The Empyrean Series- Fourth Wing Review

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Currently Available on Kindle Unlimited

What is Fourth Wing?

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, is one of the most popular books in the Romantasy genre. With more than 2,000,000 ratings and an average of 4.58 stars on Goodreads, it’s among one of the favorites in the genre. While Yarros’ has written many books in the past (primarily contemporary romance), Fourth Wing is her debut fantasy book.

Fourth Wing is the first of the planned five book Empyrean series. The first three books (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm) are currently available, with no release information for book four. There is no confusing reading order for this series- read them in publication order!

*** It is important to remember that this is an adult book with graphic content that may not be suitable for everyone.

Fourth Wing Summary

Violet Sorrengail has studied her entire life to become a scribe at the war college, Basgiath. She has been sheltered away with the books in the Archives for years. Now she is being forced into the (dragon) riders quadrant by her cold, and unloving mother. Her body is weak, her bones easily snap, and she is likely to die. Most cadets there do. If the challenges, tests, or her peers don’t kill her, it’s highly likely the dragons will. Violet must use her knowledge to overcome her own physical limitations while learning who to trust.

What did I like about the book?

I loved this book. The story was addicting and I couldn’t put it down. I devoured it. I’m almost embarrassed that I didn’t read it sooner given how popular the series is. The dragons were so funny. Tairn, the grumpy and sarcastic older dragon is one of my favorite characters in the book. I love that the dragons can communicate with their riders and that they do not keep their opinions to themselves. The story is invigorating and thrilling. I loved watching Violet grow and refuse to be weak despite her own physical disadvantages. She worked so hard to survive and I enjoyed watching her turn from a scared woman to one her was strong and confidant. Plus the tension between her and the main male character, Xaden, is so much fun.

As much as I loved Violet, by the end of the book I didn’t like her as much as I had originally. She becomes immature and naive to advance the plot and, frankly she started to bother me. This may be because I’ve read a lot of books in the genre already, but I found the book to be predictable (yes, even the plot twists) and it was very easy to see where the story was going. If I’m very honest, I think I can see where the next book is going as well. The writing style wasn’t my favorite, and while it was bingeable, it was cheesy at times.

Overall I enjoyed the book very much and am excited to start Iron Flame!