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The Empyrean #1
Fourth Wing
Goodreads Choice Award
Winner for Readers' Favorite Romantasy (2023)Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders...
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die
517 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2023
About the author
Rebecca Yarros
51 books114k followersRebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.
Want to know about Rebecca’s next release? Check her out online at www.rebeccayarros.com.
Want to know about Rebecca’s next release? Check her out online at www.rebeccayarros.com.
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June 28, 2024
#3 Reread - November 2023 - ೃ⁀➷ 5 stars
Fourth wing
(noun) my favourite hello and my hardest goodbye…
*
#2 Reread - August 2023 - ೃ⁀➷ 5+ stars
. . . Mrs Yarros, hmu if u run out of creative ways to carry out dainty boys death trope, I’ve got some amazing ideas. I’ll do u and everyone proud <333
Also everything from my first review still stands 😌👑
Also pt.2, yes. . . Yes, the ending still hurtWORSE the second time around 🥰🥰🔫🔫
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
#𝟭 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 - 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 - ೃ⁀➷ 𝟱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀
TO ANYONE LISTENING YOU NEED TO GO INTO THIS BOOK AS BLIND AS POSSIBLE I PROMISE ITS GONNA ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE TENFOLD. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT THIS WILL BE YOUR NEW FAV BOOK FOREVER <3
But for everyone else who needs to know…
Here’s a quick rundown of the book:
it’s about the daughter of a high-ranked general, Violet, getting ordered into learning how to become a dragon rider (but she doesn’t initially want to bc all she’s known are books her entire life) and so she commits to basgiath War collage where she goes through trials designed to root out the weak. She has to figure out how to best everyone and weaponise her strengths. While navigating her feelings for a certain forbidden boi. There’s romance AND (back arching) spice with sparks and tension galore. Also for everyone wondering, the ending isn’t that bad. It’s more of a promising cliffhanger. Makes you feel hopeful rather than making you want to crash and burn everything in your line of sight lmao.
*
I’m sorry in advance bc this review is gonna be gigantisaourus*wags brows* do you see what I did there?
It’s been ages since I’ve loved all the MCs in a book so I deserve to go crazy on the fangirling, leave me alone 🙏
This book. THIS BOOK- It gives you EVERYTHING you crave in romantasy. The drama, the characters, the plot, the action, the betrayal, the romance, the tension, THE HOPE THAT THERE ARE STILL AMAZING BOOKS OUT THERE IN THE WORLD-
AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER- There is not a single dry page. Not one. It constantly stimulates your imagination. And there aren’t the usual boring unnecessary bs conversations happening, they’re almost always full of banter and in every chapter, something is happening. It’s fast-paced and that’s something I ADORE about this book.
BUT CAN WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE FUCKING TENSION PLS?? The addictive chemistry between XadenVi will chew you up, eat you alive and then shit you out, effectively altering the composition of your DNA forevermore 😩❤️🩹
The dialogue in this book is so yummy istg I was always giggling and kicking my feet whenever the MCs would interact 🤭💗🦋 they’re both sarcastic funny smart and complement each other sm. I’m telling you this book never left me wanting for anything. There was never a time when I was like ugh the MCs hardly interact or wtv. There’s a perfect amount of every aspect in this book, I’ll never be able to get over it.
While reading, it leaves you feeling as though you’ve lost a limb whenever you have to remove yourself from the book to carry out the most trivial inconvenience like feeding and hydrating yourself 😤🔪 I'm telling you this book is the only sustenance I need to keep me alive 🙏
Violet is me. I am Violet. We are one.
No bc she is the most relatable character I’ve read in a long ass time. The way she is so reasonable, empathetic and HAS INTEGRITY. She’s not a pushover. She knows her mind and isn’t afraid to speak it when she feels the need to. There’s no ‘my body is betraying me’ bullshit. Not in this house. I’m in LOVE with violet sfmmm. She owns her feelings and demands what she’s owed. And when Xaden challenges her but she takes it as an incentive to poke and tease him back tenfold is ✨💗🦋🤌
Watching her grow and become stronger was one of the most satisfying things about this book. Her character development was elite. She never changed her morals but she always adapts and moves on quickly and I cannot stress enough hm I love that about her.
There wasn’t a single moment where I was annoyed at her for being hardheaded. She’s strategic but also carefree. She behaved like a normal 20-year-old would, not older/younger.
XADEN is such a seductive menace but he’s MY precious seductive menace.
He's always up for a challenge and he SERVES every freaking time. I love everything he has to say. He’s such a lil softy when it comes down to it. Him showing his love through his actions and constantly challenging Vi to do better?? It’s the way he never coddles her but also shaves years off his life, worrying about her safety for me 🥹💗🙏😩🦋💞✨🧸
I’m always waiting on hands and feet for any interaction with him whether it be his glares 🤭
theirnot so short glances across the classroom 💞
his sarcastic quips 💅
him being a brooding surly grump😩
him being lethally calm 👑
him obsessed with her every move 🙏💗
Him telling her not to look at him like that bc he only has sm restraint?? 🤌❤️🔥 (I have to note that Lance did it better sksksksk) BUT EVERYTHING HE DOES IS HOT PLS-
The way I fell for him the first moment he was described?? Everyone is saying how he’s like this guy or that guy from this book and that and I’m just here like idc if he was an amalgamation of every MMC I love?? I DONT CARE BECAUSE IT MADE ME LOVE HIM EVEN MORE 👏 I respect Rebecca for plucking the best traits of every fantasy MMC, like don’t be shy put some more 💀✋
And there are the dragons but all you need to know is that each one has their personality. They rule themselves. They're the real legends here. And the way this author has weaved them into the book is just MWAH *chefs kiss*
The found family in this book is the most precious thing ever. I loved to read how they’re bonded together and I can see that each relationship has the potential to grow into something really special ugh I cannot wait for the next books 😩
Okay SPOILERS ahead!! bc your girl gotta scream <33
-
-
-
When Tairn came out of wherever tf he was hiding I was screaming and legit shaking from the adrenaline. I’m still having a hard time accepting how good this book is! I thought she would only get Andarna and I was kinda disappointed bc the moment Tairn got mentioned in that lesson I JUMPED ON THE IDEA OF HIM SO FAST YOU DONT UNDERSTAND. But when he came to save her and Goldie AND THEN SPOKE TO HER IN HER MIND?? I BROKE DOWN AND HOWLED. SO. FUCKING. LOUD.
