Anachronistic language and setting
The inclusion of modern colloquialisms, contemporary slang, and specific modern references within a medieval-inspired fantasy setting repeatedly breaks suspension of disbelief.
Reviewed
Read Time
9 min read
Age & reading levelAdult
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.8
· 538,760 Amazon ratingsFeatured In
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Our review
Fourth Wing
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Review: A BookTok Phenomenon With Real Fantasy Ambition
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is a new adult fantasy romance in which twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail is forced by her military general mother to abandon her scribe's life and survive the brutal Basgiath War College as a dragon rider — all while navigating a deadly rivalry with the formidable wingleader Xaden Riorson. It reached No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and sold over two million copies in its first six months.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers who love high-stakes fantasy romance — particularly the enemies-to-lovers dynamic, dragon-bonding lore, and a chronically ill heroine navigating a lethal military academy — and are comfortable with explicit violence and on-page sexual content.
Worth it if
Worth reading if you want propulsive, action-packed romantasy with genuine world-building depth, a protagonist whose chronic illness gives her unusual interiority for the genre, and an enemies-to-lovers tension that sustains momentum across a long narrative.
Skip if
Skip it if you prefer quieter, more literary fantasy, are sensitive to graphic violence or explicit sexual content, or need a fully self-contained story — this first volume opens threads it does not resolve.
What readers & critics say
According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Wing), the novel's viral momentum on BookTok drove it to the No. 1 position on the New York Times bestseller list, and it won the International Book of the Year 2024 at the TikTok Book Awards. Grimdark Magazine describes it as "a rip-roaring, breathlessly exciting war school fantasy featuring high stakes, a tough as nails heroine, a brooding love interest, epic power-up moments, and wonderfully sarcastic dragons."
Sources: Wikipedia – Fourth Wing, Grimdark Magazine4.8from 538,760 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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Was this helpful?
Fourth Wing is a high-octane new adult fantasy romance in which twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail is thrown into the lethal Riders Quadrant of Basgiath War College, where cadets must bond with dragons or die — all while navigating a charged rivalry with the formidable wingleader Xaden Riorson. Rebecca Yarros delivers a propulsive enemies-to-lovers story backed by distinctive world-building and a protagonist whose chronic illness gives her unusual depth for the genre, and the book's cultural reach — No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, over two million copies sold in its first six months — reflects genuine reader enthusiasm. Readers who prefer quieter, more literary fantasy or want fully self-contained narratives should note this is an intense, action-and-romance-forward series opener that leaves threads open for the continuing Empyrean series.
- Is it worth reading?
- For readers who enjoy high-intensity romantasy — enemies-to-lovers tension, dragon-bonding lore, and a military academy setting — Fourth Wing delivers exactly what the genre promises at significant scale, backed by broad critical and commercial validation including the International Book of the Year at the 2024 TikTok Book Awards. Violet Sorrengail's chronic illness, modeled on Yarros's own Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, gives the protagonist a grounded interiority that distinguishes her from more generic fantasy heroines. Readers sensitive to graphic violence or explicit sexual content should heed the publisher's upfront warnings, and those hoping for a fully resolved story should know this is a series opener with threads that continue into Iron Flame.
- Similar books
- Readers drawn to Fourth Wing will find close companions in the books featured below. Iron Flame, also by Rebecca Yarros and the direct sequel in the Empyrean series, is the most natural next read for anyone who wants to continue Violet and Xaden's story. When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker and Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti both offer the blend of dragon-adjacent fantasy, high-stakes academy settings, and intense romantic tension that defines Fourth Wing's appeal. For readers interested in exploring other romantasy in the same vein, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent are frequently cited alongside Fourth Wing as touchstones of the genre.
- Who should read this?
- Fourth Wing is squarely aimed at new adult and adult readers who love romantasy: the enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson, the dragon-bonding lore, and the deadly military academy of Basgiath War College are crafted for readers who want high-octane action and romance in equal measure. Readers who appreciate disability representation will find Violet's chronic illness — modeled on Yarros's own Ehlers-Danlos syndrome — a genuinely distinctive element for the genre. Those who prefer self-contained narratives, quieter literary fantasy, or who are sensitive to graphic violence and explicit sexual content are not the target fit.
