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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
kitten_nugget's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent
somesortofwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
4.75
I loved this book! Amazingly written, entertaining, enjoyable, and you really become attached to the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Xenophobia, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Hate crime
Lots of detail about injury and pain, the whole book is about warjordypaige's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Moderate: Bullying, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and War
casserolin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Addicting
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death
part_time_dreamer's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Book is good if you turn your brain off. This isn't a enemies to lovers story like many marketing and TicTok people would like you to believe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death and Torture
correnreads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
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
deven2276'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Death of parent