Official excert-

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general–also known as her tough-as-talons mother–has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter–like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda–because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

Short Summary~ 5-8 minutes

Violet was originally going to become a scribe(historian) but her mother, the general, forces her to try to become a dragon rider. Many people try to become riders but often die from the challenges. Her sister, Mira, gives her some advice, new boots and a leather vest, made with some dragon scales. She meets a girl, Rhianon, on the way to the first challenge and even switches one of her boots. Mira warns her against another rider named Xaden, who is the child of a rebellion leader who killed Violet’s brother, Brennan, who was then killed by their mother. Violet meets him immediately as he has to monitor the first challenge of walking across a skinny bridge about 200 feet in the air. Rhi goes first, then Violet, a person behind Violet hates her and wants to kill her but trying to run her off but she makes it across, but hurts her knee. 

In the rider’s quadrant, Violet finds her old friend/ crush, Dain. He immediately tries to get her to leave but she refuses since her mother would bring her back. She has to have classes to learn about current and past battles to learn about strategy and also has a sparring class. Violet is fragile but she has from her brother’s old journal which let her know where she can find her upcoming match partner. She uses her knowledge of plants and poisons several of her sparring matches winning daggers each time. While out foraging plants, she accidentally overhears a meeting with Xaden and other rebellion children, who are not supposed to meet up in groups more than 3. She promises not to tell but Xaden says he will owe her a favor that he will decide to pay back. 

Her next challenge is the Gauntlet, which is a difficult obstacle course to get to a valley to look and be seen by the possible dragons that they can bond with. They practice but Violet struggles with one part since she is short. Using some advice she got from Xaden, she uses one of her daggers and passes. One person says she can’t do it but since Violet brought the dagger with her on the first day, it is a technicality. Her group walks through the valley and sees a small golden one. On the day that they can possibly bond with dragons, Violet overhears three cadets planning to find and kill the small golden dragon. Violet tries to stop them by fighting them off, one runs off when Violet injures his shoulder, one dies and the last runs off when a very large black dragon shows and that dragon, Tairn,  chooses Violet to bond with. She climbs him and falls off him since she does not have much leg muscle but he catches her and re-seats her.

When a dragon bonds with a rider, they can communicate telepathically. Everyone is surprised when Violet shows up with Tairn. But the golden dragon, Andarna, says she will bond with Violet as well. There is much debate since that has never happened before but nothing changes. Turns out Tairn felt devastated when his last rider died so many people did not expect him to bond, but also his mate is Sgaeyl which is Xaden’s dragon. Xaden explains that since Tairn bonded to Violet, he would probably not survive if she died, which means his mate would also die and therefore Xaden since riders cannot live with their bonded dragon. Xaden’s life is now in Violet’s hands and must work with her to make sure she survives. When riders bond with their dragons, they first get small magical abilities but eventually each rider has a special signet ability special to them, Xaden’s is controlling shadows. Dain, who tried to get Violet to leave before Gauntlet but kissed her and regretted later, has the ability to see another person’s memories through touch. 

Since Tairn is powerful and the bond is weak at the beginning, several unbonded cadets try to kill her in her sleep. She is awoken as Tairn screams in her dreams and tries to fight some of them but is almost killed when Andarna yells and stops time. Xaden comes to kill most of them. He takes her to see the dragons and the dragons explain that Andarna is not fully matured and can not control her power (time stopping). Younger dragons can be drained of their powers easily which is why they do not bond with riders until they are fully grown. The one who let them in was the rider who got mad at her at the Gauntlet. Violet tells Xaden and he as a wingleader tells the admin who put her on trial and have her killed. Dain is mad and wants Violet to say she is lying, but she isn’t and even tries to take the memory from her. 

Xaden assigns one of his friends, Liam, as her bodyguard. Violet has the job of working with the scribes and learns a book she had as a child is not there but should be since the library should have a copy of all the books in the world. She also accidentally opens a report for their battle class which talks about an attack but then is not mentioned within their class, and she thinks it was confidential but did not notice. 

Xaden and Violet become closer and he teaches how to shield out some of the emotions from Tairn one particularly hard night and they kiss. He said it was a mistake since it would be a bad idea. They have squad battles and Violet’s group wins due to them breaking into her mother’s office and stealing a battle map. Their prize was to visit an outpost and it turns out it is the one Violet’s sister, Mira, is at. Since it was the squad one, Xaden was not required to go but ends up joining since their dragon can not be apart. Mira is giving them a battle simulation when their outpost was attacked. Violet pleads with Xaden to stay to help but Xaden makes her leave. 

