Violet Sorrengail grew up believing that she would serve the kingdom as a scribe as her father had. But her mother is a General and head of the Rider Academy and she forces Violet into the applicants for riders. The Academy is where riders are chosen by their dragons for life and learn to ride and fight. Violet is small and has an illness that makes her bones easy to snap and her muscles to part and strain. She doesn't expect that she'll survive but she has to. Her brother Brennan was a rider and he died in battle, tearing their family apart. Her sister Mira is also a rider and in constant danger. Another loss is unbearable.

Violet passes the first test and discovers both good and bad news. The good news is that her best friend is her squad leader. The bad news is that her wingleader is Xaden Riorson, the most ruthless leader in the force and a sworn enemy of her family. His parents had been the leaders of a rebellion and all the adults in the rebellion had been executed as their children watched. The children were bound to the rider academy. There are a hundred ways an enemy as a leader could make sure Violet doesn't survive and the intense looks he gives her makes her sure that he is counting them.

To everyone's shock, Violet is chosen by the most powerful dragon in the force and then chosen again by another dragon. No rider has ever done this and it marks her as someone to watch. Violet constantly trains and makes adaptions to survive. Her best friend becomes less of one as he constantly tries to shelter her and keep her weak in order to survive. She needs someone to push her and to her shock she finds it in Xaden. They are now tied together for life because their dragons are mates. Violet hates to admit it but she starts having feelings for Xaden and she thinks he has the same for her. Can they have a love in such an environment?

This book took the fantasy world by storm. Before this, she was known as a romance writer and that shows through in the love scenes. But she also has a lifelong love of the military and that is also obvious. I listened to this book and the two narrators did a marvelous job, transporting the reader to another world. This is the start of a great fantasy series that has already been optioned for a tv series. Violet is a wonderful character to serve as a model for young women and Xaden is every woman's dream. This book is recommended for fantasy and romance readers.

Really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator was amazing. Will continue with this series. The netgalley audiobook archived before I could listen but I listened to it later from my library so am able to give feedback.

This book was INCREDIBLE. I cant even explain how many times I've already re read and re listened to this read. It holds such a special spot in my heart of favorite books for sure. I don't think there is anything to compare. If you haven't yet do yourself a favor and do it, you will not regret it. If I could do ten stars I 100% would do so.

Fourth Wing being marketed towards an adult audience when most of it is a YA fever dream similar to the likes of Twilight and such is comical. I'm not sure who this book is for. There's spice in it, but the characters are all so young and act young that it feels a bit icky.

overall okay, the audio was mostly well done.

the story itself was okay but the writing was too contemporary for me for a completely fantasy setting and the comparisons between our worlds things in a dragon fantasy world setting ripped me right out of the story.

also the “romance” felt very forced and too fast for how it went from forced hate to forced love.


overall it was entertaining and kept me wanting to know where the story would go but it’s definitely a purely popcorn entertainment instead of a well written and planned out fantasy story with depth and throughout world.

so depending on what you want from it -it’s either for you or you will hate it.

I had not realized that this was still on my shelf for needed feedback! I sincerely apologize to the publishers as I was not able to download this before it was archived. I LOOOVE the book though!

I, like many others, loved this book. This is a perfect starter fantasy. The world building is there, but it isn't too confusing or convolved. The characters are so well written and witty that they keep you entertained. It was too good!

Like everyone else that got an early copy of the audio the narrator sounded sick but I know they fixed it.

For the story, it always amazes me that authors just pull these stories out of their head. It took me until chapter five to really start liking it and then I was hooked. Stayed up way too late to finish it.

I loved all the characters! Everyone flowed so well together.

I’m still not over a certain death but this author always does that.

There’s a cliffhanger so be ready for that. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Thank you for RB Media and NetGalley for this advance listening copy. This book is absolutely addictive and the narrators they chose for this book really brought it to life, helping with a lot of the more world/info-dumping aspects. Overall, this book and world feel laced with something indescribable.

I honestly did not expect to like this book as much as I did and thought it was overhyped. But it was fantastic. It was like a mix between Priory of an Orange Tree and and The Poppy Wars. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Rebecca Soler is amazing as always.

Thank you to RB Media for the audio arc.

I only read about 24% of the audiobook so my review is based on my physical finished copy.

