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More information about the book

Title: Fourth Wing

Book series: The Empyrean, Book #1

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Genre: Romantasy

Number of pages: 561 pages in my paperback edition

What the book is about: Violet Sorrengail, a young woman who was meant to enter the Scribe Quadrant at Basgiath, a war college, is forced by her mother to enter the Riders Quadrant instead – basically, the deadliest Quadrant in her school, where they ride… dragons. And she also gets to meet her family’s sworn enemy, and let’s just stay that sparks fly!

My review

( You can also find it on Goodreads following this link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7360658980 )

(And also, I read this book far earlier in the year, in March… Not that it changes anything, just wanted to let you know xD There might be some add-ups between brackets and in italics though.)

My rating: 5 golden, action-filled stars! One of my favorite books ever (and yes, that still kinda holds true)!

I recommend this book to everyone. Every fan of romantasy, at least.

But read this if you like:

• dragons
• spicy romance
• good worldbuilding
• action-filled books.

And now onto the review – which will be full of spoilers and colorful language, so proceed carefully!

So first, a little bit about why I picked up this book: I saw it so many times on BookTok, and most had very good things to say about it, and so I decided to add it to my TBR and actually picked it up and read it.

And yeah, I don’t regret it for a second.

So I’ll try to make this review as structured as possible, but considering the EMOTIONS (back when I wrote this review, just after reading it), I’m pretty sure I’ll come back to it and say, Huh… This doesn’t make any sense. (Spoiler alert: that did not actually happen xD)

First, the characters. I loved almost all of them; I loved Violet and how strong she is, and how much she curses, because that felt so real. I loved Xaden and his protectiveness, and also the fact that he still stood by her, and not in front of her, and I think Violet thinks the exact same things. I loved the squad and their friendship, and I loved Liam (yeah, I’m choosing to separate him from the squad because THE TEARS). And the great thing about Rebecca’s writing is that she was capable of making me care about very secondary like Soleil, who don’t appear a lot before their deaths, and then I was still sad about them dying.

And also, the dragons!! Loved them all. Loved Tairn and his grumpiness/sassiness/protectiveness, loved Andarna and her youthfulness, loved Sgaeyl and her relationship with Xaden, even loved and felt sad for minor dragons like Jack’s and Amber’s. And Deigh!! Don’t get me started about Deigh!! So yeah, loved every single one of them.

And then there were some characters I hated. Like Jack Barlowe and Oren and Tynan and even Luca. But that’s fine, because they acted like complete assholes and I hate assholes.

And then there’s Dain. Who… I despise, right about now (I actually don’t anymore, but that’s another matter entirely). Because that ending, and that whole thing with Liam was his fault, and he dared to violate Violet in the most terrible way ever – I mean, he did read her mind without her permission!

To talk about the romance… I really liked it, loved some of Xaden’s declarations, loved Violet’s, and the spice was SPICY. But honestly, and you’ll read more about it later on, Violet’s attraction to Xaden and her change of mind about him felt a bit… sudden. But I still want myself a Xaden. He’s definitely going on my list of top book boyfriends.

I mean, that declaration was everything:

I would rather lose this entire war than live without you, and if that means I have to prove myself over and over, then I’ll do it. You gave me your heart, and I’m keeping it.

(Also, didn’t know I needed a Xaden POV until I got one, so here’s to hoping there will be more in the following books!)

Now, the plot. Loved everything about it, and the worldbuilding, and the fact that some of the plot twists almost had me dropping the book (like, Xaden, what the hell, and Brennan!!!). And the best thing is, you’re instantly put right in the story. In the very first chapter, there’re already some character deaths (yeah, Dylan, thinking about you… you were sweet, I guess?), and it’s already action-filled, and it doesn’t let up. I don’t think I got bored in a single chapter. (Those chapters, the book in general, gave me ANXIETY though.)

And that ending!! Cliffhanger much???! Actually, so many of the chapters ended in cliffhangers, part of why this book gave me anxiety. And when a book does that, it’s a perfectly good thing for me.

And I’m gonna include the “villains” in the plot part (not sure that’s the right word, but going with it still). I loved how they were supposed to be legend, and then it all went to hell at the end and then they were real, and freaking terrifying. Even for me.

Also, something that this book did that no fiction book has ever done before (but I read others since that did it more…): it made me cry. Big, fat tears falling on the pages, so much so that I just had to stop reading, for a few minutes anyway (proof, for me, that Rebecca Yarros is a good writer). Yeah, chapter 36, I’m looking at you right now. Liam Liam Liam Liam…

I think the moment I started crying was this one (and yeah, I’m shedding a few tears again writing this):

“At Parapet-” His face twists in pain. “You have to take care of my sister.”

“Liam, no.” I choke on the words as tears clog my throat. “You’ll be there.” I stroke his hair. He’s fine. He’s physically, perfectly fine, and yet I’m watching him slip away. “You have to be there.” He has to smile at the sister he’s missed for years and flash that dimple of his. He has to give her the stack of letters he’s written. He deserves it after all he’s been through.

He can’t die for me.

So yeah, I mentioned something about the writing above, and my only complaint about the book is tied to it. It felt repetitive at times, since we’re in Violet’s mind and she’s always, “Oh, how hot Xaden is,” (which… is understandable, but still), or “Oh, how could I trust him?” or something like that. And while that felt real, in a way, it also felt like too much. Like, I get it, Violet, now move on!

Pretty sure there are other things I wanted to say about the book, but right now this is all I can think of (and I haven’t thought of anything else since then xD). Might come back and do some edits.

And yeah, pretty sure I failed at the structure thing xD

Anyway, if you’ve read Fourth Wing and want to share your thoughts, don’t hesitate to do so!

(And I haven’t updated the chapter by chapter article in forever… And might never do it for Fourth Wing, unless I do a re-read of it, sorry about that!)