Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Fourth Wing - Flammengeküsst

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Fourth Wing - Flammengeküsst by Rebecca Yarros

40 reviews

erynlasbelin's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

This book sorely needed an editor. And maybe a cowriter. Someone to shape the overall ideas of the story into something coherent. But at the very, very least, a strong editing pass.

The writing was clunky and repetitive, the author used words whose meanings she clearly didn't understand, and the logistics of what was supposed to be physically happening (especially during battle scenes) were often difficult to follow. The smut wasn't bad, but was outweighed by the endless stream of horny thoughts every single time the two main characters interacted with each other, even when they're supposed to be in dire circumstances or experiencing emotional devastation. The worldbuilding was weak as fuck and seemed to be made up on the spot throughout the book. The way the "war college" works doesn't stand up to even the slightest amount of scrutiny - why would they want to relentlessly kill off all their able-bodied young soldiers when they're at war? Luckily, given the death toll, other than maybe 3 of the main characters, no one has a personality at all; best friends, squad mates, teachers, and family members are basically cardboard cutouts with little to no identity. And while Violet herself is the best-developed of the bunch, it has to be said that her motivations simply aren't there. Other than ~proving people wrong~ once she's there, there is no explanation for why she would commit herself to fighting herself into a violent and early death, when she's given multiple opportunities to go back to the life she always wanted and planned for. She never thinks about the future at all.

All that being said, it was a quick read, and I do wonder where the story is going next. Future books could be good pulp romantasy fun if given the kind of editing they need. My one bit of praise is that I appreciate the hEDS representation, and that she receives accommodations for it. I have literally never seen this aspect of myself reflected in a book before (although I know of another one coming out soon!) and that element was genuinely well done.

Content Warnings

lizsurber's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

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kakuloo's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-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

2.0

This book was a sexy drama that had some dragons in it, but I prefer world-built dragon fantasy that has just a little romance in it.

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2blueshoes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book brought the “dangerous magical school” vibes of Harry Potter and mixed it with the “dystopia and constant death” of Hunger Games. I enjoyed it. I felt weird about it. I had a lot of questions.

The heroine of this book (Violet) is twenty, but reads younger at first in her emotions and lack of experience. As a reader it is gratifying to see her grow and become stronger (both mentally and physically) throughout the book, but it means she’s a difficult character to get to know - she is developing and changing so quickly it’s hard to pin her down. She’s weak then feisty, strategically clever and then angsty and recklessly plunging into danger. It feels like you are reading about twenty years of someone’s life, instead of one. By the end, Violet is undeniably a badass, and speaks her mind (especially to the men in her life) in a way that had me texting cheer emojis and sharing screen shots.

Although there are multiple heroes in this book, the only one that anyone cares about is Xaden.

Spoiler

(That’s a lie, I’m obsessed with Liam bring him back please).

It’s clear from the start he’s a love interest, and Violet is immediately and unwavering in her desire to… uh, ride his dragon. The sexual tension didn’t absolutely wow me in this book, but all the right elements for a dishy shadow zaddy romance are there. Xaden reminds me so much of Reven, the hero in Liar’s Crown, but he’s definitely a more morally questionable character. (I’m always low key wishing heroes could be badass and also not murder people, but that doesn’t really jive with the tone of the book. So, prepare yourself to not love everything he does.)

If you are someone who needs to know how complicated magical worlds work straight away, this book will test your patience. I had questions all the way through, and even after finishing the book many aren’t answered (what is up with the white hair thing?) That said, the world building is impressive, and differs from any magical school or dragon stories I’ve ever read. I enjoyed the scenes with the dragons SO much, and found their complicated personalities and lore the best part.

This book is really long, but I didn’t find myself bored or skipping scenes. I loved how much we got to explore in just book one of the series - and can’t wait for the next.

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zakcebulski's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

Spoiler

Fourth Wing ... What can I say?
This book is one of those that is taking the internet, specifically TikTok by storm and it is easy to see why!
I was recommended this book by my girlfriend who had devoured it in two days flat. She is a fast reader anyway, but, this was something special.
So, I read it and took much longer to read- to her dismay as she wanted to talk about it as quickly as possible.

I will not be covering the entire story, as I hardly ever do. This book follows Violet Sorrengail- the daughter of a high ranking General who is famous (or, infamous) for putting down a rebellion that was taking place in Navarre- the land where the story takes place.
Violet is a very smart individual who has aspirations of becoming a Scribe- one of the roles that is up for choosing in this world, along with Healers and the Riders- literal dragon riders, which is pretty hype.

General Sorrengail forces Violet to go the Rider's quadrant- she will not have a Scribe daughter.
So, in an effort to follow in her older sister Mira's and deceased brother's Brennan's footsteps as Riders.
This is a plot set up that we have seen before- a character who is greatly out of their depths jumping feet first into a scenario where they should not flourish.
Along the way we are introduced to many other characters- Dain, a childhood friend of Violet's who is a dickhead, Rhiannon and Ridoc, Liam and.... Xaden Riorson.
Xaden is the son of the man who attempted to start a revolution to overthrow the government of Navarre and was executed by Violet's mother for his act of attempted secession and treason.

Over the course of the book we are shown the world that Yarros created here, which is interested, but feels well-treaded.
The classes and sparring that take place have the potential to be interesting but are... boring? Ill developed? Not sure, I would have liked a little bit more discussion into them, however.

The most interesting section is the Threshing which is where we are taught about how potential riders are able to link and bond with dragons, which, again, is fucking sweet- who doesn't like goddamn dragons??!?!

At this time Violet bonds with two dragons, which is absolutely unheard of throughout history. Not only that, but, she bonds with Tairn- who is the strongest dragon and a younger dragon Andorna (sp?).
Now, we learn that if a dragon dies, the rider dies as well, and, the dragons are able to channel their energy through the rider and grant them special powers. Cryokinesis, slowing time, reading minds, etc. I will say that the powers are enough of a variety on the standard powers that you may see that they are pretty interesting.

After the Threshing we learn further that Xaden's dragon Sgaeyl is bonded to Tairn, which links Xaden to Violet and dun dun dun!!!!! Violet ends up in bed with the enemy who is not the enemy, whodathunk?
I will be honest, I didn't expect for a second that Xaden and Violet were actually going to be at odds with each other throughout the book. From his very introduction it was clear to me that she and he would end up together, and boy howdy do they end up together.

The absolutely graphic sex scenes in this book are... alot to read... to the point where my apparently prudish ass could have done with them being stripped (wrong word) back a little bit... I had heard that there were sex scenes, but good heavens.
I am good on reading about the cock being at one's opening or talk about clits for a while.

I have to commend Yarros' writing when it comes to action set pieces- she clearly, to me, has a knack for writing amazing and awe inspiring action. There are several fast paced action scenes that if done with any less finesse would have come off as very sloppy, but, Yarros absolutely nails it and I think that this is something that should be talked about more.

One thing I do have to take a little bit of objection with is some more of the cliches that I saw in this book.
When this book started and Violet was a nerdy character I would have put all of my money on her being exquisite with knives as her weapon- and wouldn't you know it? That is exactly what happened. This is jsut one example of things that I have seen before that felt like they were well worn.

I also wish that the constant use of adjectives and some clunky dialogue would have been parsed through a little bit. I mean the constant reference to people being ruthless is overdone. What makes this worth mentioning is that Yarros absolutely has the pen game necessary to show the ruthlessness and brutality of characters- show, don't tell! I think that this would have opened up the character development to be even more nuanced and well done.

That leads me to the characters. To be honest, I think that the characters are likable when they are supposed to be, and they are abhorrent when they are supposed to be. There is very little gray in this book that isn't resolved pretty quickly. The character who has the most intrigue is Dain's bitchass, as he is a very... rules above all type of character. He even gives me incel type vibes, which is icky as fuck.
I think that the characters are serviceable to move the story along but I do hope that they are fleshed out more in the future installments of this series.

Also, is there any credence to Dain's powers being a subversive type and his high government standing? It run a very unsettling parallel to the real world where people in power use their power to get things like sex from the less powerful. An interesting potential reading on a power dynamic.

Overall, I thought that the world that Rebecca Yarros erected here was interesting, if a little less fleshed out than would have liked. I can say the same for the characters- as soon as Violet and Xaden were introduced it was evident that they were going to both survive this book and would end up together. The side characters could also get a bit more fleshing out to make their stories more impactful, in my opinion.
I will definitely be reading the sequel, when it comes out, but I just hope that it takes more risks and does more that we haven't seen before.
Rebecca Yarros is a strong fantasy author, and I hope that she continues building on the strong foundation that she has started.

Content Warnings

sarah_simpkins's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

caitielusbooknook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Also, let the record state that I TOTALLY predicted that ending, but I still loved the reveal.

Content Warnings

spootilious's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

2.0

Read: October 11, 2023
Title: Fourth Wing
Series: The Empyrean #1
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Rating: 2/5
Review:

I won’t say that I didn’t enjoy this book…. Honestly, if I didn’t enjoy reading it I wouldn’t have given it 2 stars… it would have been lucky to have 1.

I could spend pages discussing what I didn’t like about the book but instead I’ll list the things I like and disliked then put some notes at the end.

