Curiosity Killed the Dragon: How Fourth Wing Broke My Reading Slump

This review begins spoiler-light. I will warn you before discussing major relationship developments, Xaden’s choices, Violet’s missing memories, and the completely unacceptable ending of Onyx Storm.

I swore I would not read Fourth Wing.

The hype was everywhere, and sometimes nothing makes me avoid a book faster than being told repeatedly that I absolutely have to read it.

TikTok was full of dragons, Xaden Riorson edits, dramatic quotes, theories, and people acting as though their lives had been permanently divided into two eras: before Fourth Wing and after.

I was tired of hearing about it.

I assumed the hype had become bigger than the actual book. I expected to finally give in, read it, and wonder why everyone had lost their damn minds over another popular romantasy.

Then curiosity killed the dragon.

Or, more accurately, curiosity handed the dragon my entire reading life and allowed it to fly away with it.

The Empyrean series did not merely live up to the hype. It pulled me out of a reading slump, reminded me why I loved fantasy, and helped begin the book obsession that has now taken over a concerning portion of my life and business.

I went from refusing to read the popular dragon book to becoming deeply attached to the riders, their dragons, their relationships, and every secret Rebecca Yarros refuses to explain until the most emotionally inconvenient moment possible.

Five stars for the series so far.

I hate that the internet was right.

I Swore I Would Not Read Fourth Wing

I have a complicated relationship with viral books.

The more aggressively a book is pushed at me, the more suspicious I become. Once everyone starts claiming that a story will change my life, ruin all other fictional men, and permanently alter my brain chemistry, my expectations become nearly impossible to satisfy.

Sometimes I would rather avoid the book entirely than spend five hundred pages asking myself what everyone else apparently saw that I did not.

That was exactly what happened with Fourth Wing.

I kept seeing it.

Dragons. A deadly academy. A dangerous man. A physically vulnerable but intelligent heroine. Enemies-to-lovers tension. Magical bonds. War secrets.

Everything about the description should have appealed to me.

Instead, the constant attention annoyed me enough that I decided I was absolutely not reading it.

Very mature of me.

Eventually, however, I needed to know whether the series actually deserved the level of obsession surrounding it.

I started Fourth Wing prepared to be underwhelmed.

That confidence lasted no time at all.

Curiosity Finally Killed the Dragon

Once I entered Basgiath, I was done.

The opening gave me immediate danger. Violet was not slowly easing into a magical school where the worst consequence was failing an exam. People were dying before they even made it through the front door.

The academy felt brutal, competitive, and completely insane.

Excellent.

Violet also worked for me immediately because her physical limitations were real without making her helpless. She survived by observing, preparing, learning, and using her intelligence instead of suddenly becoming the strongest person in the room because the plot needed her to win.

Then the dragons arrived.

Then Xaden became a problem.

Then the political story began cracking open.

At some point, I stopped reading to understand the hype and started reading because I did not want to leave.

I had become exactly the kind of obsessed reader I had previously been judging from a safe distance.

That is what I get for being stubborn.

The Series That Brought Me Back to Reading

This is the part that matters most to me.

I can talk about the dragons, the romance, the betrayals, and all the ways Rebecca Yarros enjoys ending books at the worst possible moment.

But the reason the Empyrean series has a permanent place in my personal Archive is that it got me reading again.

I had fallen into the kind of slump where I still liked the idea of books more than the act of starting one.

I wanted to read, but nothing was grabbing me. I could pick something up, make it through a few chapters, and put it back down without feeling any urgency to return.

Fourth Wing changed that.

Suddenly, reading felt exciting again.

I wanted to stay up too late. I wanted to finish one more chapter. I wanted to understand the magic, know which dragon would bond with whom, uncover the secrets, and determine whether Xaden was protecting Violet or simply being another powerful idiot who thought withholding information counted as love.

The series reminded me what it felt like to become completely absorbed in a fictional world.

It also opened the door to romantasy for me in a much bigger way. Once I finished, I wanted more dragons. More dangerous academies. More morally grey men. More fantasy worlds capable of ruining my sleep schedule.

That curiosity grew into the reading life I have now.

So yes, the series has flaws.

It also gave me my books back.

That is worth more to me than a perfectly written story I admire and then forget.

I Cannot Separate the Books

People often ask which Empyrean book is my favorite.

I honestly do not have one.

The three published books feel less like separate stories and more like one increasingly chaotic journey that Rebecca Yarros keeps cutting into pieces immediately before something explodes.

Fourth Wing brought me into Basgiath and introduced the danger.

Iron Flame ripped open the lies holding that world together.

Onyx Storm expanded the war, the magic, the dragons, and the relationships—then ended as though readers had done something personally offensive to the author.

Each book depends too much on what came before and what remains unresolved after it.