5/5 Stars

This is gonna be a long review because this book is really special to me.

I have wanted to read this book since it was released and even before I knew it had EDS (Ehlers-Danlos syndromes) in it. I even got a freaking audiobook arc of it and I had started it but the narrator just didn’t work for me so I gave up about 25% in and hadn’t gotten around to finishing the book until now. This book was complex but not so complex my brain hurt which sometimes fantasy novels can really be hard for me to get through, especially when romance isn’t a main plot point. People emphasize the romance in this book which I truly think does a disservice to it because this book is fantasy and complex world building and magic systems first and romance like third. I love the romance, do not get me wrong but there is so much more to this book than the romance between Violet and Xaden.

Violet has spent her whole life training to become a scribe but when her mother, the Commanding General, orders Violet to join the rider quadrant she doesn’t have a way to say no. She has spent her whole life knowing that she was different, she is weaker, more fragile, and smaller than most, becoming a dragon rider seems like a death sentence especially when everyone seems to want revenge against her mother. Violet just wants to survive but it seems like people she thought were her enemies might just become her best chance at surviving.

I am someone with EDS and I have never read it in a book so I didn’t expect the first time I saw it in a book to be a high fantasy book with fucking DRAGONS. Disability representation is still not super common and what is even less common is for it to be done well and accurately. EDS is a hard diagnosis to tackle in a book because even ignoring the fact there are 13 subtypes of EDS, it often within the same subtype can vary dramatically person to person. But Yarros handled it really well, based on the book I would guess it is either classic, classic-like, or hypermobile EDS based on what I know and as those are often the ones with the most joint dislocations and subluxations like violet but it could be a different type. As I said it can vary symptom wise based on the person but Violet was actually very similar to me except I don’t have any bone issues, I instead have muscle weakness and joint issues so It was crazy seeing someone like me ride a dragon. Ignoring the spicy bits this book would have been life changing when I got my diagnosis and it was impactful even now and it likely will impact a lot who have chronic illnesses.

I loved the friendships and other relationships in this book. Violet cares and cares hard so she has to learn quickly to try and care less to prevent heartbreak as a lot around will not make it through the year or possibly even the month. Her friendship with Rhi was amazing and I loved her relationship with Liam. Her friendships were more important almost than her romantic relationships and I really love that. Now to the part a lot care about and so do I, Xaden. I think it is safe to say if you give readers a man who is morally grey, has trauma, and has shadows we will fall in love with him no matter what. I really loved the slow progress of Violet and Xaden and I know that slow progress will continue into book 2 if not further. I am confident that they will be endgame due to a lot of factors and they bring out the best in each other and truly fit into each other's lives in unexpected ways. I really am hoping book 2 is at minimum dual pov with Xaden because I really want into his mind.

The Dragons, Tairn and Andarna were amazing. Tairn is a grumpy old man that just wants to do what he can for his mate and also help Andarna. Andarna is a precious bean that must be protected and I can’t wait to see what happens as the series progresses with her. I loved a lot of the dragons and I am super curious about their “government” and how that all works.

I can’t wait to read book 2 and I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Unputdownable!

I picked this up and couldn’t stop listening until I was done.

I loved seeing a main character with a chronic illness and loved seeing accommodations for it in a fantasy world. I am anxiously awaiting Iron Flame!

I wanted to love this book. I was ready to be wowed. For some reason Fourth Wing didn't do it for me though. The writing style was fine, and the story was interesting, but I never got completely hooked. So in the end this was a case of "it's not the book, it's me".

“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.”

4.5 ⭐

Well, this was a lot of fun! I love dragons and I love school setting. I’m also a fan fantasies with a bit of romance, but where the emphasis stays on the plot. So this worked quite well for me on several levels.

I have to say, though, I see why many people didn’t like this book. I had issues with all those things, too. The backstory and world building were done pretty badly. There were inconsistencies and many questions left unanswered. And not in a cool I’ll-explain-it-in-the-sequel kind of way, but just in the sense a lot of things didn’t add up.

But I still enjoyed it. Hope we’ll get some more of that world and lore explained in the second book.

I was really looking forward to this book, but I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would.