Next they have war games between the four wings. It is supposed to be a more friendly game but one group is actively trying to kill the other riders. One knocks Liam off his dragon, and Violet uses Andarna’s time stopping to help save him. Then her own signet ability appears when she is mad at the rider and shoots lightning which kills them. Violet is sad she killed someone, Dain tries to comfort her telling she doesn’t have to do it again, but Xaden tells her that this is a war and she is powerful. When she is in her room Xaden comes and she is upset since the ability comes from the rider and is enhanced by the dragon. He tells her to yell or hit him but instead she kisses him which leads to sex. During which, she can control her power and shoots bits of lightning. Between their two powers, they destroy the room. They talk and she learns that Xaden took responsibility for all the children from rebellion, and if any of them betray the country, then he dies. 

She is trained separately for lightning since she can’t aim, also she can’t work with the scribes because paper does not mix well with fire. While cleaning her room, she notices her dad wrote her a letter in the spine of the book she wanted from the scribes that her sister found.  Her dad who was a scribe died recently which is why Violet had to become a rider like her mom, not a scribe like her father. The letter said that people can change history and she should hopefully make the right decisions. The book was a fable about three brothers, one bonded to a dragon, one bonded to a gryphon (their enemy) and the last one was jealous, became evil and took magic from the earth to become venin with wyverns as rides.  At a dinner/party to celebrate the end of the rebellion, she meets the king who is interested in her two dragons. She then leaves and meets up with Xaden who they go back to his room to have sex again. They are interrupted later on when they have to do the last war game which sends them to an outpost for a special assignment. Xaden makes Violet and Liam come with his group which Dain gets mad at and Dain realizes they are together which makes him angry. 

They arrive at a rest stop and Xaden and Violet go to have some privacy but then are interrupted by some gryphon riders who apparently are friends with Xaden. They warn Xaden about a few venin that are nearby and Violet who feels betrayed but also confused since venin are supposed to be mythical. She also realizes all the riders there except her are rebellion children. Xaden says sorry for not telling her but was worried since Dain could see her memories. She is mad but they continue onto the outpost which happens to be somewhere Xaden mentioned going to earlier. She then realized what her father meant, and that scribes were intentionally changing history by leaving out information. The outpost is abandoned and has a letter addressed to Xaden telling him to abandon the village and go to the new outpost or try to survive. Violet realizes Dain might have secretly taken the memory from her since Xaden had mentioned it to her weeks before.

The village is being attacked by several venin and the gryphon fliers are prepared to die to fight them. Xaden gies his riders a chance to leave but they all stay. Several wyvern come as well, and during the fight, Liam’s dragon is attacked and dies, which in turns kills Liam. Violet fights one venin in hand to hand combat, she is stabbed with a poisonous knife but eventually is able to kill her with a dagger Xaden gave her. She manages to also kill the leader but falls off Tairn from exhaustion and her injury. Andarna uses her ability to help slow her fall and Xaden gets her and she falls unconscious. 

Violet has been asleep for three days and Xaden has not left. She finally wakes and then realizes she is a city belonging to the rebellion that was supposed to be burned down. Xaden explains they are rebuilding it and she says he does not trust or love him anymore. But Xaden disagrees and asks her to help fight venin and keep the place quiet and she agrees. Xaden looks at her injury and explains she was mended, not healed, and her brother who she thought was dead walks in, welcoming her to the rebellion. 

Long summary~ 15-20 minutes

Violet Sorrengail is the daughter of the General who has made the decision to send Violet into the Rider’s Quadrant and not the Scribe’s Quadrant. Violet’s sister, Mira, argues but loses. Mira gives Violet advice on how to survive as she graduated a couple years prior. She also gives her better boots and leathers with dragon scales. She tells her to find Dain, a childhood friend and to stay away from Xaden, who is the son of the rebel leader. Years ago, a group of people tried to lead a rebellion that failed, the parents were killed and the children were made to conscript as punishment. She goes to the first task of crossing a skinny bridge that is 200 feet in the air. She makes a friend on her way up, Rhiannon, and switches one boot with her. The riders at the top take names and one of them is Xaden. Violet’s mom killed his dad but his dad killed her older brother.  Rhiannon goes first and Violet follows as it starts to storm. A candidate named Jack is behind her and even throws off another boy and threatens her. She slips and slams her knee but survives to the other side. Jack threatens her again but can only do it at certain times. Dain immediately finds her and is surprised she is there. They go up to his room after switching boots back with Rhinannon and she puts bandages on her knee that is very swollen. Dain wants her to sneak into the Scrib Quadrant but Violet refuses since her mother won’t let her. Dain relents and she goes back out with the other first years and Rhiannon. 

