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hopeful
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing
Minor: Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
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:
No
This book had no business being so addicting. It doesn't do anything new, took me over 100 pages to really get in to, and has a relatively predictable plot twist/betrayal. That being said, I absolutely loved reading this and cannot wait to get my grabby hands on the sequel that's coming out later this year.
The bullying element is extremely cringe. I really could not accept the extremely cringe nickname. Dain is the new Tamlin. There is no reason for me to like this book.
And yet.
I do not know what happened after 100 pages, but holy shit. Rebecca Yarros dragged me into a steamy slow burn, telepathic mated dragons, and another plot twist that I genuinely DID NOT SEE COMING. It's got queer rep, BiPOC rep, hot-and-dangerous-men-and-women rep. My queer, asexual ass has no business being this attracted to Xaden. Violet gave me a hard time in the beginning, but I do love a violent woman who knows how to throw daggers and fight while probably looking sexy and rugged af.
The sequel should have been published yesterday, but, alas, I need to wait until November 7 (dad, my apologies in advance, but I will be reading all the way to Luxembourg <3).
The bullying element is extremely cringe. I really could not accept the extremely cringe nickname. Dain is the new Tamlin. There is no reason for me to like this book.
And yet.
I do not know what happened after 100 pages, but holy shit. Rebecca Yarros dragged me into a steamy slow burn, telepathic mated dragons, and another plot twist that I genuinely DID NOT SEE COMING. It's got queer rep, BiPOC rep, hot-and-dangerous-men-and-women rep. My queer, asexual ass has no business being this attracted to Xaden. Violet gave me a hard time in the beginning, but I do love a violent woman who knows how to throw daggers and fight while probably looking sexy and rugged af.
The sequel should have been published yesterday, but, alas, I need to wait until November 7 (dad, my apologies in advance, but I will be reading all the way to Luxembourg <3).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Does dragon death count as animal death? In this case, it does.
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through!
Is the next great American novel? No, but it’s fun and that’s what matters! There are plot holes and moments that can easily pull the reader out of the high-fantasy story but Yarros wrote a snappy story that keeps you entertained for all 500+ pages.
Something that I personally really connected with was that the main character, Violet, has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. EDS is a genetic connective tissue disorder. It can causes hypermobility, where the person’s body can stretch beyond what it “normal” and can lead to significant joint pain and brittle bones, among other things. This is one of the first mainstream representations of EDS that I’ve ever encountered and I was so blown away by it. It was truly healing to read about a fantasy character that also had problems with her knees and ankles popping out of place just because that’s what her body does and not because of some grand battle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Murder
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I did actually enjoy this. Sure this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I can't say no to dragons. I thought some of the writing was a little cringy but who cares it was a fun read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
Absolutely loved this book. Binged it. Very hunger games/divergent/how to train your dragon all mixed together. Really liked the strong female main character and fell in love with the dragons especially Aradana!!! Despite me guessing the ending plot twist, I didn't see any of the other ones coming! Can't wait for the second instalment. Think this may be one of my favourite books of the year so far!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, War
Moderate: Bullying
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Genuinely impressed at the marketing for this book because I was disappointed after reading it and couldn't figure out why it was so popular. It felt like a watered down fantasy book with some tropes sprinkled on top.
Excuse the length of this "review," honestly it's mostly me just ranting.
There wasn't any great character development, plot, or writing - all things I would expect from a great book. It was overall a fun book to read with friends, but I won't be recommending it to anyone and I'm still debating picking up the second one.
To start, the world-building was all right. It seemed like things existed in the world JUST to bring our main characters together, and nothing beyond that mattered. It started off interesting with the main character reciting her lessons in a way to avoid exposition, but that's pretty much all the explanation we get of the world. We don't really explore anything outside of the military school (until the very end), and the first half of the book dragged with so much nothingness happening. Imagine being bored in a school where everyone is trying to kill each other.