And then Andarna was like “TELL HER MY NAME AS WELL” and I’m- *passes out from yelling so much*
I LOVE ANDARNA SFMMM SHES THE MOST ADORABLE CUTE LITTLE SUNSHINE IVE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE TO READ ABOUT 🥹🫂💗😫💞🧸 The light of my life I’m telling you. she must be protected at all costs. (But omg at the end Xaden was like Goldie’s gone huge and I’m here like oop- I NEED TO SEE HER RFN)
I love how Tairn is a dad adjacent to Violet 🙏 he’s my grumpiest overprotective pookie 🤭💗with STRONG feelings for his mate skskdhjd (I’m kinda jelly of Sgaeyl ngl)
ALSO HOW FUCKING DARE YOU REBECCA!! You ripped my heart out of my chest, gave it a thousand paper cuts and flung it into a volcano for good measure. Liam's death BROKE me🔪 I cried too many fat ugly tears 😭 it was unbearable *shaky breath* but when XADEN found out and cried the cry of all cries?!? Me: (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) X 100
And the fact that her brother is alive made me do a lap around my garden from sheer satisfaction bc I WAS FUCKING RIGHT. 15% in I guessed that he would be alive but he’ll be part of the “wrong” side of the war and it’s been kept a secret bc of the shame/treason and AHHH *does cheerleader flip and cartwheel*
And Dain?? That pussy ass lil BITCHHHH- I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to let you know hm I feel about him. He’s basically Adam from shatter me, and fml bc my reread is just gonna be me wanting to rip his spine out and strangling him w it whenever he speaks 😃🔫
But when that inntinnsic called his every thought out to the crowd it was the most hilarious shit ever pls 💀 he’s so pathetic.
SPOILERS OVER
One thing I have to say is that this book is not perfect. The action aspect of the book gets a LOT better towards the end imo but the start was a little rusty and needed some finesse but idc idc I’ll take it, faults and all. After all, I’m a character development lover so I can overlook it.
BUT THE WORLD BUILDING IS- ヽ(♡‿♡)ノOml the way this author writes leaves you ON THE EDGE WHITE KNUCKLING YOUR SEAT GASPING SHAKING SCREAMING bc you have no idea what will happen next.
IT'S THE BIGGEST FLEX TO NOT ONLY OUTDO THE OGS BUT TO EXCEL PHENOMENALLYYYYY AT IT AS WELL 💅✨ REBECCA YAROS YOU ARE AN ICON BC I GOBBLED UP EVERY SCENE EVERY CHAPTER EVERY WORD.
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I think it’s become my favourite fantasy book ever. Maybe joint place with ZA and that’s a huge deal 🙏
𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7pV...
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: I HAVE 324 HIGHLIGHTS IN TOTAL TF!
“Stay the hell away from Xaden Riorson.”
“Why would I waste my energy killing you when the parapet will do it for me?” A wicked smile curves his lips.
~HES PERFECT 😭🙏💗🤭🦋💞✨🤌
“Now, get back to bed before your wingleader realizes you’re out after curfew.”
“What?” I gawk after him. “You’re my wingleader!”
“Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”
“You don’t think you’ll need those?” I ask, palming my own blades. His chest is massive, with wide shoulders and heavily muscled arms alongside. A target this big should be easy to hit.
“Nope. Not when you brought enough for the both of us.” A wicked smile curves his mouth as he stretches out his hand and curls his fingers in a come-hither motion. “Let’s go.”
~the scream I scrumpt
“Going for blood today, are we, Violence?” he whispers.
“I just need to know what my chances are here.” My hands curl into fists.
The ass has the nerve to smile. “That’s the oddest way I’ve ever been hit on—”
“Not my chances with you, you conceited prick!”
~HAHAHHAHA I LOVE HIM SFMMMM
“I catch Jack Barlowe running a finger across his neck at me. So original. “
~Lmaooo i love Violet
“Chest heaving, my lungs desperate for air, I chance a look over my shoulder to see why Tynan’s retreating.
And my heart lurches into my throat.”
~ I LITERALLY JUST SCREAMED MY HEAD OFF IM ACTUALLY SHAKING SFM MY PHONE JUST FELL OUT OF MY HANDS HAHA IM IN FUCKING BLISS AAAHHHH IVE WANTED THIS SINCE IT WAS MENTIONED AKDGJEJDHEIRNDYRS YES YES YES I LOVE THIS FOR HER OMG SHES GOT THE BEST ONE QKSGJDUEE HE CHOSE HERRRRR GUENDUDNVD
“Step aside, Silver One,” a deep, gruff, definitely male voice orders.
I blink. Wait. What? Did he just speak to me?
“Yes. You. Move.”
~AHAAHHHHHHHHEEEEEHEHHHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEM OMGOMGOMGOMGOMV GUEGSUBEJDHRIR IM SCREAMING WITH THE BIGGEST FUCKING GRIN ON MY FACE OMFDSSSSBFUFHIFHFIRURKFHJFJTJR
“You’re making us look bad. Stop it.”
I LOVE HIM HAHAH
“You’re freakishly calm for someone who just heard she’s about to be hunted.”
“It’s a typical Wednesday for me.”
~she really out here calling it fan behaviour ✨💅👸
“You’ll have to—”
“I know how to handle a corset.”
~Scream scream screammmmmm
“Have you always been this tall?” I blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
“No. I was a child at some point.”
~BAHAHAHHA I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT OMF 💀💀
“Fuck it.”
~IM SAT IM SAT IM SAT
“Interesting. I didn’t take you for an exhibitionist.”
“Keep pushing, and I guess you’ll find out.” His gaze drops to my mouth.
~YOOOO IM HOWLINGGG THIS SCENE IS SCRUMPTIOUS
“Fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.”
“So then why are you here, Xaden?”
“Because I can’t seem to stay away.”
~STOP IT RFN
“Fuck, I’m never going to get enough of you, am I?”
“Only within these walls,” he says quietly, and I understand what he means.
~sobbing
“You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” I lean in and kiss the scar on his eyebrow. “It will be tomorrow when you wake up.”
“I don’t deserve you.” His arm curls around my hips and he tugs me closer. “But I’m going to keep you all the same.”
“You have everything I have to give.”
“I fucking love your hair. If you ever want to bring me to my knees or win an argument, just let it down. I’ll get the point.”
~just stab me in the chest already
Seconds later, his soundless, soul-rending scream fills my head with such force that my heart shatters like glass against a stone floor.
~I’m sobbing fat ugly tears rn 😭 DAIN WAS RIGHT FUCKING THERE?!!! WHYYYYYY 🔪
“(…) just grins and opens his arms.”
~I WAS RIGHT I FUCKING KNEW IT
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
Divergent
Zodiac Academy
Harry Potter
ACOTAR
***
1 hr post losing a limb - how do I move on?? My heart my brain my soul wont let me even THINK about anything other than XadenViDiaries… 😭❤️🩹
***
5/5/23 — I’m halfway through the book and if you want a measurement of how obsessed I alr am… I’ve kept the map for this world as my home screen, Pinterest boards galore, made a Spotify playlist, 135 highlights and again- I’m only halfway through this book!
My obsession is just a Fetus atm and I'm scared of the monster this book is gonna give birth to once I’ve finished 💀🤡🙏
Fourth wing
(noun) my favourite hello and my hardest goodbye…
*
#2 Reread - August 2023 - ೃ⁀➷ 5+ stars
. . . Mrs Yarros, hmu if u run out of creative ways to carry out dainty boys death trope, I’ve got some amazing ideas. I’ll do u and everyone proud <333
Also everything from my first review still stands 😌👑
Also pt.2, yes. . . Yes, the ending still hurt
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
#𝟭 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 - 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 - ೃ⁀➷ 𝟱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀
TO ANYONE LISTENING YOU NEED TO GO INTO THIS BOOK AS BLIND AS POSSIBLE I PROMISE ITS GONNA ENHANCE THE EXPERIENCE TENFOLD. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT THIS WILL BE YOUR NEW FAV BOOK FOREVER <3
But for everyone else who needs to know…
Here’s a quick rundown of the book:
it’s about the daughter of a high-ranked general, Violet, getting ordered into learning how to become a dragon rider (but she doesn’t initially want to bc all she’s known are books her entire life) and so she commits to basgiath War collage where she goes through trials designed to root out the weak. She has to figure out how to best everyone and weaponise her strengths. While navigating her feelings for a certain forbidden boi. There’s romance AND (back arching) spice with sparks and tension galore. Also for everyone wondering, the ending isn’t that bad. It’s more of a promising cliffhanger. Makes you feel hopeful rather than making you want to crash and burn everything in your line of sight lmao.