- Tell me about the adaptation
- A television adaptation of Fourth Wing is in development at Amazon MGM Studios, as reported by critics in October 2023. Rebecca Yarros and publisher Liz Pelletier are attached as executive producers, and Amazon MGM Studios acquired the rights to all books in the Empyrean series — not just the first volume. No confirmed release date has been reported in the sources available to LuvemBooks.
- About Rebecca Yarros
- Rebecca Yarros is an American author. LuvemBooks has also reviewed Iron Flame, another book by Yarros in the Empyrean series.
- How does this compare to Iron Flame?
- Fourth Wing is the series opener of the Empyrean books, establishing Violet Sorrengail's world at Basgiath War College, the dragon-bonding lore, and the enemies-to-lovers dynamic with Xaden Riorson — it is the foundation on which Iron Flame builds. Iron Flame, the direct sequel, picks up where Fourth Wing leaves off and is not a standalone entry; readers should start with Fourth Wing to have the context Iron Flame assumes. LuvemBooks has reviewed Iron Flame separately for readers who want a fuller picture of the sequel before committing to the series.
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
Tell me about the adaptation
About Rebecca Yarros
How does this compare to Iron Flame?
Summarize this book
Fourth Wing is the first book in Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean series, published May 2, 2023 by Red Tower Books. Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail has spent her life preparing to join the Scribe Quadrant at Basgiath War College, but her mother, General Lilith Sorrengail, forces her into the far deadlier Riders Quadrant, where cadets must bond with dragons or die. Violet's most immediate threat is Xaden Riorson — the most powerful wingleader in the quadrant — whose hostility stems from a generational grievance: he is among rebel children branded with relics and conscripted as punishment for a rebellion Violet's mother once crushed. The novel's dual engine of survival-driven action and enemies-to-lovers tension drove it to No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list and over two million copies sold in its first six months.
Follow up
What order should I read the Empyrean series?
Does it work as a standalone?
Is it more romance or more fantasy?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
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Our Review
This review covers the book's content, premise, and published reception — not hands-on use or reading, which this editorial has not conducted.
What the Book Actually Is
Fourth Wing is the first book in the Empyrean series, a new adult fantasy romance published in the United States on May 2, 2023, by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing. The premise is high-concept and propulsive: twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail has spent her life preparing to join the Scribe Quadrant, only for her mother, General Lilith Sorrengail — who commands Basgiath War College in the kingdom of Navarre — to redirect her into the far more lethal Riders Quadrant.
There, cadets must bond with dragons or die trying, and with fewer dragons willing to bond than there are cadets, the competition is openly murderous. Violet's most immediate threat is Xaden Riorson, described as the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the quadrant, whose hostility toward her is rooted in a generational grievance: his is among the rebel children who were branded with relics and forced into military service as punishment for a rebellion General Sorrengail once crushed.
The world-building rests on a system in which dragons choose their riders rather than the other way around, a dynamic that, according to commentary on the book, reinforces themes of mutual respect and earned trust. The magical lore — incorporating elements such as venin and wyvern — adds structure to the fantasy framework alongside Navarre's political and military hierarchies.
The Personal Architecture Behind the Story
Rebecca Yarros has spoken openly in interviews about the autobiographical threads woven into the novel. Violet's physical fragility — her weak joints that make the physical demands of rider training especially dangerous — was shaped by Yarros's own experience living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that affects both her and her children.
Yarros has stated a deliberate intention behind this: to show that people with chronic illnesses can be heroic, not despite their conditions but through them. Her husband's military background also informed the novel's rendering of martial culture at Basgiath.
These personal sources of inspiration give Violet's situation a specificity that extends beyond genre convention, grounding the stakes of her survival in something more than plot mechanics.
