A review by azahller
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Violet Sorrengail has trained to be a scribe her whole life, but on conscription day her mother forces her to instead join the rider's quadrant to train to become a dragon rider. In the war college students are not only at risk of being burnt alive by a dragon deeming them unworthy, but also put through a series of deadly trials and even encouraged to thin the herd themselves. Violet now has only two options: fly or die.

I absolutely adored this book. It's like Yarros plucked all of my specific interests and even thought processes out of my brain and printed them onto the pages. Violet is so relatable to me and I found myself really loving our cast of characters.  The world building comes naturally, and I found the world to be exciting and rich.

One thing that initially threw me off is that the writing comes across very modern.  Eventually, I found this to be part of why I found Violet so relatable but it definitely stands out as odd for the fantasy genre. It's worth noting that Yarros has previously written a lot of romance and that it is reflected in the tone of Fourth Wing (I liked this).

I love this book and want everyone in the whole world to read it. Read for sure if you like dragons, magic, magical school, death challenges, high stakes, and rooting for the underdog.