Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Rebecca Yarros is an award winning author for several YA themed books - and Fourth Wing is her latest being touted as NA (New Adult) Epic Fantasy. Which I felt frankly, was just license for perhaps a little bit more explicitly wilder romance elements and maybe some more grimmer action. But all that aside, Fourth Wing is every bit the hyped TikTok sensation that it claims to be. A rip roaring exciting epic fantasy set in a war school featuring a sassy heroine, some broody criminally good looking and certified badass boys and tons of fire-breathing dragons. What is NOT to love. 

Rebecca isn't looking to reinvent the genre but she brings in a refreshing twist to the tropes like war school, dragons and the sizzling romance that are the basic themes on which the story is built. The main reason you will love this book is Violet Sorrengail - our plucky heroine, who was supposed to be joining the Scribes quadrant and definitely not the riders quadrant, unlike her whole family before her. Because Violet is 'frail' with a physical condition that leaves her bones brittle and connective tissues weak, thereby marking her physically not strong enough to survive the ordeals of the brutal training school at the Riders quadrant let alone the travails of actually riding a dragon to the war. But fate has other plans in store for her as she cannot say no to her mother, the famed General Sorrengail who is adamant that her own blood would become a rider or die trying. And that is literally true - because this training school is a cruel and apathetic place for the young aspirants. Everyday one or more of the aspirants die. Falling to their deaths from high places as part of some ridiculous trials planned to test their strength and agility or being barbecued by angry dragons. But Violet is determined to survive all of this and prove herself to the world that underestimates her. For you see, she is the sharpest brain in whole of the school and deadly fast with her daggers. Armed with her dead older brother's diary and her ferocious older sister's advice, Violet quickly makes friends, allies and a lot many enemies at Basqiath, the military training school. 

Including her third-year wing leader Xaden Riorson whose own father was murdered by Violet's mother for being a rebel and having risen up against the King. And he clearly nurses this hatred against the Sorrengail family and hopes to avenge himself. But Violet finds herself helplessly attracted to the cold and handsome Xaden even as she survives the brutality on the gym training mats or the violent conspiracies hatched against her by the jealous and murderous fellow first-yearites. 

For all the deaths and cold games of war that these cadets at the war-school play, Rebecca takes care not to write this story as a grim-dark or dark fantasy. The absolutely scintillating adult romance between Violet and Xaden ( it's not really a spoiler because, from the moment these two meet each other, they cannot seem to stop undressing each other with their eyes and imagining absolutely depraved fantasies that only raging hormones allow you to have!) is very well written. [ But for the life of me, I still cannot grasp what Xaden finds in Violet from the first moment they meet !] This "romantasy" takes centre-stage after about sixty percent of the novel and it does slow down the pacing a bit. But the initial chapters are an absolute romp and the pages fly as we accompany Violet on her trials through the first year proving herself more than capable to the might and brutality of the war school. And yes - once the dragons make their appearance, it just gets better. I am not going to spoil it for you and will let you meet these might fire-breathing behemoths who are not just scary but super intelligent and kind, wise-cracks and just plain amazing. 

Despite being full of tropes and predictability of the narrative, Rebecca helps us navigate this sweeping fantasy narrative with absolute fun and the story remains a joy to read because of Violet and her razor sharp intellect coupled with a kind selfless mind. There are other interesting characters in the school that I loved reading about but Violet and Xaden are clear stand-out stars. Xaden, the quintessential brooding bad boy with his extreme good looks and mysterious aura is a charmer. There are quite a few interesting twists in the tale that will hit you and despite the world building not being very dense or expansive, we fly along to the borders of the empire that are being threatened by not just the neighbouring empires but also by other forces at large. Magic is an important element in the story and Rebecca keeps it straight forward, unspooling it only as much as it is needed and that worked for me. 

If you are in the mood for an absolutely fun, exhilarating ride through steamy hot romance in the corridors of a fantasy war school, then Fourth Wing is your next stop. I couldn't put the book down once I started, it's that addictive and fun.