Fourth Wing

by Rebecca Yarros

Hardcover, 512 pages

English language

Published May 1, 2023 by Entangled: Red Tower Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-64937-404-2
ASIN:: B0BGDM197Q
Goodreads:: 61431922

(90 reviews)

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 …

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.

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.

11 editions

KnittedMushroom reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Definitly more romance than fantasy

4 stars

I was hoping this series would be similar to Samantha Shannon's Priory of the Orange Tree. I was recommended this series by several friends, since it had battles and dragons that were written more akin to gods and less like pets. Which is something I appreciate in narratives. This was admittedly my own fault. As all of these friends are serial Romance readers.

That being said, this isn't a bad book! I thoroughly enjoyed the romance building and pay offs... But my GOD was this a thirsty book. The amount of objectifying of the masculine characters done by the feminine characters could bridge the gender pay gap. I felt like I needed to walk around with a spray bottle and blast all of the characters in the face with it every other chapter.

The world building seems to take second seat to the romance, which isn't unexpected given it's true …

The world building seems to take second seat to the romance, which isn't unexpected given it's true genre. Not many battle strategies/cultural lore are backed up by solid reason... But I didn't lose interest at any point in the book. I love how the dragons and their relationships with riders are written. And I'm interested to learn more about the spoiler side of the world. So I will probably pick up the next book in the series at some point. Now that I'm fully aware this series is closer to erotica than it is high fantasy!

🥒 reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Ok

3 stars

Content warning spoiler

Entertaining. Not particularly original and sometimes extremely cheesy especially in the romance scenes. Also there's some LGBTQ chcracters shoved there in the background with no influence on the plot whatsoever. And yet!!! The plot and execution is just good enough that I enjoyed it somehow! People's very strong opinions about this book are a little extreme. It's not original, it's not a masterpiece but I don't think it aspires to be either.

---spoiler---

- PS

You're telling me that when the dragons go into heat it forces their owners to feel the same way? Gasp! I would have never in a million years guessed that these enemies-to-lovers would find themselves in such a specific and unexpected conundrum!

Joy101 reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

None

1 star

Rated prior to author’s silence on Palestinian genocide. Review no longer reflects my stance. See my ‘silent-on-genocide’ shelf for more context

ShinyCaro reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Fourth Wing - love it!

5 stars

For me, forth wing turned out to be one of my favorite books ever. I followed the social media trend about A Court Of Thornes and Roses and I was worried, that Fourth Wing will be another hype-disaster. But as much as I disliked ACOTAR, the more did I end up liking Fourth Wing. There are many unexpected twists and things happening, which help make the book entertaining and interesting until the end. I really like that we have a main character, who is not a perfect person, who can manage to do everything out of the blue. No, instead we have a character with a sickness, who needs to find ways to do things different and by herself. Even though it doesn't look like a romance for quite some time in the book, it will turn into one later one. Readers have to be aware of a lot of …

William V reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

4 stars

It features a fast-paced plot with constant threats, rivalries, and unexpected twists that keep you engaged. The core of the story revolves around the bond between riders and their dragons, exploring themes of loyalty, trust, and the cost of power. While categorized as a romance, the romance develops alongside a compelling fantasy narrative, but can sometimes be overpowering, especially during the more passionate scenes.

Machinedreamread reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Entertaining

4 stars

This was a good book! I enjoyed reading it. Though at parts I thought it was a bit too long (but that could partly be because it too so long for me to read it and also because of world building.) the ending was the best part and it really really made me want to read the sequel soon! I’m hoping the next book has more action and less build-up. 4 stars because it was missing something for me to call it amazing, but it was a very good book nonetheless.

73pctGeek reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

A fun read

4 stars

A re-read in preparation for Onyx Storm, which is due to be published at the end of January, and I didn't review upon finishing it the first time. Originally, I picked this up because I like fantasy and dragons, and was surprised at just how much I enjoyed it.

The writing is fine, the characters are well-drawn and easy to differentiate, the world building is good enough to please (albeit with a wobble or two), and it features a disabled protagonist. Also, dragons!

It's not Great Literature, but it was a fun read that had me racing through it. A re-read has also been surprisingly rewarding due to the manner in which the plot is structured.

Insipidutopian reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

good, but not my fave

5 stars

not really my kind of thing. more of a wizard school/romance/save the world story than I'm usually into. The writing was good enough to keep me turning pages, though. If you are too old for Harry P*tter, this might be more your speed.

Alex Cabe reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Sparkling start, slow finish

3 stars

This was overall a very enjoyable read that bogged down at the end. It made heavy use of YA tropes but had adults-only romance and those two components fit awkwardly together. The characters' dialogue was very modern, which took getting used to with the setting.

The first two-thirds were a real page-turner that I compulsively read until I slowed down at the end.

The equation here was (a worse version of Scholomance) + (a better version of Divergent) + (a few Game of Thrones elements) + (sex scenes).

I'll definitely read the next one, and I wonder if the school will continue to feature in the plot, or if it will go another direction.

Domics Pinnwand reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

None

4 stars

Nachdem ich ja nur Gutes über dieses Buch gehört habe - auch von Nicht-Heavy-Fantasy-Lesern - habe ich mir dieses Buch bei der Onleihe vorgemerkt und "musste" es ja dann auch lesen, als es endlich verfügbar war. Was soll ich sagen- es hat mir wirklich gut gefallen!

