#047: This week on A Novel Bunch, we are spiraling deeper into Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros—where secrets turn lethal, dragons guard dangerous truths, and Violet Sorrengail stops just surviving…and starts uncovering a war no one is talking about.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Andarna has stopped time. Our tiny golden queen proves “though she be but little, she is fierce,” and suddenly Violet is holding the most dangerous secret in Navarre. So this stays between Violet, Tairn, Sgaeyl…and Xaden.

“You’re all dead,” Xaden says calmly as his shadows snuff out everyone but Oren—before he finishes the job himself. Violet has never killed anyone. Xaden has. The contrast is sharp. Intimate. Unavoidable.

Amber’s betrayal explodes next. She orchestrated the Codex breach, and even when Violet begs for mercy, Tairn enforces dragon law. The cost of leadership is brutal. And Dain? Still choosing the rules over Violet.

Meanwhile, hostility toward the marked ones grows, Squad Battle looms, and Violet starts noticing something is very wrong with the war effort. Entire villages are being ransacked. Pleas for help sit unanswered on her mother’s desk. What exactly is Basgiath training them for?

Solstice brings chaos, oranges bring karma (bye, Jack), and Violet’s power finally begins to simmer under the surface. But the real storm? It’s Xaden.

The wall kiss. The snow. The thunder. The hands on her face. “You have incredibly touchable skin.” He stops it—because he refuses to act on desire that isn’t fully hers. The tension is unbearable. The restraint? Somehow hotter.

He gifts her a custom knife. Takes over her training. Sets a boundary that lasts approximately three seconds. And when their dragons can’t be separated for more than three days, he leaves his post to be near her.

At the front lines in Montserrat, Violet reunites with Mira, sees how broken the border truly is, and realizes the war they’re being taught about doesn’t match reality. Gryphons attack. Xaden kisses her as a distraction. And our jaws are on the floor.

Violet can speak to Xaden mind to mind. The secrets are stacking. The attraction is undeniable. The politics are rotten. And Andarna—sweet, darling baby—may be the key to everything.

Time can stop.
But this story? It’s accelerating.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies! 🐉🔥

#046: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re continuing Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, covering Chapters 10–18—where Threshing Day tests every rider, the dragons make choices no one expects, and Violet Sorrengail learns that survival sometimes means breaking the rules…and trusting the impossible.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The gauntlet looms, and somehow, Violet Sorrengail’s squad is the only one without a single death since the Parapet. That luck doesn’t last long. As cadets face the obstacle course, Violet survives on grit, memory, and sheer will—only to watch Aurelie fall to her death. The brutality of Basgiath is relentless, and Violet learns quickly that surviving doesn’t mean escaping loss.

While burning Aurelie’s belongings, Violet has a rare, quiet moment with Xaden Riorson, one where shadows listen, truths slip, and he admits that every day he lets Violet live is how he proves to himself he’s still a good man. It’s intimate. It’s dangerous. And it changes everything.

Presentation Day arrives—the deadliest day of the year. Violet’s size nearly costs her everything, but she outsmarts the Gauntlet in a way no one’s seen before. Accused of cheating by rule-obsessed Third Wing cadet Amber Mavis, Violet survives only because her photographic memory saves her life. Again.

Then comes Threshing.

Dragons line the Vale. A rare golden feathertail appears. And when Jack, Oren, and Tynan decide the smallest dragon is expendable, Violet does the unthinkable—she steps in front of them. Broken, bleeding, and outmatched, Violet risks her life to save a dragon… and is chosen by the most powerful black dragon alive: Tairneanach. And as if that weren’t enough, the feathertail—Andarna—chooses her too.

Two dragons. One rider. Chaos ensues.

With Tairn bonded to Violet—and revealed as the mate of Xaden’s dragon, Sgaeyl—their fates are officially entwined. Violet survives another assassination attempt, earns her relic tattoo, and kisses Dain Aetos… only to feel absolutely nothing. The shift is undeniable. The bond with her dragons is changing her—making her feared, isolated, and powerful.

By the end of Chapter 18, Violet has bonded with legends, gained enemies, lost her childhood love, and discovered Andarna’s terrifying secret ability: she can stop time.

Basgiath is done playing nice. And Violet Sorrengail is no longer just surviving... she’s becoming something unstoppable.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies! 🐉🔥

#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!