*
I’m sorry in advance bc this review is gonna be gigantisaourus
It’s been ages since I’ve loved all the MCs in a book so I deserve to go crazy on the fangirling, leave me alone 🙏
This book. THIS BOOK- It gives you EVERYTHING you crave in romantasy. The drama, the characters, the plot, the action, the betrayal, the romance, the tension, THE HOPE THAT THERE ARE STILL AMAZING BOOKS OUT THERE IN THE WORLD-
AND IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER- There is not a single dry page. Not one. It constantly stimulates your imagination. And there aren’t the usual boring unnecessary bs conversations happening, they’re almost always full of banter and in every chapter, something is happening. It’s fast-paced and that’s something I ADORE about this book.
BUT CAN WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE FUCKING TENSION PLS?? The addictive chemistry between XadenVi will chew you up, eat you alive and then shit you out, effectively altering the composition of your DNA forevermore 😩❤️🩹
The dialogue in this book is so yummy istg I was always giggling and kicking my feet whenever the MCs would interact 🤭💗🦋 they’re both sarcastic funny smart and complement each other sm. I’m telling you this book never left me wanting for anything. There was never a time when I was like ugh the MCs hardly interact or wtv. There’s a perfect amount of every aspect in this book, I’ll never be able to get over it.
While reading, it leaves you feeling as though you’ve lost a limb whenever you have to remove yourself from the book to carry out the most trivial inconvenience like feeding and hydrating yourself 😤🔪 I'm telling you this book is the only sustenance I need to keep me alive 🙏
Violet is me. I am Violet. We are one.
No bc she is the most relatable character I’ve read in a long ass time. The way she is so reasonable, empathetic and HAS INTEGRITY. She’s not a pushover. She knows her mind and isn’t afraid to speak it when she feels the need to. There’s no ‘my body is betraying me’ bullshit. Not in this house. I’m in LOVE with violet sfmmm. She owns her feelings and demands what she’s owed. And when Xaden challenges her but she takes it as an incentive to poke and tease him back tenfold is ✨💗🦋🤌
Watching her grow and become stronger was one of the most satisfying things about this book. Her character development was elite. She never changed her morals but she always adapts and moves on quickly and I cannot stress enough hm I love that about her.
There wasn’t a single moment where I was annoyed at her for being hardheaded. She’s strategic but also carefree. She behaved like a normal 20-year-old would, not older/younger.
XADEN is such a seductive menace but he’s MY precious seductive menace.
He's always up for a challenge and he SERVES every freaking time. I love everything he has to say. He’s such a lil softy when it comes down to it. Him showing his love through his actions and constantly challenging Vi to do better?? It’s the way he never coddles her but also shaves years off his life, worrying about her safety for me 🥹💗🙏😩🦋💞✨🧸
I’m always waiting on hands and feet for any interaction with him whether it be his glares 🤭
their
his sarcastic quips 💅
him being a brooding surly grump😩
him being lethally calm 👑
him obsessed with her every move 🙏💗
Him telling her not to look at him like that bc he only has sm restraint?? 🤌❤️🔥 (I have to note that Lance did it better sksksksk) BUT EVERYTHING HE DOES IS HOT PLS-
The way I fell for him the first moment he was described?? Everyone is saying how he’s like this guy or that guy from this book and that and I’m just here like idc if he was an amalgamation of every MMC I love?? I DONT CARE BECAUSE IT MADE ME LOVE HIM EVEN MORE 👏 I respect Rebecca for plucking the best traits of every fantasy MMC, like don’t be shy put some more 💀✋
And there are the dragons but all you need to know is that each one has their personality. They rule themselves. They're the real legends here. And the way this author has weaved them into the book is just MWAH *chefs kiss*
The found family in this book is the most precious thing ever. I loved to read how they’re bonded together and I can see that each relationship has the potential to grow into something really special ugh I cannot wait for the next books 😩
Okay SPOILERS ahead!! bc your girl gotta scream <33
-
-
-
When Tairn came out of wherever tf he was hiding I was screaming and legit shaking from the adrenaline. I’m still having a hard time accepting how good this book is! I thought she would only get Andarna and I was kinda disappointed bc the moment Tairn got mentioned in that lesson I JUMPED ON THE IDEA OF HIM SO FAST YOU DONT UNDERSTAND. But when he came to save her and Goldie AND THEN SPOKE TO HER IN HER MIND?? I BROKE DOWN AND HOWLED. SO. FUCKING. LOUD.
And then Andarna was like “TELL HER MY NAME AS WELL” and I’m- *passes out from yelling so much*
I LOVE ANDARNA SFMMM SHES THE MOST ADORABLE CUTE LITTLE SUNSHINE IVE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE TO READ ABOUT 🥹🫂💗😫💞🧸 The light of my life I’m telling you. she must be protected at all costs. (But omg at the end Xaden was like Goldie’s gone huge and I’m here like oop- I NEED TO SEE HER RFN)
I love how Tairn is a dad adjacent to Violet 🙏 he’s my grumpiest overprotective pookie 🤭💗with STRONG feelings for his mate skskdhjd (I’m kinda jelly of Sgaeyl ngl)
ALSO HOW FUCKING DARE YOU REBECCA!! You ripped my heart out of my chest, gave it a thousand paper cuts and flung it into a volcano for good measure. Liam's death BROKE me🔪 I cried too many fat ugly tears 😭 it was unbearable *shaky breath* but when XADEN found out and cried the cry of all cries?!? Me: (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) X 100
And the fact that her brother is alive made me do a lap around my garden from sheer satisfaction bc I WAS FUCKING RIGHT. 15% in I guessed that he would be alive but he’ll be part of the “wrong” side of the war and it’s been kept a secret bc of the shame/treason and AHHH *does cheerleader flip and cartwheel*
And Dain?? That pussy ass lil BITCHHHH- I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to let you know hm I feel about him. He’s basically Adam from shatter me, and fml bc my reread is just gonna be me wanting to rip his spine out and strangling him w it whenever he speaks 😃🔫
But when that inntinnsic called his every thought out to the crowd it was the most hilarious shit ever pls 💀 he’s so pathetic.
SPOILERS OVER
One thing I have to say is that this book is not perfect. The action aspect of the book gets a LOT better towards the end imo but the start was a little rusty and needed some finesse but idc idc I’ll take it, faults and all. After all, I’m a character development lover so I can overlook it.
BUT THE WORLD BUILDING IS- ヽ(♡‿♡)ノOml the way this author writes leaves you ON THE EDGE WHITE KNUCKLING YOUR SEAT GASPING SHAKING SCREAMING bc you have no idea what will happen next.
