#045: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re launching into Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, covering Chapters 1–9—where conscription is a death sentence, dragons choose violence, and Violet Sorrengail is forced onto a path no one believes she can survive.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Violet Sorrengail was trained to be a scribe, not a rider—but on Conscription Day, her storm-wielding mother shoves her into the deadly Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College, where cadets die before classes even begin. The parapet claims its victims fast, including sweet Dylan, and Violet survives by brains, grit, and a well-placed knife.

Enter Xaden Riorson, son of the Great Betrayer, leader of the marked ones, and the man Violet is warned will kill her on sight. Their first meeting is immediate enemies-to-lovers energy, and when Xaden promises the parapet will finish Violet for him, we know this man is a problem.

As Violet navigates combat training, broken bones, and assassination attempts (looking at you, Jack Barlowe), she leans on new friend Rhiannon and childhood best friend Dain Aetos, who begs her to quit before she’s killed. But Violet refuses, armed with her late brother Brennan’s cheat sheet and her own sharp mind.

When Violet stumbles upon a secret meeting of marked cadets, Xaden catches her—and reveals his rare signet: he commands shadows. Instead of killing her, he lets her go.

By the end of Chapter 9, Violet has survived every attempt on her life, turned poison into a weapon, and faced Xaden Riorson in the sparring ring, where he calls her “Violence,” pins her down, and spares her again. The threshing looms, dragons are watching… and Violet is choosing to stay.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies!