Fourth Wing. The shiny new book on everyone’s radar over on bookish social media. Booktok has been showing quotes and edits about Xaden, Violet and Fourth Wing for weeks. Bookstagram is posting about it multiple times a day. The world’s new fictional boyfriend is Xaden Riorson and everyone wants to get in his bed. There are so many key themes and details within this book that have people’s attention – war college, enemies-to-lovers, high-tension fighting scenes, and oh don’t forget about the dragons. So why is that?

Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing is a high fantasy, new adult world with violence, bloodshed, steamy scenes and a continual mantra sprinkled throughout the book. What it doesn’t have, which is in part why I believe it’s getting such high praise, are the oversaturated details and characterisations that have swamped YA Fantasy in the last 5-7 years. There are no fae, no vampires, no immortal beings centuries old who are set to be the love interest. The characters can stand on their own, can fend for themselves and have an intellectual autonomy which supports them throughout the book. In other words, they’re not dumb nor do they need babysitting.

Terms like “fictional boyfriend” and “strong female character” get thrown around a lot on bookish social media but this has been one of the only books where those terms have actually been attributed to the right characters. Xaden is a solid book boyfriend and while there is a question regarding the toxicity of the relationship/situationship by Violet, I honestly don’t think it is toxic. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like him given I don’t support a lot of the mainstream picks for “fictional boyfriend” material, but Xaden is the best of a lot of characters. I’ll admit, I have been holding onto the only good tendrils of the ACOTAR batboys in my opinion (Rhys’s mind-conversing, Azriel’s shadowsinger abilities, Cassian’s strengths and loyalty) and they have all been put into Xaden without the true toxicity of their attitudes and behaviours. Xaden is the ultimate “fictional boyfriend” and if that’s one thing that Fourth Wing has given me, it’s the final separation from the ACOTAR books that I needed. There is really no need to return to them now.

Violet and I clicked immediately. It was the scribe upbringing – the intellect, the instinct to learn and question and develop integral thinking skills – and the love she had for books and stories. I could tell from the beginning that she would be a strong character, especially given her unfortunate circumstances at the start of the book. Part of being a “strong female character” in my opinion is the fact there is growth and failures for the reader to see. There is weakness and vulnerability and the drive to improve and build oneself up to be better, stronger, better understanding of what one lacks. For Violet, that’s undoubtedly her physical body, as is brought up in the first chapter. We have a character with a serious and very real condition who fights to improve herself and prove herself no matter the consequences and the pain it will bring her. She is damn strong and another aspect of her strength gets questioned in the latter portion of the book which I thoroughly anticipate seeing unfold in Iron Flame.

There is a refreshingly authenticity to the environment and to the character who live within the pages. Things don’t just happen for the sake of giving the reader an interest thread to pull at. They’re intentional and relevant to the setting and the development of the plot. There is a purpose to how things are structured, how the setting is designed and told, and how the events of the training fit together. I usually don’t like an overtly sexual tone to characters or to the book as a whole, but this tone feels genuine to the characters, their ages, their motivations and to the environment created within the war college. The same goes for the swearing. I know it can be extremely difficult to include multitudes of explicit language in a book as it may not be suitable for the target audience, but this language again suits the characters and the life at Basgiath. There aren’t a lot of well-built fantasy worlds where that is applicable in my opinion.

The themes and layers of family dynamics, magic lore, dragon lore, found family, secrets and betrayal, personal growth, and personal autonomy make this book extremely interesting and immersive. I enjoyed every bit of this and I implore anyone who hasn’t picked it up, requested it from their local library, put it on their TBR list or their watchlist to do so. It’s entirely worth the read and the time.