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oxian_d's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
This book has been an awakening, a reminder and a gift in utterly many ways. Truly empowering and awe inspiring. This gives me things to ponder about and reflect on as I see her eyes in mine. We are quite similar. I have been through a lot like her in early years, an eternal fateful struggle to fight to live, to learn to love to live, to live and let go, and carry on despite the odds as long as there's someone you can hold on to, anything is possible. A must read in this generation for lovers out there, the most emotionally expressed written words of a book I've read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Genocide, Torture, Violence, and War
dkamada's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sarahcrowell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
klsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Ok. Is this book good? I don't think it is. Is it readable, especially if you haven't read a lot of fantasy? Absolutely. Fourth Wing is a mishmash of fantasy and romance tropes that have been done countless times before (and likely much better). The worldbuilding isn't good, and the political intrigue plot falls apart if you look at it for a moment. Despite how it's marketed, this isn't high fantasy - this is a modern romance book in a theoretically medieval dragon school ("war college" barf barf barf).
This school makes no sense. If you are hemorrhaging military recruits and having to conscript the children of literal rebellion leaders (??????????????????????), why are you allowing hundreds of talented young folks die during Hunger Games-esque trials and Harry Potter-esque games and Divergent-esque quadrant pruning?
This brings me to another point that has been repeated many times - nothing in this book really feels original. It seems like Yarros took the most popular tropes, ideas, and characters from fantasy series and smudged them together. There were points where I recognized lines similar to Hunger Games, Six of Crows, Twilight, etc. Many people have pointed out similarities to other series that I haven't read (ACOTAR, Red Queen, Eragon, etc.). This is a book for people who wanted Alina to get with the Darkling. [Wait, are we sure this wasn't Alina/Darkling fanfic? Violet commands light(ning), Xaden is a morally gray shadow-wielder, and Dain is a rule-bound, childhood friend hottie with an undying crush on Violet.]
Fourth Wing was easy reading but too long, and extremely predictable. It's ok to borrow inspiration from the others' work, but the only thing I felt was marginally original was the disability representation. However, even though Yarros has EDS herself, I still feel like she flubbed the rep. Violet spends most of her time busting her ass and getting hurt to perform at a similar level as her able-bodied peers. Instead of continuing to utilize accessibility devices and her intellect, she rages against modifications that might help, nearly dying dozens of times due to her stubbornness. Though she eventually accepts a saddle from Xaden and Tairn, it's with much complaining (everyone should have a saddle. Why the fuck would you want your riders to fall and die after all that work?). She compartmentalizes her pain, with the overall message being, "See? You, too, can overcome your disability with hard work." I don't think this is a good lesson, and would've liked to see something more along the lines of, "Even with a disability, you can modify activities to reach your goals, kick ass, and be engaged with the things you love." We get some of this messaging, but it's not enough, and I left disappointed.
Relatedly, Violet's plot armor was unbelievable. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR/WIPEOUT COURSE?? The gauntlet literally ends with a steep ramp. This killed me. How does someone with a connective tissue disorder get through these military-ass challenges without years of strength training? For someone who (assumedly) has POTS, how is her balance so excellent? How is she so fast? This is shitty disability rep, sorry. It's cool that her disabilities turn off when she needs them to.
I have one last thing to say, though, because I think this part really sucks. Yarros is unashamedly pro-military. She calls her husband her "Captain America" in the dedication and talks in the acknowledgements about how she landed her military hero hubby. Her characters aren't supposed to "get used" to death, but recognize that it's a necessary evil to keep their people safe. Characters are proud of their service, even though it's likely that the military school will kill them. Though the ending of Fourth Wing introduced questions about Basgiath's leadership, the overall message is still, "The military is good and necessary as long as the right people are leading it." This is gross, and I will never be ok with the things this type of reasoning excuses (wiping out a population of trapped people, for example. Is that a necessary evil, Yarros?).
I know this is a lot of complaining, but I enjoyed reading Fourth Wing because it read like a fanfic, and I gobble that shit up. I'm under no illusion that it's groundbreaking, though. If this is one of your first romantasy books and you can get past her political views, I say go for it. You will probably love it, since it's an amalgam of the most popular enemies-to-lovers tropes. It's a nostalgic YA story with smut - sexy, predictable, and satisfying if you don't look too closely. Probably a 2.5 or 3 stars, but rounded up to 4 because I did eat it up until about the 70% mark and I got really excited about the dragons.
