Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 📚
Book: Fourth Wing
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Series: The Empyrean #1
Genre: Fantasy / Romantasy
Format: Physical
⭐ Overall Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice Rating: 4/5
💔 Emotional Damage: 4.5/5
My Overall Thoughts
Okay, I FINALLY read Fourth Wing and now I completely understand the hype. 😂
I absolutely loved this book! It had just the right mixture of fantasy, romance, dragons, danger and spice to keep me completely hooked. I was constantly wanting to know what happened next, and whenever I had to put it down, I just wanted to pick it straight back up again.
I loved the whole dragon-rider world, the magical military-academy setting and, obviously, the enemies-to-lovers romance. Violet was a brilliant main character, the dragons were amazing and then there's Xaden...
Hello, shadow daddy. 😂🖤
This book made me laugh, swoon, panic, rage and cry my eyes out. By the time I reached the end, there was absolutely no question about whether I was continuing the series.
Would I recommend it?
100% YESSSSS.
CAWPILE Review
👥 Characters — 9/10
The characters were definitely one of the strongest parts of Fourth Wing for me.
Violet was such a good main character. I loved watching her constantly defy everyone's expectations of her and become stronger throughout the story. She isn't necessarily the physically strongest person in the room, but she's clever and learns how to use her own strengths to survive.
And then we have Xaden.
I loved him pretty much from the word go. Dark, mysterious, dangerous bad-boy energy? Apparently that's all it takes. 😂
There were definitely characters I wanted to throw out of a window too. Dain frustrated me because I found him far too controlling of Violet, even when he believed he was protecting her.
And Jack?
What a prick.
That's all I've got to say about him. 😂
I also loved the friendships and relationships throughout the book, and the dragons genuinely felt like characters in their own right. Tairn was easily my favourite — I absolutely loved his grumpy, sarcastic, almost father-figure relationship with Violet.
Characters: 9/10
🌍 Atmosphere — 10/10
I absolutely LOVED the atmosphere.
Basgiath gave me that magical-academy feeling I love — a little bit Hogwarts, except considerably more likely to kill you. 😂
The descriptions made everything really easy to picture, and somehow this extremely dangerous place started to feel almost like home.
There was always this underlying feeling that something could go horribly wrong at any moment, though, which made the world feel exciting and dangerous rather than just magical.
And obviously...
DRAGONS. 🐉
I loved the idea of dragons choosing their riders, the bonds between them and riders developing powers through those bonds. The dragons added so much personality and magic to the world.
Basically, I want to be a dragon rider now.
Preferably with a slightly lower chance of death. 😂
Atmosphere: 10/10
✍️ Writing — 10/10
Rebecca Yarros' writing was SO easy for me to read, and I was hooked really quickly.
The descriptions had just the right amount of detail. I could picture everything clearly without feeling like I was reading pages of description that weren't moving the story forward.
More importantly, the writing made me feel everything — the danger, anxiety, emotion, romance and... erm... passion. 👀🌶️
I found the fantasy elements surprisingly easy to understand too. There are dragons, signets, wards, quadrants and loads of information to learn, but I never felt completely lost.
One of my absolute favourite elements was the mental communication. Tairn's sarcasm was brilliant, and I loved the conversations between him and Violet.
And then there's the mind flirting...
👀🔥
I thought the action, emotional scenes, romance AND spice were all really well written.
There were a couple of slightly slower sections, but overall I flew through it.
After reading Fourth Wing, I'd happily pick up another Rebecca Yarros book purely because she wrote it.
Writing: 10/10
🧩 Plot — 9/10
The premise grabbed me straight away.
Violet has spent her life preparing to become a scribe and then suddenly she's ordered into the Riders Quadrant instead. Immediately I wanted to know how on earth she was going to survive it.
I loved watching the story expand beyond simply Violet surviving Basgiath. There are secrets, relationships, dragons, political tensions and questions about what is really happening in the wider world.
There were twists I suspected, twists I completely talked myself out of and others that had me staring at the book thinking...
WHAT?!
😂
My only real criticism was the amount of training.
Training.
Training.
And then...
Some more training. 😂
I understand why it needed to be there, but there were places where I would've happily had a little less of it.
Maybe replace some with more spice?
Just an idea. 😂🌶️
Plot: 9/10
👀 Intrigue — 9/10
There were SO many questions keeping me reading.
What is Xaden hiding?
What's actually happening outside Basgiath?
Who can Violet trust?
And every time I thought I was starting to understand what was happening, something else would give me another question.
The biggest indication of how hooked I was came when I wasn't even reading.
I'd be on my half-hour break at work wishing I had Fourth Wing on my Kindle app because I wanted to know what happened next. 😂
I had the physical copy and refused to pay for the same book twice, so I had to wait until I got home.
Probably for the best because there's no way I would've willingly stopped again after thirty minutes.
Intrigue: 9/10
🧠 Logic — 9/10
For a fantasy world involving dragons, magical bonds, signets, wards and a military academy, I found everything surprisingly easy to follow.
The rules of the world made sense, and I understood why Violet made the decisions she did.
There were also things characters did that initially raised questions but made much more sense once more information was revealed.
