Chloe Wright
Junior Editor
4.61 stars. 1,130,982 ratings. And that’s only on Goodreads! I have never heard of Fourth Wing, an adult romantasy (psst, that’s romantic fantasy) novel by Rebecca Yarros that took the Internet and the world by the throat. After an enthusiastic recommendation from a friend to check it out, I decided to hack away at the 500-page book and write this mostly spoiler-free review. Is it as fantastic as so many people claim it to be? Here’s the one spoiler I will give you: no. It’s not so simple.
It takes place in a rugged fantasy world, torn apart by war and brooding twentysomethings. The daughter of a highly lauded general is forced to enlist in the Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College. The good news is that everyone can bond with and ride a dragon, which is pretty cool. Bad news: A lot of people die before/during/after, either from the harsh conditions of the military academy, the dragons, or fellow riders. Also, a healthy dose of bad boys and scorned childhood best friends are added to the mix. It’s everything BookTok would want: enemies to lovers in a fun setting. But, is the hype “worth it”?
A huge problem with this book is how the author, Rebecca Yarros, refuses to let the reader be captivated by any form of subtlety. The main character, Violet Sorrengail, was originally trained to be a scribe and can spit out information about the history of her world quite easily. The problem is that Violet will do this without it being integrated in an interesting way. The reader does no work, leading to a frustrating reading experience. I understand that fantasy may feel stuffy, nerdy, and complicated to the naked eye (thanks, perception from society), so explicitly mentioning how a military works isn’t a cardinal sin. But when done too much, therein lies the issue. I’ve also heard that Fourth Wing could be referred to as “baby’s first fantasy,” which feels patronizing. It sounds like, “Oh, you can’t handle REAL fantasy unless it has spice and hot men!” which the book definitely has. But no one can compare the worldbuilding level of Yarros and Tolkien and say they’re equal. I’d be interested in Fourth Wing’s worldbuilding Silmarillion style (and how it’d sell).
After hearing the most negative diatribes I’ve heard against a book (e.g., one YouTuber comparing it to cancer), I’d like to defend Fourth Wing against some of the claims made. Yes, the background characters could use literally any development or backstory. The logistics of the brutal war college (i.e., unnecessarily endangering its soldiers even though they’re increasing conscription in the country, which means they need more soldiers because they’re killing all of them!) are stupid. But I will defend the romance (and the dragons, which were cool)!
Who doesn’t like enemies to lovers? Violet and Xaden Riorson (yes, that’s his name) have excellent banter and setup. I will say they built up the expectations for the sex scenes well (lingering looks galore), and when they happened, they were good! I was afraid that, when reading, the so-called “slow burn” romance would actually feel more like a firework that explodes in the first act and struggles to stay alight for the last two. Luckily, the buildup for their connection was successfully written.
The representation contributed a lot to the discussion about this book in 2023. Violet has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and I suggest looking up someone who actually has that condition to see if the representation is accurate or not. Moreover, I remember seeing a BookTok user praising Fourth Wing, and one of their primary reasons was that it had a “sapphic side character,” referring to Violet’s best friend, Rhiannon. Representation absolutely matters (and casual representation, too). But as someone who also read the book, let me tell you that they talked about her relationship for maybe five sentences at least four times in a 500-page book. It just doesn’t make sense for a character who appears so much with so little actual development (her character is reduced to being Violet’s cheerleader instead of having a personality of her own). In an era where LGBTQ+ characters are more frequently represented and rightfully appreciated (and in dragon rider fiction, like So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole), something doesn’t sit right with me when a reviewer touts the book for the ACTUAL bare minimum. But some representation is better than none.
Fourth Wing reminds me of a Michael Bay movie; if the female characters were treated better, the dragons weren’t Transformers. Also, I heard there was a TV show adapting Fourth Wing, and if Jack Harlow doesn’t play Jack Barlowe, Violet’s #1 hater, it’s a missed opportunity. I don’t care if he’s a rapper. It’d be funny.