Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1)
Rebecca Yarros
Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders... 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
I have to admit, getting through this book was tough. I was drawn in by the concept of a dragon-riding battle school and the millions of glowing reviews on Goodreads, but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had embraced a YA style and stuck to that. Instead, it seemed like it was trying way too hard to come across as "adult," but in a way that felt forced and cringeworthy. There were some brief moments of interesting world building, but the payoffs were disappointing. The romance felt flat, the characters lacked depth, the dragons didn’t make much sense, and the school was full of clichés. With all that said, I’m left wondering—why is this book so popular?
1I was chatting with a guy friend today about how everyone is reading Fourth Wing, and he said he knew what I was talking about because he's seen the cover everywhere. He was at an airport bookstore and thought about purchasing it. Surprised and excited, I asked him if he knew it was a romantasy book. He said he had no idea what that was and thought it was a book more like Game of Thrones??? From the book jacket and how it was marketed, I guess he got those vibes. So curious to hear what other people's first impressions of Fourth Wing are from just the cover? Is this misunderstanding common among guys??
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