Reviews with content warning for Racism - Fourth Wing

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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

22 reviews

orionmerlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.25

Oh, Fourth Wing. The book that took BookTok by storm, promising dragons, battle schools, and an enemies-to-lovers romance so hot it could burn down the entire fantasy genre. Did it deliver? Well, kind of—but mostly in the way a fast-food burger looks amazing in the ad and then disappoints you with a sad, soggy reality.

Here’s how I’m scoring this wildly hyped, deeply frustrating, yet mildly entertaining book across the CAWPILE categories.

👤 Characters – 4/10

Look, I wanted to care about these people. I really did. But let’s be honest: Violet is a Special Snowflake™ of the highest order. She’s weak, frail, and supposedly doomed to fail—but guess what? She’s actually the best at everything.

Xaden? Oh, he’s the standard Tall, Dark, and Brooding Love Interest™—a walking red flag wrapped in leather armor, glaring at Violet while secretly pining for her. His personality? Mostly smoldering and having a tragic past.

The side characters? A few are fun, but let’s not pretend they matter. They exist to either:
✔️ Be cannon fodder
✔️ Hype up Violet’s amazingness
✔️ Provide sassy banter that sometimes lands and sometimes makes you cringe

Did I care about them? Not really. But did they entertain me like a CW drama at 2 AM? Absolutely.

🌍 Atmosphere/Setting – 6/10

This book desperately wants to be a darker, grittier How to Train Your Dragon meets Hogwarts with Violence™. The idea of a dragon-riding war academy is undeniably cool—but the execution? It’s all surface-level.

✔️ The school is dangerous! (But don’t think too hard about how its system makes no sense.)
✔️ The dragons are badass! (But they somehow also approve of the most predictable protagonist ever.)
✔️ The war is looming! (But we barely understand why, and we’re too busy with romance to care.)

Look, I could picture the world, but only because it relied on familiar tropes rather than unique worldbuilding. If you tell me Battle School + Dragons + Sexy Danger, my brain fills in the blanks, and this book lets me do all the heavy lifting.

✍️ Writing Style – 4.5/10

If YA fantasy and contemporary romance had a chaotic love child, this book would be it. The prose is serviceable, but it reads like it’s trying too hard to sound cool and modern.

Do I mind casual, accessible writing? No.
Do I need characters to stop sounding like they just walked off TikTok when they’re in a literal war school? Also no.

✔️ Fast-paced and readable? Yes.
❌ Unique, memorable prose? Absolutely not.
✔️ Balanced between action and dialogue? For the most part.
❌ Would I read another book by this author just for the writing? Not unless I was in a very forgiving mood.

📖 Plot – 3.5/10

Fourth Wing is a Frankenstein’s monster of every fantasy school trope, with extra insta-love and predictable twists slapped on for good measure.

✔️ Tension? Manufactured but effective.
❌ Surprises? You mean like pretending Violet is in danger while making sure she never actually struggles? Nope.
✔️ Twists? Yes, but the kind you see coming from a mile away.

The thing is, this book thinks it’s delivering gut-punch moments. It’s not.
I never believed Violet was truly at risk. I never doubted she would bond the most powerful dragon. I never felt surprised when she excelled at something she logically shouldn’t.

The pacing? All over the place. The ending "cliffhanger" is so forced it practically begs you to buy the sequel.

🔎 Intrigue – 5.5/10

I’ll give credit where it’s due: this book is compulsively readable. Even when I was rolling my eyes, I still turned the pages at an alarming rate.

✔️ Did I stay up past my bedtime reading? A little.
❌ Did I feel invested in the story? Not really.
✔️ Was I entertained? Sure, in a trash-TV-I-can’t-look-away kind of way.

Fourth Wing is the kind of book you blast through quickly, enjoy in the moment, and then promptly forget half the details.

🧠 Logic/Relationships – 2/10

Oh, this category is a disaster.

🚨 The magic system?

"You have to be strong to be a dragon rider!" → Actually, you just need to be the protagonist.
"Dragons choose the best warriors!" → Unless you're Violet, in which case they just pick you for... reasons.

🚨 The romance?

Insta-attraction disguised as enemies-to-lovers.
Xaden goes from hating Violet to protectively simping over her in record time.
"We can’t be together!" → Cue immediate make-out scene.

🚨 The academy’s rules?

"Survival of the fittest!"
"Students literally die!"
"But don’t worry, Violet will always be okay, because reasons!"

Logic has left the chat.
🎉 Enjoyment – 4.5/10
Listen, did I hate this book? No.
Did I love this book? Also no.
Did I have fun yelling at this book? Absolutely.
This is the book equivalent of watching a CW show with a glass of wine—you know it’s ridiculous, but you keep watching anyway.
Would I read the sequel? If I was in the mood for more brain-off entertainment, sure.
Would I recommend it? To someone who wants fun over quality? Yes.
Would I ever call it good fantasy? Absolutely not.
Final Score: 4.5/10 – "A Mess, But An Entertaining One"
📌 Fourth Wing is fast food fantasy—quick, indulgent, and forgettable.
📌 If you go in expecting depth, originality, or logic, you’ll be disappointed.
📌 If you go in expecting over-the-top romance, ridiculous drama, and dragons being cool, you’ll probably have fun.
🔥 Final Take: "Enjoyable in the same way that yelling at reality TV is enjoyable." 🚀📚

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joereadsalot_cats123's review against another edition

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kingjk2002's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-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? Yes

4.25

Actual max level of crashout over

liam dying omg

I don't know if I could ever read this book again it makes me feel so heartbroken to read to the point where I feel like I'm physically in pain

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jasminknuckles's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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therese_f's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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mohaley's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I am utterly obsessed with this book, I haven’t had a fantasy obsession like this since I reread Harry Potter as an adult.
I listened to this book in 3 days, I loved the way the story builds and the slow burn romance. The dragons were more than just side creatures, and full interesting characters.
This book made me excited to get back into fantasy this year.

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