I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general.

So before we get into the review, I wanted to say that if you don’t know me, here’s an idea of what I’m like:

*A massive-beyond-all-belief, intimidating dragon that could kill everyone with no effort appears in the book I’m reading*

Me: Omg hi let’s be best friends!

Anyway, in Rebecca Yarros’ novel Fourth Wing (the first of a series… yet another series…), Violet Sorrengail is the daughter of one of her country Navarre’s greatest generals. Violet, however, has trained to be a scribe like her father instead—but her fierce mother declares that all Sorrengails are dragon riders and nothing else. So Violet must go to Basgiath, the ruthless war college for riders where many of the students die before their first year is over, and those who survive must compete for the limited number of dragons who are willing to bond with humans. To make matters worse, the children of the rebels of a few years ago are also here, pressed into service after the rebellion failed — and they all view her as an opportunity to get revenge on her mother. But Violet is determined to survive, even as the competition gets more fierce and war outside the walls intensifies. And the more she learns about the rebels’ children, and about the status of the war, she starts to wonder who she really can trust.

Firstly, there is a good amount of dragon action, and I really enjoyed it. About a hundred pages had to pass before the dragons really appeared, but once they were around, it was excellent. And the first one hundred pages were still interesting, seeing the world and the school be established for the reader. It’s quite a cutthroat world, as you might imagine, and reminds me of The Hunger Games at times.

Another way this reminds me of that trilogy is that there is kind of a love triangle, at least for a while. This was not fun for me, because I got sick of that trope years ago and have never recovered. So this was definitely not my favorite part of the book, watching the bad boy and childhood best friend compete for the protagonist’s affections. I’ve read that story before, more than once. Unfortunately, I had to read it again here.

However, the parts about the conflict with the neighboring country and their gryphons was pretty intriguing, as were the mentions of the rebellion of a few years ago. We don’t get all the details of either of these, at least in this first book, but we do get enough for it all to stay engaging. And the romance that Violet does eventually has ties into both, which made it more bearable.

Speaking of Violet, she’s quite a strong protagonist. It’s refreshing to see a main character who isn’t particularly able-bodied given the chance to shine without entirely having to change herself and how she functions. Xaden is a good character too, as are Liam, Rhiannon, and Sawyer. I found Dain to be really frustrating, though; he was so condescending and unwilling to believe in Violet, even after seeing her overcome various obstacles. However, most of the cast is great.

Most importantly, I love the dragons we get to know! My favorite is probably Andarna, who is an adorable sweetheart. But Tairn, the giant terrifying one I mentioned earlier, is so fun. He’s grumpy and tough and I want to be friends with him. The other dragons are cool too — hopefully there will be more of them in the second book.

The action scenes are also good. They’re fast-paced and intense, full of cool magic and breathtaking flying. The last fifty pages of the book are especially heart-pounding and really make it hard to stop reading. And the way the book ends practically guaranteed my decision to read the second book (which luckily comes out later this year, so I don’t have to wait very long).

In the end, Fourth Wing was a ferocious story with strong characters and decent action. The magic is pretty good, even while the romance isn’t my favorite (like I said, it’s nothing I haven’t read before). I also enjoy the themes about writing history and how people in power so often control the most common narrative. I can see this appealing to people who, like me, grew up reading series like Eragon and The Hunger Games and are looking for a new series.

Content note: This is definitely an adult book, not suitable for most young teens. There is blood, violence, and death often discussed or depicted. Additionally, there are a couple scenes of explicit (though consensual) sexual content. In the ARC I had, though, there was an author note mentioning all this at the beginning, which I appreciated.

Edit May 2024: After the messiness of the release of this book’s sequel, and some things I’ve heard about the author, I no longer want to talk about this book/series ever again. I don’t necessarily recommend it. There are better dragon books. There are better fantasy and/or romance books. The hype around this book is way too high now, and I’m frankly exhausted now. I’ve moved on.