It's been a long time since a book has gripped me like this one. Hunger Games meets Eragon meets Divergent type start to the series and not too much of the three way romance in it to overwhelm the hotness of the sexual scenes.
I was a little put off by all the hype around this book to think that it would be any good but I was wrong.
Thank you Netgalley for my review copy...I'm starting the next in the series straight away!

This was GLORIOUS!

I'd like to thank the publisher Piatkus and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is beloved by many, so my opinion is hardly needed! But it's a wonderful fast-paced read, very enjoyable, a rich read for romance readers and those who love a full throttle fantasy.

"Kissing you would be a cataclysmic mistake."
"Calamitous"
"We'll both regret it."
"Naturally"
"Fuck it"

Violet Sorrengail has long since dreamed of living a quiet and bookish life amongst the scribe quadrant, following in her beloved father's footsteps, but when her mother, and commanding general of the Navarre forces, orders her to join the rider quadrant, survival becomes her new mantra.

Fighting alongside those who have spent their lives dedicated to training to become members of the elite dragon riders, Violet feels the weight of her small and fragile body in comparison, especially with the knowledge that dragons don't bond with humans seen as 'breakable'. Immediately, Violet finds herself enemy number one in this cutthroat and ruthless war college, as daughter of the callous and cruel commanding general whose known for executing members of the rebellion and forcing the traitors children to conscript into the rider quadrant as penance for their parents mistakes, she'll need to us her exceptional intelligence and wily cunning to outsmart her fellow cadets, and keep her head on her shoulders.

Violet was an astounding FMC, having her whole world turned upside down at the behest of her mother, and being thrust into the cutthroat kill or be killed quadrant of riders. She's witty, sarcastic and strong in a way that was utterly inspiring, she constantly steps up to every challenge, even when the odds are stacked precariously against her, and proves her worth to those who continuously put her down or threaten her. I adored her tenacity and resilience, she uses her vast intellect and cunning as a weapon, and she does it beautifully, always curious, and always refusing to give up. She's also got such a warm heart towards those she holds closest and feels everything so intensely and passionately. However... she does come across at times as more of a YA protagonist, some of her thoughts were cringe and over the top, especially when it came to Xaden.

Xaden though.... OH. MY. LORD

This intimidating, six foot, shadow daddy can command a room, he could honestly murder anyone and still be a green flag. What a sexy, delicious creature he is. I'm obsessed with him, he's hard-headed, beautifully morally grey with a hidden heart of gold underneath that unflappable and icy exterior. You're never quite sure if he's going to kill or fuck Violet, and that was insanely and devilishly excruciating. The way he lets Violet be, and believes in never coddling or babying her through life, but instead choosing to watch her flourish and figure things out on her own, an empowering, feminist king, who exudes confidence and arrogance in the most delicious way.

The tension between Violet and Xaden was palpable and insane, but the falling in love aspect gave me pause. I didn't understand it, it was so quick, considering they both hated each other, the sexual tension I believed, but how quickly they fell in love?!?! that was very YA. I love a good tension between MC's but this one didn't have me kicking my feet and giggling like I wanted.

I can't go on without talking about our gorgeous dragon companions who completely stole the show for me. Tairn our grumpy, witty and sarcastic dragon stole my heart, he brought such wonderful banter to every situation, especially with his volatile moods and behaviours meaning you never quite knew what he'd say or do from one moment to the next. One things for sure though, he cares deeply about Violet and would protect her with his life. As one of the most powerful dragons known throughout the Kingdom, Tairn is coveted by all who long to be dragon riders, but he harbours a fierce loyalty to those he chooses, feeling each loss viscerally and acutely, it's hard not to fall in love with this big softy. And Andarna... what a beautifully wholesome, sweet, and gentle young dragon. She's unwaveringly loyalty and warmth exudes from her very being, with the patience of a saint, especially around Tairn.

Dain on the other hand can choke for all I care. Supposedly Violets childhood bestie but undermines her at any given opportunity and makes her out to be weak in front of others, he made my blood boil, the rage I felt.... phew. Especially with his pathetic attempts at grovelling, yet somehow managing backhanded compliments that only further prove his lack of faith in Violet and her capabilities?!?!

Overall this is an enemies to lovers where they are actually mortal enemies forced together by their dragons' bonds, with beautiful found family and side characters that ooze personality and wit?!? Liam, Xaden and Rhi held the fort down for me on this one, I would've burnt the world to the ground for them.

