Reviews with content warning for Medical content - 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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dkamada's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious reflective

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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scripturient's review against another edition

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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.

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bzliz's review against another edition

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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.

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mossywossy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

This book is so good. Oh my god, I can’t get enough of it. What a great book to get back into reading with. I literally couldn’t put it down!! I’m so mad that I’m back to WAITING for more books!!!

It’s only not a 5 star bc the first 100 or so pages were really slow. I almost put it down bc of it, but I kept pushing through bc I am a SLUT for anything with dragons 🤩

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