Rebecca Yarros: Fourth Wing

Hi everyone

Fourth Wing; the first book in The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros, has been everywhere lately. Even though I’m always skeptical of hyped books, I like to try them for myself and see if the buzz is justified. So, I decided to read it on my e-reader.

"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 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 deadlier; 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." 

This book is marketed as New Adult (ages 18–29), but I’d argue it feels more like Young Adult (ages 12–18) in terms of story, language, and characters (except for the sex scenes, which push it into the NA category).
But here’s the thing: this book is just… not good.

First, the plot feels like a copy-paste of Divergent, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games. I didn’t find anything original here. There are so many questionable plotlines that pulled me out of the story: Why train the children of traitors to be competent soldiers? What kind of stupid decision is that?
How convenient that Violet has a super rare signet and bonds with two super special dragons; something never heard of before. And of course, one of those dragons is bonded to Xaden, because of course it is. I hate when characters are just “the chosen one” or “the special one”, it feels lazy and unearned.
Violet is supposed to have a weak, brittle body due to chronic pain, but she somehow accomplishes all these physical challenges without much issue. I appreciate that Rebecca Yarros included a character with chronic pain, but it’s only mentioned in passing; never explored in a way that shows how it actually complicates her life and movements. This isn’t how you raise awareness for disability; it’s how you use it as a superficial trait.

Second, the writing is inconsistent both in style and timeline and there’s absolutely no worldbuilding.
The characters are one-dimensional and read like teenagers. They’re also complete copies of characters from other books (Divergent, A Court of Thorns and Roses). And from the moment Violet meets Xaden, you already know exactly how this will play out. There’s never a surprise in this book.
I did like the dragons and their dialogue, though that was one bright spot in an otherwise frustrating read.

And lastly, the book hyperfocuses on Violet’s physical and sexual attraction to Xaden. Every page, she’s thinking about him, yearning for his touch, his body, his breath. It’s honestly nauseating. And from the start, there’s this weird sexual tension triangle with Dain added to the mix. If this is typical for Romantasy novels, then the genre is not for me, because I hated this.

Have you read Fourth Wing? Did you love it, or did you feel the same way I did? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena