erynlasbelin's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Medical content, Murder, Chronic illness, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, War, Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Terminal illness
lizsurber's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, War, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Ableism, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Torture, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
zakcebulski's review against another edition
- 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.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Murder, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Violence, Physical abuse, and War
meeklovestoread's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
I loved the characters and I surprisingly loved Xaiden (I'm really not too big on morally grey characters, but he was great). I can't wait to learn more about him and his past (as well as learn about his cousins). Can't wait for book 2!
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (just in case someone wants to know or isn't too fond of explicit scenes like that in books; it is more in the later chapters and it's only in a chapter or two, I think, however, stuff like that [hooking up and what not] is still talked about throughout the book; just a heads up)
Spoiler
I love love LOVED Violet's relationship with her dragons. Oh my gosh, I got so excited when I read that she bonded with not one, but TWO dragons, like Go, Violet. But anyway, I love how protective Tairn is of Violet; and I love his personality; he is such a grump and I love it! And I love love loved Andarna! She's so cute and I love how protective Violet is toward her.Spoiler
I'd like to put this out there, but I don't hate Dain. I'm not particularly fond of him, but I don't hate him and quite honestly I feel like he's a bit overhated. I'm just going based on this book, but Dain is not a bad person, he's just a rule-following idiot who fell victim to what he's been taught. And I am in no way defending his actions. Him looking through Violet's memories and indirectly getting her friends killed (Liam especially 😢💔) was so uncalled for and I don't think I can forgive him for that. As well as him not believing her about the traitor. And I don't like how much he would put her down and not believe in her and kept pushing her to the scribe quadrant. But he's still Violet's best friend and although his methods were unorthodox I do believe they were coming from a good place. He's a 2nd year if I remember correctly so he's probably seen countless riders get killed every day and he knows Violet isn't necessarily physically gifted so it's understandable that he was adamant about getting her out of there. However, yes, he most definitely should've been more supportive of her when she decided that she wanted to stay. Overall, I do think he can be redeemed. I just hope he learns the error of his ways. And I hope the author does his character justice and doesn't perform some sort of character assassination on him like countless of authors have done before.😒; (also side note but I'm so glad Jack died, I couldn't stand if he was in the series for any longer than he was); oh and I guessed the twist, I knew her brother was alive😂Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Cursing, Grief, and War
Minor: Gaslighting, Ableism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
mattiedancer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beyond that, I believe the novel started at maybe the worst possible start. I either needed more of Violet’s life before joining the Riders or less. I had a sliver of it, and it served only to push back the action without doing any concrete service to the characters or the plot.
- Fans of ACOTAR & TOG
- Fans of dragon-centered books
- Readers not deterred by a few tropes and predictable plots
- Someone looking for a fast and fun fantasy read
- Death, sexual content, death of parent, grief, torture, murder, fire/fire injury, blood, ableism, violence, war, bullying
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, and Gaslighting
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, War, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Ableism, and Medical content
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
ka_ke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
First of all, an adult spicy how to train your dragon? Sold.
Fully developed, well-rounded characters? Absolutely.
Semi-predictable plot but still worth reading? Definitely.
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent, Genocide, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, and Bullying
spootilious's review against another edition
- 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
Title: Fourth Wing
Series: The Empyrean #1
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Rating: 2/5
Review:
Quotes:
“One generation to change the text. One generation chooses to teach that text. The next grows, and the lie becomes history.”
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, War, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
wildflower_magic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Bullying, War, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Grief, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Classism, Murder, Violence, Ableism, Abandonment, Body shaming, Cursing, and Death
Moderate: Stalking, Gaslighting, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Torture
b8by_drxgon's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Violence, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: War
Minor: Death of parent