This school makes no sense. If you are hemorrhaging military recruits and having to conscript the children of literal rebellion leaders (??????????????????????), why are you allowing hundreds of talented young folks die during Hunger Games-esque trials and Harry Potter-esque games and Divergent-esque quadrant pruning?
This brings me to another point that has been repeated many times - nothing in this book really feels original. It seems like Yarros took the most popular tropes, ideas, and characters from fantasy series and smudged them together. There were points where I recognized lines similar to Hunger Games, Six of Crows, Twilight, etc. Many people have pointed out similarities to other series that I haven't read (ACOTAR, Red Queen, Eragon, etc.). This is a book for people who wanted Alina to get with the Darkling. [Wait, are we sure this wasn't Alina/Darkling fanfic? Violet commands light(ning), Xaden is a morally gray shadow-wielder, and Dain is a rule-bound, childhood friend hottie with an undying crush on Violet.]
Fourth Wing was easy reading but too long, and extremely predictable. It's ok to borrow inspiration from the others' work, but the only thing I felt was marginally original was the disability representation. However, even though Yarros has EDS herself, I still feel like she flubbed the rep. Violet spends most of her time busting her ass and getting hurt to perform at a similar level as her able-bodied peers. Instead of continuing to utilize accessibility devices and her intellect, she rages against modifications that might help, nearly dying dozens of times due to her stubbornness. Though she eventually accepts a saddle from Xaden and Tairn, it's with much complaining (everyone should have a saddle. Why the fuck would you want your riders to fall and die after all that work?). She compartmentalizes her pain, with the overall message being, "See? You, too, can overcome your disability with hard work." I don't think this is a good lesson, and would've liked to see something more along the lines of, "Even with a disability, you can modify activities to reach your goals, kick ass, and be engaged with the things you love." We get some of this messaging, but it's not enough, and I left disappointed.
Relatedly, Violet's plot armor was unbelievable. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR/WIPEOUT COURSE?? The gauntlet literally ends with a steep ramp. This killed me. How does someone with a connective tissue disorder get through these military-ass challenges without years of strength training? For someone who (assumedly) has POTS, how is her balance so excellent? How is she so fast? This is shitty disability rep, sorry. It's cool that her disabilities turn off when she needs them to.
I have one last thing to say, though, because I think this part really sucks. Yarros is unashamedly pro-military. She calls her husband her "Captain America" in the dedication and talks in the acknowledgements about how she landed her military hero hubby. Her characters aren't supposed to "get used" to death, but recognize that it's a necessary evil to keep their people safe. Characters are proud of their service, even though it's likely that the military school will kill them. Though the ending of Fourth Wing introduced questions about Basgiath's leadership, the overall message is still, "The military is good and necessary as long as the right people are leading it." This is gross, and I will never be ok with the things this type of reasoning excuses (wiping out a population of trapped people, for example. Is that a necessary evil, Yarros?).
I know this is a lot of complaining, but I enjoyed reading Fourth Wing because it read like a fanfic, and I gobble that shit up. I'm under no illusion that it's groundbreaking, though. If this is one of your first romantasy books and you can get past her political views, I say go for it. You will probably love it, since it's an amalgam of the most popular enemies-to-lovers tropes. It's a nostalgic YA story with smut - sexy, predictable, and satisfying if you don't look too closely. Probably a 2.5 or 3 stars, but rounded up to 4 because I did eat it up until about the 70% mark and I got really excited about the dragons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture, Vomit, and Grief
scripturient's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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
There is nothing terribly new about this book - dragons, bonds, dark academia, enemies to lovers - but it was combined in a way that still made it really interesting and enjoyable. The twists were a little predictable and I feel like the relationship between Violet and Xaden might get very rollercoaster-y and annoying in the next book, but overall a solid and exciting fantasy story that I will happily continue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
laura_awkward_fox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Great plot and character development. Too much cursing for me. Spicy love story between main characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content and Classism
Minor: Drug use and Gaslighting
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I was so close to DNFing in the first chapter when there was wayyy too many references to how tiny and fragile Violet is but I stuck it out because I had already paid for the book. Part of my enjoyment of my reading experience came from relaying the plot to my fiance who promptly renamed Violet to Mary Sue. While I don’t think that title fits her perfectly, she does feel Mary Sue adjacent to me because everyone is so obsessed- good or bad- with this chick at any given point in the book. She also only seems to have flaws in the way that someone at a job interview talks about how their weakness is that they’re a perfectionist. Her flaws seem to be her physical build and ambiguous disability (which is not something she could control), her proximity to power which makes her a target (she can’t control who gave birth to her), that she’s merciful (see the Threshing), and that she’s too trusting (see Dain).
