Fourth Wing and Iron Flame Review

⚠️ Light spoilers throughout ⚠️

I think the last time I read a fantasy book was nearly 10 years ago, when I finished The Deathly Hallows for the second time. Since then, the dragons, magic, and mythical lore have not captured my interest like more relatable new adult/ romance books. However, with the rise of BookTok and several romantasy series taking over the internet (and with the encouragement of a good friend), I took a chance on Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

Yarros Controversy

Fourth Wing Hype

Now, I’m not going to say these are the best books ever written, but with a combined 1,152 pages, I flew through these at record speed. I could not put them down. It only took me through chapter 1 of Fourth Wing to let down my guard and completely dive into the world of Basgiath War College. Violet Sorrengail is an underdog who readers are positioned to root for, but throughout these books, despite her reputation of extreme intelligence, she devolves into a whiny, confused, and overconfident character.

Fourth Wing ends strongly with an emotional battle scene and cliffhanger, leaving readers hungry for more. This scene alone artificially inflated my overall rating of the book. The cliffhanger also created hype for Iron Flame and helped to romanticize/ cult-ify the books. I had no problem going right into Iron Flame after reading Fourth Wing, simply to find out what happened next.

Is it Romantasy?

Violet’s relationships, both platonic and romantic, were more interesting in Fourth Wing than in Iron Flame. Still, Violet and Xaden’s spicy remarks about “you’re mine” “she’s mine” “he’s mine” felt weirdly possessive. Late into Fourth Wing, Violet realizes she knows little about Xaden even though she is falling for him. In Iron Flame, the relationship somehow worsens. Their hesitations to commit to each other and arguments over full transparency get old fast.

Violet’s relationship with Xaden was so intense, I felt like she lost herself a bit. She invested all her thoughts and feelings into her romantic relationship, while distancing herself from friends to protect her secrets. I loved seeing her back and forth with Rhiannon when their friendship started, but they drifted apart as their responsibilities grew. Rhiannon was often the last person Violet confided in.

My questioning of the genera is because it never felt romantic between Xaden and Violet. Xaden’s idea of romance is keeping Violet alive, which I feel like is the bare minimum. Then on the other side of it, they have lightning-inducing sex and then conveniently have to move on quickly to face an imminent threat. They never get to have pillow talk, farmer’s market dates, or candle-lit dinners. Where is the romance? Is it love, or is it fear of losing the other person?

The Influence of BookTok/Bookstagram

Yarros is becoming the face of the “fast fashion” route publishing is going towards. There is a general sense of unease as Book Influencers change the way readers relate to book purchases.

The Deep Dive:

Verdict

Of the two, I did prefer Fourth Wing. In Fourth Wing there was the daily danger of attending Basgiath, but it was a manageable scale compared to the threats faced in Iron Flame. By the end of Iron Flame, I became numb to the danger. If you want to read for the nostalgia of when you first read YA like Hunger Games or Harry Potter, this book will unlock your inner child. I say that because it does not read like actual new adult fiction. Violet processes things very immaturely and is molded by the men around her.

If I were trying to capture the early college years, I would have focused on deep conversations with friends, thought-provoking classes/professors, and the dichotomy of the safe space of college vs the real adult world. None of these themes would have been difficult to include in tandem with dragon riding training. A common complaint about Basgiath is that they are constantly killing off cadets when there is a shortage of infantry. Yarros could have leaned into the safety and fostered growth of a college campus, but instead made the college just as dangerous as the outside world.

New adult fiction should focus on capturing the new-found sense of independence and confusion of adulthood. The feelings captured in these novels could have happened just as easily in a high school setting (minus the spicy scenes). This is why I compare The Empyrean series more closely to Harry Potter than other new adult novels.

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