They wait til everyone is done then Commander Panchek tells the 300 candidates they survived and that they will be tested and at the Threshing, they might be chosen to be riders. They are then divided into squads and wings, Violet and Rhiannon are on the same squad but then switched into the Fourth Wing which is Xaden’s. Then, the dragons show up and several cadets scream and try to run away but one dragon shoots fire and kills them. The next morning, they have class but Dain talks to Violet about how she is doing. He tells her they were switched because Xaden wants her dead as he and his dragon are ruthless. When people bond to a dragon they get powers and a special signet power that is unique. Dain’s is to read a person’s recent memories by touch, as they leave Xaden sees them and realizes they are friends. One of their classes is Battle Brief where they discuss battles that have recently happened. The country is at war with another country and they use wards as a form of protection. The other country uses griffons instead of dragons as protection. They discuss a recent battle and Violet and Xaden provide interesting questions. Violet is really good at academics and bad at combat so Rhiannon suggests they help each other. Jack is in combat with a kid and breaks his neck. Rhiannon wins her match and Violet is matched with a rebel’s daughter, Imogen, who is angry at her and breaks her arm/shoulder. She is taken to the infirmary by Dain who thinks that maybe if she is injured then she can be taken to the scribes. She refuses and one of the healers mends her. She goes back to her dorm and sees that her sister left her a note with their older brother’s journal from his time there and comes up with an idea.

Violet goes to the nearby lake to find berries as a poison. She climbs a tree to get the berries, and then hears voices, including Xaden. He is meeting with other rebel children which is against the rules. Xaden is leading them to help them survive the school. They ask him when they can kill Violet and he claims that he will handle it. They leave and she waits but is attacked by Xaden who can control shadows that can even pick up things.  They argue and she throws daggers at him, he thinks she missed but she hits his outline. He is impressed and says she should try that with Jack. She agrees not to tell that they have been meeting and he says he will owe her a favor.

It is the day of her fighting match and while it was supposed to be a surprise, her brother’s journal let her know where to find the list beforehand. She uses this information along with the assignment as breakfast duty to tamper with their food. Dain walks her to duty and tells her to stay away from Jack which was the opposite advice from Xaden. In Battle Brief, they learn about the various dragons including a black dragon. At the challenge, As Rhinannon is fighting her opponent, Jack teases her so Violet throws her daggers and surprises him. As Violet finds her opponent, he gets sick and she wins the match with a dagger. She wins several more matches by poisoning her opponents using various plants.  She poisons another and they can’t make it to the challenge so instead she has to fight Xaden.  They tumble but he is an expert fighter. He knows that she has been poisoning her opponents and teaches her how to fight.  After the match, Violet wonders if Xaden can be bonded to a dragon but still rebel and he explains that a dragon would in no way do anything but protect the country Navarre along with their nest.  Dain says that he talked to the lead scribe and they are willing to take Violet in. She gets mad that Dain doesn’t believe she can survive and he tells her that cadets are threatening her. She says she will think about it since the head scribe won’t tell her mother until after she becomes one. 

Their latest challenge is called the Gauntlet, which is a timed obstacle course they must survive later on. They have to get to the top to reach the flight field for Presentation Day where the possible  dragons get their look at the cadets. There are 5 parts of the course and they get to practice several times with ropes as a safety. One of their squad dies while practicing. Violet is a bit short and has particularly difficulty with one part of an obstacle called the chimney, since she has to run up a ramp and jump to pull herself over. She is out past curfew when she runs into Xaden and she confesses that she had hope of surviving but she can’t do the chimney section so she will fall. They lightly argue but he says she can scale it and to try a different way. 

She practices some more but still can’t pass the chimney. The day of Dain tries to convince her to leave and she refuses. She uses some rope off the wall and climbs the chimney then uses her dagger to stab the wood and climb up. One girl, Mavis, claims she is cheating and Violet quotes their rulebook, The Codex, saying that a cadet can use what they brought with them and she brought the dagger across the parapet so it’s allowed. 

