A review by jess_bythebook
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The perfect blend of Hunger Games, Divergent, and From Blood and Ash. I could NOT put this down. Continually keeping you on the edge of your seat, this book is filled with adventure, tension, enemies to lovers, dragons, forced proximity, action-packed battles, and so much more. 

Violet Sorrengail has trained her whole life to become a scribe in the archives and surround herself with books. Especially since her bones are frail and she has been known to be easy to break. However, after her military general mother thrust her into the Riders Quadrant, she’s now up against some of the most lethal men and women in the city all fighting to become the distinguished Dragon Riders. 

“A dragon without their rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.”

But what she doesn’t know is that she already has plenty of  people out for her blood, including Xaden Riorson - the son of the Great Betrayer who’s family was against hers in the war. She quickly finds herself fighting for her life inside the war college with a war raging outside, has to find a dragon to bond with, and yet also can’t let anyone know how fragile she is. 

“I will not run. I wouldn't be standing here if I'd quit every time something seemed impossible to overcome. I will not die today.”

I listened to the audiobook (the re-recorded version) and the narrator was phenomenal! I loved the character arc for Violet and the taboo angst between her and Xaden is palpable. But what I loved more than anything - the dragons! They each had their own personalities and this story really dived into the world building without feeling overwhelming. Highly recommended and this easily became my top book of the month!