Yarros is a long-time author, so I’m just thrilled to see her find this success with a series that seems very aligned with herself. (She has a love of history and dragons, and she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which the protagonist has.) It just always brings me joy to see authors hit it big commercially later in their careers. Undoubtedly, her life is now forever changed. The book had a mostly positive critical reception. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, praising its worldbuilding, characters and "sexy dark academia aesthetic". [5] Alana Joli Abbott, in a review for Paste, praised its use of familiar tropes and compared it favorably to fantasy series like Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. [2] Violet asks Xaden to tell her what he was doing one time when she saw him outside after curfew. He tells her that he was in Athebyne. Never did I EVER think I would get into a fantasy romance series, let alone one set at a war college and involving dragons. In fact, if I were to name the things I would normally avoid in a potential read, it would be this. But, Fourth Wing started intriguing me when I saw that even readers like me (who read a lot of classics and literary fiction) were praising it. Fourth Wing will have your heart pounding from beginning to end. Brutal games, grumpy dragons, complex characters, sizzling sexual tension, magic, and war... A fantasy like you've never read before. * Jennifer L. Armentrout *

July 2nd (ch33) - start of the War Games that sends the group to Athebyn. It’s meant to last 5 days, You know when you finish a book, and it leaves an ache in your chest because it was so good, and now it’s over? That’s exactly how I feel after finishing Fourth Wing’ ***** READER REVIEW Fourth Wing is an unforgettable adventure from cover to cover. I cheered, laughed, grinned, and refused to put it down. This expertly crafted romantic fantasy is sure to launch the beginning of a brand-new insatiable fandom! * Lexi Ryan * a b Grindell, Samantha (May 26, 2023). "I read the TikTok-viral fantasy novel 'Fourth Wing' and it lived up to the hype". 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.Violet herself is petite and frail, so she’ll have to fight extra hard not just to succeed, but also to survive, especially since people like the powerful Wingleader Xaden Riorson have it out for her. He, and many of the others, are only there because of the fallout from their parents’ rebellion, after which Violet’s mother executed them. While sneaking out after curfew to collect poisonous berries, Violet hears Xaden and all the first year marked kids gathering. It is illegal for more than 3 marked kids to gather. Xaden catches her after the others leave and Violet decides not to report them because Xaden was just helping them get tutoring in areas that they were struggling in. a b "Making the Familiar New In Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing". Paste Magazine . Retrieved 2023-07-20.

I’ve spent the last year trying to prove to myself I’m nothing like my mother. I’m not cold. I’m not callous. But maybe there is a part of me that’s more like her than I care to admit.” Alliances will be forged. Lives will be lost. Traitors will become allies . . . or even lovers. But sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die. Circumstances may bring them closer than they ever thought they’d be, however, and it’s a heart-stopping journey of not just dragon riding, but also magical powers (signets), symbols (relics), powerful books, a deadly bridge, a gauntlet, a Squad Battle, War Games, mythical creatures (gryphon, wyvern, venin), and even love. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College―and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

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Early March (ch24)- Violet and Xaden talk with Colonel Aetos and General Sorrengail on the way to the flight fields (reference to Violet knowing where her father’s important notes are in the archives)