IT'S THE BIGGEST FLEX TO NOT ONLY OUTDO THE OGS BUT TO EXCEL PHENOMENALLYYYYY AT IT AS WELL 💅✨ REBECCA YAROS YOU ARE AN ICON BC I GOBBLED UP EVERY SCENE EVERY CHAPTER EVERY WORD.
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
I think it’s become my favourite fantasy book ever. Maybe joint place with ZA and that’s a huge deal 🙏
𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7pV...
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: I HAVE 324 HIGHLIGHTS IN TOTAL TF!
“Stay the hell away from Xaden Riorson.”
“Why would I waste my energy killing you when the parapet will do it for me?” A wicked smile curves his lips.
~HES PERFECT 😭🙏💗🤭🦋💞✨🤌
“Now, get back to bed before your wingleader realizes you’re out after curfew.”
“What?” I gawk after him. “You’re my wingleader!”
“Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”
“You don’t think you’ll need those?” I ask, palming my own blades. His chest is massive, with wide shoulders and heavily muscled arms alongside. A target this big should be easy to hit.
“Nope. Not when you brought enough for the both of us.” A wicked smile curves his mouth as he stretches out his hand and curls his fingers in a come-hither motion. “Let’s go.”
~the scream I scrumpt
“Going for blood today, are we, Violence?” he whispers.
“I just need to know what my chances are here.” My hands curl into fists.
The ass has the nerve to smile. “That’s the oddest way I’ve ever been hit on—”
“Not my chances with you, you conceited prick!”
~HAHAHHAHA I LOVE HIM SFMMMM
“I catch Jack Barlowe running a finger across his neck at me. So original. “
~Lmaooo i love Violet
“Chest heaving, my lungs desperate for air, I chance a look over my shoulder to see why Tynan’s retreating.
And my heart lurches into my throat.”
~ I LITERALLY JUST SCREAMED MY HEAD OFF IM ACTUALLY SHAKING SFM MY PHONE JUST FELL OUT OF MY HANDS HAHA IM IN FUCKING BLISS AAAHHHH IVE WANTED THIS SINCE IT WAS MENTIONED AKDGJEJDHEIRNDYRS YES YES YES I LOVE THIS FOR HER OMG SHES GOT THE BEST ONE QKSGJDUEE HE CHOSE HERRRRR GUENDUDNVD
“Step aside, Silver One,” a deep, gruff, definitely male voice orders.
I blink. Wait. What? Did he just speak to me?
“Yes. You. Move.”
~AHAAHHHHHHHHEEEEEHEHHHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEM OMGOMGOMGOMGOMV GUEGSUBEJDHRIR IM SCREAMING WITH THE BIGGEST FUCKING GRIN ON MY FACE OMFDSSSSBFUFHIFHFIRURKFHJFJTJR
“You’re making us look bad. Stop it.”
I LOVE HIM HAHAH
“You’re freakishly calm for someone who just heard she’s about to be hunted.”
“It’s a typical Wednesday for me.”
~she really out here calling it fan behaviour ✨💅👸
“You’ll have to—”
“I know how to handle a corset.”
~Scream scream screammmmmm
“Have you always been this tall?” I blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
“No. I was a child at some point.”
~BAHAHAHHA I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT OMF 💀💀
“Fuck it.”
~IM SAT IM SAT IM SAT
“Interesting. I didn’t take you for an exhibitionist.”
“Keep pushing, and I guess you’ll find out.” His gaze drops to my mouth.
~YOOOO IM HOWLINGGG THIS SCENE IS SCRUMPTIOUS
“Fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.”
“So then why are you here, Xaden?”
“Because I can’t seem to stay away.”
~STOP IT RFN
“Fuck, I’m never going to get enough of you, am I?”
“Only within these walls,” he says quietly, and I understand what he means.
~sobbing
“You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” I lean in and kiss the scar on his eyebrow. “It will be tomorrow when you wake up.”
“I don’t deserve you.” His arm curls around my hips and he tugs me closer. “But I’m going to keep you all the same.”
“You have everything I have to give.”
“I fucking love your hair. If you ever want to bring me to my knees or win an argument, just let it down. I’ll get the point.”
~just stab me in the chest already
Seconds later, his soundless, soul-rending scream fills my head with such force that my heart shatters like glass against a stone floor.
~I’m sobbing fat ugly tears rn 😭 DAIN WAS RIGHT FUCKING THERE?!!! WHYYYYYY 🔪
“(…) just grins and opens his arms.”
~I WAS RIGHT I FUCKING KNEW IT
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
Divergent
Zodiac Academy
Harry Potter
ACOTAR
***
1 hr post losing a limb - how do I move on?? My heart my brain my soul wont let me even THINK about anything other than XadenViDiaries… 😭❤️🩹
***
5/5/23 — I’m halfway through the book and if you want a measurement of how obsessed I alr am… I’ve kept the map for this world as my home screen, Pinterest boards galore, made a Spotify playlist, 135 highlights and again- I’m only halfway through this book!
My obsession is just a Fetus atm and I'm scared of the monster this book is gonna give birth to once I’ve finished 💀🤡🙏
September 18, 2024
5 stars 🐉
This book is a rollercoaster of twists and had me so hooked from the start! Not once did it feel boring or like I should just skim something, and for once, I know the hype was so worth it! 😩
• Spoilers ahead — and I seriously want y'all to enjoy this book without spoilers
This book is the perfect blend of Fantasy-Romance because it had the spiciest romance scenes with lots of sexual tension and enough twists that will keep you awake the whole night. *Dark circles forming, but anything for XadenVi.*
In the beginning, Karen aka General Sorrengail, forces Violet to join Rider's Quadrant, a place where people become riders and form bonds with dragons. This is in contrast to Violet's original plan of following her father's path and becoming a scribe, responsible for documenting history. This makes her feeling angry and fearful because the decision is up to her mother, and she has no choice but to agree. She wasn't mentally or physically prepared for this challenge and have to do anything to survive.
╰┈➤ VIOLET SORRENGAIL AKA VIOLENCE:
Despite dealing with a chronic illness (ehler's danlos syndrome) and having weak joints, she was incredibly awesome and strong! Her personality was so relatable that I felt connected right away. Her anxieties and fears during challenges in the rider's quadrant, and how she conquered them with her smarts, were truly inspiring. She showed that knowledge is real power! Her rollercoaster of emotions—fear, anger, desire, happiness—kept me amazed. Even when teased and called weak, she never let anyone walk all over her. And fr, I didn't even get that 'oh I'm so tiny and frail' or the 'pick me vibes' as mentioned somewhere because she actually had a illness.
I would've dashed for the hills (or the scribe quadrant in Violet's situation) when every single cadet was dead set on killing me! It was like half luck, and 25% thanks to the dragon scale corset, and another 25% to Violet's intelligence that kept her alive! And - wait XADEN PROTECTED HER WELL TOO! 🤭
╰┈➤ XADEN RIORSON:
Fantasy men are just FINE AF! From the beginning, he exudes a mysterious aura. Despite the stern lines on his face and a SCAR ON HIS LEFT BROW 🥵, he exudes both danger and allure. His character captivates me so deeply that even if I hadn't known he was the mmc, I would have rooted for him.fuck Dain. Xaden comes across as grumpy and ruthless, concealing his emotions behind a stoic facade. However, his interactions with Violet reveal a thoughtful, kind, and trusting side that filled me with so many emotions. It's this side of him that I adore. 💞
He holds the position of the wing leader of FOURTH WING with great authority. His intelligence and power are remarkable, and don't even get me started on the way he walks, talks, and smirks – it leaves me utterly on my knees for him! 🧎♀️His character possesses incredible depth, and I would've loved to have his POV.