Die Geschichte ist wirklich rasant erzählt, man will immer wissen, wie es weiter geht, und so war ich mit den über 700 Seiten ziemlich fix durch. Ich mochte den "Internatsaspekt" der Geschichte sehr, das hatte so ein bissle Harry Potter Vibes, wenn die Figuren da Prüfungen und Abenteuer bestehen müssen und sich in die magische Welt einfügen müssen.

Und natürlich - die Drachen! Ich hätte gerne auch einen goldenen Federschwanzdrachen, hach wie nett! Was ich allerdings überhauptensnicht gebraucht hätte, wäre diese Geschmachte zwischen den beiden Hauptfiguren - das war für mich einfach nur augenroll-nervig! Zum Glück konnte ich über die (eher wenigen) expliziten Sexszenen …

knizer reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Finished it, but UGH. A Horny Hodge Podge.

2 stars

Content warning spoilers ahoy! discussion of horniness/gaping plot holes/character development

Decently written fighting sequences Worldbuilding/history of lands great, logic of how/when magic works not Enemies-to-lovers arc is Really Central Two extended hyper-explicit hetero sex sequences that feel out of place with the rest of the text, kind of written like fight sequences (consent is prominent, don't recall any non-con threats/assault in text), but as someone expecting a magic-school-but-dragon-riders fantasy....yow! Maybe a disclaimer that this is not YA on the cover?! Such a horny book. Dragons and characters outside the main pairing felt cardboard. Protagonist is too small and thus can't handle riding the dragon (who's main descriptors are 'big and black') is cringe. Of course the handsome male lead's magic power is smoke. Of course he's overwhelmingly hot to her, but he shoves down all his trauma, so its just hot trauma. Of course her power is lightning and its outside her control and she's the powerfullest. Like cell phones in horror flicks set after Year 2000 CE, telepathy works only when its needed to advance the plot, and we have to forget the option is available when the plot requires. Magical creatures are horses without agency but they do have their own lore and laws which we as humans can't know. Why are the dragons helping the humans? What's new and innovative to the lore of dragons coming from this book? Logistics of 'war-bonded-pair' dragons that are supposed to live 200 years tied to the lives of humans who have...at most 20 years of good military service...don't add up. Where's the Temeraire of dragon-kind who's letting the humans battle for 400 years and watching all their dragon-bros get killed? Breadcrumbs were more bread-loaves that telegraphed upcoming events. (that comment based on snark from my spouse, hearing me rant to her about this book). I guess we're just going to all have to agree that the only way to solve the problems in this society is through violence and a high death rate for the navy seals program. Meh. I'm not sure who the target audience is for this one. #FourthWing

Enia reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

complicated feelings

2 stars

Content warning spoiler alert

This book is so hyped, which is probably why this review is a little bit unfair.

If you've managed to avoid the hype it goes like this: really compelling fantasy series, with tons of hot smutty sex scenes.

So first, to address the latter. There are a couple of sex scenes. As in... two. They are both in the last third of the book. The rest of the book is filled with the kind of yearning a 7th grader might write about in her diary (drooling over a crush's muscular abs, or his thick hair). They are not the stuff of adult desire. At least, not from my perspective. And that's what's missing, even from the sex scenes for me: desire. I was not exactly carried away on the wings of fantasy reading them. I saw another review that said "these sex scenes were so explicit". Were they?! I'm worried about that person's sex life now. They were explicit, and they were graphic, but they described pretty vanilla hetero sex? and I'm not super kinky, and I like smut as much as the next person, but this was not compelling smut for me.

But here's the thing! I think, were it not for the awkward attempt at smut, this would have been a half-way decent fantasy book. Clearly, it borrows a lot of plot and universe building from other IP (Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Hunger Games). Still, it creates a mostly compelling narrative on its own (even though I guessed at every plot twist in the book since the author does some very obvious breadcrumbling). But the sex almost detracts from it: it feels completely unnecessary.

So... I will not be reading the sequels, is what I'm trying to say, unless I'm looking for something to occupy a weekend when otherwise very depressed.

sennish reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Couldn't Finish

2 stars

I put this book down and couldn't pick it up again. I never felt the plot materialize any stakes for the characters, and the main character describing her horniness in excruciatingly cringey detail for the nth time was enough to make me give up waiting.

anka.trini reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Review of 'Fourth Wing' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

Es gibt ja einen Unterschied zwischen "Das Rad nicht neu erfinden" und völlig uninspiriert bzw. zusammen geklaut. Hier ist wirklich nichts innovativ oder auch nur ansatzweise originell. Der Schreibstil ist höchstens mittelmäßig. Dazu waren in den ersten 100 Seiten so unglaublich viele Logikfehler, dass ich das Buch abgebrochen habe. Wenigstens hatte ich es bloß aus der Bücherei und kein Geld dafür ausgegeben ^^

Manu reviewed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean, #1)

Review of 'Fourth Wing' on 'Storygraph'

No rating

Ugh. Where do I even start. Yes, the premise of the book is very promising. But the prose is so poorly written. It's as if the author just kept filling up her word count for the day. Also, there are many plot holes. I can accept flawed characters, but the MC couldn't get any more generic and cliché. I tried to give it time to see if it improves but no it just the same over and over. I really wanted this to work for me but unfortunately it didn't.