Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

86 reviews

filipa_maia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

It took a really long time to connect with this story, but when I did, my goodness, I got hooked.

Violet is such an amazing character, her growth throughout the entire story is one of the best character arcs I've ever read. The plot is great, full of twists, great friendships, magic and cool dragons. How can you ask for more than that?

Are there any weird little things? Yes. Why the hell do they need to bond with a dragon to write with a pen? What kind of power is that? Why are the sex scenes so…detailed? We get it, sex is good, we don't need to read every thing they feel.

The ending was brilliant! I can't wait to read the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Child death, Blood, Abandonment, Cursing, Violence, Toxic relationship, War, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Vomit

allisonpaigex's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

2 for book, narrators for graphic audio were great though  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent and Cursing

3q29fgh239fg24pfg9qf9's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Pro: 

• When I suspend disbelief, I am a fan of the idea of the world built.  I'm a fantasy nerd -- sue me

Cons:

1. - The viciousness of the environment that the main character lives in (especially the primary environ-- the war school) is overtly hostile to that it almost defies logic
2. The sex scenes are poorly written - not for the lack of description, but the actual wording and verbiage. It's like a teenage wrote it. Cringe is the word I'm looking for
3. The recurring themes of fighting with the main character's male best friend,  the main character's internal thoughts about the boy she's interested in and their conflict with said boy etc .. got a bit dull after awhile. 

I find other books with similar themes like the Inheritance Cycle (e.g. Eragon) and Hunger Games to be much better written and therefor more engaging. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and War

weecore's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic relationship

srs_bookworm's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Death, Gore, Cursing, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

kellyofcali's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Super fun fantasy/romance read! I'm excited for book two. If you're into the genre this is a great one, well written and a fun world with spice but also a genuinely good story - and DRAGONS, of course!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, War, Grief, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Genocide and Gore

devincold's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

This book reads like a fantasy-flavored reimagining of Divergent. It's a fun read that feels predictable throughout. If you're looking for a romance novel and you like a fantasy setting, this might be a good option. If you're looking for enemies to lovers and LGBTQI+ representation - I would look elsewhere.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Stalking, Torture, War, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Child death, and Chronic illness

rmlknisely's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

andmingmingtoo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book reads like the novelization of a blockbuster action movie. There are pros and cons that come with that.

Pros:
-The general premise is really fun. I was excited to learn more about the dragon, magic, and government systems of the world
-The action sequences actually felt tense, and they definitely felt like they would be cinematic if in a visual format
-The side characters were really fun (and often eclipsed the main character in likeability)
-Xaden is an interesting and actually respectful male lead

Cons:
-A lot of Violet's inner monologue feels jarring and sometimes detracts from a tense vibe in a scene
-A lot of scenes that would be interesting and would add to the characters' growth are left offscreen, like they were cut for time, despite this being an original work where the author could decide what did and didn't exist. For instance,

most of Violet's hand-to-hand challenges occurred offscreen, even the ones where she finally wins without tricks. Like, that's a big moment for her character! I want to hear more about that!

-A lot of visual descriptions of settings were left out, like

the Parapet or what the hell a chimney formation is

-For the most part, we have to take Violet's word for it that characters, including herself, have experienced growth. The growth seems to happen offscreen and is not substantiated by their onscreen actions 

Additionally, this book is screaming to be part of a series (I am aware that the sequel is out and a series is in the works, as is a movie). In my opinion, there is no finite conclusion of the book's overall plot quest at the end, mostly because there is not one unifying plot quest. The extent of the book is defined temporally, not from a plot perspective, which can give the book the feel of a series of episodes, rather than a unifying experience.

Obviously, this book is popular! I did enjoy it, and I can see how others may enjoy it more than me. That being said, it is not a polished experience, but if you know to expect that, it may help you brace yourself and enjoy it more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Vomit, Torture, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Stalking, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, and War

Moderate: Sexism, Toxic friendship, Child death, Ableism, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

tess_gee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexism, Body shaming, Bullying, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Blood, and Body horror