Fourth Wing has been the buzziest book recently. And I can see why. For me, as someone who has always harbored illusions of grandeur and also love dragons, this was exhilarating fun. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Fourth Wing is fun. One of the first things I enjoyed was the disability rep in the main character who has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and it is so seamlessly woven in. I love that we see this heroine who learns the necessity of compassion and cleverness – not just brute strength – in a world which seems to prioritize a hammer. Especially in fantasy, I enjoyed seeing this representation in Violet and how it’s woven into the little touches all the way to how she sees the world.
I also can never pass by a main character who leans on her siblings because her parental figure could not care less. Look, I have a type okay! The relationship between Violet and her siblings – which I can imagine will only grow in the sequels – is definitely another of my favorite elements. Another element – friendship as found family – is woven into Fourth Wing from the beginning. Now let’s get to two other large elements of Fourth Wing – the enemies to lovers and the dragons.
Dragons and Enemies
I said before I love dragons, and yes 100% read Fourth Wing for the adult “How to Train your Dragon” content. Plus these ones are sentient and are definitely calling the shots. That being said, we don’t get a ton of physical description of the dragons early on, so while I would love more details on this aspect, I think that what we do is just fun. Additionally the enemies to lovers component. This worked for me, mostly because I enjoyed the serious smolder even if some elements were clearly there just to make the concept work. We love banter, denial of feelings, and the “I don’t want to care about you but I need to protect you” vibes. I think in general, Fourth Wing is one of those books which is fun.
Overall,
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It’s a book that feels like escapism, a fast paced read, and with some spice. I can see why there’s so much hype and while there were some elements which could have used some more depth in some aspects, I’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel! It’s a book that just screams fun reading for the summer. Find Fourth Wing on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon (UK), Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.