Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

This is well outside the realm of what my usual fiction read is about, and I read it because of it's enormous popularity. I really enjoyed it, and am eager to read the second book in the series, but find it a little puzzling that it is so widely loved. It seems a little too heavy on the romance for a fantasy fan, and light in that arena for a romance reader (although there are some bodice ripping scenes that might suffice for that crowd)--then again, maybe it is driven by people like me, who read neither genre. In any case, it is well worth the read. Here is a brief plot summary. Violet is the daughter of a powerful, dragon-riding general, but she always thought she’d follow her father’s footsteps and become a scribe--she is more bookish than brave, and her siblings have already followed the warrior path, so no real family pressure. They have kicked in. But her gentle father is dead and her ruthless mother has other plans. Unlike her renowned mother and siblings, Violet is no born dragon rider: she’s small and frail and would much rather read a detailed history of a war than fight in one. Despite this, out of a sense of familial legacy, she is sent to Basgiath, a war college where aspiring riders learn the ways of war. Basgiath has a famous body count (fully a third of entrants seem to die before graduation), but despite this and despite her own perceived weakness, Violet is determined to make it through, bond with a dragon, and become the rider no one thought she could become. And so the story goes, up to and including a dramatic ending that sets up the next book in the series well, and is in itself a satisfying ending.