A displayed selection of books made popular on BookTok.

Kiran Megone

This article contains minor spoilers.

With the second instalment of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing (2023) hitting shelves only six months after its original release, and three more instalments of The Empyrean New Adult genre book series planned, BookTok has been divided over its quality. 

Belonging to the romance and fantasy genre (or, “Romantasy”), Fourth Wing follows protagonist Violet Sorrengail on her path to becoming a dragon rider at Basgiath War College.

Students at Basgiath can go down one of four paths to serve their nation, Navarre: join the healers, infantry, scribes or riders.

Following her father’s footsteps, Violet had been training to join the scribes for years, and she was always at the top of her class. However, despite her intelligence and lacking physical strength, her mother, Commander of Basgiath and General of Navarre’s army, has other plans for her.

Violet must overcome dangerous trials, deadly enemies and merciless dragons to survive her first year at Basgiath.

An Unlikely Protagonist?

Fourth Wing follows a simple yet effective storyline which involves the unlikely protagonist, Violet, slowly realising her potential to become a powerful rider. Doubted by her sister, best friend, and fellow peers, Violet must overcome the trials of Basgiath with the added disadvantage of her short and delicate stature.

Though the idea of a frail female protagonist overcoming the odds is hardly groundbreaking, with one popular example being Feyre Archeron from Sarah J. Maas’ hit series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Yarros adds a compelling spin to this trope.

“Though her methods may be unconventional, Violet is just as capable, if not more so, than her peers.”

In one interview, Yarros confirmed that Violet lives with the chronic condition Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome,  like the author and her four sons. Though never explicitly stated in the text, Violet is consistently described as being highly susceptible to injury, having weak joints, and experiencing chronic pain.

Yarros emphasises the fact that, unlike many protagonists in fantasy fiction who just so happen to be “the chosen one,” or inexplicably powerful, Violet, simply cannot complete certain tasks due to her disability. For instance, her dragon accommodates her needs, altering flight manoeuvres so she does not fall out of her seat when flying due to her weaker leg muscles.

Intelligence Over Brawn In the Face of Chronic Illness

These limitations, however, are never displayed as a weakness, but rather as motivation for Violet to find alternative ways to excel at Basgiath. It is this that makes her character arc captivating.

While the other cadets can rely on their physical strength to overcome challenges, she must use her intellect and creativity to survive. This involves her finding unlikely ways to defeat her far-stronger peers in combat training, (or “Challenges”), and when climbing a deadly, vertical obstacle course, called ‘the Gauntlet’. Ultimately, this forms the core premise of the book: though her methods may be unconventional, Violet is just as capable, if not more so, than her peers.

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Whilst Violet is certainly an inspiring, and perhaps realistic, representation of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome — as much as one can be in a story filled with magic and dragons — Yarros could have used this plot point to further develop the supporting characters. Since Violet could not always rely on her physical body, this could have created the opportunity to highlight her squad mates, who act like a second family.

“The tension between Violet and Xaden is palpable from the start – even when they want to kill each other.”

Moreover, the general lack of characterisation, inside and outside the squad, makes the many deaths in this high-stakes story often solely reliant on shock value rather than actual emotional impact. Instead, the narrative focuses on the relationship between Violet and her dragons (Andarna and Tairn), and the love triangle between her best friend, Dain Aetos, and her wing leader, Xaden Riorson.

Pick A New Adult Trope

It feels tenuous to label the narrative a love triangle, since Yarros makes it obvious early on which pairing readers are supposed to root for.

Initially presenting as over-protecttive but nonetheless caring for his best friend, Dain becomes increasingly patronising and infantilising towards Violet. He never acknowledges the significant challenges she overcomes at Basgiath, and plays it off as luck rather than skill. The love interest we are supposed to root for is, of course, Xaden.

Feeding into the age-old, beloved trope of enemies to lovers, the tension between Violet and Xaden is palpable from the start – even when they want to kill each other.

