The Fourth Wing is one of the most hyped books of the year, something which both intrigued me but also made me a little hesitant. Can any book live up their hype?
Unfortunately, for me, on this occasion I’m not convinced.

The pacing for me, was a little off. I mean the last few chapters are intense and action heavy. However this doesn’t feel like a book about dragons, the dragons feel quite sidelined when they should be the most fascinating part of this story. Instead the main focus on this book feels like the romance between Violet and Xadan and it felt too shallow and insta to be invested in. I mean Xadan is 23, I must’ve missed how old Violet is, but these characters navigate like horny 16 year olds. Is this a YA book? I didn’t think it was and the sex scenes and the tone at times made me think it wasn’t, but the ‘romance’ scenes are just a lot “he’s so hot” and then semi-graphic sex. There’s no love or intimacy or tenderness, it’s just lust (feral lust fuelled by their dragons having mate bonded), which is fair enough if it’s treated with that level of animalistic low importance but it’s not, it’s packaged as something more and wastes time in the book which could’ve gone to the dragons, or some of the more interesting characters (Rhiannon, Liam, Mira for example), exploring Violet’s relationship with her mother or action.

The first time these characters have sex it’s because Violet doesn’t want to think, she wants to escape and Xadan is noble for maybe a page about not exploiting the situation before he gives in and has sex, despite only coming to see Violet in her room because he knew she was upset. Then he tells her it’s not serious, “don’t fall for me”, but leaves her flowers (not confusing at all) and we actually get this momentarily empowering moment from Violet where she stands up for herself, telling Xadan that she’s worth more than meaningless sex if he can’t give her more and that he needs to sort it out … and then she’s back basically begging him for sex :/ There’s rarely a time when Xadan isn’t on the page where you won’t hear about how beautiful he is, how sculpted his muscles are, or his ass or how horny he makes Violet, even when she hates him. Likewise in the one chapter we get from Xadan’s perspective, we have to hear how badly he wants to f*ck her. Like c’mon, you’re meant to be grown adults, think with your brains please!!! Violet doesn’t even know Xadan, which she even admits, he’s closed off and secretive. He doesn’t hide that he set off to ruin her, maybe even kill her, when he knew she was joining the quadrant, but it’s totally ok because then he saw her and insta-love got in the way of him torturing a stranger so it’s just glossed over. Violet just goes along with this relationship knowing she is only getting a fraction of this man, and even when he at one point profusely begs for forgiveness for keeping information from her (trying to keep this spoiler free here!!), we then find out a very big thing he kept from her! This is not a healthy relationship at all. The problem is, and maybe this is in part because the mate-bond of their dragons, but there’s rarely a Violet scene without Xadan there, and I wanted to know a Violet who existed without this man as her shadow (no pun).

The characters themselves, I just don’t know. I like Violet, I like that she was positive representation for disability and chronic pain, I like that she was underestimated and tried hardest to prove people wrong. But Violet doesn’t feel a new creation, she’s a typical YA female protagonist. Likewise Xadan is cookie cutter material, he’s tall, tan skin, dark hair, he’s the most beautiful, God like man you will ever know, he smirks, he gives you an annoying nickname that he uses quickly into cringe territory. He’s a brooding bastard who actually has a tortured past and while he’s a jerk to everyone else, if you get under that exterior he’d die for you etc. Throw in a sassy black friend bestie and a bitter male best friend who likes you but doesn’t treat you right (ok understatement there) and it’s a pretty standard set up.

So much happens off the page. You don’t get to truly understand the trials Violet has faced with her pain and disability. The friendship with Dain happens off page, on the page Violet essentially seeks Dain out to use him to survive there. Obv I’m not condoning Dain’s actions at all, but for these childhood best friends who apparently loved each other so much, on the page from the very start you’re not really shown that, it feels one sided until it quickly becomes toxic. Likewise I wanted to understand more of the family dynamic, like Dain, we see type end but don’t feel the beginning of these equally important parts of who Violet is/was.

The dragons though, I loved the dragons. Obviously the best character in this book is Andarna, the adorable good feathertail, she’s an absolute sweetheart. While Tairn is a badass, big and deadly, Andarna was my favourite part in a scene because she’s so kind and brave when she’s so little! Other characters and creatures are introduced in this book and there are scenes where riders work with their dragons, scenes where Violet learns to ride Tairn while considering her chronic pain and joint issues. And, as mentioned earlier, there are some really great battle sequences, it’s just I wanted more dragons, considering their ages, their pasts, differences etc, I wanted to know more about why these 102 offered themselves to bond when so many didn’t and why they chose their riders. I wanted more narratives on other riders speaking with their bonded dragon. I wanted more consistent action instead of it saved for an ending which is VERY busy (brilliant but busy).

