Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Fourth Wing

Thanks to Piatkus and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you mixed the academy parts of The Poppy War and How To Train Your Dragon, you would get this book!

Her entire life, Violet Sorrengail has trained to become a scribe. But when she's ordered by her mother to enter the rider quadrant, Violet's life is on the line. Because at Basgiath war college, you either graduate and become a dragon rider, or you die. Since she is chronically ill and far weaker and smaller than the other students, Violet's chances of survival are slim. With enemies surrounding her, she needs to outsmart everyone else and fight for her life if she wants to live to claim a dragon.

Normally, I'm wary of academy settings because the plots in academy books often get extremely tropey. That was not the case here. The trials to become a dragon rider were so deadly and action-packed, I could not put the book down. Apart from the risk of dying at the trials, Violet is also surrounded by people wanting to kill her - either to thin the herd of potential riders or because of her mother, the High General. One of those is Xaden Riorson, a squad leader that, like many others, was conscripted into the Rider Quadrant after his father led a rebellion.

Despite the book taking place almost exclusively in the war college, the worldbuilding was well-fleshed out. The way we got information about the world outside the academy felt really organic. Judging from the information presented, there will be a lot more focus on the war between Navarre, Violet's country, and the neighbouring kingdom. One thing that bothered me a little was the language - all the characters express themselves like a modern person would, although we're in a fantasy setting. We see this a lot in YA fantasy and it took me out of the story a little. At times, the prose even read like a contemporary romance or paranormal romance which irritated me. But the book was extremely fun and fast-paced, so I let that one slide.

Moreover, I loved all the lore we got about different dragons, which, again, really reminded me of HTTYD! I wished the dragons had been more prominent in the first part. As it was, they only really entered the plot around the halfway-mark. In that world, dragon riders enter a mental link with their dragon and also channel magic from them. The bonds between dragon and rider were explored well in the book and (view spoiler)

My favorite part of the book were the characters, however. You watch Violet really grow in this book and go from an underdog to someone who can hold her own in that deadly world. I loved how she didn't back down when other's challenged her and how she outsmarted her opponents when her physical abilities weren't enough. Her resilience and outspoken nature made her a great character to follow. The other members of Violet's squad (or Wing, as it's called here) were also really great characters and I loved their banter and found family dynamic. Although Violet herself isn't queer, the world is queernormative and there was some sapphic rep which I appreciated.

Since this is a fantasy romance, I can't get around talking about the love triangle, if you can call it that. On the one hand, Violet has had a crush on her best childhood friend, Dain, who is also a dragon rider at the Academy. On the other, there's Xaden, who hates her but who Violet is drawn to. Basically the whole situation reminded me a bit of the Juliette-Warner-Adam relationship in Shatter Me, except this was resolved way sooner and thank god. Never have I read a character that aggravated me as much as Dain (which I suspect was the point). The eventual romance developed really nicely in a slow-burn kind of story which I really enjoyed.

The ending held quite a few surprises which I won't spoil. Let's just say I almost threw my kindle across the room. Although I saw a few of the twists coming, I was still really enraged. I can't wait for book two, I'm so glad it comes out so soon!

All in all, Fourth Wing was a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy romance for fans of Throne of Glass. 5/5 stars.

Content Warnings

dolores_madil's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

amanda_reads13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Violet has been training her whole life to become a scribe, but her mother, the commanding general, forces her into the riders quadrant. Now she has to survive with a target on her back because she is small and fragile, but also because her mother is responsible for the deaths of many of the cadets parents. Only the strongest and smartest will survive at Basgiath War College.

It is giving mix of Game of Thrones, Divergent, and Hunger Games. This theme is one that we have seen quite a bit, but this book is SO GOOD. The world building and characters were so interesting and well crafted. I was on the edge of my seat one minute and crying the next. That ending, blew my mind. I was not expecting that at all.

The dragons were a huge highlight for me. I LOVED that we got inside the minds of these creatures. I especially enjoyed the contrast and relationship between Tairn and Andarna. I really appreciated that the dragons were highly respected and not just treated as a weapon. I loved the concept of the dragon chose it's rider and that a rider and dragon were bonded to each other. Their bond was so vast and emotional. The dragons even had their own laws and politics, it was very interesting to read.

Violet is an unexpected badass. Physically she is weaker and smaller than all of the other cadets, but she is extremely smart and strategic. She is a complex and flawed heroine. She is incredibly courageous and fights with everything she has. I loved the relationships she forms with her fellow cadets, especially Rhi and Liam. They became each other's family and protected each other with everything they had.

Xaden is the son of a traitor and is out for revenge. He comes off a scary and cruel, but deep down he is incredibly protective and caring. He watches over the marked ones and has sacrificed so much for them. This is a true enemies to lovers. What he feels for Violet is so intense and he doesn't know how to handle it, after all, her mother killed his father. He is supposed to hate her, not want her.

I wish this had been a dual POV for the whole book so that we could have seen more from Xaden's perspective. I would have loved to read his thoughts while he worked through his feelings for Violet.

Also Dain is the worst.

Yes, parts were a little predicable and some of the descriptions we get of Xander by Violet came off as a little immature at times, but I didn't feel like it took anything away from the book. I was still fully sucked into this world and cannot wait for book 2.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, found family, fantasy (dragons), slow burn, forced proximity.

Content Warnings

no_mourners_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

sohma4uesugi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Unfortunately I can’t rate this 5,000 stars. Sweet lord this book was so good!! From the characters to the magic to the world building, I loved everything. I can’t wait for book two in November!!

Content Warnings

akirokis's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

emakay's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

emmwalker's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Fourth Wing is an immersive adult fantasy that takes place in a fictional military school, where our protagonist Violet becomes a dragon rider, after a lifetime of preparing to be a scholar. Listening to this audiobook evoked what I felt reading my childhood favourites, it has all the makings of a cult favourite fantasy and I am already so obsessed. I accessed this story as an audiobook and I couldn’t stop listening! Though I now realise that as I listened to this story, I don’t know how to spell any of the names of the characters or places.

The story was immediately immersive, slowly beginning rich world building without info dumping and overwhelming the audience. The early establishment of the sisterly relationship between Violet and Mira was so incredibly well done, encapsulating the tricky balance between deep love, protective instinct, pesky joking and even a sense of being overshadowed. It was indicative of the writing and the realistic relationships in an unrealistic world. The writing and descriptions were so vivid and detailed and I was easily able to picture this school, the dragons and characters. The story is so well written, I was wracked with anxiety at times due to the anticipation and constant worry for my favourites and I felt elation for their successes.

I was instantly able to connect with Violet, she loves books, has a good grasp of history and feels most at home in a library. Her struggles made her likeable and relatable. Xaden was mysterious, powerful and dedicated, I adored the scenes he was in, I think I’ve found a new book boyfriend. The narration was clear, consistent and expressive. Rebecca Soler has a soothing voice that was emotive and brought Violet to life throughout the narration in the audiobook. There was distinction in the voices of each character, which aided in the flow of the story (no cringey voice attempts) and the tone of the story (especially suspenseful or action packed scenes) was clearly established in the tone and pace of the narration.

The trigger warnings at the beginning are a great inclusion, I listened to them and probably didn’t take them as seriously as I should have. The depictions of violence do occur on page and start quite early on in the story and keep going throughout the whole story. Readers should take these warnings seriously and consider if this story is for them.

I wish I could give this more than five stars, I think I’ve found a new favourite and I can’t wait for more.

Thank you to NetGalley, and RB Media, for giving me the opportunity to listen this audiobook in exchange for an honest review, these thoughts are all my own.

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