Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

Lynnie
Amy    

fantasy

 

Violet’s father died about a year earlier and he had groomed her to be an academic Scribe. But her mother is now insisting she become a dragon Rider, instead, after only 6 months of training. She must compete against hundreds of others who have spent their lifetimes preparing for the challenge of becoming a Rider. Violet’s mother is the feared and respected General of the country’s military forces which puts a lot of pressure on Violet and makes her a target at the Rider trials.

Lynnie's Review

I'm waffling between 3 and 4 hearts, so I've decided to split the difference. There is a lot to enjoy about Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing. Before a few months ago, I had never heard of Yarros or this series and then suddenly it seemed to be everywhere. It happened to be available at the library so I decided to check it out. Then, I stumbled upon a new service at my library, the Palace Project, where I was also able to get the audiobook, so I checked that out and was able to go back and forth between the book and audiobook which always makes a book go faster for me.

ANYWAY, overall, I enjoyed Fourth Wing. Hilariously, I thought this was a YA book. Initially, while there was plenty of talk about sex it was mostly in the "they both came out from behind the door" wink, wink, nod, nod sort of sex and then about 70% through the book I hit a VERY-not-YA-sex-scene and was surprised only because I was completely not expecting it. So, this is just for those of you who, like me, do not read other reviews or book descriptions very well. This is NOT a young adult book. Do NOT give it to your middle schooler thinking it's an adventure about dragons. Ha- I feel much better now that I've warned you.

But back to my review... I generally enjoyed this story and the world that Yarros created. The characters were interesting and and I adored any time the dragons were involved in the action. Frankly, I would like more dragons and fewer people in future books, but if I must have the people I'll be OK. While I was glad to see that Violet had some disabilities and that they made actual accommodations for her, I did not like that everyone made such a constant big deal about it. Dude, just do it and move on. That's what accessibility is all about- it shouldn't be such a dramatic event every time you get equal access!

Anyway. The reason I waffle between 3 and 4 stars is because, while I enjoyed Violet and Xaden, I also did not. Their relationship is that same toxic, co-dependent weird relationship that's often portrayed in fantasy books between people where there is a power imbalance (see Twilight, Divergent - both of which I read before we started this blog). I find it challenging to cheer for their relationship when I also find it completely off-putting. It's also hard not to notice that the Riders Quadrant is essentially Dauntless (Divergent) with dragons.

I enjoyed the secondary characters quite a bit, sometimes more than Violet and Xaden if I'm honest. There were stories that we caught glimpses of in Violet's and Xaden's friends that I would have liked to learn more about. There were some emotional gut punches in Fourth Wing for sure. Even when I saw the situation coming, I was surprised how much I didn't want to see things unfold sometimes. I will definitely read the next book, but I will give it some time because I hear there are 5 books in the series, and we all know how I feel about series. Sigh...

Overall, though, this was a fun adventure. I'm looking forward to checking in with these characters again soon and learning how some of these situations get resolved.

As for the audiobook- Rebecca Soler reads the majority of the book and I liked her voice because it was a lot like the voice in my own head; she has a very pleasing tone. However, I don't think she does a spectacular job of character voices and I sometimes had trouble distinguishing other speakers. I believe Teddy Hamilton only did the final two chapters that are from Xaden's perspective (perhaps he also did Tairn's voice?), but they were also fine. I give Rebecca a B, and didn't hear enough of Teddy to give him a grade.

Amy's Review

Fourth Wing is a fun adventure-filled fantasy about a young woman who must fight hard and use her head to succeed in a world which has been stacked against her. Dragon Rider hopefuls must survive a series of challenges, have a dragon select them to be their rider, and develop their special “signet” power in order to earn the designation of Rider. It’s daunting but Violet wants to earn her mother’s respect in spite of her improbable odds. Friends and allies become clearer with time.

One of the more popular book reviewers on Goodreads summarized it very well when she said, “Imagine Squid Game but everyone is young and hot. Does that guy with the scars and muscles want to kill you or shag you?” For those who don’t like explicit sex scenes, while they don’t fill the majority of pages in this book, they are definitely descriptive and the romance is a big part of Violet’s story.

This book kept me up way past my bedtime a few times it was so compelling! I had to find out what would happen next! And it actually had a really sad, heartfelt part that had me in tears. Was it perfect, no? (There was some eye rolling while I read it.) But I loved it! There was never a dull moment. I hadn’t heard of this book until it won the 2023 Goodreads Choice Romantasy Award. Fourth Wing didn’t just win the award, it slaughtered the competition earning 69% of all the votes that were cast in this category. That’s remarkable and is the reason why I decided to read it.  I see why so many people loved it.  It’s very entertaining!