The novel's origin story is itself notable. Yarros submitted five proposals when her publisher announced a new romantic fantasy line; the Empyrean concept — the third of those proposals — was selected.
That the book emerged from a competitive internal pitch rather than a singular long-gestating vision speaks to how efficiently the premise was constructed for market, though critical reception suggests the execution exceeded the formula.
Reception and Cultural Impact
The commercial and cultural footprint of Fourth Wing is well documented. According to Wikipedia's reception summary, the book's viral momentum on BookTok — TikTok's reader community — drove it to the No. 1 position on the New York Times bestseller list.
It sold over two million copies in its first six months of publication and has been translated into approximately 30 languages. It won the International Book of the Year award at the 2024 TikTok Book Awards.
The book has also been noted among the most-borrowed titles from public libraries in 2024, according to an NPR report cited in Wikipedia's entry. Critics reported in October 2023 that a television adaptation was in development at Amazon MGM Studios, with Yarros and publisher Liz Pelletier attached as executive producers, and that rights to all books in the series had been acquired.
School Library Journal is listed among outlets that reviewed the novel, and Paste Magazine published a piece titled "Making the Familiar New In Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing," suggesting critical engagement beyond pure fan enthusiasm, though the full text of those reviews is not available in the sources at hand.
Genuine Strengths
The novel's dual engine — survival-driven action inside a deadly military academy alongside an enemies-to-lovers central tension between Violet and Xaden — gives it consistent narrative momentum. The publisher's own description of the book as "a nonstop-thrilling adventure fantasy" names the content explicitly: war, battle, hand-to-hand combat, intense violence, and on-page sexual content.
Readers entering with those expectations are getting the genre as advertised, delivered at scale. The dragon-bonding lore and the political structure of Navarre add world-building layers that some fantasy readers find more developed than the romantasy category typically offers.
Violet's chronic illness representation has been noted as a distinguishing element that gives the protagonist unusual interiority for the genre.
Limitations and Who May Struggle
Readers who prefer quieter or more literary fantasy will find Fourth Wing firmly on the action-and-romance end of the spectrum — its intensity and pacing are features for its intended audience but may register as overwhelming for those expecting more reflective storytelling. The book contains graphic violence, explicit sexual content, and death, all of which the publisher names upfront; readers who are sensitive to any of these should weigh them accordingly.
Additionally, because the Empyrean series is a continuing story with Violet and Xaden at its center, readers who prefer fully self-contained narratives should know this first volume does not resolve every thread it opens.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
tertulia.com
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Further reading
- 5
Rebecca Yarros, Wikipedia
- 6
en.wikipedia.org
- 7
rebeccayarros.com
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
berkeleyfictionreview.org
- 12
booksonthe747.com
- 13
lukeharkness.com
- 14
- 15
peanutblossombookclub.com
- 16
Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Heat level
Steamy
Tropes
enemies to loversslow burnforced proximitymorally greyfound familymagic school
From how readers and romance sites describe it, not our own reading.
3 content notes · who it suits
Content to know about
graphic violence and on-page combat death
on-page sex scenes
war and military violence
Best for: Adults / mature 18+ — publisher explicitly flags graphic violence, explicit sexual content, and death; this is a new adult title, not YA.
Skip if you prefer quieter, more literary fantasy or need a fully self-contained story with no open threads.
Rebecca Yarros on Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros discusses Fourth Wing, including her dragon lore, the enemies-to-lovers romance, and depicting a protagonist with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Uploaded by Forbidden Planet TV, 2023 · Watch on YouTube
Giving Violet Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Yarros explains that both she and four of her sons have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, motivating her to write an underdog fantasy protagonist who must rely on intellect and resilience rather than brute physical force.
Dragons Viewing Humans as Pets
Yarros explains that she wanted to invert the common fantasy dynamic by ensuring dragons are the dominant species with their own secret governance, viewing humans as the pets.
Genuinely High Stakes in Romance
Yarros states that while contemporary romance conflicts can often be resolved with a short conversation, fantasy allowed her to create an enemies-to-lovers dynamic where characters have legitimate reasons to kill each other.
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