Sometimes Violence is not the Best Option

Originally, Violet Sorrengail should be taking another carreer at in the military: books, history and intelligence service await her in the scribe quadrant, but her mother decides, she should live up to the family heritage and become a dragon rider, just as Violets sister and dead brother. So without much training, she enters the most deadly school, made to produce the military elite, killing every cadet not worthy. The situation is already tense enough, but then Xaden enters the stage. Xaden, a senior student and enemy of the family, is best known for his dad murdering Violets brother and promising to kill Violet herself. A clear case of “avoid at all costs”, if he would look so handsomely evil.

During my read, I found the tension rising immediately, leaving little space to breath or let alone enter the world or culture. However, Yarros takes her time to makes the point that her War College is for the strongest, not for the fragile but intelligent Violet. The stake of her dying continues to drive the plot in the first half of the book, leaving me a bit exhausted and even breaking the immersion sometimes. Her possible death has little emotional impact in the context of the story, and thus makes her survival feel a bit like plot armor. It doesn’t help that the violence is shallow, mostly concerned with death or living, leaving little room for injuries or psychological consequences. The fast rising action in the first section falls flat when the stakes and tension implode in the middle, where the romance has to single-handedly drag the reader along. This fatal flaw of the book saddens me, because it was clearly made with a lot of passion and craft.

While neither the concept of dragon riders nor a school in a fantasy setting is exactly new, the story continues to share its original takes and thought, shaping a much richer character than the pitch “dragon rider school” would suggest. The world and people feel authentic, the descriptions of the setting and magic come to life. But “Fourth Wing” is always at a hundred percent, never settling for moderate. This not only includes its action and thriller-like pace, but also romance. Beginning as a classic Enemies-to-Lovers vs. Friends-to-Lovers, Yarros drops all subtlety as soon as it gets physical. The sex scenes are very graphic, too graphic for my taste anyway. The dynamic and tension between the lovers outside the bed was much more to my liking, carrying the second half of the book. The plot moves, without feeling rushed, taking some not particularly complicated turns. This is also where the characterization of the protagonist falls short a bit, as she is supposed to be very intelligent but doesn’t seem to anticipate her environment in any way. Her love making her blind might be an excuse, but an intellectual protagonist in this school full of muscles and violence would have been a nice contrast.

All in all, the book is just fine; a bit graphic with sex, a bit too much like a thriller for my taste. However, I’m sure other readers might like these elements and fall in love with “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros. For me personally, it was a refreshing take on dragon riders, but clearly not entirely my taste.