After completing the Gauntlet they have to walk across a meadow surrounded by dragons. They are told the rules and tips to get by and as they walk they make small talk. They look around and they spot a small golden one, they talk about it and cadets mention they don’t want to bond to it since it is small, one even jokes about killing it. Two dragons approach Violet and she realizes that is because she has dragon scales in her vest. Two of her squad are killed by the dragons.

Next they must go through the Threshing when they will hopefully bond with a dragon.  Some of the dragons pick a rider, some are killed. Violet is trying to decide where to go when she overhears Jack and his 2 friends planning to kill the golden one. She decides to find it first to warn it, on the way she hurts her ankle. She finds it and tells it to leave but Jack and his friends show up. They plan on killing both Violet and Sorrengail and then Xaden shows up with his dragon.They try to attack, Since he is the wingleader, he can’t interfere but he tells Violet people coming. She destroys Jack’s shoulder and he runs away, and hits another on the head. The last is about to attack when a large black dragon appears. He speaks to her in her mind and kills the last one. They talk and it is evident that he is choosing her by giving his name Tairn, but Violet is surprised and does not want to leave the golden dragon. She gets on and they fly into the sky but then she falls off. 

Train catches her and she sits again but has trouble staying since she is weak so he uses magic to keep her sat. She asks why he chose her and he says it was because she saved the golden one. She thinks about a compliment she was given and realizes Tairn can read her thoughts. They land and the golden one lands nearby. Violet tells the golden one, she is glad it made it and it spoke into her mind too. Most people are surprised at Tairn’s arrival since he has not taken a rider in years. She gives the name and the golden name gives her name as well, Andarna, meaning she has two dragons. The generals are upset about it and a healer helps her. Jack is bonded and is about to fight her again when he realizes that she got the biggest black dragon. She asks the helper if anyone has ever bonded with two dragons and there never has been and it’s not up to the generals to decide but the dragons.  Rhi and two others bonded and Dain takes in the corner and tells her that she will probably have to choose. He says to choose the golden one because Andarna is too small to take a rider so Violet will probably just become a teacher. He also says that Tairn and Sgaeyl, Xaden’s dragon, are mated pairs. Violet tells him what happened and Dain thinks that Xaden interfered. Xaden shows up and says they watched and Sgaeyl probably told her mate but Tairn chose her on his own. Xaden asks Dain if he would have done anything and he says no, that he would have let Violet possibly die. The dragons are on the way back and Xaden explains since Tairn and Sgaeyl are mated, if Violet dies then it might kill Tairn, from the heavy bond,  and then Sgaeyl and eventually Xaden because if a rider is bonded and the dragon dies, the rider dies too.  The administration tells everyone that Violet will have two dragons, and she knows that people will want to kill her to get her dragon. The riders step in front of their dragons and the dragons blast their back and they get their mark/relic. Dain is happy for her and kisses her. There is no spark and she realizes she does not like him anymore. 

She gets her own room and tells Rhi that the kiss with Dain felt like nothing. She no longer has breakfast duty and since she is bonded with Tairn, lots of people now sit with her including Imogen, the girl who hurt her in the first combat class. Imogen tells her that she will be training her and Violet realizes it is because her life is not tethered to Xaden’s. In flight class, she learns that 41 cadets did not get a dragon and might kill to get one of theirs. Tairn keeps her in the seat magically, but Violet wants to stay on him by herself and he lets go and she immediately falls. He catches her and she is determined to stay but she falls repeatedly.  Dain talks to her after and tells her that the kiss was a mistake since he is her supervisor. She feels sad that’s why he regrets it but is okay with it. She goes to the gym and Imogen makes her exercise. Violet asks if she is doing it because of Xaden and Imogen gets mad saying to call him Riorson. Violet thinks they might be lovers. 

She has a new job working with the scribes which she loves. She meets an old friend and asks for a book from her childhood that has wyverns and venin, mythological creatures, in it. The scribe comes back but could not find the book which puzzles Violet since it is supposed to have the original of every book.   At lunch, one of the riders has gotten his signet power from his dragon. Imogen explains if they don’t get it, then it might bottle up and the magic will consume and explode.  After flying with Tairn, Dain wants to speak with her and Tairn does not like him. Dain is angry that she can’t stay in her seat. Dain claims he wants to help and is skeptical about Xaden and his help. Violet gets mad and says that he has no faith in her despite all she has accomplished. 

