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adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was this the perfect book? Nope. But I loved it! It’s been a long time since I’ve devoured a book like I did this one, while simultaneously being consumed by the book. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
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:
Complicated
I started Fourth Wing a little skeptical—life was chaotic and the first chapter didn’t exactly grab me. But by chapter 7? Fully hooked. What starts as a slow burn turns into a full-throttle obsession.
The world-building is some of the best I’ve seen in recent fantasy. The setting is brutal, the dragons are powerful with real personality, and the lore feels genuinely original. Bonus points for layered power systems that actually mean something.
Violet, the main character, walks a fine line—she’s snarky, flawed, occasionally frustrating, but always fighting to define herself on her own terms. Her character growth is messy in a good way.
And the love interest? Tactical. Brooding. Emotionally damaged but shockingly supportive. The chemistry builds slow, but it builds hard.
The tension ramps up throughout the book, and by the final third, I was emotionally invested in a way I hadn’t expected. High stakes. Gut punches. The kind of storytelling that keeps you up way past a responsible bedtime.
If you're into fantasy with a sharp edge, dragons that don’t play nice, and romance that respects the characters’ growth—this one's worth every page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Grief, War
adventurous
inspiring
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
It’s plenty predictable but you can’t be mad at it because it’s such a good time. I really hope there’s more character development from Mira, Rhiannon, Ridoc and Garrick in book 2, as they’re all pretty one dimensional at the moment. Loved the world building and lore so far and can’t wait for more exploration. Also Dain is incredibly annoying. Flagging for spoilers simply because usually at least know the group above lives haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, War
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
If you haven’t read this already, then what are you waiting for? It’s absolutely worth it. I couldn’t put it down for the life of me and the plot just kept thickening. I might just call this my new favourite series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, War
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Toxic friendship
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Violence, War
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book kept me wanting more. The building relationship between Xaden and Violet left my heart racing. Violet’s deminishing relationship between her and Dain was so beneficial for her character development. It did start off a little slow and there were parts that were a little slow, but important for the development of the story, but Yarros has a way to leave you wanting more from the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I’m actually at a loss for words with how much I really loved this book, I think my biggest shock comes from how much I’m usually not the biggest fantasy fan but I loved this book like literally every single second of it. I’ve held off on reading it because I wasn’t sure it was going to live up to the hype but wow did it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
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:
Yes
I went in really skeptical and expecting ACOTAR-tier writing (disrespectfully, I'm sorry lol), but I gotta admit, I liked this much much more. I'm somewhat interested in the plot, it's very light on politics but there's just enough worldbuilding to have an overarching mystery remain at the end. Not too surprising of a major plot twist, but I feel this book was more about characters.
The growth and glow up of the main character came out well. Like I said, I went into this expecting some semi-unlikeable Mary Sue vibes, but I ended up actually really liking that Violet owns her vices. She's cowardly, horny, sassy, and stubborn and she knows it. And even once she gets stronger, she still has what you can consider accessibility aids, such asher poisoning her sparring partners to level the playing field, or the saddle to keep her seated on her dragon . She never quite healed from her childhood illness (which, I still wonder if there's more to learn about what that really was), and she makes it work. Somehow I appreciate that being a factor--that she has Chosen One elements BUT not without a fair amount of hard work and external help. So it feels earned.
The romance is surprisingly intense later on. The intensity of their attraction is almost a bit much, but I think it's nice to imagine what that might feel like since I'm a little gray-asexual and have never experienced anything remotely on that level lol. I'm also gay as hell but with the romance being so exaggerated, it made the smut actually quite good.
I was one of those kids who read every dragon book I could find in the school library growing up, so maybe that has a factor, but overall I liked this more than I expected. My mild curiosity about some bigger plot lines might eventually convince me to read more of the series. I kinda hope for some more yearning and slow burn. Or maybe a new ship!
Lastly, I'll admit it, Xaden would have made my teenage self drool SO IM READING IT FOR HER!!!
The growth and glow up of the main character came out well. Like I said, I went into this expecting some semi-unlikeable Mary Sue vibes, but I ended up actually really liking that Violet owns her vices. She's cowardly, horny, sassy, and stubborn and she knows it. And even once she gets stronger, she still has what you can consider accessibility aids, such as
The romance is surprisingly intense later on. The intensity of their attraction is almost a bit much, but I think it's nice to imagine what that might feel like since I'm a little gray-asexual and have never experienced anything remotely on that level lol. I'm also gay as hell but with the romance being so exaggerated, it made the smut actually quite good.
I was one of those kids who read every dragon book I could find in the school library growing up, so maybe that has a factor, but overall I liked this more than I expected. My mild curiosity about some bigger plot lines might eventually convince me to read more of the series. I kinda hope for some more yearning and slow burn. Or maybe a new ship!
Lastly, I'll admit it, Xaden would have made my teenage self drool SO IM READING IT FOR HER!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death
Minor: Death of parent