Fourth Wing

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may make a small commission if you purchase through the links within this post at no additional cost to you. Please see my Full Disclosures + Privacy Policy for more details.

Synopsis

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.

Synopsis source: Goodreads

Review

Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, New Adult
HB&W Rating: 4
View on Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Immediately after finishing listening to this book, all I could say was wow, what a ride! It was over 22 hours of listening and I wanted to start over as soon as I finished, but I think I’ll order a hardcover to really read it.

The story was transportive and compelling, and I didn’t want to stop listening. I think fans of Sarah J Maas will really go for this one. A war college with dragons, political intrigue, sizzling sexual tension: check, check, check.

I will say that there isn’t much originality to the story except for maybe the dragons and a female main character dealing with a chronic illness that causes her to be immensely susceptible to injury at the smallest of incidents and overall, the whole thing was pretty predictable right up to the end. I would have liked to explore more of Violet’s relationship with her mother, as well as seen more of her handling her condition, and I felt that the ending could have been better-developed leading up to the final conflict. I also wanted more from Xaden’s POV, which we only got one chapter at the end, but I can see how maybe she did that for the purpose of letting him keep his secrets until she was ready to reveal them. Still, the story had lots of tension that built well, both sexual and situational.

I really liked Violet and Xaden. I loved Violet’s courage and heart, her intelligence, and her sense of right and wrong. I loved the relationships she has with Tiern and her protectiveness of Andarna. I loved the hard edged honor Xaden emulates, how he pushes Violet to do things for herself and doesn’t try to hold her back. I love how he sees her as strong and capable and so much more than the fragility she is often treated with.

I loved the dragons. I loved Tiern’s gruffness and Andarna’s sweetness. I can’t wait to see more of them in the next book. Rhiannon, Liam, and Ridoc, were great supporting characters that I really liked but Imogen, Bohdi, Garrick and the rest were really only background bodies.

A quick note about the audio narration because we all know how it can make or break a story. I think Rebecca Soler did a great job most of the time, though there were some times I felt like she had a head cold. I don’t know if that’s the case or if that’s just how she talks, but I only noticed it a little bit at the beginning and either got used to it or it went away after. Otherwise, she did a great job adding to the building tension and suspense. And I really liked Teddy Hamilton’s voice as Xaden at the end as well, which I hope we get more of in the next book.

Honestly, maybe I should knock more than a star off for the problems I had with this book but honestly, I don’t want to. It was just such an enjoyable listen!

Until next time,

Be sure to subscribe to my blog so you never miss a review! You can also sign up for my newsletter for a recap of titles read, crochet patterns I’ve released, and more! I only send it out sporadically so that I don’t spam you, promise. 😉