I do not think of them as three isolated reading experiences. I think of them as stages of the same obsession.

The danger keeps growing. The secrets become worse. The relationships become more complicated. The dragons reveal just enough information to remind us that they know far more than the humans.

Then the book ends.

Rude every single time.

Dragons, Danger, and a World I Could Not Leave

The dragons are one of the strongest parts of this series.

Not simply because dragons are impressive—which they obviously are—but because they are characters.

They have loyalties, personalities, grudges, secrets, humor, and relationships that exist beyond the needs of their riders.

Tairn’s attitude is half the reason I trust him.

Andarna adds an entirely different kind of emotional weight.

Sgaeyl remains powerful, terrifying, and deeply connected to choices that affect everyone around her.

The dragon bonds make every human relationship more complicated because no decision belongs to only one person. Violet and Xaden cannot simply have a normal argument and take a few days apart. Their dragons are bonded. Their lives, powers, and survival are tangled together whether anyone feels emotionally prepared for that or not.

The dragons also raise the stakes of every battle.

I am not only worried about the riders.

I am worried about the dragons.

And no, they are not expendable just because the series contains several of them.

I need all of them protected.

This is not a request.

Xaden Riorson Proved the Hype Had a Point

Fine.

Everyone was right about Xaden.

I hate admitting that.

He is dangerous, powerful, secretive, protective, loyal, emotionally complicated, and morally grey enough to make nearly every choice interesting.

He is also deeply in love with Violet, even when he expresses that love through decisions that make me want to reach into the book and shake him.

Xaden’s biggest problem is that he believes secrets are a reasonable form of protection.

Sir.

They are not.

He repeatedly decides that keeping Violet uninformed is safer than giving her the truth and allowing her to make her own choices. Then he acts surprised when she becomes angry that another massive piece of reality has been hidden from her.

He is an intelligent man.

Except when he is being an idiot.

Unfortunately, none of that weakened my attachment to him.

If anything, the flaws made him more compelling. He is powerful without being emotionally invincible. He can lead armies, command shadows, and terrify nearly everyone around him, yet still completely mishandle a conversation with the woman he loves.

His connection with Violet works because it is intense, protective, frustrating, and occasionally held together by attraction, stubbornness, and the mutual decision not to let the other person die.

Healthy communication could save them so much trouble.

But then the books would be considerably shorter.

Protect Ridoc, the Dragons, and Broccoli the Cat

I have a very reasonable survival list.

• Ridoc
• Every dragon I care about
• Broccoli the cat

Everyone else may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Ridoc must be protected because the series needs him.

His humor gives the squad warmth when everything around them becomes increasingly dark. He can break the tension without feeling as though he belongs in a different story, and his presence makes the friendships feel more real.

Not every person inside a fantasy war needs to spend the entire day speaking in dramatic threats and tragic declarations.

Sometimes someone needs to say something ridiculous before everyone walks willingly into another life-threatening situation.

Ridoc does that.

If the missing character turns out to be Ridoc, we riot.

I am serious.

The dragons are also non-negotiable. I have become attached to them collectively, and the series has already made it very clear that bonds can be broken, dragons can be hurt, and no creature is automatically safe.

I reject that reality.

And Broccoli?

The cat did not ask to be dragged into this war.

Leave him alone.

Major Empyrean Spoilers Begin Here

Stop now unless you have finished Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm or genuinely do not care about Xaden’s condition, Violet’s memory, their relationship, and the ending that has left the fandom trapped in theory hell.

Xaden, You Secretive Idiot

Xaden turning venin at the end of Iron Flame was already enough emotional damage.

I understood why he did it.

I hated it.

That is the Xaden experience in one sentence.

He will destroy himself to protect Violet and then somehow believe she should be grateful that he made the decision alone.

His descent through Onyx Storm was terrifying because we knew he was losing control, he knew he was losing control, and Violet was trying to love him hard enough to keep him from disappearing into it.

Love cannot solve everything.

That does not stop these two from trying.

The deeper Xaden moved into the darkness, the more desperate I became for an answer that did not involve losing him, Sgaeyl, or the relationship that had become central to the entire series.

Then the final battle happened.

Then everything went to hell.

What the Hell Was That Onyx Storm Ending?

I finished Onyx Storm with questions.

Not a few intriguing questions that would make me excited for the next book.

I had an entire pile of unanswered nonsense sitting on my chest.

Violet wakes up with twelve hours missing from her memory.

She is married to Xaden.

Xaden is gone.

People are missing.

Dragons are missing.

There are missing eggs, dead elders, a message from Xaden, and an entire section of time Violet apparently asked Imogen to erase.

Excuse me?

What happened during those twelve hours?

Why did Violet agree to lose the memory?

What did she know that was dangerous enough to remove from her own head?