Violet is dreaming about her dad, and she gets violently awoken to 7 people in her room trying to kill her. One runs away but the others try to attack her, Tauirn tries to give advice but is too far away to do any help. One has his knife at her throat when Andarna screams and time stops. She moves away and Xaden arrives and time resumes. One tries to explain himself but Xaden refuses and kills all of them since it is against the code to attack a rider in their sleep. His friends take out the bodies as he examines Violet who hurt her ribs. He takes through a secret tunnel to Tairn. Xaden can talk to Tairn but not Andarna and wants to know how, Violet moved from one side of the room to the other. Andarna then reveals that she is not full grown and she accidentally gave Violet some of her power. It is revealed that young dragons can give their powers to riders without a signet but if the rider uses too much, it can kill the dragon. They promise not to tell anyone and that the power to stop time in small increments will disappear when she matures. 

Xaden wants to know how the attackers got into her locked room and Violet is hesitant but tells. Xaden also transfers a rider, Liam, into his wing, to follow Violet as a bodyguard, to which Violet is unhappy about. Their leader, Panchek, says that someone has violated their laws and Xaden goes to explain what happened the night before and that it was possible because of an insider. It was the one who was upset that Violet used her daggers in the Gauntlet.  Dain is upset since she was his friend, and wants Violet to say it is untrue. Violet refuses and Dain wants to touch her to see her memories. But he would then see her stopping time and she refuses. The other leaders and their dragons have a meeting. Violet shares her memory with Tarin who shares with the other dragons and their riders. They find her guilty and Tairn kills her with fire. 

Liam continues to go everywhere she does including doing library chores. They go and the scribe says that the Professor for Battle Brief needed the report for class and asked them to bring it to him. She talks with Liam as they return and she learns more about his history as a rebel child and the other rebel children. The report accidentally falls and Violet reads a bit about how a village was attacked. During the class, the professor does not mention the attack but instead talks about one in history. Liam and Violet are surprised but think it was possibly classified. She wonders what else is not being mentioned in the class since they have no other ways of getting information from outside.

While practicing fighting Rhi, Violet glances and sees Xaden and another cadet, Garrick fighting. They are both shirtless and Violet, Rhi and some other girls stop to watch. Dain is cold towards her and insists they continue practicing.  Jack taunts her but she doesn’t back down and Xaden is mad she is not wearing her armor during sparring class. Later when she is in her room, she starts to feel really weird and realizes she is channeling with her dragon and will receive her signet power soon. Turns out Tairn and Sgaeyl are having some intimate time and Violet is feeling it. She sees Liam outside her room and is attracted to him but leaves and finds Xaden smoking. Xaden tells her she needs to shield her mind or else she might project onto someone else. After some arguing, he agrees to teach her after making her say please. He teaches her to think of a place, which she chooses the Archives, and to close the door to the power. He is amazed she was able to do that on her first try and they end up kissing. He ends it telling her to go since she is still not in the right mind.  She understands but Tairn is no longer channeling as much. 

She tells Rhi about and is worried since Xaden will graduate before her and mated pairs like to be together. Rhi got her singnet power of summoning, most riders can do simple magic but the signet power helps determine their position in the battles after graduation. Dain tries to talk to her again saying he was upset that he had to learn everything at the meeting not from her, and Violet explains that he demanded to see the memory not asked and that it was complicated with Xaden. Since Xaden’s dad killed her brother, her mom killed his mom and their dragons are mated. Violet and Dain argue about whether or not she is fit for the place and Dain says Xaden has secrets so he shouldn’t be trusted. She demands respect and Dain says sorry. 

A few weeks later, she has to fight Jack. She asks Liam to not interfere and is confident she can take him down. When the time comes, Xaden is not there but Liam runs to get him. They fight and it is brutal, Jack gets on top of her and tries to use power and Violet shoves a vial at him. She is in intense pain but eventually Jack wheezes and claws at his own neck. Turns out, he is allergic to oranges. She wakes up in the infirmary from stitches and Xaden is there. He is upset that she was almost killed and Violet is mad since he has been ignoring her. Xaden claims since they will have to be stationed together forever, they should not get involved. He is also mad about her training, so he takes over. He trains her on the mat and even lets her win once so that he can give her a dagger he had made for her,and consistently uses his nickname for her, Violence. 