In terms of the writing, you can easily sense the direction this book is going in which doesn’t ruin the book but does dim certain decisions a little. The moment they talk about a big black dragon who doesn’t bond with anyone, you just know who it will bond with later, for example. A certain big reveal at the end, I predicted earlier so it didn’t surprise me at all, the actions of other characters ‘revealed’ to us just seem so obvious so I don’t know if the point is Violet is just incredibly stupid (and we’re reassured she isn’t) or the plotting isn’t subtle.

The book is marketed as sexy and deadly, I won’t lie that plenty of people will find the book sexy because it deliberately tries to be. For me personally I need more yearning, more actual love and intimacy, this is sex first, it’s not really fought, it’s not some epic expression of feelings, it’s sex.
Now onto the ‘deadly’ marketing, yes this isn’t scared to kill people - the problem is though, other than one character (who we will NOT talk about because they deserved better how dare you), you don’t care about these characters, you’re not meant to, their deaths are just causalities in war, fodder, statistics. Now maybe that coldness is part of the power, names are listed as deaths who you are never even introduced to as characters, and characters you do know, well the surviving characters recover pretty fast from the instant, very unemotional passing. Like I said, maybe that is the point, but if you don’t care about these people, you don’t really care that they die. It’s not high stakes tension. Of all the characters who play a significant role, only one dies by the end of this book and it’s not until near the end, you’re not that worried about people who matter dying before this moment. Now I say this, this is only book one and there’s still plenty of time for the death toll to change, it’s just that while a lot of people do die in this book, it’s not people you’re made to care about. Apart from one … and it’s still too soon to talk about that.

I want to stress that, while it probably doesn’t read that way, I did enjoy this book. My main issue with this book is just that it isn’t necessarily something different, it’s enjoyable but it doesn’t always feel new. Now I realise that’s the problem with reading a lot of books, you will be able to spot similarities which of course will naturally happen. But after reading Novik’s Temaraire, Game of Thrones, Manon & Abraxos and the thirteen in TOG and a few other YA’s, a lot felt familiar. Divergent was a book that, for maybe the 1st half, felt similar at times:
- the Riders Quadrant is basically Dauntless, even down to you having to prove how fearless you are by entering the complex with a dangerous, vertigo inducing task.
- Violet, like Tris, is also small, underestimated as weak but determined. Like Tris, Violet has a target on her back with the other ‘recruits’, not helped by having high up family. Like in Divergent, they’re pitted against each other, fighting in a ring to show who is strongest and one character, Peter/Jack particularly has it in for Tris/Violet, taunting her about her weakness in the sparring ring. There’s even a points board for the challenges.
- Xadan is Four, Violet’s ‘instructor’ who struggles watching her hurt in training, gives her preferential treatment and extra training, who is scary and intimidating to all who must respect him but she talks back to him and learns his secret soft side as they ultimately grow feelings for each other.
- Knife throwing at which point Violet throws the knives so close to Xadan’s head they brush his ears.
- Capture the flag scene, but this time with a glass egg AND a flag
- “Be brave” when Violet is finding the courage to express her feelings.
- I mean Rhiannon is Christina right??
- What Violet lacks in strength she makes up for in wit and strategising, at one point, like Tris climbing the ferris wheel to get a better look at her surroundings and find what she’s looking for, the equally petite but resourceful Violet climbs a tree to gauge her surroundings before climbing down when she finds what she needs.

I could be just being pedantic at this point and to be honest I think the fact this book has been so hyped up can put it at a disadvantage because you enter with such high standards, expecting something revolutionary. As a reading experience this is an enjoyable book with easy to follow wrong, a reliably likeable protagonist and quality dragon scenes. The romance for me was my biggest issue but I’m sure for others it will be what they most loved about this.
I’m also aware that a lot of my grumbles can easily be resolved in the next book, a lot of is covered in this instalment so possibly we’ll get more narratives and perspectives to come, more delving into how others think, maybe some flashbacks even. Hopefully we also get more solid character development for Violet as an individual, not just as part of a couple and, for that romance, to have the framework built in for something more meaningful.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. I will be continuing with this series to see where it goes.

Although slightly clunky writing in places, all the hype makes total sense- pacy, with cinematic action, characters to root for and a great slow burn romance, plus dragons? A great read, can't wait for the second book, especially after that gasp ending!

Believe it or not, I came across Fourth Wing before the hype. I was on the explore page of Instagram, when I saw the US publisher post the cover along with some buzz words. The buzz words in question were something along the lines of 'dragons, war college, and enemies to lovers' so of course as a fan of all those things I was sold.

