“Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros, became a No.1 on the New York Times bestseller list, after going viral on TikTok. In the app, the new novel has 20.6 million posts dedicated to it.

About the Author:

Yarros was born and raised in Colorado, in which she attended Troy University. At the time, she studied European history and English. With all she learned in school, Yarros was able to publish over ten books–all becoming TikTok famous one way or another.  When she is not writing a novel, she is updating her daily blog, “The Only Girl Among Boys.” In there, she speaks about the love and hatred of having a husband in the military.

What is “Fourth Wing”?:

“Fourth Wing” is a fantasy/romance novel, which features dragons. It centers on Violet Sorrengail, the commanding general’s daughter, whose life purpose was to enter the Scribe Quadrant, until her mother had something to say. She orders her daughter to become one of the hundreds of volunteers who attempt to become the heart of Navarre: dragon riders. The only difference between Violet and her competitors is that she never trained a day in her life, while they dedicated every minute to it.

With there being over a hundred contestants and only a few dragons, many will kill one another for a better chance of bondage. Though, others would choose just to kill Violet since who she is, especially Xanden Riorson–the most feared leader in the Riders Quadrant; the one her sister warned her about.

Violet needs to bring out every trick in her book, if she would like to survive until graduation. But not everything is what it seems: the war is becoming more deadly, young men and women are dying each day, and the leaders of her country are hiding an evil truth.

The Different Quadrants:

Riders Quadrant: The most respected volunteers in the whole kingdom. In order to graduate, they need to go through several courses of survival. Within the walls, they are allowed to attack one another if it gives them an advantage to bond with a dragon. When bonded, they will be tasked to fight on the outskirts of the kingdom.

Healers Quadrant: Exactly how it sounds–they are healers. The volunteers learn how to mend minor and life threatening wounds. In the Riders Quadrant, it is important to have healers nearby, since what the riders undergo is dangerous.

Scribe Quadrant: It is similar to a librarian. They hold all the textbooks in the world and keep it safe.

Infantry Quadrant: There is not much information about what they do, but one can assume it is some sort of training.

Age Group:

16+ (contains violence| sexual content)

Opinion:

If you liked Harry Potter as a kid, then this magnificent book is for you. It is literally the same concept except, instead of winning points for your house, you kill to survive. The world there is just as magical with dragons flying overhead and signets that make you unique from one another. I am a Potter head and I loved this book. It did not just have dragons, but a love triangle, lovable characters, and an enemies to lovers romance.  Giovanna Rilho, a junior at Colonia High school, currently has the book in her TBR–To Be Read– and said, “I wanted to read it because it’s a romance and has one of my favorite tropes–enemies to lovers.”

Yarros takes you on a magical ride that you will not want to get off. She will have you gripping onto the pages, as you try to figure out what will happen next. Nothing is what I expected, especially the ending. I mean, I was in complete shock. The way Yarros makes you believe you know everything, until she pulls something on you.

The world building was enjoyable. Yarros did not rush the process, but let you settle in until she continued to add. Like in all fantasy books, she had unique names that were fun to learn. But unlike the rest, the different names thrown at you did not confuse the reader; she kept it simple.

The characters’ fantastical introduction showed how much thought Yarros put into them, by how visually one can imagine them. And by doing so, you uncomprehendingly create an emotional attachment to the characters which made it harder to let go when one of them was killed off.

The romance was unbelievable. Each interaction between Violet and Xanden had me curling my toes. You can tell they are trying to hate one another, but desperately want each other. I especially enjoyed the times they would banter and Xanden would go soft for Violet. Or when he would get jealous when her best friend got too close. The love for Xanden is universal, Marielli on Goodreads commented, “I have no words for Xaden, he’s just set the bar impossible high.”