Fourth Wing 🐲 Spoiler Free Review

Title: Fourth Wing
Series Name: The Empyrean
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Audience: Adult
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publication Date: May 2nd, 2023
Pages: 498
Publishers: Piaktus

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Are you fucking kidding me? Serious question. I don’t know if writing this review not 15 minutes after finishing this book is the best idea. But here we go.

I really had no idea what to expecting from this book going in. All I knew is there was some form of competition was involved, there were dragon riders & there was romance. Oh and of course that everyone was raving about this book… It initially wasn’t even on my radar. When wondering through Big W’s book section though it was there for a decent price. So I decided to grab it because I’d seen everyone talking about it and I like dragons. It just made sense. I also didn’t plan to pick it up so quickly after purchasing but the mystery book I was reading, the main character was driving me absolutely bonkers and I had to put it down. I thought to myself ‘I think I need a fantasy’ so I walked out to my shelves and there it was sitting on the table where I hadn’t put it away because I have no room on my shelves… And holy shit am I glad I did.

I was obsessed from the first chapter. The first chapter actually had me tearing up. Not going to lie. The writing was extremely immersive. I was hooked into, not only the world, but the magic system, the characters and the plot from the very beginning. Every detail the author mentions had meaning and I was taking in every single detail while reading.

The characters were all amazingly written. Would I punch a couple of them in the face if I met them in person? Yes. Am I a little obsessed with Xaden, and Violet, and Rhi, and Liam, and Ridoc, and Mira? Yes. Every character was so fleshed out and detailed. Reading it you felt like you knew all of them personally and either loved or hated all of them. But also, not even just the humans, but the dragons too. The couple we get to experience first hand all have such distinct personalities and you can’t help loving them even when you know you would be shitting yourself if you ever came face to face with them. Everyone is so vivid and I am rooting for so many of them for so many different reasons. I can’t wait to see them again in Iron Flame as well as get to know better some of the ones that we meet or get closer to towards the end of Fourth Wing.

We gotta talk about the plot next because oh my god. I don’t usually enjoy when a book is a little predictable but this one I found myself more so excited when I was proven right than annoyed or bored with it. Granted the predictability ended after Threshing. Up until then there were a few things where I was like ‘I bet X will happen!’ and was right. After that though everything about the plot threw me for a loop. The ending, I was just as shocked as the characters experiencing it. This book had me on the edge of my seat, in shock, talking out loud while reading saying ‘no, no, no’, ‘how fucking dare you’ and generally cursing the author for some choices they made… It was a wild ride and hurt like hell at times but it was absolutely incredible. The last 50 or so pages I basically had tears in my eyes the whole time. And don’t even get me started on that fucking cliff hanger! I stared at the wall for a solid 5 minutes and reread that paragraph multiple times trying to process it.

Lastly I want to mention the world/politics/magic system situation. I really enjoyed learning everything I could about this world. Everything is so fascinating and detailed and intense. I loved it. All the details were so fleshed out. Also, the plot twist towards the end was literally shocking. I was as stunned as Violet and I’m so excited to learn more in book 2. I would read 20 books in the world if given a chance.

Wait! I nearly forgot to mention the diversity! Not only do we have a WLW prominent side character, but also POC rep & the MC has a Connective Tissue Disorder as well, so throw some disability rep into the mix. While I can’t speak for the POC or Disability rep, I loved how the LGBT+ rep was written. There was never any hate towards this character because of it, or even any hint that this wasn’t completely normal. Which is something I love for LGBT+ rep. While it’s amazing having books that focus on the LGBT+ rep and show the realistic struggles most LGBT+ please face, it’s also really refreshing for it to simply be accepted. Like I said, I can’t speak on the disability rep personally, but the way it was handled seemed pretty amazing to me. Yes, her disability affected how she did things but it never stopped her even when so many doubted her. I also love how when it was obvious that a specific task was being affected by her disability that an accomodation was made without any negativity towards her. At first she was hesitant about standing out but she had nothing but support around her and she soon came to understand that it’s not weakness to need accomodations.

Overall, I fucking loved this book. Everything about it was incredible and I know it’s one I’ll be thinking about for ages. I haven’t had this feeling since reading The Lost Apothecary last year which was my favourite book of 2022… And unless something else pops up that blows me away then this could easily be my favourite for 2023. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the mood for a spicy Fantasy full of sarcastic cranky dragons, incredible world building & characters you’ll fall in love with from the first page.