Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Violet dreams of becoming a scribe but her mother, a well-respected general, forces her to join Basgaith War College. She and her incoming class must survive training where failure means death but survival means matching with a dragon, unleashing their inner magic, and joining the elite dragon riders—if the dragons don’t decide to incinerate them first. With classmates out to kill her to avenge a vendetta against her mother and a physical condition that makes her more fragile than her competition, Violet must rely on her wits to survive. The Fourth Wing immerses the reader in Navarre, where dragon riders defend their country’s borders from enemy griffon riders—or at least, that’s the story Violet’s been told her entire life. Yarros’ novel throws Violet right into the action as the author builds the complex world and its history around her main character, including the story of the dragons, who have their own hierarchy and society. With a stormy romance at its center and plot twists every couple of chapters, this magical fantasy is an addictive, non-stop action ride.