When I got accepted to read an e-arc I was excited to dive in, but unfortunately my initial impression wasn't great. The modern day writing style and cringey dialogue didn't fit the fantasy setting. I thought okay this is going to be a DNF, but then after it was released there was all this hype. Hence I decided to give it a second chance to see what all the buzz was about. From having a look online the author's previous books are all romance. She doesn't have a fantasy background and it clearly shows from the lack of world building and writing style. I found the idea of students being able to kill each other without any consequences ridiculous. It seemed like the only reason it was included was to show that it was a brutal fantasy word. It just didn't make sense, especially considering that they needed people for the war effort.

While I admit that chapter 30 was well written I wasn't invested in the romance between Violet and Xaden at all. They hardly knew each other and there was no build up, it was just Violet constantly thinking about how hot Xaden was. Also, I know Xaden calling the mc, Violence, was meant to be cute but it didn't make sense as she wasn't violent. I mean, she was reluctant to kill or harm her peers.

Speaking of the romance, the love interest, Xaden, is a POC and this has been confirmed by the author. The fact that she had to state this and that there has been fan art casting him as white says it all. The words she used to describe him such as tawny and bronze brings to mind a tanned white person, so to me, it doesn't feel like a case of white washing. The fan art of Violet's best friend, Rhiannon, on the other hand have been of a black girl, and this is because she is described in a way that leaves no doubt i.e., the colour of her skin is stated clearly. None of this bronze/tawny nonsense.

On a more positive note I liked the main character, Violet. I can't help but root for an underdog and I appreciated how she used her intelligence and her background as a scribe to her advantage. Though I will say that the fact that the end of her hair is silver made me roll my eyes. Moving on to the secondary characters. Apart from Rhiannon and Liam the secondary character lacked depth, they honestly just felt like place holders. We were only given one characteristic about them, for example, that Ridoc was funny, and that's it.

Ultimately, this felt like watching an episode of my favourite trash TV franchise, The Real Housewives. It was a fun and entertaining time and the sequel, at least, I will likely read. The rest of the books, since there is going to be five apparently, I highly doubt I'll pick up.

If you want a good dragon book with morally grey characters, political intrigue, and a friends to lovers romance with pining, I would suggest checking out Fireborne by Rosaria Munda.

2023 has definitely been Fourth Wing Fever! Honestly, this book seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere. I heard about it on Instagram maybe a week or two before it released, when a friend of mine entered a competition to win the UK ARC bundle. Right from that moment I thought this book sounded perfect for me… I mean, hello! There’s dragons! What more do I possibly need? Then release day hit and this book was EVERYWHERE! So I had to know what the fuss was about. Well when I thought this book would be perfect for me, I couldn’t have been more correct! This book is like if someone asked me what all my favourite things are and they rolled them up together and presented this book to me! I freaking adored every single moment!

Fourth Wing follows the story of Violet, the daughter of an Empyrean general. Her mother will accept nothing less than her children following in her footsteps and becoming dragon riders… it doesn’t matter that Violet has a chronic health issue which would make it a million times more dangerous for her. Violet has been brought up knowing what to expect, and knowing everything that goes on in Basgiath… but as Violet goes through her training to be a dragon rider, she discovers that all is not as it seems, and surviving just became the least of her worries.

I fucking loved everything about this book! If you’re an avid watcher of TikTok, I did do many videos about my thoughts and how they changed as I went through this book, so if you are so inclined you can find the link to that on the side bar if you are reading this on my blog, or in my bio if you are reading this on social media. Fourth Wing gave me Divergent feels. It’s like Divergent but with higher stakes… and dragons! What more could you possibly want?

I absolutely loved Violet. It was so refreshing for me to see a main character who has a chronic illness, but she is determined not to let it stop her. Violet is such a strong character, but she has physical weaknesses and I loved that. You see so many heroines in books like this who have such physical strength and show no physical weakness that I loved having this different kind of strength evident in this one. Xaden is just utterly perfect. Right from the moment he was introduced I was obsessed with him. I loved everything about him, and I loved how he never viewed Violet as weak… unlike SOMEONE (if you know, you know).

Fourth Wing was perfect. It was fast paced and did a perfect job of building up the world without us feeling bogged down by it. Rebecca Yarros wrote this absolutely perfectly, and right from the start she had me living in this world. I fell in love, I got excited and obsessed… and I cried my eyes out. It was just utterly perfect. The ending was intense and amazing, and has got me so excited for book 2. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book! This is without a doubt the best book I have read so far this year! I loved every second, and recommend it to absolutely everyone. This book is perfection!