He's a shadow wielder, and just by imagining the shadows around him, his rebellion relic, and his scar — I feel something inside of me! 😮💨 REBECCA ADDED EVERY QUALITY TO MAKE HIM THE HOTTEST CHARACTER! 🤭
— Ruthless who? He's such a softie....
🔪 gave Violet training for sparring matches.
🔪 made a saddle for her to be seated on her dragon.
🔪 made a custom dagger for her.
🔪 killed a room full of cadets who tried to kill Violet, just by using his shadows.
🔪 took care of her when she was hurt.
🔪 punished a wing leader who tried to kill Violet.
╰┈➤ DRAGONS:
— So the most sarcasticperson creature award goes to TAIRN! 🫡
God, how much I loved this grumpy broody dragon! He was one of the deadliest and strongest dragons, and he was bonded with none other than Violet! 🤭 His remarks were so sarcastic and savage, and the way he always scoffed and knew about her feelings for Xaden. Hehehe, and he also adores Sgaeyl sm! If he were actually a human, he'd be so grumpy and possessive, I'M TELLING YA'LL! 😂💕
Andarna: This cutie goldie dragon—OMF, she was such a cutie! I loved how optimistic and innocent she actually was and possessed great powers, but she was only 2 years old! And the fact that she's also bonded with Violet 🥺
Sgaeyl: We didn't get much about her, though hopefully in the next book, but I'm so glad she and Tairn are bonded mates! GOD SHE HAS A BRILLIANT TASTE IN MEN. 🥵
— ENEMIES TO LOVERS WHERE HE WANTS TO KILL HER? *Sign me up*
Xaden is the son of Fen Riorson, known as THE GREATEST TRAITOR due to his leadership in a rebellion group. Sadly, this resulted in the execution of all rebel group members in front of their children, who were then marked with a relic symbolizing the rebellion. These children were forcibly placed into the Rider's Quadrant, where they faced the challenge of survival. The overseeing figure during these executions was none other than General Sorrengail (Violet's mother), so they're enemies, and he's the one who's gonnakill handle her. 🤭
The enemies-to-lovers approach in this book was really well done. It felt very realistic and stayed true to the idea that 'children shouldn't be punished for their parents' mistakes.' The kids marked by the relic understood this, and Violet did too. What I especially liked was how Xaden and Violet's relationship grew naturally without being burdened by guilt from their pasts. Even though they weren't enemies for very long, the book didn't rush their journey to becoming lovers. Instead, it skillfully portrayed the gradual development of trust, as well as their decision to let go of their desires, leading them to eventually fall in love. ♥️
Violet was super confused by Xaden's behavior. Rather than harming her, he encouraged her and saw her potential. He treated her as strong, not fragile, which both confused and intrigued her. 😉
After Threshing (where the cadets were bonded with dragons), Violet discovered that Tairn, her dragon, was actually the bonded mate of Sgaeyl, Xaden's dragon. This connection tied the four of them together, and if one of them died, they all would. This meant Xaden couldn't consider killing her anymore, (not that he had intended to in the first place.) 🥹
THE SEXUAL TENSION WAS TENSIONING. 🥵 The sexual tension between them was incredibly strong! The heated lust-filled stares, locking eyes, proximity on mats, and more, yet neither wanted to act on it. Their first kiss was incredibly passionate and I was so giddy at that time. There were 3 graphic scenes but Damn they were HOT AF! 🫣🔥
NOT THEM SHATTERING WINDOWS, BREAKING ARMOIRES AND CHAIRS, BURNING CURTAINS AND FORESTS WHILE DOING ✨IT✨.
╰┈➤ SIDE CHARACTERS:
Rhiannon and Rodic: They were literal babies and I loved how both of them supported Violet! Idk when and how Rodic made his place in my heart but he was so cute. Always adopting humor for every situation and was so calm hehe! 🥺 Am I the only one who wants them together?Like who Tara, Sawyer, or whatever his name is, just give Rhi and Rodic.
Sawyer, Imogen, Bodhi, Garrick, Emery, Heaton: I loved how they all became a squad and clearly I would love more of them!
Mira Sorrengail: This badass cutie, sexy hot, I love her! 🥵 She's so fierce and the best sister ever! 💞
Liam Mairi: WE WERE ROBBED OF HIM. I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET HIM, please he was so precious. 🥺😭 I literally cried so much when he died! I already had a feeling that he might die, but god it was so painful. I was so badly hurt when he died. It was so painful to see him dying and then Xaden calling him Brother. My heart broke! I'm never forgetting that piece of shit Dain.
Dain Aetos: This bitch, this traitor, this asshole, what the fuck! Why did he have to go and pull a full traitor-Adam-Kent behavior like bitch fuck off?? I actually reasoned with him in the start and ignored him because he was just there to discourage Violet and gaslight her again and again by using 'best friend' but he so skillfully and fucked-uply betrayed her. IF HE DIDN'T READ VIOLET'S MEMORIES (by touching her face) and then not telling his father, LIAM WOULD BE FUCKING ALIVE. FUCK OFF, DAINNN. I WISH YOU GET SCORCHED BY TAIRN! 🤢
Jack Barlowe: He was a piece of shit just like Dain and I'm glad he was Violet's first kill, haha served him right! I don't want to give him more importance; he was shit AF! His death was so satisfying 😗🤝🏻
Long-haired Luca and Traitor Tynan getting scorched was the best thing.
General Sorrengail: I dislike her already and I know I'll loathe her in the next books, but the only good thing was she trusted that Violet is capable of becoming a rider.
Syrena (Flier): She's a gryphon rider and had only 2 scenes, but I wish we get to see her in the next books!
— some other things:
1. I literally choked on my laugh when I read about how smartly Violet won all the sparring matches because she poisoned every player with different types of herbs during the match, and her choosing the breakfast duties to add the poisons in their lunch was such a badass move! It's truly proven by Violet that knowledge is power.
2. When Dylan died, my heart just stopped for a moment, and I was so horrified when Aurelie died! (Guess I'm just going to grieve for Liam baby now.)
3. All the challenges gave me Squid Game vibes, like all those tasks just to survive and so many deaths each day! Ugh, It was so fun yet horrifying to read. 🤧
4. "Fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.” — these beautiful words!!?? 🤭
5. I seriously don't even understand how Violet blocked the pain out and got so many stitches every month! I'd already be on my deathbed 😂
6. Am I the only one who couldn't — even after reading 3 times — imagine the GAUNTLET scene???? like WTH WAS THAT 😭
7. MY TOXIC TRAIT IS THAT I THINK I WOULD'VE KILLED THE VENIN IF I WERE IN VIOLET'S PLACE (wth? 💀💀)
8. I had doubts about Venins and Wyvern from the start, and gosh, they were horrifying AF! If we want anything to be real, IT'S FICTIONAL MEN, not these ew!
