Author: Rebecca Yarros
Published: 2023
Genre: Fantasy, Dragons

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders…

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

Books in this Series:

1. Fourth Wing
2. Iron Flame
3. Onyx Storm (Release Date: January 21, 2025)
4. TBA
5. TBA

My Take:

This blog aims to inform readers of potential issues with books they consider reading. I absolutely hate getting hooked on a book and then finding that it is something I wish I had never found. This is one of those books.

This book series is very popular…everyone is talking about it. I understand the hype around it, but I have to agree with most of those I’ve spoken with. I was at a writer’s conference when I was introduced to this book. The conversation was mostly centered around its beautiful cover, but the comments usually ended with “But it’s not a good book” or “I couldn’t finish it.” I was under the impression they didn’t think it was well-written. I kept seeing and hearing this book mentioned and couldn’t figure out why it was so popular if it wasn’t “good.” I figured I would see why no one could stop talking about it.

It’s a great story, but not one I would ever recommend to anyone. Goodreads bills this as YA, but don’t listen to that. The author never says it is for YA, and for good reason. It seems like this author is fascinated by and encourages casual sex. I mean constantly. Sexual innuendos abound. Passionate, erotic thoughts are continually running through the main character’s mind, usually at the most ridiculous, unbelievable times. Someone is attacking her? Of course, the first thing she thinks about is how hot her attacker is! She thinks she is going to die? Yep, you guessed it. She stresses about losing her physical relationship with the man she admits she doesn’t know. The author imposes two very lengthy, detailed sex scenes on the reader that most would classify as erotica. I’ll be honest…I didn’t read most of it. I would skip down, check to see if the scene was over, and skip ahead again. And again. And again. This is the kind of book I hate because these scenes occur toward the end…after you are entirely invested in the story.

Another issue I had with the book was the amount of swearing. I stopped keeping track. After the first two paragraphs, I was left with a foul taste in my mouth and almost quit reading. Unfortunately, the author had hooked me.

I understand that foul language and sexually explicit content are acceptable to many people these days, and it is up to the individual to decide what is appropriate. Unfortunately, this author takes both to the extreme. Neither were necessary to the plot or character development—they seldom are—and they became a distraction from what could have easily become one of my favorite reads.

As I said, the story is excellent. It hooks you from the very beginning and refuses to let go. Usually, at about the 50% mark, a good book is hard to put down. You have to know what happens next. It accomplished this for me within the first chapter.

If you enjoy well-written fantasy, the story will grab you. The plot is predictable but engaging. I knew what would happen at almost every turn, but I couldn’t wait for the details of how it would happen. The characters are flat and are all good or all bad. When an author uses these character types, you can usually guess where the plot will go, but her clever storytelling made it a thrill ride. She did a great job of world-building. As I read, I could picture the scenes in my mind, which has always been a requirement for me.

The absolute worst aspect of this book was the credits. She praised and glorified God for allowing/helping her to write this vulgar novel. It was an unapologetic slap in the face to Christians. I noticed in her second book that she left out any references to God, for which I was very thankful.

This book ended with a cliffhanger for the second book in the series, but it was resolved enough that I wasn’t dying to continue the story. The third book in this (expected) five-book series is scheduled to be released in January 2025.