From the hundreds of students who are killed in the elite school, I literally didn't care about any of them. The author made sure to start every chapter with a death toll and a reading of random names of people we've never heard of. (Take a shot every time Violet mentioned someone who's name she forgot btw. It happened a lot for some reason.) Despite how dangerous this school was, there was not a single tense moment or any real stakes for any of the main characters or her friends.
Excuse the length of this "review," honestly it's mostly me just ranting.
There wasn't any great character development, plot, or writing - all things I would expect from a great book. It was overall a fun book to read with friends, but I won't be recommending it to anyone and I'm still debating picking up the second one.
To start, the world-building was all right. It seemed like things existed in the world JUST to bring our main characters together, and nothing beyond that mattered. It started off interesting with the main character reciting her lessons in a way to avoid exposition, but that's pretty much all the explanation we get of the world. We don't really explore anything outside of the military school (until the very end), and the first half of the book dragged with so much nothingness happening. Imagine being bored in a school where everyone is trying to kill each other.
From the hundreds of students who are killed in the elite school, I literally didn't care about any of them. The author made sure to start every chapter with a death toll and a reading of random names of people we've never heard of. (Take a shot every time Violet mentioned someone who's name she forgot btw. It happened a lot for some reason.) Despite how dangerous this school was, there was not a single tense moment or any real stakes for any of the main characters or her friends.
I’ll never get over how quickly people move on around here how callously death is swept under the rug and trampled on minutes later.
Gods, Xaden looks so good today… (Page 285).
Like, this is a REAL QUOTE.
We're also told CONSTANTLY how Xaden wants to kill Violet and hates her and will do anything to kill her, and yet his behavior says the exact opposite.
Violet's monologues all involve sex and how badly she wants to sleep with the two main guys (Xaden and Blondie, idk I forgot his name), and they're polar opposites. Blondie coddles her the entire book, wanting to protect her when she swears she doesn't need it, and yet when Xaden offers his help, she takes it.
Violet was such a damsel, despite her claiming the exact opposite the entire book. She doesn't do anything for herself, beyond poisoning a few students, and Xaden takes it upon himself to train her (because she can't fight), get her new daggers (because she can't use swords), and create a saddle for her (because she's smaaall and can't ride her dragon normally). Oh, but she can't TRUST HIM. He will KILL her the first chance he gets. And how DARE Blondie suggest she can't do anything for herself.
The plot was also a confusing mess. Every time the characters talked, it seemed like they'd be building up a Chevkov's gun, only for them to never revisit these things again or them being used immediately in the next chapter. (For example, the whole thing with the oranges was painfully obvious, but as a counter example the whole thing with the map they stole for that war game? Never mentioned again and I was somehow believed it was going to be important with how much time we spent building it up.)
We definitely could've cut out the first half of this book and gotten straight to the action, would've been a lot more interesting.
The majority of the chapters are build this way, with a whole lot of buildup towards something that leaves little to no impression. Even grand emotional reveals are completely forgotten a few pages later...And don't even get me started on the "plot twist" at the end. It seemed like such a weak plot device added in only for shock value. I gave this book a "fast" pacing despite being bored in the beginning because of how quickly we move from things.
Overall if you want a book with dragons occasionally making an appearance while the FMC pines over someone who hates her, read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, War
Minor: Ableism, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was 3 stars for me most of the way through, until the ending. I know I am an outlier on this book. It did not grab me like it did for most everyone else. It felt more YA than adult to me. I often forgot the characters were in their 20s and thought they were teens. I also thought it was way too long. However I loved the dragons and the ending hooked me. I will most likely be on the bandwagon in November reading the seco
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Child death
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, War
Moderate: Gore, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Dragons! Magic! Death games-y college! Underestimated main character who is Actually Very Special! Political intrigue and rebellion! Sped through this as the first new book I’ve read in years. Plot was compelling (if a tiny but predictable) and had all of the tropes and story devices that I love to read. Loved that the character lineup was so diverse in terms of sexualities, pronouns, disabilities, etc. (incl. the main character!) but what made them diverse wasn’t a plot point or huge part of the story (besides the main character) , they just were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent