Guys. I’m not lying here: 2023 is MY YEAR for reading. I cannot tell you how many books I’ve read that have been so astonishingly beautiful and amazing and overall top tier. This novel is no exception. 

Coming into this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The only other book I’ve read by Rebecca Yarros is The Things We Leave Unfinished. Also amazing, but if you’ve read it you know it’s on a completely different playing field than this book. I mean, Fourth Wing is on a different world and isn’t a historical romance novel. It is epic, though, and I’m not using that word lightly. 

Fourth Wing is a fantasy novel set in the world of Navarre where dragons, griffins, and magic are real. If you’ve followed a majority of my reviews on my blog, you know that I hardly ever review fantasy novels. I honestly think the only other fantasy novel I’ve reviewed was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which honestly was a real world fantasy, so wasn’t that far outside of my realm. With that being said, this book is outside of my typical comfort zone but holy hell did I love it. Now I’m thinking I’ve been missing out on all of these amazing fantasy novels and I might just go on a binge. 

So, what exactly did I like about this novel? Everything. But to break it down: the world building that went into writing this is absolutely insane and makes it an amazing read in itself; the characters that don’t necessarily make you think “oh this again” with the main heroine; the unbeatable plot; and the beautiful, comical writing style that Rebecca Yarros demonstrates. 

The world building speaks for itself, but the characters that don’t follow typical patterns particularly made me like this novel. For instance, our main heroine, Violet, is way weaker than other riders. She doesn’t fit the mould. While this is typical for our main character, what follows isn’t. Instead of her beating all odds and becoming the strongest rider of all, she basically just… adjusts. She has to do things differently and doesn’t just become a natural born rider. It’s amazing and you’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve read the book. 

The plot is just like what I said: unbeatable. You have foreshadowing, a romantic subplot, tension and high stakes throughout the entire novel, and man is it satisfying.  I’m not sure how long this series is going to be, but I am here for it. 

Lastly, Rebecca Yarros’ writing style in this novel is nothing short of spectacular. You get epic battle scenes, romantic moments that play with your heart, and comical snips that make you laugh out loud. It really does have everything and I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire novel. 

Spoilers ahead.

So, I thought I wasn’t going to go into spoilers with this review, and even though it’s already super long, I have to talk about some of these things. 

My legit favorite romantic plot device in this novel is the fact that Sygael and Tairn, being a mated pair, can’t be away from each other for longer than a few days. Therefore, Xaden and Violet can’t be away from each other for longer than a few days. It’s an ingenious way to fit in the “forced proximity” trope that everyone (including myself, if done right) is obsessed with. 

Okay, also, is it just me, or do some people feel like Jack isn’t dead and is gonna come back as a venin? No? Just me? 

Seriously, though, the venin and wyvern are like, the perfect villains that give just enough fear for it to up the stakes even more in this book. I wasn’t sure where we were going to end, but I knew it would be a cliffhanger since Iron Flame comes out in a month. And yes, I’ve already pre-ordered it. 

I had a feeling Brennan was going to come back from the dead just because of how horrible her mother was in the first place. I am pretty intrigued on how it’s going to change Violet’s dynamics as a character in the next book, though. 

Overall, this review is huge but I had a lot to say. I honestly can’t even point to something that I disliked about this novel, which just goes to show you how much I loved it and how great I think it is. If you enjoy fantasy novels, you’ll fall in love with this book. If you don’t enjoy fantasy novels? You’ll still fall in love with this book. I’ve already recommended it to my book club, my mom, and my brother. Y’all are welcome. 

Source: Personal Copy

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)