Xaden takes her out before a class and they run into her mother. She is upset that Violet has not developed a power yet. Dain’s dad, the colonel, asks if people could study Andarna, since not much information is known about them. She says no, claiming that the dragon is private and can’t know about her power.  Afterwards, Xaden leads her to their dragons and they go flying. 

On the day of their Squad Battle, they have three rounds where they can score points, first was a race, next was sparring and last was a mission to find/steal something within the college that would be advantageous to an enemy in a war. Imogen leads their squad as they think of ideas. Using their powers, Violet gives the idea to break into her mother’s (the general) office. They break in and Violet sees some letters about the war but they decide to steal the map. They present and win. 

The squad goes on a weeklong tour of an outpost. When they arrive, Rhi is acting weird so Violet asks why and Rhi tells her they are near her village and wants to escape for a bit to go visit her family. As they are learning about the base, Mira, Violet’s sister, is there and they hug. A couple days later, Rhi and Violet are about to sneak to fly to Rhi’s village whe Mira catches them, after some persuading, she agrees to let them go with her coming along. At Rhi’s place, Violet tells Mira about things going on in her life, including Dain and Xaden. As they leave, Violet asks Mira about how long mated pairs can be apart and Xaden arrives saying about three days. 

Mira gives them a battle simulation and they try to see how they would execute it. Xaden then surprises Violet by speaking into her mind, which he can do since their dragons are mated. Afterwards, Mira yells at Dain for acting immature because of Violet and Xaden. Then she questions how Violet will continue her training if Xaden is sent to a station. They are discussing it when their dragons tell them about some gryphons (the enemies’ ride) heading their way. Violet and Xaden offer to help but Mira shuts them down, telling Xaden to get her out. Xaden obeys and takes her to get packed and to her dragon quickly. Violet wants to stay and tries to convince him but he just kisses her and gets her on Tairn. 

Back at the college, Violet is waiting for news and Xaden comes to keep her company, confessing that he doesn’t want to kill her anymore and he can’t stop thinking about the kiss. Eventually the professor tells her that no riders died, and Violet is relieved.  Mira had made a comment about how she doesn’t know that much about Xaden so she starts asking him random questions. He answers but then stops when she asks about scars he has on his back. 

During their War Games, they have to capture another squad’s egg, which Xaden will do and defend their flag, which their squad will do. When Violet sees Tairn, she notices he has a saddle and Xaden says he made it so he can be sure that she stays on without Tairn using his powers. Dain sees it and is happy that it will keep Violet safe too. Andarna goes too but Violet makes her roll in some mud since she is shiny. 

Things are going well and then another squad, Jack’s, shows up. They are on the offense and Jack gets off his dragon is able to hit and knock Liam off his dragon before landing on a nearby tower. Violet and Tairn try to get to him to catch him but his too far and Andarna lets Violet use her power to stop time. They save him and go after Jack who is waiting for his dragon. Violet is angry and yells, she releases her signet power of controlling lightning. She hits the tower with lightning which causes an avalanche which kills Jack. When she lands, their group won but Violet is deeply saddened she killed a man. Everyone is surprised at her lightning power and Dain tries to comfort saying she doesn’t have to do it again but Xaden tries to comfort her by saying he deserved it. Dain and Xaden argue about it and Xaden tells them this is war and killing is a part of it. Xaden says she will defend and protect the civilians by being a weapon.  Tarin reassures her that she has the power to help against evil. Rhi wonders how she was so fast to catch and Violet claims it was just Tairn.  She is in her room throwing daggers when Xaden shows up, she is still upset Violet says how the signet power comes from the rider so this was from her not the dragon. Xaden comforts her by saying how she is allowed to be upset and tells her to hit him if she is upset but instead she kisses him. He tries to tell her that she doesn’t really want this and she says she only wants him.  They kiss and Violet thinks he doesn’t want her and he confesses he does too. He tries to resist but eventually gives in and they have sex. They have very intense sex on everything but the bed and their powers even show up and they break most of the furniture in the room.  