9. GOD, THE END? I'm still shocked 🥲
whjwhsha, I love this book! Ayyayayayaya 🥺 TO MY READING SLUMP.... here I come!!!
⤷ Ratings .𖥔 ݁ ˖
• Fourth Wing — 5 stars
• Iron Flame – 3.75 stars
• Onyx Storm – tbr
This book is a rollercoaster of twists and had me so hooked from the start! Not once did it feel boring or like I should just skim something, and for once, I know the hype was so worth it! 😩
• Spoilers ahead — and I seriously want y'all to enjoy this book without spoilers
This book is the perfect blend of Fantasy-Romance because it had the spiciest romance scenes with lots of sexual tension and enough twists that will keep you awake the whole night. *Dark circles forming, but anything for XadenVi.*
❝The weak don’t survive here, especially not in the Riders Quadrant. The dragons make sure of that.❞
In the beginning, Karen aka General Sorrengail, forces Violet to join Rider's Quadrant, a place where people become riders and form bonds with dragons. This is in contrast to Violet's original plan of following her father's path and becoming a scribe, responsible for documenting history. This makes her feeling angry and fearful because the decision is up to her mother, and she has no choice but to agree. She wasn't mentally or physically prepared for this challenge and have to do anything to survive.
╰┈➤ VIOLET SORRENGAIL AKA VIOLENCE:
❝You look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?❞
Despite dealing with a chronic illness (ehler's danlos syndrome) and having weak joints, she was incredibly awesome and strong! Her personality was so relatable that I felt connected right away. Her anxieties and fears during challenges in the rider's quadrant, and how she conquered them with her smarts, were truly inspiring. She showed that knowledge is real power! Her rollercoaster of emotions—fear, anger, desire, happiness—kept me amazed. Even when teased and called weak, she never let anyone walk all over her. And fr, I didn't even get that 'oh I'm so tiny and frail' or the 'pick me vibes' as mentioned somewhere because she actually had a illness.
I would've dashed for the hills (or the scribe quadrant in Violet's situation) when every single cadet was dead set on killing me! It was like half luck, and 25% thanks to the dragon scale corset, and another 25% to Violet's intelligence that kept her alive! And - wait XADEN PROTECTED HER WELL TOO! 🤭
❝What I lack in strength, I make up for in speed.❞— She kept training and had a lot of improvement and her skills with the daggers were impeccable! landing straight on the target.
╰┈➤ XADEN RIORSON:
❝Stay the hell away from Xaden Riorson.❞
Fantasy men are just FINE AF! From the beginning, he exudes a mysterious aura. Despite the stern lines on his face and a SCAR ON HIS LEFT BROW 🥵, he exudes both danger and allure. His character captivates me so deeply that even if I hadn't known he was the mmc, I would have rooted for him.
He holds the position of the wing leader of FOURTH WING with great authority. His intelligence and power are remarkable, and don't even get me started on the way he walks, talks, and smirks – it leaves me utterly on my knees for him! 🧎♀️His character possesses incredible depth, and I would've loved to have his POV.
He's a shadow wielder, and just by imagining the shadows around him, his rebellion relic, and his scar — I feel something inside of me! 😮💨 REBECCA ADDED EVERY QUALITY TO MAKE HIM THE HOTTEST CHARACTER! 🤭
— Ruthless who? He's such a softie....
🔪 gave Violet training for sparring matches.
🔪 made a saddle for her to be seated on her dragon.
🔪 made a custom dagger for her.
🔪 killed a room full of cadets who tried to kill Violet, just by using his shadows.
🔪 took care of her when she was hurt.
🔪 punished a wing leader who tried to kill Violet.
╰┈➤ DRAGONS:
— So the most sarcastic
God, how much I loved this grumpy broody dragon! He was one of the deadliest and strongest dragons, and he was bonded with none other than Violet! 🤭 His remarks were so sarcastic and savage, and the way he always scoffed and knew about her feelings for Xaden. Hehehe, and he also adores Sgaeyl sm! If he were actually a human, he'd be so grumpy and possessive, I'M TELLING YA'LL! 😂💕
❝And to think, I’d almost forgotten just how loquacious humans are.❞
Andarna: This cutie goldie dragon—OMF, she was such a cutie! I loved how optimistic and innocent she actually was and possessed great powers, but she was only 2 years old! And the fact that she's also bonded with Violet 🥺
Sgaeyl: We didn't get much about her, though hopefully in the next book, but I'm so glad she and Tairn are bonded mates! GOD SHE HAS A BRILLIANT TASTE IN MEN. 🥵
— ENEMIES TO LOVERS WHERE HE WANTS TO KILL HER? *Sign me up*
❝He’s a third-year, and he will kill you the second he finds out who you are.❞
Xaden is the son of Fen Riorson, known as THE GREATEST TRAITOR due to his leadership in a rebellion group. Sadly, this resulted in the execution of all rebel group members in front of their children, who were then marked with a relic symbolizing the rebellion. These children were forcibly placed into the Rider's Quadrant, where they faced the challenge of survival. The overseeing figure during these executions was none other than General Sorrengail (Violet's mother), so they're enemies, and he's the one who's gonna
The enemies-to-lovers approach in this book was really well done. It felt very realistic and stayed true to the idea that 'children shouldn't be punished for their parents' mistakes.' The kids marked by the relic understood this, and Violet did too. What I especially liked was how Xaden and Violet's relationship grew naturally without being burdened by guilt from their pasts. Even though they weren't enemies for very long, the book didn't rush their journey to becoming lovers. Instead, it skillfully portrayed the gradual development of trust, as well as their decision to let go of their desires, leading them to eventually fall in love. ♥️
Violet was super confused by Xaden's behavior. Rather than harming her, he encouraged her and saw her potential. He treated her as strong, not fragile, which both confused and intrigued her. 😉
❝Going for blood today, are we, Violence?❞
After Threshing (where the cadets were bonded with dragons), Violet discovered that Tairn, her dragon, was actually the bonded mate of Sgaeyl, Xaden's dragon. This connection tied the four of them together, and if one of them died, they all would. This meant Xaden couldn't consider killing her anymore, (not that he had intended to in the first place.) 🥹
THE SEXUAL TENSION WAS TENSIONING. 🥵 The sexual tension between them was incredibly strong! The heated lust-filled stares, locking eyes, proximity on mats, and more, yet neither wanted to act on it. Their first kiss was incredibly passionate and I was so giddy at that time. There were 3 graphic scenes but Damn they were HOT AF! 🫣🔥
❝I am annoyingly aware of everything you do.❞
NOT THEM SHATTERING WINDOWS, BREAKING ARMOIRES AND CHAIRS, BURNING CURTAINS AND FORESTS WHILE DOING ✨IT✨.
╰┈➤ SIDE CHARACTERS:
Rhiannon and Rodic: They were literal babies and I loved how both of them supported Violet! Idk when and how Rodic made his place in my heart but he was so cute. Always adopting humor for every situation and was so calm hehe! 🥺 Am I the only one who wants them together?
Sawyer, Imogen, Bodhi, Garrick, Emery, Heaton: I loved how they all became a squad and clearly I would love more of them!