'Fourth Wing' was addictive, and despite it's flaws, I devoured the story and couldn't put it down. It gave me the nostalgia of reading Divergent with additional scorching and electrifying tension and witty dragons. It does an excellent job of whisking you away from reality into this gritty, atmospheric and thoroughly immersive fantasy world alongside some epic characters whose personalities shine through the pages. The burn is a slow-burn but it's scintillating, tantalising and delectably infuriating in the best way possible. With some really important chronic illness rep, political intrigue, earth-shattering secrets, and realistic characters, this was set to be a straight 5 star read for me. However, there was something missing her for me, and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. It was good, it kept me turning the pages, but it just didn't necessarily make me lose my mind *enter the guilt of not loving a popular book despite the endless hype*

Thank you s so much to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc

Like everyone else I'm a big fan of fourth wing (never really any doubt) I loved everything in here from the plot to the characters to the dragons and the magic system, nothing in here that's not an absolute blast of a time! I couldn't get enough of the enemies to lovers of Xaden and violet and the last half of this book was just non stop page turning goodness I sobbed and tried unsuccessfully to read through the tears for the last 50 pages still hurts thinking about that. Also side note loved iron flame too. Cannot wait for onyx storm. Easy 5 stars. Also all the side characters just make this even better.

I’ve been in such a slump the past few weeks where no book has even caught my attention but after seeing all the hype about Fourth Wing, I knew I had to give it a shot. And I’ll say that the hype is worth it. The storyline is amazing, the cliffhanger was amazing and the dragons were phenomenal.
I won’t say much as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but it has to be in my top five for the year and I cannot wait to see what Iron Flame brings.

I, as a Scottish person, am beyond fed up of Americans latching on to my country's culture and being disrespectful with it. If you want to use our language that so nearly died, use it properly.

Dragons, romance, enemies to lovers. What more could we ask for? Now i really really really want my own dragon.

Dragons? A magical college? Enemies to lovers? War? Sign me the flip up! This was so so so good! So different to what I would usually pick up, but hey, dragon books are where its at right now so its no surprise this book was good!

By now this really doesn't need a review from me. It's been an absolute phenomenon, and I can really see why. This feels like all those old YA fantady novels I lived from the 2000s - it's a little bit Divergent, a little bit Throne oof Glass. Except there's dragons and smut. I'd it the best thing ever written? No. But my God is it addictive and fun.

I really believe that a two star rating is very generous for what I put up with while reading this book.

To start off with Yarros is a romance writer, fourth wing is her first dabble into fantasy and it shows. It's obviously not so apparent to the delirious TikTok readers who seem to think this book is some kind of god sent scripture, dipped in gold (literally...).

Here are some positives; the marketing was great! Really made me excited to read the book. The sprayed edges are pretty. I liked the dragons (even though they were only in the book for like two seconds.)

Now that we have that out of the way here are some things to consider before picking up this book.

1. The prose and dialogue is extremely poor and extremely cringey. Don't get me started about how Yarros thought it would be a good idea to do the very little world building that she did by having the MFC recite historical facts to herself whilst facing imminent death. And they way characters were introduced! By the MFC constantly asking herself what that person's name was only for them to be killed and her then to go "ah, right his name was xxx." The laziness and ineloquence was truly mind boggling.

2. Which leads me to number 2, the plot is romance driven. Although I liked the part with the dragons it was surprising to me that a book marketed as a dragon book literally had almost no dragon interaction. But instead 400 pages of insta-lust. Again makes sense since the author is a romance writer and not a fantasy writer.

3. The plot holes drive me insane. There are so many "whys" I don't even know where to begin. Why is there a free for all killing spree at all times except some oddly random rules that make no sense. It honestly seems to have been added simply for shock value, when in fact it had the opposite effect as it made you numb to all deaths. Also why don't the dragons have more power if they're so supreme, why do they let children of traitors climb to high ranking positions if they're such a threat, why is there a forced conscription whilst the school is said to consist of only the best and brightest, why not enlist those who don't cut it into the infantry (which seems nonexistent btw) instead of offing them, seems like a waste when you've been at war for 400 years....

4. Clichés: of course the MFC has the most rare power and bonds with two dragons (something that has never before happened) and of course she can make it through the killer college that has a 1 in 4 survival rate that ppl have been training fir all their life even though she only trained for six months but still ends up being the one who survives.

Honestly I can go on and on but I think I've made my point. I would also like to add that I know a lot of ppl have acknowledge a lot of the things I've written in my review but say that it doesn't matter because they loved the vibes, which is great, for them. Personalty it took me five months to finish this book (I did receive an ARC) and I was painfully staking my way through the pages waiting for the "vibes" to distract me from the poor dialogue, plot, character arcs and world building. But I can't say I ever got into it.

Fourth Wing was almost a DNF for me at around the 10-15% mark. I initially found the writing style more juvenile than I expected and the modern dialogue of the characters kept pulling me out of the story.

I’m glad I decided to persevere, however, because I did end up really enjoying the book and rated it four stars. I still think it had some pretty glaring flaws, but I can’t deny how entertaining and propulsive the story was.

I did enjoy this book. I thought it was a light fantasy really easy to follow. If you're nor massively in to fantasy stories I feel like you could still enjoy this. My attention was captured from the beginning and I got behind Violet straight away. However, by the end of the story I found Violet annoying. I loved the dragons and their relationship with their humans I thought that was very interesting. Looking forward to book 2!