I liked the dragons and found that aspect much more interesting than pretty much anything that Violet was thinking at any given point, which was usually about how hot Xaden is. It was pretty clear that Yarros is more of a romance writer than a fantasy writer. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that but it’s frustrating when Violet is worried about how attracted to Xaden she is more than how many people are actively plotting to kill her. I was much more interested in the symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons and the (sub)plot about what their government is hiding from them about the dangers and nature of the regular attacks along the border.
Also the number one offense in this book, hands down, bar none, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200: Xaden nicknaming her Violence. I hate it so much forever. He says it at super weird times and then sort of taunts her saying “we’ll see if you live up to your nickname” like bro, you gave her the nickname, you’re telling her to live up to the expectation you privately set for her and that’s so weird. If someone is known in their hometown as Sandwich Man and you come in out of nowhere and challenge them to a sandwich eating contest, then you can say let’s see if you live up to your nickname then that’s fine because it makes sense but if you see someone eat a sandwich one time and dub them Sandwich Man, then when everybody else is making sandwiches together and your new acquaintance is minding their business, it’s super weird if you insist they go live up to the nickname that you gave them!
Once Xaden and Violet cave to their primal desire for each other, I got bored. The sex scenes were just as mediocre as everything else. With how much people hyped up the spice/smut in the book, I expected better. If you’ve read literally any sex scenes before then you’ve already read these too.
Unfortunately, this was just an okay book. A lot of it felt like a rehash of YA tropes shifted into dragon rider murder college. I understand why so many people love it but I don’t think it lives up to that hype, nor is it the worst thing I’ve ever read.
I liked the dragons and found that aspect much more interesting than pretty much anything that Violet was thinking at any given point, which was usually about how hot Xaden is. It was pretty clear that Yarros is more of a romance writer than a fantasy writer. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that but it’s frustrating when Violet is worried about how attracted to Xaden she is more than how many people are actively plotting to kill her. I was much more interested in the symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons and the (sub)plot about what their government is hiding from them about the dangers and nature of the regular attacks along the border.
Also the number one offense in this book, hands down, bar none, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200: Xaden nicknaming her Violence. I hate it so much forever. He says it at super weird times and then sort of taunts her saying “we’ll see if you live up to your nickname” like bro, you gave her the nickname, you’re telling her to live up to the expectation you privately set for her and that’s so weird. If someone is known in their hometown as Sandwich Man and you come in out of nowhere and challenge them to a sandwich eating contest, then you can say let’s see if you live up to your nickname then that’s fine because it makes sense but if you see someone eat a sandwich one time and dub them Sandwich Man, then when everybody else is making sandwiches together and your new acquaintance is minding their business, it’s super weird if you insist they go live up to the nickname that you gave them!
Once Xaden and Violet cave to their primal desire for each other, I got bored. The sex scenes were just as mediocre as everything else. With how much people hyped up the spice/smut in the book, I expected better. If you’ve read literally any sex scenes before then you’ve already read these too.
Unfortunately, this was just an okay book. A lot of it felt like a rehash of YA tropes shifted into dragon rider murder college. I understand why so many people love it but I don’t think it lives up to that hype, nor is it the worst thing I’ve ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Medical content
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and War
laura227_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
3.0
A mix of hunger games and got. This was one of my favourite love stories I've ever read. Violet's character development is strong but you can still see her failing, making mistakes, learning from them. I very much enjoyed her not being the perfect heroine by the end of the book, but you know that she tries everything in her possibilities to protect the ones she loves.
But I must admit that it was hard for me to follow the war scenes.
But I must admit that it was hard for me to follow the war scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
wondahwoman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism
levic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Toxic friendship