We're only halfway through the year and I can already tell that this is one of my top books of 2023, it's everything I love about fantasies and more. I'm not sure how I'm going to wait until November to read Iron Flame... I need more of Violet and Xaden and Tairn and everyone!! and that ending!! I genuinely sat there jaw-dropped & speechless just processing that ending for a good 5 minutes after reading.

I hate to compare it to other books, but in my head it definitely gives me Game of Thrones meets The Hunger Games vibes in the best possible way. I loved the brutality of the war college and complexities of magic and dragon bonding - the stakes always felt so real, I was hooked from beginning to end.

I could write paragraph after paragraph talking about how much I love this book and all of the individual characters and the DRAGONS wow... the whole dragon bonding / mind & magic connection was so creative and well-thought out. I think I experienced every possible emotion reading this, especially in the last 100 or so pages! I can't cope!

I thought the duality of Xaden and Dairn's connection with Violet was really interesting, how one character does what he thinks is best for her (regardless of Violet's own thoughts/opinions) and essentially trying to shield her from the real world, and then the other letting her live as her true self and become strong and independent. I thought that was so well written, because it wasn't a simple "we hate this character but love this character" like you can get in some romance books.

Violet has been one of my favourite characters to read, if for nothing else than for her chronic illness representation and seeing her continue to fight and stand up for herself. I loved her friendships with her squadmates as well, with the moments of humour and ordinary conversations interspersed throughout that almost made you forget they were battling to make it through a deadly war college.

I'm not even going to touch on Xaden and Violet or I would be here all day. All I'll say is that it was one of my favourite 'enemies to lovers' I've ever read, because the enemies aspect was so genuine and heartbreaking for so many reasons, and it developed at the perfect pace.

Awesome! Phenomenal . . . truly remarkable and amazingly unpredictable
Fourth wing was the best read so far of 2023!
An absolute corker . . . totally engrossing and superbly written ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is everything the hype suggests it is. It builds and builds to a crescendo which does not disappoint and leaves you just wanting more. The characters are brilliant with angst, love, and bravery. The dragons are magnificent and you pull for them through all the tasks and battles, its a wonderful dragon ride. The power of the romance between the 2 main characters is done with intense feeling and left me breathless. From the moment I read the last page I would have been happy to read it over and over again.

The hype is real. Whilst I could go on about on about how much I love this book. Its the kind of tale in which you simply fall into the pages, and when you suddenly look up its 3am in the morning and you can't believe how much time has passed you by.

But what I want to focus on the disability rep and how expertly it is showcased and interwoven into the tale. Yes, this is a tale about dragons and their riders but the way the main characters disability is explored is utter perfection and so many of us are going to find ourselves within the pages. The disability is perfectly interwoven, there isn't a place within the tale that its inclusion doesn't fit and mirror the day to day feelings or issues felt by the disabled community. Violet's disability affects not only her actions but the actions of those around her, in a way that many will relate to. Despite how others may see her, Violet knows her worth she has a strong sense of self and works harder than those around her.

Overall, my heart is filled with joy to see such an incredible representation.

I did it. I gave in to the hype and b o y am I glad I did. I am now officially Fourth Wing trash and I have no regrets. I need the sequel like yesterday,

I feel like I am part of a very small minority that absolutely hated this one.
Unfortuneately all the characters apart from a few main ones were just there to either make the main character look cool or special or just to die. There was no feeling of a world beyond what these characters were doing. Also the main character was such a pick me girl. Ooh Im so small and skinny, whatever will I do.
Yeah I was mostly just annoyed by the whole thing and had to dnf pretty quickly

I'm always a bit wary when I read something like TikTok-blah-blah as it could be an excellent story or one I'm going to hate (a sola like we say in Italian9
I was expecting a sort of romantic cross between The Dragonriders of Pern and House of Dragons but it was something else.
It's an entertaining and light romantic fantasy that I enjoyed but didn't love.
Violet coud become a very strong characters and I'm curious about her future.
The world building and the plot are well done.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a solid fantasy YA/NA novel, with an engaging plot and characters, plus dragons, which is always great. Do I believe it necessarily deserves all the hype it's getting? No. But it was a very enjoyable read, with a touch of spice and enough of a storyline to make me want to come back for more when the next one is released.

Infinity/5 stars.

Believe the hype and go read this book, immediately. I don’t think I’ve been this invested in a book since reading the hunger games/divergent in my teens.

Dragons ✅
Enemies to lovers ✅
Action packed ✅
DRAGONS ✅✅✅

Firstly I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC 😍😘

Fourth Wing Violet Sorrengail has spent her life preparing to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living in the library almost the books (😍😍) but the commanding general, who also happens to be her mother, has other ideas. All Sorrengail’s go into The Riders Quadrant, Violets sister is there already and her late brother before her and, now it seems, Violet will be joining them.