Mira Sorrengail: This badass cutie, sexy hot, I love her! 🥵 She's so fierce and the best sister ever! 💞
Liam Mairi: WE WERE ROBBED OF HIM. I WILL NEVER EVER FORGET HIM, please he was so precious. 🥺😭 I literally cried so much when he died! I already had a feeling that he might die, but god it was so painful. I was so badly hurt when he died. It was so painful to see him dying and then Xaden calling him Brother. My heart broke! I'm never forgetting that piece of shit Dain.
Dain Aetos: This bitch, this traitor, this asshole, what the fuck! Why did he have to go and pull a full traitor-Adam-Kent behavior like bitch fuck off?? I actually reasoned with him in the start and ignored him because he was just there to discourage Violet and gaslight her again and again by using 'best friend' but he so skillfully and fucked-uply betrayed her. IF HE DIDN'T READ VIOLET'S MEMORIES (by touching her face) and then not telling his father, LIAM WOULD BE FUCKING ALIVE. FUCK OFF, DAINNN. I WISH YOU GET SCORCHED BY TAIRN! 🤢
❝Stop. Fucking. Coddling. Her.❞— yeah, bitch, get that!
Jack Barlowe: He was a piece of shit just like Dain and I'm glad he was Violet's first kill, haha served him right! I don't want to give him more importance; he was shit AF! His death was so satisfying 😗🤝🏻
Long-haired Luca and Traitor Tynan getting scorched was the best thing.
General Sorrengail: I dislike her already and I know I'll loathe her in the next books, but the only good thing was she trusted that Violet is capable of becoming a rider.
Syrena (Flier): She's a gryphon rider and had only 2 scenes, but I wish we get to see her in the next books!
— some other things:
1. I literally choked on my laugh when I read about how smartly Violet won all the sparring matches because she poisoned every player with different types of herbs during the match, and her choosing the breakfast duties to add the poisons in their lunch was such a badass move! It's truly proven by Violet that knowledge is power.
2. When Dylan died, my heart just stopped for a moment, and I was so horrified when Aurelie died! (Guess I'm just going to grieve for Liam baby now.)
3. All the challenges gave me Squid Game vibes, like all those tasks just to survive and so many deaths each day! Ugh, It was so fun yet horrifying to read. 🤧
4. "Fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.” — these beautiful words!!?? 🤭
5. I seriously don't even understand how Violet blocked the pain out and got so many stitches every month! I'd already be on my deathbed 😂
6. Am I the only one who couldn't — even after reading 3 times — imagine the GAUNTLET scene???? like WTH WAS THAT 😭
7. MY TOXIC TRAIT IS THAT I THINK I WOULD'VE KILLED THE VENIN IF I WERE IN VIOLET'S PLACE (wth? 💀💀)
8. I had doubts about Venins and Wyvern from the start, and gosh, they were horrifying AF! If we want anything to be real, IT'S FICTIONAL MEN, not these ew!
9. GOD, THE END? I'm still shocked 🥲
whjwhsha, I love this book! Ayyayayayaya 🥺 TO MY READING SLUMP.... here I come!!!
⤷ Ratings .𖥔 ݁ ˖
• Fourth Wing — 5 stars
• Iron Flame – 3.75 stars
• Onyx Storm – tbr
November 4, 2024
Edit: for those who do not read the whole review but still feel they are entitled to leave a comment. This is a long review
1- it dissects a lot in the book, if this is not a clue for you that there are spoilers then maybe check your IQ.
2- For those who are saying "make it short" you know you could scrol by and not read right? just take your own advice especially if you love this book and move along to the millions of 5 star reviews
3- STOP SAYING NOTHING IS ORIGINAL..I can slap you with at least 20 books written in 2923/2024 that has more originality than this book! We are not asking for a Tolkein level of originality, but if you cannot even come up with your own character description and had to take the literal description from other books (among others) then why are you even called an author?
4- in a world that is coming soon to be drowned with AI movies and clips and pictures, I do not want to read an AI book. and I do not mean that the author used AI (Although at this point no one knows), I mean the copy, paste, and stitch from other books
other than that, knock yourself out
The sad reality is this book will probably be GR best fantasy of 2023 though it has NOTHING of the fantasy elements
If I wanted to read cheap immitation of every other fantasy book then this book it is 😡😡😡😡
every time I have an atom of hope that there is something 0.0000001% original, someone casually points out that it's not!
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR READERS AT THE END
Is this the future of books? writers shamelessly taking others' work without even bringing their own to the table and the unknowing masses cheering them on!
by now, this has become a game of "SPOT THE COMMON, AND FIND THE DIFFERENCE"
this book does not deserve an ounce of respect and this came after confirming that even the main characters' descriptions are literally taken
PLEASE STOP SAYING THAT NOTHING IS ORIGINAL ANYMORE! YEAH? PROVE IT
AND EVEN IF THIS IS TRUE, IF A WRITER FAILS TO BRING AT LEAST 20% ORGININALITY ONTO THEIR BOOK, DO THEY DESERVE TO BE CALLED WRITERS???
It is one thing to sample an idea or concept from "a book", it is another to take the whole storyline and plot from "a book" or in this case "books" and make it your own.
This book is a memory quilt
Made from old stuff to look new
It takes everything that we know as familiar, comfort and nostalgic and weave it together to present it as something new giving you a FAKE sense of enjoyment
Let's imagine that I am a new reader or someone who never reads fantasy or someone who hasn't
read and loved the other books mentioned down 👇🏻 I would have absolutely adored this book and considered it one of the best Adult fantasy this year because I knew nothing of them.
And surprise surprise! This is what is happening
but ignorance is not an excuse! Just because you haven't read it does not mean it is OK for this book to copy everything!
starting this book, I liked that the characters were older than 18. As much as I enjoy YA, sometimes the age just throws me off! However, they still acted like a bunch of 16 and 17 yr. the lingo itself was so cringe
image:
I read many YA characters more mature than the main characters in this book
read Ageless and Warda's one 1 star review of this book to understand where these characters went wrong
This book attempted to give us a badass female lead that understands that she is flawed, and recognizes her physical incompetence, but does not give a shit. She knows her worth and trusts her intelligence to be her biggest asset so she uses it to get what she wants. She is unapologetic. She knows that if she can’t be cunning, it's her life on the line. “I’ll never get over how quickly people move on around here, how callously death is swept under a rug and trampled on minutes later”
but, personally, this failed. Because Violet was the typical "I am weak in the body but somehow I can wip all your asses and accomplish anything". She is supposed to have a sort of chronic pain that renders her in the disabled category. This is not said out loud in the book. You have to guess it yourself if you are not familiar with the symptoms or learn it from social media. So, it was a role-eye for me seeing her winning every challenge by cheating (which I accepted at first because she was disadvantaged) but then we get no information on how she trained and made herself stronger!. so what was the point of giving her a disability if we cannot see how she overcame it? Also, It was annoying at times seeing Violet practically throwing herself at Xaden like “Pick me, choose me, love me, fuck me”. Girl! Have some dignity. But who can blame her, X is hot and has "Shadow hands, iykyk.... looking at you ACOTAR and ToG fans"
and let’s not forget the dragons! I mean who doesn’t love dragons? Throw in dragons with personalities who can hold a conversation and you get yourself a winner
But these bastards decided with their ever Holly wisdom that a person with a mental disorder (look up Aboulomania) or with a bit of a bitchy attitude is weak and should be scorched to death
I am not going to touch on the characters more than that. Others have explained in detailed reviews the problems with the main leads.