Afterwards, Violet asks about his scars and he finally confesses there are 107 of them as he took responsibility of all 107 rebel children to not betray the country again or he will die too. In the morning, Xaden is gone but leaves flowers. Someone knocks and Violet thinks its another bodyguard, but it is actually her professor. He says she can not have library duty since she has lightning power. They go flying far where she can’t accidentally burn something. He wonders about her and her power since she is ‘frail,’ claiming nature has a balance.He tells her to practice and she claims she did it from an emotional reaction. He tells her to try to have the same emotion and Tairn jokes they should get Xaden out there. Xaden mind-speaks to her asking her why she is so far and Violet explains she is trying to train with a professor. He sends images from the previous nights and she wields some power. She continues to think about the end result rather than the process and can make the lightning strike. She tries to focus on aiming and is not that good at it. 

Violet is cleaning the mess in her room and Xaden joins. She grabs a book that was on the floor and the spine broke with something inside. It was a letter from her dad thinking she would be in the Scribe quadrant  and claims  that people can change history easily. It was in a book of fables to teach children the dangers of too much magic. That evil can turn a man into a creature called a venin that creates wyvern in an attempt for more power. She is about to clean some more and Xaden suggests they have sex. Violet says she can’t separate sex and from emotion with him so they should leave it as one time thing since he won’t admit that will fall for her. He tries to seduce her and she rebuts him. 

At a party to celebrate the end of the rebellion(also Violet’s brother’s, Brennan, death), the king speaks to Violet and asks about Xaden, and her mom explains the dragons are mated. Dain lets her sneak out quietly as she looks for Xaden who was not at the party. He is sitting on the parapet and Violet follows despite the warnings from his friends. He finally notices she is there and gets mad that she could have died while he would have just wielded his shadows if he fell. She admits she wants to be with him and says he thinks that she will not like who he really is. She admits she was jealous because she thought Imogen liked him and Xaden says she likes his friend, Garrick. He admits he was jealous after seeing Dain kiss her after getting the dragons. He also gives up fighting and says he wants to be with her. They leave and go to his room. Violet admits she loves him and they start to kiss which leads to sex. During another round of sex someone knocks on the door and informs them they are under attack. 

They quickly get ready and get to formation. They are not actually under attack but the last part of the War Games. It is a simulation of a multilevel attack and they are being sent to Athebyne, which Xaden mentioned going on a secret mission before, for five days. They quickly pack and they go the flight field, Andarna is also there with a harness thing to connect to Tairn so she can keep up. Xaden comes and demands that Violet, Liam and Imogen come with him.  Dain argues but relents when he realizes they are together. They fly for hours and arrive at a rest stop. They get some water and Violet feels pressure for Andarna. Xaden takes away some privacy and they start to kiss when someone approaches. 

Xaden tells her to stay calm but it is gryphon riders who recognize Violet as the general’s daughter. Tairn comes and Violet tries to use her lightning but Xaden tells to stop and trust him. Then hands her off to Liam who apologizes and Xaden speaks with the enemy. Xaden says they are early and he doesn’t have the shipment. Violet is confused but the gryphon rider says they were coming to warn them because a bunch of venin is heading north.  Violet is confused since she thought they were mythical but everyone there is not surprised or confused. One of them thinks Violet can’t be loyal and they should ransom her to the king. Violet threatens to use her lightning, and Xaden uses his shadow and says no. 

Violet realizes all the dragon riders are rebellion children and she feels betrayed, even Tairn and Andarna knew. She gets mad, first at Liam then threatens to kill Xaden. Xaden tries to explains that he is working with the gryphon fliers and giving them weapons to fight venin. They are real and they get their dark magic from the land. He gives her a dagger and Violet thinks it the one from her mother’s desk but he said it’s a similar one.  Xaden says he would have told her before but he was afraid that Dain would see her memories. He claims leadership just wants to hid behind their protective wards and his father died protecting the people. He claims he still loves her and she is mad since the love she had was built on secrets and he says he never lied to her. She tells him that he believes her about the venin and they fly to the outpost. On the way, Tairn and Andarna apologize for lying by omission. Violet realizes what her father meant in the letter that the scribes purposely changed the text or history from one generation to the next. They make it to the outpost for the War Game but it is empty and it is very suspicious. Xaden asks if Dain ever touched her after he mentioned going to Athebyne. Violet thinks so but that he wouldn’t read her memories without permission. There is a letter addressed to Xaden, to survive if they can because they were sent there to die.  