I'll start with what I did like about the book. It was really great to see the chronic illness rep with Violet. So many people have felt seen with her character and that is why representation matters to much! The premise of the book was really interesting to me. I absolutely love dragons, so that was probably my favorite part of this book overall. I hope we get to learn more about them in the next book.

There was a character that I was suspicious of pretty much from the start, and that person ended up doing what I suspected of them. There were a couple other twists that I didn't see coming, especially with the ending, and my mouth was hanging open in shock.

Now, the reason for my rating not being higher. The audio version of this book just wasn't that great. That is so hard for me to say because Rebecca Soler is one of my favorite narrators and I've loved all the books I've listened to that she's narrated. But she was clearly sick for the first 30% or so of this book. There were so many instances of mouth noises, swallowing, wheezy breaths and other things. It was incredibly distracting and took me out of the story constantly. Because of that, when the audio switched to when she was well, by that point I just wasn't as interested in the book anymore. I also wish Xaden's POV would have been in the book more so Teddy Hamilton would have had a bigger part. I loved that the book ended with his POV though and loved Teddy's narration. He's one of my favorites as well.
Overall, I think I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I had just read the physical copy.

I have no words besides this book has drugs in it! This is so addictive and amazing and intense I loved every minute of it

The hype over this book is WELL deserved! OH MY GOD AMAZING! The audiobook is SPECTACULAR! If you might have issues with the lore dumping while reading it...give the audiobook a try! It's so fluid, so well done, the voice acting is GREAT! Seriously this book just checked all my boxes and I! AM! OBSESSED! Can I give this book more than five stars? Please?

I cannot wait for the next book! I've been recommending this book to literally everyone I know! It's just that GOOD!

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for the ALC Audiobook! ♥

I was so scared that this book wouldn't live up to the hype, but for me it did. I had a great time. Now is this the best written book in the world? No it's not. Is it predictable? For me its was yes, because I guessed quite a few things throughout the book. Including the ending, but that was more of a imagine if...and then it turned out to be right. There needed to be more clarification that Xaden was a person of colour. When he was introduced it was quite ambiguous that I didn't twig that he was meant to be a person of colour until later on in the book. The ambiguity around Xaden confused me because the description of other POC characters was very clear, it was only Xaden that wasn't.

Now the audiobook is a whole different story. The narration was not good, it sounded like the narrator had a cold and it was very off putting. So I'm glad to see that the audio is going to be rerecorded.

That being said I loved this book. I had a great time. I enjoyed the pacing, the adventure, the challenges and trials. I had a riot if a time with this. I finished it in two days. I really really enjoyed the characters, apart from Daine. He can get in the bin, along with Jack. I thought Violet was a great main character, Mira was such a badass sister, and of course the best part of the book...the DRAGONS.I need one, or two, or all of them. They are so sassy and sarcastic, I love it. I thought the disability rep in this was brilliant to, It was so well done. I loved how Violets disability was not her only character trait.

Fun, adventurous, fast paced and heart-breaking. I sobbed my heart out...it was great!

This book was absolutely everything that I wanted it to be and more. I wanted to reread it before I was even done! I love books about dragons and these dragons were so cool. I immediately loved Violet. I love her spunk and humor. She is brave and fun too. There were some dark academia vibes for sure which I love. I love the spice in the book too. The ending got me. I cannot wait to read the next one! Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, the daughter of the commanding general, was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet and safe life. Her mother orders her to join the Riders Quadrant, which has a high death rate, especially for someone like Violet who hasn’t had any training for it. Not only does Violet’s small, brittle body make her unlikely to bond with a dragon, with her famous last name, she’s the target of other students in her quadrant. Xaden Riorson is the wingleader of her quadrant, and he has a reason to not like Violet. However, Violet defies all the odds when it comes to training and bonding with a dragon. She must do anything she can to survive.

This book definitely lived up to the hype! There was a great slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance which I loved! I listened to the audiobook and read a physical copy. I found it a little difficult to follow the audiobook, mostly because it was such a complex world to enter. I enjoyed the physical book much more. There were shocking twists at the end, including a huge cliffhanger ending. I’m so glad that I only have to wait a few months for the next book in the series!

Fourth Wing is an amazing new dragon-filled fantasy!

Thank you RB Media for providing an audio arc of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent, broken bones, murder