one thing that will turn me off a book like no other, though? A main character who falls completely flat or is even downright annoying (no, I will not be naming names).
Violet is multidimensional and Yarros makes you root for her from the very beginning. She wants a quiet life—it’s what she’s prepared her entire childhood for. But when she’s forced into dragon rider training, during which hundreds of her peers will literally die, she doesn’t balk at the challenge. Instead, she rises to it. Watching her grow into a strong warrior throughout the book is a truly rewarding experience.
I also can’t stand main characters who inexplicably have no flaws and are somehow the chosen one destined to save the world. Violet is complicated, makes mistakes, and then actually learns from them—and she is 100% the underdog at Basgiath. What Yarros does expertly here though is have Violet make mistakes that are extremely relatable… rather than just dumb. I’ve read more than a few books where the main character makes choices that make me want to bang my head against the wall. With Violet, even when she makes questionable choices (and believe me, she does), you can’t help but root for her and realize that if you were in her shoes, you’d make those same mistakes too.
Source: Garri Chaverst
The Non-Romantic Relationships
I’m going to get to the story’s main romance in a minute, but what actually made me excited in the first couple of chapters was the dynamic of Violet’s family. With her father and brother dead, Violet’s sister and mother are her only family left. Violet’s mother is the commanding general of Navarre’s dragon riders. And her sister is the perfect daughter living up to their mother’s legacy. When Violet’s mother forces her to join the Riders Quadrant and Violet resigns herself to her fate, you get a clear picture of the fraught mother-daughter relationship that remains a theme throughout the book.
Violet does what she does because she’s forced to, yes. But she also wants to prove herself to the mother who by the looks of it, doesn’t really love her. Or, at the very least, believe she’ll survive her first year. Along the way, Violet realizes that not only can she live up to her mother’s expectations, but even more so, she can surpass them and prove her wrong.
Violet’s relationship with her sister endeared me right away. Where the girls’ mother is distant and seemingly uncaring, Violet’s older sister looks out for her and does everything in her admittedly limited power to set her up for success—after all, she excelled at Basgiath when she was a student a few years ago.
And the girls’ brother, though he passed away some time ago, is also present in the book in a way that proves the three of them have always been thick as thieves. We have no choice but to stan the Sorrengail sibs.
This is all without even beginning to get into the friendships Violet makes at Basgiath. Each side character introduced is nearly as fleshed out as the main ones—something fantasy books all try to do but rarely stick the landing on. In every book I read, there’s always at least one character or side plot I have absolutely zero interest in and have to force myself to read through. That is not the case with Fourth Wing. Instead, Yarros does an excellent job making each character and interaction matter in the grand scheme of the story. She also peppers in just the right amount of humor and heartfelt (but not cheesy) moments, making even the non-romantic parts of the book fun and exciting to read.
…And The Romantic Ones, Too
For me, a strong romantic relationship is a must-have for a good adult fantasy book and Fourth Wing has a romance that, dare I say, is up there with the ones in A Court of Thorns and Roses for me (and maybe even better? Alert the presses). The romance in Fourth Wing is a slow burn done absolutely right. By the time I got to our first real romantic scene between the characters, I had been rooting and waiting for it to happen for ages.
Too often, though, romance plots come seemingly out of nowhere. And you’re left wondering how the hell we got here when there was no chemistry to speak of. And no hints at something deeper going on between the characters. Or even worse, the characters have an undeniable and unexplainable attraction for each other the very first time they meet. And their relationship is never really developed beyond that. Yarros created a love story that is both believable and one you can’t help but root for. I still get giddy thinking about it and would reread this book again for the romance alone.
The Plot
It’s been literal ages where I’ve been more invested in a book’s plot than its romance or characters. Fourth Wing is truly thrilling from beginning to end. Will Violet survive the deadly war college? Will one of the classmates who has it out for her be her downfall (our girl survives multiple murder attempts)? And will Violet bond with a dragon? Why the heck are attacks on Navarre’s borders increasing? Can Violet really trust anyone she’s met at Basgiath?
There is so much going on in Fourth Wing and each subplot is as compelling as the main one. There’s also no shortage of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. However, when those twists are revealed, you realize that Yarros left you breadcrumbs every step of the way. Not in a way that makes the twists predictable. But in a way that makes the payoff extremely satisfying.
The plot is seriously so compelling that when one particular storyline wrapped up, I cried real tears of joy and rushed to tell my husband all about it. This was also the exact moment I knew Fourth Wing was a hall-of-fame read for me and a book I would never forget.
The Bottom Line
I had absolutely zero expectations going into this book, but I was blown away by every single page. As I was reading it, I said multiple times out loud “I just really love this book.” Even weeks after finishing it I can’t stop thinking about it. And would give anything for the opportunity to read it for the first time again. The good news is that Fourth Wing is the first book in a new series so I’ll get more of this story. But the bad news is I’ll have to wait who knows how long until then. In the meantime, you can find me listening to the audiobook and rereading my hard copy on repeat.
I urge every single person on this earth to run to their nearest bookstore or library and get this book in their hands. Reading it was an experience I’ll never forget. And if it were up to me, it would win all of the awards. Bravo, Fourth Wing, bravo.
20-year-old Violet Sorrengail spent her life preparing to go into the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet life among books and history. Her mother, the commanding general of Navarre, had other plans. Violet instead finds herself competing with hundreds of candidates to become one of Navarre’s elite: a dragon rider. While her competitors have spent their lives training for this very moment, Violet is leagues behind them and, on top of that, has a chronic illness that makes her even more vulnerable at Basgiath, the deadly war college she's being forced to enroll in. All she has on her side are her wits, which are admittedly better than most, and the ever-frustrating Xaden Riorson, who can’t seem to decide whether to kill her or help her survive long enough to bond a dragon of her own.
