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tinyysue's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, and Violence
unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was fine, but I found it very derivative - like I had read all of it some place before. It’s basically like Top Gun plus Hunger Games plus A Court of Thorns and Roses. If you like the dragons, I cannot recommend Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series enough - it’s basically the same dragon-magic system but the world makes more sense.
Basgiath has to be the world’s worst military school - it seems like it exists simply to kill off its cadets which seems counterproductive? Call me crazy but there are stakes higher and fates worse than death. In a book written in first person POV you know from the jump that the narrator isn’t dying soooooo the tension I wanted in the first part of the book simply wasn’t there.
In the year of our lord 2024, I simply cannot get into a hero named Xaden, even though I liked him just fine in terms of his actual actions/personality. Tairn was the best character in a SEA of named characters who were interchangeable and forgettable. Violet is very much a 20 year old dystopian fantasy heroine.
Basgiath has to be the world’s worst military school - it seems like it exists simply to kill off its cadets which seems counterproductive? Call me crazy but there are stakes higher and fates worse than death. In a book written in first person POV you know from the jump that the narrator isn’t dying soooooo the tension I wanted in the first part of the book simply wasn’t there.
In the year of our lord 2024, I simply cannot get into a hero named Xaden, even though I liked him just fine in terms of his actual actions/personality. Tairn was the best character in a SEA of named characters who were interchangeable and forgettable. Violet is very much a 20 year old dystopian fantasy heroine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, War, Xenophobia, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
bella613's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
OK, this book was good.
I'm going to be honest, it's not particularly well written. It's a little YA at times. The world building isn't spectacular and I got annoyed at some of the fantastical bits especially at the beginning, because it didn't feel real like a good fantasy story when it sucks you in.
This was a recommendation from a coworker, and for the first couple chapters I was pretty sure it was going to be one I barely finished.
However, it's worth sticking around because the book gets better as it goes (in my opinion). Once I was into it, I was really into it. Looking back, I don't know if it deserves as high a rating as I'm going to give it, but I'm doing it anyway because of how much I simply liked it. I enjoyed listening to this more than I've enjoyed a fantasy book since I was a teenager, so it kinda brought me back. I honestly felt nostalgia for my Eragon-reading tween days. I loved the dynamic between Violet and the dragons, and I'd like to see that with more characters. I want to know more about the dragons in general.
I think the author could do a lot better with the relationships between characters. The main romantic relationship feels too lovesick and kinda exaggerated. And the friendships need deeper interactions and better dialogue.
I also want to mention I definitely disliked the telepathy bits. It seemed unnecessary and weird and too much like the trashy werewolf stories you get on fanfiction apps. That and the fact that the sex scenes were more violent than the fight scenes LOL.
But it's pretty easy to ignore that because there's a lot more to the story than just the romance.
I'll be reading the second book and I hope to get more developed backstories and get into the dragons' characters a bit more. This book felt very present-tense focused and didn't do a lot for story besides telling you what's happening. My favorite character was Liam, so.. well.
Anyway, the world is built now and it feels like the story is just beginning. So I'm excited to see what Iron Flame will bring.
I'm going to be honest, it's not particularly well written. It's a little YA at times. The world building isn't spectacular and I got annoyed at some of the fantastical bits especially at the beginning, because it didn't feel real like a good fantasy story when it sucks you in.
This was a recommendation from a coworker, and for the first couple chapters I was pretty sure it was going to be one I barely finished.
However, it's worth sticking around because the book gets better as it goes (in my opinion). Once I was into it, I was really into it. Looking back, I don't know if it deserves as high a rating as I'm going to give it, but I'm doing it anyway because of how much I simply liked it. I enjoyed listening to this more than I've enjoyed a fantasy book since I was a teenager, so it kinda brought me back. I honestly felt nostalgia for my Eragon-reading tween days. I loved the dynamic between Violet and the dragons, and I'd like to see that with more characters. I want to know more about the dragons in general.
I think the author could do a lot better with the relationships between characters. The main romantic relationship feels too lovesick and kinda exaggerated. And the friendships need deeper interactions and better dialogue.
I also want to mention I definitely disliked the telepathy bits. It seemed unnecessary and weird and too much like the trashy werewolf stories you get on fanfiction apps. That and the fact that the sex scenes were more violent than the fight scenes LOL.
But it's pretty easy to ignore that because there's a lot more to the story than just the romance.
I'll be reading the second book and I hope to get more developed backstories and get into the dragons' characters a bit more. This book felt very present-tense focused and didn't do a lot for story besides telling you what's happening. My favorite character was Liam, so.. well.
Anyway, the world is built now and it feels like the story is just beginning. So I'm excited to see what Iron Flame will bring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, War, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence
elisalasater's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Sexual content
the_real_shawna_v's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
I put off reading this book for a long time because it was popular on the socials and getting all these raves at a time when I was getting burned by books that were getting raves that I was ending up DNF-ing. I didn’t believe the hype until my own adult daughter confirmed it a worthy read.
The author does a great job developing her characters, including the ones you love to hate. The dragon personalities are really enjoyable, and the human friendships are believably tenuous until they’re not—and they hit all the right loyalty and comedic notes while growing in depth and a sense of not only becoming a team, but a family.
.
I’m really glad I finally gave Fourth Wing a chance—even though I am low-key wishing I would’ve waited until the full series was available. On to book 2!
The author does a great job developing her characters, including the ones you love to hate. The dragon personalities are really enjoyable, and the human friendships are believably tenuous until they’re not—and they hit all the right loyalty and comedic notes while growing in depth and a sense of not only becoming a team, but a family.
.
I’m really glad I finally gave Fourth Wing a chance—even though I am low-key wishing I would’ve waited until the full series was available. On to book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, and Bullying
bookswithpao's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Classism
dlsmk's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, and Blood
rowstream's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, War, Death, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Vomit
i_ashby's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
I really enjoyed this book, and if you love dragons and typical romantasy tropes, you'd probably enjoy this too.
It was funny, tense, and heartbreaking all at once. The world building was really interesting and immersive. I got easily attached to some of the characters (Ridoc and Liam being my favourites...), and I have a lot of respect for Violet as a powerful and most importantly intelligent FMC. I loved that the book stressed the importance of mental strength over physical strength.
The narrative being frequently punctuated by Violet's comments on how good Xaden looked was a little disruptive to the natural flow of the story, as was the excessive amount of swearing, but I still flew through the pages and loved every second.
Would definitely recommend to romantasy fans, especially if you love dragons.
The book contains violence and sexual content.
It was funny, tense, and heartbreaking all at once. The world building was really interesting and immersive. I got easily attached to some of the characters (Ridoc and Liam being my favourites...), and I have a lot of respect for Violet as a powerful and most importantly intelligent FMC. I loved that the book stressed the importance of mental strength over physical strength.
The narrative being frequently punctuated by Violet's comments on how good Xaden looked was a little disruptive to the natural flow of the story, as was the excessive amount of swearing, but I still flew through the pages and loved every second.
Would definitely recommend to romantasy fans, especially if you love dragons.
The book contains violence and sexual content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
kim_gzt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Simply amazing! I loved the world building, the characters and of course the dragons!! Violet is a very smart and strong main character (which I love) and her chemistry with Xaden is electric. I could not put the book down. The pages just flew by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexual content, and Violence