The Empyrean Series Book 1

Matcha & Motifs Book Review 5/5

20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised to be a Scribe, but when the commanding General, aka her mother, forces her into the Rider’s Quadrant, she must train and fight for a chance to become a dragon rider. With the odds stacked against her and the death toll increasing every day, she must use every ounce of her wits to survive. As Violet trains at Basgiath, she soon discovers that students, teachers, and leadership all have agendas of their own. Which side is she fighting on? 

I just finished this book and wow was that fucking phenomenal. The way I could not set this book down, I found myself thinking about it at work, replaying the scenes in my head. I stayed up late reading it, knowing I would pay the price for it tomorrow. I read it every chance I got, and even when I had plans there was nothing I wanted more than to tune out the world and curl up and immerse myself in the world of dragons and riders. 

This is the perfect adult romance fantasy novel I’ve read in a while that checks all my boxes. I feel like high school me again, in love with YA books because the romance has you giggling, it’s plot-driven and the characters are enjoyable. It’s the perfect escape. And yes, reading to learn is great, reading to keep your brain sharp is awesome, but reading to escape will always be my favorite. 

The characters and their dialogue are so clever and funny that I will audibly laugh out loud. I know. Crazy. 

I would recommend this book to lovers of romance and fantasy. Specifically in that order. 

To preface, this genre is right up my alley. If I could only read one genre for the rest of my life, this type of book would be it. I’ve always enjoyed romance mixed with a great plot, whether it’s fantasy or science fiction. So now that we know my opinion is biased, please take this review however you wish to. 

I do want to mention that this book has a good amount of spiciness and smut, so if that’s something you enjoy you’ll like this one. 

Violet Sorrengail 

Sometimes in books, things happen to the protagonist and sometimes the protagonist makes things happen. 

Yarros did a great job of creating Violet Sorrengail’s character. There are preconceived notions about her based on her lineage and this comes not only to me as a reader, but also to the other characters in the book. It makes it easy to understand why she’s an underdog, hated, and targeted. 

Violet at heart, is a scholar, a person grounded in history and facts. Her safe place is the archives, a library. She is cunning, and I say cunning because not only is she smart, but she uses her smartness to achieve her ambition, even if it’s not entirely “right”. I think this little aspect adds complexity to her character. 

Violet being weak and fragile threw me off a little. She has a history of dislocating her shoulder and she sucks at fighting. This differs from other fantasy books where the protagonist is a prodigy fighter or something. And yet, it works for her because where she’s lacking in physical strength, she makes up for in intellectual strength. I think it’s awesome to have a protagonist’s main strength be intelligence instead of muscle. Also, it makes for a great contention of character development. Seeing her train and struggle to survive made her relatable, which I really liked.

World-building 

What I absolutely enjoyed was the world-building in this novel. Yarros did an incredible job of building the world through the identity of characters. For example, by explaining how Violet is the daughter of the General of Navarre, I know that they live in a country named Navarre and that they have a military system. Also, to have a military system typically means there’s something to fight against, or in this case, protect. Additionally, as we met Xaden Roirson, son of the rebellion leader, we learned that this country has some flaws as there was a previous rebellion just a generation before. This makes me wonder, is the government in the right, or the ideals of the rebellion? 

Yarros also builds the world through dialogue, explaining in a conversation between Mira, Violet’s older sister, and their mom, that Violet cannot go into the Rider’s Quadrant because she’ll die. Through this, we learn about the four different quadrants that a person of this country can partake in when they come of age and each plays a specialized role. 

I feel that I know just enough about the world as I’m reading and then Yarros continues to expand it as the plot moves forward. The world-building is embedded in the plot which is so fun because we are uncovering what’s going on as the main characters are too.  

I enjoy the level of fantasyness of Fourth Wing. We get something new, with its own take and rules on mythical creatures and magic, yet it’s familiar. The middle of this book follows an “everyday” type of plot. It reminds me a lot of Attack on Titan where we follow the main characters and their interactions as they live life as a cadet, training, and learning to protect their country. I personally really enjoy this because it makes me feel like I’m one of them and everything is more meaningful. 

!!!CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

Romance

I am such a happy camper because it’s my favorite trope: enemies to lovers. And get this! There’s a childhood friend thrown into the mix. I am kicking my feet, grinning from ear to ear.

Dain Aetos is a 2nd year Squad Leader and Violet’s childhood best friend. He has brown hair, a sweet smile, and is the boy-next-door who knows you more than anyone. Xander Riorson is a 3rd year Wingleader who has dark hair and dark brows, not to mention the scar that cuts through it, and he’s drop-dead gorgeous. (Wait you know what I just realized, they’re described as “very hot” with some conventionally attractive features, but since we’re the readers, we get to imagine what “handsome” looks like to us. This freedom of imagination actually makes them handsome in comparison to, say, a conventionally attractive actor in a movie that may or may not be your type. And that’s why I love books.) Dain worries about you, he understands you, and he knows you’re not physically strong, so he will try to bring you back into the Scribe’s Quadrant. He tells you to lay low. He thinks you can’t do it, despite you proving yourself and beating the odds over and over again. But Xaden will tell you to show your bullies your knife tricks. He tells you to get stronger and to think of another way because the right way isn’t the only way. You see, Dain will do anything to keep you safe, except break the rules. But Xaden will. He won’t care that he already has a target on his back for being the son of the rebellion leader. Or that he could risk his position as Wingleader. He would break the rules, for you. 

A good guy will sacrifice you to save the world. A bad guy will sacrifice the world to save you. And people ask why we like bad guys. 

Okay, so that was a long ramble of me just simping. But I feel like if you’re not simping then the romantic love interest isn’t even that great. 

Violet and Xaden’s relationship is so fun to read. I love that they are an unlikely pair and that we’re led to believe that he hates and wants to kill her, which is true at one point. But the development seems so natural, Violet focuses on herself and surviving the Rider’s Quadrant by poisoning her opponents to gain leverage during matches and this catches Xaden’s eye, so he toys with her. Their banter is so witty and enjoyable, as he teases her she fires back with her sharp tongue. He offers her advice on how to survive the quadrant and it’s the opposite of Dain’s. In a way, he’s impressed she’s made it this far and believes in her. As their relationship progresses, there’s more tension between them to the point where he’s willing to break the rules during the Threshing to save her. The plot progresses their relationship naturally and their relationship moves the plot forward; it’s beautifully intertwined and that’s why it’s so enjoyable to read.  

I’m really enjoying this series, in my opinion, the first books are always great. I feel like the first books in the series are hyper-focused on the main characters, their love, their thoughts, and their battles and we haven’t zoomed out yet. In a sense, the first books are naive and ignorant, and ignorance is bliss. But I do love a good plot once we start zooming out, so I’ll be reading and reviewing the second book to the Empyrean Series, Iron Flame. 
I haven’t been so invested and thoroughly obsessed with a book in years! Please let me know if you’ve read it and have any thoughts on it. What are other books similar to this that I should read?