Fourth Wing: Book 1

The life Violet always thought she would live was one of meticulous record keeping. The life that her mother had chosen is filled with death, danger, and betrayal. Her mother is General Lilith Sorrengail and there is no changing her mind. Violet will be entering the Riders Quadrant no matter the fact that she has been training for the Scribe Quadrant her whole life like her father, who has passed away. She is physically weak, but she is extremely quick and exceptionally smart. Hopefully that will be enough to keep her alive until Graduation.

I was taken aback by how fast paced and well written this story was. I had heard many positive mentions of the book before, but was sure to avoid spoilers. This book lived up to my expectations and somehow exceeded them. The characters had great chemistry and were interesting. The world felt real and vast, but understandable and approachable. I love to read fantasy, but some stories just like to throw in your face locations and make you look them up. This story never required me to look at the map. It was clear how far away things were and where we were in comparison to where we started. Back to the characters, I loved the way that the relationships were created and set up. There was real tension and intrigue about what was going on and where the story would go with the information that we learned. You could come to the same conclusions that the characters come to on your own. When rereading, the author also leaves clues to conclusions that the next book gives you. It flows really fluidly. The only complaint I have is the love triangle. Dain is sweet and kind, but he holds her back and tries to prevent her from reaching her full potential. Xaden is deadly and terrifying, but he understands that you have to keep growing or you risk death. Riding dragons means that you have to be able to adapt immediately to any situation. I wish I could erase my memory of this book and read it for the first time again. I think I found a new author to binge read.

If you liked this book, the sequel is Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. Other books like this one are: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard because both the main character’s are underestimated and both main character share the same intensity, Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken because both of the main characters are smart and resourceful, and Young Elites by Marie Lu because both of the main characters are relentless.