Title: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros, Narrated by: full cast, Robb Moreira, Megan Poppy, James Konicek, Khaya Fraites, Gabriel Michael, LaMont Ridgell, Taylor Coan, Torian Brackett, Rob McFadyen, Laura C. Harris, Jessica Lauren Ball
Length: 18 hours, 14 minutes in total
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure,
Is this part of a series? Yes, this is book one in The Empyrean series.
Publish Date: December 27th, 2023 (part one) and February 9th, 2024 (part two).
Summary (courtesy of Goodreads):
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.
My Thoughts:
I was afraid to start this series. There is so much hype I was afraid it would never be able to live up to the expectations. I was wrong, and I cannot believe that it took me this long to read it. I had bought the regular version during and Audible sale, and had the eBook from Kindle Unlimited for a read-along, but then I heard about the graphic dramatization. Thirty dollars later, here we are. Worth it. I cannot imagine going through this book for the first time any other way. I have already bought both parts of Iron Flames and earmarked the graphic dramatization of Onyx Storm (part one comes out in April).
Be advised, there will be light spoilers ahead.
The characters were amazing. I was absolutely invested in each of them. Violet is smart and courageous, but has been told all her life that she was too weak, being sickly. And that’s okay, you don’t need to be a fighter to be a Scribe, and that’s what she’s been working towards all her life. That is, until Mommy Dearest decries that Sorrengails are only riders. Seriously, what the hell? There are very few characters I hate in this series, but that’s one of them. Xaden, strong, stoic, and a sarcastic pain in the ass, is a favorite of mine already. He carries the weight of his peers on his back- quite literally. I don’t like all the secrets, but I get it.
The story itself was fast paced and engaging. I loved the world building and was very interested in the history and lore. I had a great time, and I feel like the graphic audio was a large part of that. There were a few times, like the very beginning of book one, where I feel like the background noises were distracting more than anything else. (It also made a very sexy sex scene a bit awkward, ngl). At the same time the different voice actors, music choices and some of the background were all interesting. For me, the production had the feel of those old-time radio shows. I will be doing that again.
I have very few issues with the book. The romance seemed extremely forced- the physical attraction is there but that’s about it so far. Danes character dissapointed me. He was fairly one dementional and weak. Not how I would have wanted to see someone in a leadership roll. At the same time he was constantly telling Violet that she was too weak for that place, that he knew what was best for her. As the story unfolds, he only got worse. I would have liked to see some personal growth there. Lastly, Liam broke my heart. I love his character. He was sweet, funny, honest (as much as possible) and welcoming. I would have liked more time with that character.
This was a fun, fast read with great characters and wonderful world building. For me, this was a five star book.
As far as adult content goes, there’s language, violence, sexual content (level five spice), drinking and bullying/ emotional trauma. I would definitely say this one is geared towards New Adults or higher.
The book is out! The ebook is still available on Kindle Unlimited, but if you want the audiobook, I highly recommend this format.
Happy reading! See you next time!
Gwen
