Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Fourth Wing

I took off half of a star just because some of the world building and descriptions were a little too confusing to me and could have been done better in keeping me engaged within this fantasy world; the imagery wasn’t quite there for me. And I’ll admit the writing in general was not my favorite, though the characters and plot made up for it for the most part.

But alas!!! This was a fun one!!

You’ve got dragons, you’ve got a war college, you’ve got enemies to lovers, you’ve got mysterious happenings outside of the border that are kept hush hush, you’ve got redacted history and rebellion, you’ve got strong friendships and literal soulmates… I loved it. Our female protagonist Violet is not unlike any other leading character in these kinds of books—she’s weak and fragile, not cut out for the life she’s forced to take on, a disappointment to her mother, the least impressive of her siblings. UNTIL! She proves everyone wrong, even herself, as she is meant to do for the story to exist of course. Which isn’t a bad plot, even if it’s been done many times before, because it clearly works. Violet goes from meek little sister who prefers books over battle, to the incredible dragon rider who packs a striking punch. And Xaden—pretends he loathes her and wants to kill her, broody and closed-off, strong and intimidating to everyone else, but in reality a very kind, caring person who would do anything for Violet. Their chemistry was sizzling, and I loved learning more about their fated connection. The YOU DIE, I DIE trope to a T.

Dain—basically Gale from The Hunger Games but even worse—however, can suck a dozen eggs.

Overall, an intriguing and heart-pounding introduction to the Empyrean series! Great mix of fantasy and romance! You’ll want your own dragon and wingleader boyfriend asap.

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"Let me save you. Please let me save you"

What a story. This book is unique whilst having clear inspiration from series such as ACOTAR and Divergent. I loved the story and loved the characters, and the story as a whole was just so cool.

I was a little disappointed with the writing. There weren't really enough detailed descriptions throughout the world building for me. However, the use of quotes at the start of each chapter (Book of Brennan, The Codex etc) I found really useful and interesting as they always related to either what had just been, or what was to come in a chapter, therefore resolving any confusion and some questions. Rebecca Yarros is a genius but again, I'm not sure if her writing style is 100% for me. But could I have written this story better? No.

The cast of characters is diverse and somewhat believable. I still can't believe that some of these people are genuinely so dramatic, heartless, obnoxious, cowardly, and toxic BUT this is another world I gues, and who am I to say that these character traits are unrealistic? Some characters I hated with a passion, and some I wanted to protect from everything. Yarros is very clever in her ability to make these feelings switch and fluctuate for almost every character throughout the book.

This book did feel a little YA in places, so the smut felt a little strange. There's a sort of weird balance between brief explicit descriptions of body parts, but three pages of U rated descriptions of the bedroom and what the character's hair looks like in the moment. However, the scenes are written well and are 100% effective. I did love how open all characters were about sex. Often, even in adult novels, there are no mentions of normal human conversations and experiences that, I'm sorry, would definitely be felt/happen to characters aged 20-24. Having the breakfast table catch up of who was 'getting some' and who wasn't, made the characters again more believable and really humanised them.

The plot twists are great, sometimes foreshadowed a little too much - but not the ending. Do not look at the last page of this book to check how many pages you have left. Wow. I was shocked BUT I also don't feel the need to immediately rush out and buy the next book. Overall a great story; engaging, exciting, frustrating, and unique. Wow.

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