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Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism
Moderate: Sexual content
This book was fun but I enjoyed it the same way I enjoyed Sharknado. I can see why some less experienced readers would love it too. It was written so that young female readers will identify themselves with the "not like other girls" protagonist and if that's your cup of tea, go for it. It has cool fight scenes, Mexican novel levels of drama, and smutty scenes worthy of AO3. It's a light read and made me laugh with all the cringy dialogue and obvious plot twists. I'm giving it 4 stars because it fulfilled my need for a popcorn book.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Excrement
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Classism
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Chronic illness, Violence, War
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, Classism
Minor: Ableism, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Abandonment
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Torture, Colonisation, Classism
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the first book in The Empyrean series, taking place at a cut-throat school for those who hope to become a dragon rider. This book is something I’ve seen all over bookstagram and has gotten a good deal of hype, and I get why. It’s got your forbidden romance, love triangle, and hate-to-love tropes on top of the political maneuverings throughout the book. I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t really interested in picking it up; however, a couple of my friends suggested that I read it, so I thought I’d give it a go.
Overall, I think this book was fine. The world-building was pretty solid, and the writing, while a bit cliche at times, was not bad. This being said, I had some issues. I thought the plot was pretty easy to predict. I thought there was an opportunity missed to do more with the students vying for a higher social/academic standing; I kind of wanted there to be more mind games played, but instead, the book was pretty clear about who the good guys and the bad guys were. There were abrupt cuts and time jumps throughout the book that made me feel like I was missing something, especially during the beginning of the training. Also, it felt like the main male “love interests” were just having a pissing contest with each other which got quite annoying after a bit. I guess it just felt like I’ve read similar stories before, granted without dragons, that I’ve enjoyed more, such as the Nevernight Chronicles. All this being said I have already started reading the sequel, so I guess I’m invested enough.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Classism
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent