What's up, Hivers? It's me, 
Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders where a twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant. She was living a quiet life among books and history and now the commanding general which was also known as her tough as talons mother has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre or the dragon riders.
But when you are smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle then 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 while the rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter just like Xaden Riorson which was the most powerful and ruthless wing leader 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 which is to graduate or die (Source).
Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novel which included Fourth Wing and In the Likely Event. She’s the recipient of the British Book Award for Book of the Year and the Alex Award from the American Library Association. She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to her husband for over twenty years. She is a mother of six and when she is not writing, you can find her at the hockey rink or sneaking in some guitar time. She and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and two cats who rule them all.
Having fostered then adopted their youngest, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October, which she co-founded with her husband in 2019. (Source)
I have always loved the idea of dragons in a way and I was already watching the hit TV series entitled "House Of Dragons" which was a prequel spin-off of another hit TV series which was entitled "Game Of Thrones" and because of that I was even more addicted to dragons. So I discover the novel "Fourth Wing" from a video on TikTok and everyone was recommending it and saying it was worth the hype so I immediately start reading it.
Now let's start with the review. First of all, I read this book blindly. I don't actually know who the main characters wer, what was the plot all about and what was actually going on with the book. I just know that it had dragons in it. In the first three chapters of the book, I immediately know that this book had a trope called enemies to lovers like legit super enemies to lovers!
I was hooked and sleep was non-existent. The way the author introduced each character and their personality was so wonderful. The world building of the novel was insane and the trials were so nerve-wracking. I have come to a point where my reality does not exist anymore and I feel like I was physically and mentally there at Basgiath which was the setting of the story. That's just how good the world building was.
My thoughts about Violet Sorrengail since she was the female main character of the book. I just wanna say that this woman was tiny but so fierce and powerful. She always fights for what was right and she proves to everyone that she was more than just her mother’s daughter, that the challenges that she had experienced will make you love her more.
Now for Xaden Riorson, the male main character and one of my top book boyfriends of all time. The fans call him "Shadow Daddy" and he's six foot tall, has tattoos, has onyx gold eyes the and also the wing leader. What more can I say? He has everything and the things he would do for Violet? Oh dear, chef's kiss!
At the early chapters of the book, he was such a mysterious character where you would ask his loyalty and what he was he really up to. So many questions on my part as a reader where I was like “Why did he do that?” and eventually my questions were answered as I got deeper into the book. The chemistry and the banter of these two were so satisfying and heart flattering. The dragons in this novel were so fascinating and I love how the author was so articulate at how she skillfully crafted this book.
For the negative side. At first it was hard to understand or be hooked in the first chapters because of the intense world building. They have a code of conduct or The Codex as what they call it in the book. It was a war college story, so it had quadrants, wings, sections, squads and more which is hard to comprehend at first. But as you go deeper into the book, you will eventually understand what was happening. If you wanna check out or dig deeper about The Codex you can check this out! (The Codex)
The character development of each character is so nice and unexpected that it will make you realize so many things and reasons why they did those and most of them deserve it. The plot twist of this novel was insane. It was something that you would never expect or predict to happen. Some things happen in the book that are so heartbreaking, heart-wrenching that you will ball your eyes out. So ladies and gentlemen, just ready your tissues.
These are my favorite lines and scenes in the book. Though I might share it with you and disclaimer it may contain some spoilers!
"A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead."
This line is the famous quote in the book. It also appears at the opening part of the book as part of the Dragon Riders Codex.
"I know exactly who and what you are, Violet Sorrengail."
This line alone is just astounding! I don't have to explain this just read the book everyone!
"Even the diagonal scar that bisects his left eyebrow and marks the top corner of his cheek only makes him hotter. Flaming hot. Scorching hot. Gets-you-into-trouble-and-you-like-it level of hot. Suddenly, I can't remember exactly why Mira told me not to f*ck around outside my year group."
This line is actually a spoiler but my girl, Violet, same! I mean who wouldn't find Xaden hot, right?
Those were some of my favorite lines and scenes. There are a whole bunch actually but I dont wanna spoil everything for you. Overall, as a first romantic fantasy book this is actually a very good book to start. So for this book, I would say I will rate this a solid 9/10 just because there is still a second book. There are still mysteries that are not yet answered and I hope it will be answered in the second book. This book is highly recommended and definitely worth the hype.
That would be all for my book review! I hope you enjoyed it and there will definitely be more book reviews to come. See you all on my next blog, everyone!
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