Where did Xaden go?

Who went with him?

Who is actually missing?

Who betrayed them?

Who is alive?

Why are you making me wait for this information?

The ending did not feel like closing a book.

It felt like someone ripped the final chapters out, handed me a wedding ring, and left the room.

If Ridoc Is Missing, We Riot

The uncertainty around the missing riders is one of the worst parts.

I can handle knowing that someone died.

I may hate it. I may cry. I may spend an unreasonable amount of time complaining about it.

But at least I know.

This ending refuses to tell us who has been lost.

That leaves every character I care about standing beneath a giant question mark.

And if Ridoc is one of them?

No.

I reject it.

The squad has already lost enough people. The story has already proven it will kill characters who matter. I do not need the next installment opening with confirmation that one of the few people still providing humor has vanished into Xaden’s mysterious disaster plan.

Bring him back.

Bring the dragons back.

Bring the eggs back.

Explain the wedding.

Explain the memory wipe.

Explain all of it.

That Cliffhanger Was Cruel Even by Empyrean Standards

Cliffhangers are effective.

I understand why authors use them. A strong ending creates urgency and keeps readers theorizing while they wait for the next installment.

But there is a difference between leaving one major question unanswered and setting fire to the entire board before walking away.

Onyx Storm chose fire.

The ending withheld nearly every piece of information I needed to emotionally process what had happened.

It was effective because I am still thinking about it.

It was also cruel as hell.

My biggest criticism of the Empyrean series is not the world, characters, romance, or even Xaden’s addiction to keeping secrets.

It is the way these books end in emotionally awful places and then leave us there.

I am not peacefully anticipating the continuation.

I am pacing inside the Archive demanding answers.

Threshing Day Is Not Book Four

I am excited about Threshing Day.

Thirteen stories about characters and dragons from the Empyrean world? Wonderful. Hand them over.

I will read them.

I will probably become attached to someone new and regret it.

But let us be very clear:

It is not book four.

I do not need only more time inside the world.

I need answers from the main storyline.

I need to know where Xaden went. I need Violet’s missing memories. I need the identities of the missing riders. I need the dragons accounted for. I need to know what happened during that wedding and whether everyone agreed to whatever completely unhinged plan apparently took place afterward.

I appreciate additional stories.

I am still waiting for the damn continuation.

Why I Still Give the Series Five Stars

After all that ranting, the answer is simple.

The Empyrean series made me care.

It made me care enough to become angry about the cliffhangers. It made me care enough to fear for side characters, dragons, eggs, and one innocent cat.

It pulled me back into reading when books had stopped holding my attention.

It reminded me that fantasy could feel immediate, addictive, and impossible to put down.

I was invested in Violet’s survival, Xaden’s secrets, the dragons’ bonds, the squad friendships, and the truth hidden beneath everything Basgiath had taught its riders.

I did not politely enjoy these books.

I obsessed over them.

That is five-star behavior.

Who Should Enter Basgiath?

I would recommend the Empyrean series to readers who enjoy:

• Dragons with actual personalities
• Magical bonds with serious consequences
• Dangerous military-academy settings
• Romantasy with a strong central relationship
• Morally grey men who need to communicate better
• Political secrets, rebellions, and hidden history
• Found family and squad dynamics
• Fast pacing and escalating danger
• Plot twists that change the meaning of earlier events
• Emotionally cruel cliffhangers

I would especially recommend it to readers trying to escape a reading slump.

The pacing and constant danger make the first book easy to become absorbed in, while the expanding mysteries provide plenty of reasons to continue through the series.

I would warn anyone who strongly dislikes unfinished stories.

You will eventually reach the end of Onyx Storm.

Then you will be here with the rest of us, holding a pile of questions and pretending theory videos count as emotional support.

My Final Empyrean Verdict

I hate that the hype was right.

I resisted Fourth Wing because everyone told me to read it.

Then I finally gave in, and the series became one of the most personally important parts of my reading journey.

It broke my slump.

It reminded me why I loved fantasy.

It helped turn reading back into something I was excited about rather than something I kept meaning to do.

I do not have one favorite installment because the books feel like one continuous story that has not finished destroying me yet.

I love the dragons.

I love the squad.

I love Xaden, despite his commitment to making every emotional situation harder than necessary.

I will protect Ridoc and Broccoli with my life.

I am furious about the ending of Onyx Storm.

Five stars.

Would recommend.

Would also warn every new reader that curiosity may get them into Basgiath, but the cliffhangers will keep them trapped there.

Morally Grey Margins is not affiliated with Rebecca Yarros, Red Tower Books, Entangled Publishing, TikTok, or any books, authors, publishers, or platforms discussed in this review. All opinions reflect my personal reading experience. Theories about missing characters and future events are speculation, not confirmed outcomes.