Violet Sorrengail has spent her whole life preparing to train as a scribe, but her mother has very different ideas, and Violet is instead pushed into the deadly rider school, where she must learn to ride dragons in the neverending war effort. If the death-defying feats and vicious ambition of the riding school aren't bad enough, Violet is the youngest of "those Sorrengails," — meaning her mother (the military's highest general), her sister (a decorated rider in the military), and her late brother (who was a powerful mender, one who can magically fix even the worst injuries) — which puts a giant flashing target on her back, especially when it comes to Xaden Riorson, whose father led the rebellion that started the war to begin with.
There is something very "young adult" about this whole book — the exceptional newcomer with a target on their back, the daring feats that are required to succeed in the school, the quick pacing, even the love triangle between the main character, the drop dead gorgeous bad guy, and the main character's protective longtime best friend (and yes, as in most of those, I kinda want to smack the bestie upside the head). But these characters are a bit older, and there's more sex and violence than you find in the average YA fantasy. It was a bit predictable, but it was also intriguing enough that I'll definitely read the second book, which comes out in November.
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