Forth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is a romantic fantasy or romantasy about dragons and their riders. Forth Wing is the first book in The Empyrean series. The basic plot is Violet who has been trained as a scribe most of her life. Has been told by her mother, who is also a general in the dragon riders army. She can not be a scribe but a dragon rider. The story is about a young adult who is in over her head. She finds out she has the strength after all but just needs to be tested. The overall story for Forth Wind I liked a lot. The magic system was clever. The world building was attempted and the world feels lived in but the history was lacking. There are big dumps of history and topography. Violet tries to keep her mind off an intense task, but the words are just filler and don’t connect. A big part of the book was a redacted history that comes to light at the end of the book. I’m hoping the history gets explained more in the second book Iron and Flame. The topography of the world was the worst. I couldn’t tell where anything in this world was. I also couldn’t tell in which direction the dragons were headed. Thankfully, there was a map. The romance in the book, I have a hot take. I did not like it! Both characters I liked but when they do get together they get a bit annoying. I felt like they would play the annoying you hang up first game on the phone in the modern world. I felt like both characters were very independent and became dependent too fast. The spicy stuff was good and spicy. The story would have benefited from the characters waiting on the sex. If they had waited until the war games then the ending would have been so intense. The ending of Forth Wind was incredible. The final twist was great. I guessed two scenarios at the end. One was correct, but it was still so cool. Forth Wing was published on May 2, 2023.

Plot Summary: Violet has been trained as a scribe for most of her life. Her father, also a scribe, taught her. Sadly he dies before she can go to the school and become a scribe. Violet is the youngest of three siblings. Both of her siblings are dragon riders. Her mother is a general of the Dragon Riders’ army. She talks to her mother before entering the school. Her mother does not give her a choice. She tells her that she will be a dragon rider. Violet speaks to her only living sister Mira. Mira gives her advice and tells her what to expect at the first trial. Only so many people pass it. She watches as a student falls to his death in front of her. Before her trial attempt, she has to register. Her last name puts a target on her back. Her mother has, on occasion, attacked an ally to hold off a potential rebellion. Some students have to be dragon riders to make amends for their family’s rebellion. Xaden is a third-year student. He is assigned as a leader over Violet. He has reason to hate her because his father was killed by Violet’s mother. And Violet has a reason to hate Xaden as his father was responsible for killing her big brother. Violet has many enemies and few friends. She seems to be the weakest at the school. Her students soon realize she is resourceful. She will use any opportunity to her advantage.

What I Liked: The ending for Forth Wing was fantastic. The ending puts a lot of great elements together like betrayal, action, and twists. The dragons were very cool. I loved how the magic system works through the link to dragons. The magic powers were interesting. I liked how some of the powers are hidden and others are considered too dangerous. The trials were inventive and you can see how they relate to dragon riding later. I loved the friendships with Roe and Liam. I loved the sister relationship with Mira. I loved the nickname Violence for Violet. The burgeoning part of the relationship was fun. The will they won’t they part. The threat of death was throughout the novel leaving no character truly safe. The dorm room invasion was one of my favorite scenes it was so intense. I liked it when the novel did get spicy I liked how the powers could not be controlled on orgasm.

What I Disliked: The quick clinginess of the relationship made me cringe. Why can they still be two independent people who love each other? Is the relationship love or lust I feel it is still in the lust category. I hated that the location of the characters in the world was so hard to figure out. The story needed more history of where the characters were going. I wanted more history of the places and the dragon-human interaction. I thought Violet and Liam should have hooked up that was the romance I wanted to see. I heart Liam.

Recommendation: Forth Wing is a good story that is told well. The story at its core is very solid. The spicy parts are flirty and fun. Bonus the spicy scenes use magical powers. Forth Wing is a very hyped book on Booktok and I feel it lived up to the hype. It was a good solid story with lots of death, great dragon action, and some spicy fun time. I recommend my followers check it out.

Rating: I rated Forth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 3.8 out of 5 stars and 3 chili peppers out of 5 on the spicy meter.