Soon Violet finds out just how much everyone wants to succeed in The Riders Quadrant. With less dragons willing to bond than riders in the quadrant some cadets would rather kill other cadets to help their chances than fail and Violet already has the odds stacked against her being differently-abled. Instead of giving up she works out alternative ways of completing trials. Being her mothers daughter is also something that she has to contend with but she’s a fighter and soon she cements her place there.

I don’t want to go on with the synopsis too much in my review because I feel like it’ll give a little too much away ❤️❤️ I will say that Fourth Wing really does have everything!! An absolutely amazing story, phenomenal characters, brilliant repartee between them, all the romance and spice you need and dragons of course!! I mean come on, it’s just magnificent!! All the characters have their own interests so Violet has an eye on everyone all the time, it makes everything feel so urgent. She just doesn’t know who to trust which makes her relationship with Xaden so insanely exciting!!

Fourth Wing is an incredible read. It really does live up to the hype, If I could give it 10000000✨ I would 😂❤️ This book means the world to me and I really hope you pick it up 🥰❤️

Incredible, showstopper, insanely good. I loved this from start to finish. Truly a masterpiece of fantasy romance!

An action packed fantasy romance book…with dragons!

Fourth wing follows the journey of a young girl names Violet, as she trains to become a dragon rider. During this deadly journey, Violet must outsmart opponents, make alliances and choose who she can trust with her heart.

This had everything I want from a romantasy book and is (so far) my favourite read of 2023. I was unable to put it down and had such a fun time with it!

Despite this, the book is not faultless. The world building is not good, do not be expecting epic high fantasy world building in Fourth Wing.
Additionally, in parts, the writing is not fantastic and can be distracting from the story.

Well, there's not much I can say about Fourth Wing that hasn't already been said. This book was well worth the hype, I loved every single page. Wait - that's a lie. There's a certain death in this book that had me angry/sad/mourning and I am still thinking about it. @ Rebecca Yarros that was incredibly cruel and I wish for you to somehow undo it in the sequel, please and thank you.

This book was incredibly well-paced! I was hooked all the way through, so much was happening without it feeling rushed or too jam-packed. I think it was all very well-balanced (is this a Parapet pun?).

I loved the characters (not you @ Dain) so much. And the dragons! Tairn and Adarna were iconic, I loved how different they were, but both so protective over Violet. The interactions they had (+Xaden) were some of my favourite scenes.

This was an action-packed adventure with political intrigue and mystery. I loved the theme of discovering the truth, and how history is often manipulated to influence the present/future. I liked how this was a story of perseverance and learning about who you are and what you stand for, and I loved the aspects of found family.

Hell yes - this is totally worth the hype! A Court of Thorns and Roses with Dragons adding a sprinkle of Divergent and The Hunger Games with lashings of political high fantasy goodness with the most fabulous chronic illness rep!

I’m always cautious when a book has this amount of hype. Will it live up to it? Or will it disappoint? The hype for Fourth Wing has been LITERALLY impossible to ignore and after seeing absolutely zero negative reviews about this book, I went into it with a pretty open mind. From the very beginning, it’s easy to see why this look is so loved. The prose and the storyline feel effortlessly deep, the characters are depth full and well rounded, the whole thing is immersive. An epic high fantasy with dragons, intense trials and drama. It’s addictive! I completely understand why everyone is yelling about this book and this is definitely a new, but permanent staple must read in its genre!

Aaaah. This book kept me up on many late nights. A disabled protagonist goes to murder school to learn how to ride and fight on the back of dragons! I loved the representation, I loved the tense scenes and the cliffhangers at the end of some of the chapters. And more than anything, I loved the moments that just make you go "What?!". It was gripping, entertaining and very emotional.

I have to talk more about the representation in this book. Violet has some kind of chronic condition that she has from childhood. I'm not sure exactly what it's based on, but it effects her strength and muscles and means she's not as strong as the other riders. So she has to work about 4 times as hard as her classmates. It was the perfect balance of the realities of disabilities while still doing a plot that intense. I loved it.

The audio was good. I really liked the voice actress who played Violet, but she didn't stand out much in my head. She did the job well and read the book, but I probably won't seek out other stuff read by her specifically.

My only problem with this book is for a school where everyone's meant to be trying to kill one another, Violet wasn't actually attacked that much. It didn't feel as dangerous as we were being told. Other than that though, it was pretty perfect!!

Definitely one to add to your to read lists!!