I can't remember any massive plot holes or moments where I stopped and thought, hang on, that makes absolutely no sense.
Everything worked well enough within the rules of the world that I could just enjoy the story without constantly questioning it.
Logic: 9/10
❤️ Enjoyment — 10/10
How am I supposed to choose what I enjoyed most when the answer is basically...
EVERYTHING?! 😂
I loved the dragons, the world, the characters, the romance, the danger and obviously Xaden.
This book put me through every emotion going. I laughed, swooned, got nervous, angry, stressed and heartbroken.
I would 100% reread it.
Actually, I think a reread would be even more interesting now because I know more about what's really going on. I bet there are loads of little clues and details I missed the first time.
I've already recommended it to my best friend, so that probably tells you everything you need to know. 😂
Enjoyment: 10/10
📊 CAWPILE Score
Characters: 9/10
Atmosphere: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Plot: 9/10
Intrigue: 9/10
Logic: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Total CAWPILE Score: 66/70 — 9.43/10
⭐ Final Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice Check
Spice: 4/5
The sexual tension between Violet and Xaden was SO thick you could cut it with a knife. 😂🌶️
There was loads of build-up and chemistry, so when things finally developed between them it felt completely natural rather than spice being randomly thrown into the story.
And when the spice arrived?
OOOHHH YES. 😂🔥
It was HOT. The scenes were really well written, the descriptions were amazing and they were incredibly immersive.
Why only 4/5?
Not because I wanted them to be spicier...
I wanted MORE of them. 😂
Apparently I have a one-track mind.
💔 Emotional Damage Check
Emotional Damage: 4.5/5
This book HURT. 😭
I became genuinely attached to these characters, which meant that when things went wrong, they really affected me.
There was one particular moment where I wasn't just a little teary-eyed...
I was sobbing my heart out.
We'll discuss THAT in the Spoiler Zone. 😭
The final part of the book was basically one emotional hit after another. I went from terrified about what was going to happen, to heartbroken, to sitting there with about a million questions.
And somehow I still wanted more. 😂
⚠️ Spoiler Zone
Everything below this point contains MAJOR spoilers for Fourth Wing.
Okay.
We need to talk about Liam. 😭
His death absolutely DESTROYED me.
I'd become so attached to him and especially loved his friendship with Violet, so watching him die at Resson was heartbreaking.
And then:
“It’s been my honor.”
NO.
Absolutely not.
I was sobbing my heart out. 😭💔
Resson in general was terrifying because I genuinely thought everyone was going to die. They think they're taking part in the War Games and suddenly they're facing actual venin and wyvern.
Then finding out Colonel Aetos had essentially sent the marked ones there knowing what they could be walking into?!
I was SO pissed off.
How could he do that?!
And then we finally discover that the venin ARE real.
Which immediately created another question:
WHY THE FUCK ARE THE ELDERS HIDING THIS?!
What is going on?!
I had suspected that Xaden and the marked ones might secretly be involved with the rebellion, but I kept second-guessing myself because of what happened to their parents.
Finding out what Xaden had really been doing changed so much, and suddenly a lot of his previous actions made much more sense.
And obviously we need to talk about Violet bonding TWO DRAGONS.
I loved that.
Tairn AND Andarna?! Yes please. 😂🐉
Then there's Violet and Xaden.
We ALL knew they were eventually going to get together.
That sexual tension wasn't exactly subtle. 😂
And my favourite scene?
The armoire.
If you know, you know. 👀🌶️😂
But after surviving Resson, Liam's death, the venin revelations and everything with Xaden, Rebecca Yarros apparently decided we hadn't suffered enough.
Because...
BRENNAN IS ALIVE?!?!?!
EXCUSE ME?!
I literally shouted “OMG WHAT?!” loudly enough to wake my daughter.
I had SO many questions.
How is he alive? What's he been doing? Who knows? What else has Violet been lied to about?!
It was such a good cliffhanger.
Thank GOD I already owned Iron Flame, because I immediately started it.
If I'd read Fourth Wing when it first released and had to wait for book two...
I'd have gone mad. 😂
And finally, why did Emotional Damage get 4.5 rather than 5?
Because as much as Liam destroyed me...
If she'd killed Xaden?
Five.
Immediate five.
Actually, forget five.
I'd have needed therapy. 😂😭
💬 Favourite Quote
“There’s nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn’t find you, Violence.”
— Xaden Riorson 🖤
Final Verdict
Fourth Wing was exactly the kind of fantasy I love: an immersive world, characters I became completely attached to, dragons, danger, romance, secrets, enemies-to-lovers and plenty of tension and spice.
The dragon and rider bonds particularly stood out to me. I loved that they could communicate mentally because it's not something I'd personally come across in a book before, and it made the dragons feel like actual characters rather than just part of the fantasy setting.
If I had to describe Fourth Wing in three words?
Violet. Dragons. Xaden.
That's it. That's the review. 😂🐉🖤
Would I recommend it? 100% YESSSSS.
Would I reread it? A million times yes.
Will I continue the series? Absolutely — I immediately picked up Iron Flame.
✨ Books, magic & a little bit of chaos.
Jo x
Comments
Post a Comment