Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1)

Violet Sorrengail was supposed to join the Scribe Quadrant for a quiet life, but her mother, the commanding general, has ordered her to become a dragon rider. Despite being smaller and physically fragile, Violet must survive a brutal competition where dragons incinerate the weak and cadets kill to increase their own chances. Facing threats from all sides, including the powerful wingleader Xaden Riorson, Violet relies on her wits to survive. As the war outside intensifies and protective wards fail, she suspects a hidden, terrible secret within the leadership. At Basgiath War College, the only ways out are to graduate or die.