Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
A fantasy romance, set at a college for dragon riders…. heck yes! Narrated by Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the first novel in the Empyrean series from Red Tower Publishing. This epic tale delivered suspense, danger, and romance that hooked me from the first chapter. I cannot wait for more…
Fourth Wing
by Rebecca Yarros
Series: The Empyrean #1
Narrator: Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton
Length: 20 hours and 47 minutes
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Rating: 
Heat Level: 
Narration: 4 cups Speed: 1.5x
Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.
{
“@context”:”https://schema.org”,
“@type”:”Review”,
“datePublished”: “2023-05-29T05:00:00+00:00”,
“description”: “A fantasy romance, set at a college for dragon riders…. heck yes! Narrated by Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the first novel in the Empyrean series from Red To”,
“publisher”: {
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Caffeinated Reviewer” },
“url”: “https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2023/05/fourth-wing-by-rebecca-yarros.html”,
“itemReviewed”: {
“@type”: “Book”,
“name”: “Fourth Wing”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Rebecca Yarros”,
“sameAs”: “https://www.rebeccayarros.com/” },
“isbn”: “” },
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Kimberly”,
“sameAs”: “https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/” },
“reviewRating”: {
“@type”: “Rating”,
“ratingValue”: 5,
“bestRating”: “5”
}
}
This story had all the elements I love in fantasy romance. We have dragons, magic, a heroine with a disability and an “enemies to lovers” romance. From the very first chapter, the author hooked me and kept me listening. When I wasn’t listening, I was thinking about it and now that I am done, I am left counting the days until the next release. l love that kind of book high.
Now, before I get into how outstanding this story was, I want to talk about the audiobook itself. Rebecca Soler narrates and does a stellar job of not only voicing the characters but of capturing the emotions and tone of the story. Her voices are such that I immediately recognized characters. Teddy Hamilton narrates near the end of the book, giving us Xaden’s perspective and gave a wonderful performance. However, the Recorded Books finished copy had editing issues. From hard swallows not being edited out to dead space. These infractions pulled me out of the story. It was a tremendous disappointment. I am hoping more care is given with the next audiobook.
The story is told from the perspective of twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail. She plans to enter Scribe Quadrant and live her life studying history surrounded by books. I adored her from the start. When her mother, the commanding general, ordered her to join the candidates, hoping to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders, I rooted for her. Given her size and fragile body, no one thinks Violet will survive the training, let alone have a dragon choose her as their rider.
As we learn about the world & its history, we get to know the cadets in Violet’s unit, from her friends to those who poke fun at her. I enjoyed the academy and training, but things got really exciting when the choosing began. I held my breath, shouted and became swept up.
The cadets not only risk not being chosen and having to wait a year but, they can also be found unworthy and incinerated. I kid you not! The competition to become a rider is cutthroat, as there are more riders than dragons. Cadets will try to outmaneuver, remove, or displace other cadets to gain a seat.
The training with the dragons themselves was exhilarating, from staying seated to maneuvers. The training, sparring, and missions all added to the tale, creating suspense as it fleshed out the characters and world.
Violet, aka “Vengeance” is a strong feminine character. She’s smart, kind, and resilient despite her disability. Violet doesn’t expect accommodations, instead she pushes herself to excel. She looks for the good in others and outwits her opponents. The girl is kickass and you’ll want to root for her.
Secondary characters added to the story from girlfriends to those placed around Violet to protect her. I found myself attached to them, and became emotionally invested.
The romance is a forbidden love that will curl your toes. I loved the chemistry between Xaden and Violet. It was all clash and teeth with delicious, consuming heat. He acted annoyed when you could just feel his attraction to her. The relationship between their dragons complicates matters and the fact that he is a child of a previous war.
The dragons were amazing from their abilities to communication. The aerial maneuvers and strategies with their riders on the field were described in vivid 3-D detail. We also see other creatures, but I will leave you to discover that and the magical elements.
The overall story arc for this series has me giddy, and the author did a great job of hooking me with reveals at the end. A brilliant tale from beginning to end. Thank the dragons the next audiobook releases in November 2023.
Amazon | Audible
About Rebecca Yarros
Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.
About Rebecca Soler
Rebecca Soler is a New York-based actress who voices numerous principal characters for the CW s Saturday morning cartoon lineup, including “Viva Pinata”, “Huntik”, “The Winx Club”, and “Chaotic”. Her audiobook credits include “Lock & Key” by Sarah Dessen and “After “by Amy Efaw, for which she was awarded an AudioFile Earphones Award.
Stay Caffeinated!
Never miss a post by adding Caffeinated to your Inbox
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2023 Audiobook Challenge
Source
Original source: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2023/05/fourth-wing-by-rebecca-yarros.html
Leave a Reply