Dislikes first because there are so many:

· This book would have been better if it wasn’t in first person.

· The writing is very juvenile

· The storyline is unbelievably predictable (including the ‘twist’ at the end)

· The plot may have worked better without such a heavy focus on the romance.

· The romance includes EVERY single cliché I can think of (and I do enjoy dark romances so it’s not that I don’t like a good romance… it just need to be… not bad.)

· Repetitive

· The worldbuilding is extremely lacking.

· The protagonist basically gets away with everything

· The protagonist has not self-accountability

· The objectification of other sexes

· I’m unable to find a single original idea in the plot.

· So many plot holes!

· Endless use of the words Fuck and Hot

· The dialog is TERRIBLE.

· Every character is unbelievably immature (including leadership and the parents).

Likes:

· Liam is definitely a gem.

· The plot was entertaining if unoriginal.

Ok, so digging into the details. I have a feeling that if Yarros chose third person for this book it wouldn’t feel so immature or cringe worthy because we wouldn’t be listening to a lot of the cliches that are present. The writing feels like it should be a YA book and not New Adult (though the sex is obviously what pushed it into the category) I probably would have enjoyed this WAY more if it was YA. This was a book club book for us and I made my predictions less than 100 pages into the book about the war and how the book would end and sadly I wasn’t wrong, though it may be because Yarros seemed to take bits and pieces of all the best selling fantasy franchises (particularly ones that have been made into movies) and copy and pasted them into this one after just changing some names.

I love a good romance, especially enemy to lovers with some really dark themes… but this felt, once again… juvenile, forced, and utterly cringe, and to be honest I’m too lazy to provide examples but pick a page at random and I’m sure the main character feels tingling at the back of her neck because the man in question entered the room, or her body heats because she glanced at him, or his core turned to liquid…. Which brings me to my next point, the back and forth and romance between the two main characters were so repetitive that it was almost painful and I really just wanted to skip it all and get back to the story.

The world building is lacking as well. The reader only get tidbits here and there and only if the author thinks its necessary but because of this the sense of the world is so vague it hurts. The reader should know a lot more about the war, considering that this is taking place in a school for military cadets that will be fighting on the front lines… instead it’s ‘guys with griffins are the enemies and they’re attacking us’. Okay…. Who are they? Why do they attack? Did they use to be part of us and broke away? That would make sense with the whole unification thing… Are they attacking the government or just the land…. Etc etc. (this is just an example and the answers can be inferred but they’re never truly explained).

Moving on to the main character who basically undermines her leadership and is constantly insubordinate and breaks practically every rule and never gets in trouble for it. She also never takes responsibility for herself. Everything is always because she’s too small or fragile or because of someone else… and I’m not here for it.

I’m gonna skim over the objectification of the sexes, because it doesn’t need explaining. As mentioned above the story line seems to be cut and paste from a lot of very popular franchises. When I started reading I even mentioned to my buddy that it reminded me of Hunger Games, then Harry Potter, Mulan, Game of Thrones… I could go on. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a single original aspect to the story, which I was a little disappointed in because, as I said, I enjoyed the read… But then again who wouldn’t if its made up of some of the best and most consumed fantasy entertainment out there.

The plot holes were bothersome for me. I won’t go into too much details to avoid spoilers, but specifically the final War Game. It he main character is so smart then why isn’t she asking questions about the control of the enemy to participate it in, or how could she not come to the conclusion of both betrayals on her own… That along with the reasons the failings are happening and the 400 yr verses 600 year thing… Idk… It’s super bothering me though.

The last three dislikes roll together honestly. I’m so sick of the words Fuck and Hot that I’m ready to pull my hair out. The dialog sounds like a bunch of horny kids just reaching puberty. Actually that’s not fair to the kids… The characters themselves acted that way as well. Even the ‘adults’ or leadership figures were immature even if they didn’t have that kind of dialog. I mean… Violets mother was so one dimensional it was painful. Evil step mother vibes much?

I can’t even justify my likes. The only character I found the least bit rounded was Liam. Which I can’t say more about… So… yea.

Will I recommend this book? Yes, absolutely. To those individuals that love to read YA and are looking for a step into New Adult or Fantasy Romance like The Cruel Prince or ACOTAR or something similar and have never really been interested in High Fantasy.

Will I read book 2? Also yes, as I said I enjoyed the book and despite all my dislikes of it would come back for more. I think its important to realize that something can be objectively mediocre or bad and still have value/still be enjoyable. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t have junk food XP

Quotes:
“One generation to change the text. One generation chooses to teach that text. The next grows, and the lie becomes history.”

Content Warnings

luffe_zolo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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

4.75

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