Unfortunately I didn't click with this book. I know it has been hyped up and everyone's loving it, but I found I didn't connect or care about any of the characters. I expected more in terms of the dragons, it felt one dimensional. Additionally it felt like all of the popular tropes where just thrown in, knowing they're popular as opposed to being good for the story.

It took me while to warm up to it but the hype is real.
The writing is not ground-breaking, its filled with tropes, but it was an enjoyable time, sucking you into the world and it becomes fast paced and action packed.
I think the dragons and magic system are interesting and wish it was fleshed out more - I think the dragons could have been done a bit better - the way they talk is similar to a teenage girl at times!
I would compare writing style to From Blood and Ash/ Throne of Glass so if you loved those you will love this.
I will be continuing the series and hope the writing lives up to the potential created.
Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

Okay, so, objectively this sounded right up my street because romance and dragons! What’s not to love?!

However, it was so hyped up everywhere that I was a little wary because I’ve been burned before by super hyped books that I actually didn’t enjoy or like all that much.

When I finally dove in, however, I regretted not reading it sooner! I’ve had a fair bit going on in my life and it’s made me kind of slumpy when it comes to read but Fourth Wing pulled me right out of that and gave me so much joy!

It’s been such a long time since I stayed awake until the early hours reading but Fourth Wing had me doing it several times! I just couldn’t stop reading it and quietly cursing because I LOATHE Dain, okay? I’m sorry but I want to smack him.

Xaden and Violet, however, I LOVED! Violet is such a badass and I was rooting for her the whole way through, she had me quietly cheering so many times at like 2am while Dain just had me cursing him out under my breath. Xaden is just…*chef’s kiss* like he’s got the grouchy mysterious vibes down but I loved watching the relationship develop between he and Violet.

Yeah they had a few deep talks and were mostly giving us all the spice BUT this is book one and there’s some brilliant twists that are going to be brilliant to see play out, especially as to how it may affect their relationship. I’m also slightly concerned that this IS a series and they’re together already because I can’t take another Tamlin style 180, okay? I’m attached to Xaden now, he had so many great lines and swoony scenes!

Like I said, I’ve been kind of in a reading slump a lot and I can’t really do the whole chunky fantasy book with the kind of lore and world building that you need to take notes on but Fourth Wing’s world building was excellent!

Yes it’s an intricate world and there’s a lot going on, but the author doesn’t dump it all on you at once it’s kind of parcelled out so I had time to digest things and keep everything straight in my head without feeling overwhelmed or getting confused!

The writing style had me breezing through this and that, coupled with the characters, the action, the drama and the romance had me breezing through this despite the hefty size of it like again…I don’t think I’ve finished a book quite so fast either! I also found myself engaged until the very end with it, after a bit of a wary start from me!

I also loved the pace and I wasn’t expecting to cover so much time in the first book but it was brilliantly done and I loved the characters so much! Except Dain, I’m sorry but he can’t be likeable to me.

The romance was immaculate with the build up and the spice, there’s so many wonderful twists and turns, there’s disability rep which is rare to see in fantasy and I loved every minute of it, and there’s a great combination of action and drama to keep you hooked!

And there’s dragons. How I love the dragons and I have some…theories about Violet’s. I think it’s such a cool take and an interesting system and I just love how snarky they can be!

Yeah, I had a couple of niggles with this like some of the enmity between certain hateful characters and Violet just seemed to be there for the sake of it, and I did cringe a time or two BUT my overall enjoyment of the book far overrides that and I would re-read this several times.

That, coupled with everything I enjoyed and the fact I stayed up until 4am on multiple occasions to keep reading, gives this five stars for me and I’m so glad the sequel is coming out pretty quickly! I can’t wait and I’ll need to book time off to do nothing but read!

A fun romp set in a world of ruthless politics, powerful dragons, and sexy anti-heroes whose glares make you quiver. Can’t wait for the next instalment.

DNF’d half way through, I may give it another go in the future. It’s an incredibly popular title but it felt a little amateur and more of a YA novel with some swearing thrown in, rather than an adult fantasy. I’m not a fan of insta-love and because the initial hatred didn’t feel believable, that’s how the romance felt to me. I did like the introduction of the dragons, their personalities shone through but I haven’t managed to get further in on this first read. I may try again in the future.

One of the best fantasy books you will read all year. The first in a new series that reaches the dizzy heights immediately. You have brutal trials to become a dragon rider. Violet is so much smaller than the others and must outthink them when death is on the line. Xaden is a ruthless wingleader who has much reason to hate her family, but she cannot stay away. The dragons have personalities that steal the show. Many great characters will have you routing for your favourite, and you will wish this story to never end.
Thank you NetGalley and (publisher, Little Brown Book Group) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros 100% lives up to the hype! If you are a romantasy fan, this book with absolutely fill the void in your reader heart! Yarros masterfully weaves a story of action, romance, and intrigue, set against a backdrop of vividly depicted characters and a richly imagined world. The plot twists and turns are both unexpected and satisfying, making it hard to put the book down. With its well-developed characters, emotional depth, and well written prose, "Fourth Wing" is an absolute must-read for spicy romantasy readers!