After all, he is the son of the leader of the infamous rebellion which took place six years prior to the events of the book. He’s also responsible for the death of Violet’s brother – Brennan. Violet’s mother, by contrast, was part of the leadership which saw the rebellion quashed, with all of its leaders executed.

Without giving too much away, it is soon revealed that it is within both Violet and Xaden’s interests to keep the other alive, despite their mutual disdain.

Though Xaden’s motivations and trustworthiness are never clear, there is one key factor which sets him apart from Dain. Rather than coddling Violet, he pushes her to become stronger and recognises her potential.

Having said that, there is far too much focus on romance, and if the series continues to focus so excessively on Xaden and Violet, readers are likely to grow bored. An element of slow burn would bring some needed longevity to this five-book series.

Although, the BookTok hype surrounding the romance narrative might demonstrate that I’m in the minority.

The Rise of The New Adult Genre

As exciting as dragons, magic and fantasy are, the sudden popularity of this book is undeniably a consequence of the abundance of tropes – especially the romance ones.

Over the past few years, the fantasy genre has been flooded by books marketed towards the New Adult age range, as opposed to Young Adult (teenagers).

This has largely been accredited to the massive popularity of Sarah J. Maas’ ACOTAR series. Initially marketed as Young Adult, likely to reach a wider audience, and to leverage Maas’ established presence within the genre, ACOTAR came under fire for its graphic sex scenes and depictions of abuse. Consequently, it was remarketed as New Adult, and has become immensely popular due to its powerful heroine, sizzling romance and fantasy elements.

It is also renowned for establishing some new tropes within the genre, and, unsurprisingly, Fourth Wing demonstrates many of these.

“The incorporation of Violet’s chronic condition, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, is seamlessly integrated into her character’s journey”

Mysterious Man

Our leading love interest, like ACOTAR’s Rhysand, is a mysterious, dark-haired shadow-wielding man with immense power and unknown motivations.

Anyone who has been on this side of BookTok will know how strangely popular this trope is. Like Feyre and Rhysand, Violet and Xaden share a mental bond, where they can talk to each other telepathically.

Personally, I can’t see the appeal of sharing my thoughts with a man, but each to their own.

Romance and Sex Scenes

Another common theme in New Adult novels is, of course, the focus on romance and sex scenes.

Whilst Yarros succeeds in creating a lot of romantic tension, the sex scenes are… questionable. In one scene, Violet gets so excited that she unleashes her signet (magical powers channelled from her dragon) during intercourse. A tad excessive, maybe?

In a similar vein, the New Adult writing style and dialogue can be a bit cringe-worthy, and I’m not a fan of Xaden nicknaming Violet “Violence”. Like many New Adult texts, Fourth Wing is written in the first-person, and the writing style is unfortunately not to my taste.

Is Fourth Wing Worth The BookTok Hype?

So, is Fourth Wing worth the hype? Probably not.

The book lacks characterisation, excessively focuses on romance and its writing style leave much to be desired. Its popularity was clearly propelled by BookTok, due to its incorporation of widely used New Adult tropes, especially those seen in the exceedingly popular ACOTAR series.

Whilst it is no literary masterpiece, it can be a genuinely enjoyable book, if you enjoy the New Adult fantasy genre. Violet’s character arc, while simple, is well-structured and effective. Though under-developed, her interactions with her friends are fun, engaging and often heartwarming.

And finally, the incorporation of Violet’s chronic condition, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, is both unique and seamlessly integrated into her character’s journey. This not only adds depth to her character, but also offers much-needed representation in a genre which rarely includes protagonists with disabilities.

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Featured image courtesy of via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Hi, my name is Kiran, and I'm an MA History graduate hoping to pursue a career in publishing. I love writing about film, TV and literature!

1 Comment

  1. I’m so relieved that somebody else agrees that fourth wing doesn’t live up to the hype! I completely agree that the plot is too romance heavy and I have no idea how it’s going to last 5 whole books. I am glad that there is more disability representation in new fantasy books but I think overall Yarros’ poor writing just lets it down and she doesn’t explore it fully such a shame!

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