It specifically says they can either abandon the nearby village or abandon command and go to the new location for the War Games.  There are 4 venin at the village below and gryphon flier have joined the fight. There about 300 civilians and the gryphons are offering to fight to the death since the venin are that powerful. Xaden tells his rider they are not ordered to stay and they all agree even Violet. Violet tells Andarna to stay and if something bad happens to leave and go back home. She reluctantly agrees and hides. As they are planning a dragon with two legs appears, meaning a wyvern has come. They mount up and Xaden gives an extra dagger that can kill the venin. Tarin shoots fire at the venin but it survives. They continue the fight, Violet tries to lightning to distract the venin as other try to get the civilians to safety. The venin is gathering power from the ground creating a death zone which one of the dragons and its rider steps in and dies. Some of the others manage to kill one of the wyvern.  Violet and Tairn decide to distract the venin and wyvern by using lightning to get them away from the village. She tries to hit the wyvern but often misses. A wyvern gets close and tries to bite Tairn but Sgaeyl comes and tears it apart. Liam and his dragon comes to help and Liam ends up falling off, and onto Tairn. The dragon is caught by the wyvern and eventually kills the dragon. Since their life is bonded, Violet gets him to his dragon so that he can die with his dragon. Xaden comes to and takes Liam to his dragon and dies. She mounts up and again and using her rage she hits a wyvern with her power but Tairn is hit by venin on his back. She gets out of her saddle to fight the venin. She fights it but it is faster and manages to break her arm and stab her with a poisonous dagger. The venin is amazed at all her power and says it will bring it to its master/teacher. Xaden comes and creates shadow and Violet manages to stab it and the venin falls. A bunch of wyvern die too and they realize when the venin that creates the wyvern dies, her creations die too. There is one left and seems like the leader that can teleport/disappear. Andarna shows up and lends her power so that Violet can use a lot of power to strike. It works and she kills the venin. Violet then passes out from using too much power and her injuries and fall off Tairn. She falls but Andarna uses some of her power to slow time to help her fall. Xaden gets her and she falls unconscious. She is barely awake as she hears Xaden arguing with Imogen, and a few others. Xaden tells her to live and she hears a familiar voice and falls asleep.

Xaden- Violet has been in bed asleep for three days and Sgaeyl tries to comfort him. He reveals that he is the grandson of her second rider. He feels guilty and thinks she should have stayed with Dain and even gets yelled at by Tairn who says he should have told her about the venin. He recounts all the things she did that made him like her. She wakes and Xaden checks her scar and no poison remains. He is relieved and she assures him that she is fine. He confesses he thought he was going to lose her and kisses her forehead but she reassures him that she is okay and kisses him. He says he will make it up to her and she is confused. Xaden explains the poison might mess with her memories. She gets up realizing she is in an unfamiliar place and thinks she is in Aretia but it was burned down.  Xaden says they are rebuilding it. One of the generals can see outcomes of battles but Violet realizes they can’t see if the rebel children meet up, which was why they weren’t allowed to. Violet wants to know if Liam really died and blames herself but Xaden claims it was his fault since he never told her. She makes him go outside to wash up and he talks to his members. They say she need to decide whether or not to keep tier secret and how to hide it from Dain. They also talk about some box the venin were looking for. Violet is done and they go back into technically his room and Violet decides she will fight with them. She also says she understands why he hid things from her but is mad that he did it so easily. She says she does not trust him and Xaden says he will work on earning her trust again. Someone is knocking and Violets asks if it was an accident the War Games put them at that outpost with the venin. The person at the door answers saying no and welcomes her to the revolution. It is Brennan, her brother, the healer/mender, who she thought was dead.

My Review- 5/5 stars

This book was over instagram and while I am usualy faithful to my TBR list, I decided to read it since it had gotten so popular. It is my favorite genre and trope and with the dragons too, it was a fun read. It was over 500 pages and I still finished it within a day or two. It was a little redundant with the character thinking she was going to die then survive and again and again. I also hated the Dain character but for obvious reasons. Many people online says it had chronic disability representation but I never felt like Violet did. Someone then pointed it out as EDS but it did not seem too prevalent more like she was a weaker person who got hurt a lot which seemed understanable considering what she was going through. Xaden was fabulous as an “enemy” then lover. He was snarky but sweet too. I enjoyed their banter and Violet’s resourcefulness with the poisons. It was fun to reread it before the release of the second book and I am very interested in what happens. It lived up to the hype of instagram and I hope the second is just as good.