scijessreads

If you like fantasy, Fourth Wing is a mix of The Hunger Games and Divergent WITH DRAGONS. Snarky dragons that bond to riders they choose after some treacherous games and challenges. Violet is the daughter of a General, originally tracked to be a scribe and then pushed at the last minute to the rider faction by her mother. Violet’s whole family is an interesting story to delve into more. She also has a disease that sounds a bit like Ehlers-Danlos (weak joints and bones) and is small but has determination in spades. It is refreshing that Violet doesn’t view her disability as a hazard nearly as much as some of those around her. She knows her limitations and works around them or through them, using the skills she does have to succeed.

As a cadet, she gets involved with Xaden, a rider whose family has been branded as traitors and killed by her mother. And his people blame her mother for their parents’ deaths. She also dances around with Dain, a family friend with a magical gift that could cause all sorts of problems.

Violet’s problem is that pretty much everyone wants her dead, for one reason or another. Rhiannon and some others become her friends, although some of those “friends” are basically put in place by Xaden to keep her safe (for reasons). She has to stay alive through training, through Threshing (dragon selection, where the dragons pick the riders, instead of riders picking dragons), and learning how to use her magical gifts once they present. And after all that, she’s still not safe.

The dragons have agency and attitude. There are a whole lot of secrets and lies. I devoured this book in less than 12 hours (literally stayed up all night to finish it). It was fast-paced, had great side characters, and ends on a cliffhanger that is making me anxious to get my hands on the next book in the series. I loved the relationship between Violet and Xaden (his nickname for her is Violence). I absolutely adore Violet and her sheer force of will to survive when just about everything and everyone else wants her dead. There is so much more opportunity to build and explore this world where Basgiath is (and the world and peoples surrounding it).

And I do love dragons.