And the world building? Excuse me! What world building! If you can answer one question that's been nagging me (from the book, not theories) then I'll shut up about it
A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.
Why? Why is it this way?
However, there is a big issue that is nagging at me and making feel like I am sitting on the most comfortable sofa in the world but someone has put a cushion full of needles at my back. Every time I get a little bit relaxed, a needle pricks my spine or neck or back arm.
THIS BOOK HAS NOTHING ORIGINAL AND I DARE ANYONE TO PROVE OTHERWISE
What this book did is take several old famous ideas from other books and movies, weave it together, and the author simply tailored them with spray edges and a catching cover for bait to come up with a supposedly new book that would please young readers mostly. to quote my friend: "This book scratches an itch
and boy! did this strategy work!
This did not sit well with me because :
One: the author did not just take from one or two books, she took from several.
Two: these ideas were not just inspiration or sampling, in many parts were almost literal
Three: copying and sampling are OK as long as the book brings it's own added plot or storyline which in this case, Fourth Wing did not
When I was annotating this book, I marked each time I found an almost literal resemblance to other books. (yellow marks the number)
So lets begin (and I am keeping the best or worst to last)
Let me begin with the main characters description
No, this is not Violet Sorringale. This is Mare Barrow from Red Queen series. Brown and silver hair and lightning power
And the whole "assumed dead brother who is resurrected and turns out he joined the rebellion"
Yeah
It's like FW has this weird fixation on this series
but Violet braids her hair you say! you know who else has silver braided hair and dragons?
and how about this one?
no this is not Xaden Riorson
this is either the tall dark and all powerful Rhysand and his Shadow power (and Rhys sacrificed himself for his people, Xaden did as well)
or the tall dark and handsome Dorian and his shadow hands
But Xaden has a scar on his face, near his eye more precisely! You know who else tall dark and handsome with an eye scar and rhymes with Xaden!
Meadows baby! Our last name is Meadows
No!? OK, here's another tall dark and handsome with scars and is always surrounded by showdows and his name starts with Az and ends with "are you for real?!"
Now, here's a trivia for you
Let's count the number of books where if the guy has Shadow powers the girl gets a control over lightening
Just off the top of my head
Red Queen
Shadow and Bones
The Shadow of Lightening .. etc.
Now the plotline
1- Harry Potter: not talking about magic systems and dragons because many books have those, but “the cadets are thrown into “four wings” upon their arrival, they have to study and compete by gaining “points” and showing skills both physically and mentally. . The literal taking was from p 313 when there is a “tournament” where they had to “retrieve a stolen treasure” to “earn 60 points”
2- Divergent: I knew that this book was marketed as a combination of Divergent meets Game of Thrones I think, but it took the inspiration too far. I don’t want to read a cheap imitation of Divergent which this book had. The cadets are distributed into quadrants (factions). Violet ends up in the Riders (Dauntless) quadrant where if you show any sign of weakness you are either killed by a fellow cadet or scorched by a dragon!
And the Tris/Four moment between Violet and Xaden is also hard to miss. She has a parent/sibling issue, he has a daddy issue. She fantasizes about him all the time (which is nauseating and untasteful at times). Him beating her ass and showing her that he hates her and maybe wants to kill her then ending up saving her life and training her. Even the knife-throwing scene was taken. And it goes on and on
3- The Hunger Games: this whole book was the Hunger Games – Dragon Edition. The cadets are literally allowed to kill each other even under the watchful eyes of their superiors. But that is not surprising when the professors so simply snap a cadet’s neck infront of others. I guess “the odds are always stacked against them” yep! This was in the book!
And since they are at war and need soldiers, what better way to show how desperate they are than killing off their cadets, instead of sending them off to the other houses 🙄🙄
4- Shatter me/ACOTAR: What are these two series famous for? You guessed it. The predictable love triangle where the first love interest turns out to be a douche and the heroine ends up falling for the dark morally grey character. This is really starting to sound repetitive and obvious.
5- Throne of Glass (Empire of Storms): Dorian Havilliard has Phantom hands and Xaden has Shadow hands! Both can lift and hold anything with these “hands” and use them during intimate moments. In the beach scene, Aelin and Rowan’s passion fuses their power together and lose control. Same with Vi and X
6- Mulan: (yep! The animation) Mulan shows her strength and proves herself to her camp by using her wit to climb the pole using the weights instead of carrying them to retrieve the arrow and later they use their belts to climb the columns of the palace. The same move Violet uses by planting the rope around the shaft to climb it.
7- How to train your dragon: from the description of the dragons, to the lowering of the eyes when meeting one, to the Hiccup and Toothless moment, and the big scarry dragon and the small golden cute one, you cant help noticing these similarities when reading this book
BUT HERE ARE THE MOST OBVIOUS COPY CAT ISSUES
8- The plot conflict of the book is the same as Game of Thrones
So instead of the seven kingdoms, Navarre is divided into six but with the province in the east makes it seven! To protect itself, Navarre has built a WARD (wall) around its borders to stop an enemy that we later learn about. This enemy is ruled by a Sage (night king) who creates these venin, monsters that are destroyed only by a special material (valerian steel) which the cadets are forging into blades!
people inside the kingdom think that those creatures are just folklore. Venins have the ability to make dragon-like creatures, wyverns, that can breathe BLUE FIRE and dies immediately if their creator dies
image:
And the h that has the baddest dragon has silver hair which is always in a braid🙄and thought at first to be fragile and weak!
9- Dragon Riders of Pern and Eragon (edited,) I originally related it to Eragon but many friends pointed out that the whole concept of dragon riders bonding with the chosen dragon and that such a dragon can mentally communicate with its rider through witty conversations and big personality is from the mother of all Dragon stories - the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery
Even the scene where V and X feel horney bec of the Dragon lust is definitely not original to The Fourth Wing
10- Dragon School: Just when you think that having Voilet be a Female main lead with a disability is something original of this book, you find out it is not! Dragon School is an acclaimed YA book series by K.L Wilson published in 2017 about sixteen-year-old Amel who joins the Dominion Dragon Riders. But Amel has not only a crippled leg but also chronic disease and Dragon School training is grueling. Before she can even become an initiate, she must complete her First Flight on a dragon. Everyone around Amel thinks she will die before her first ride because of her fragile state and disability. SOUNDS FAMILIAR?
Bonus courtesy of @Soyas.Readingpalace
This is the map of the Fourth Wing
This is the map of the Witcher books
notice anything?
so, there is nothing original about this book
You want to take the characters' descriptions? fine
oh, you want to take also the plot conflict? fine
what? you want also all the famous plotlines?
BUT
What are you bringing to the table then?????
Another side issue that bugged me which was the queer representation. What representation??? I didn’t see any! A representation is when you have a character or a couple of them who are queer. This book made it out as if everyone is Bi and that it is natural for everyone to jump into bed from man to woman. If this is everyone, then this is the norm of the society in the book and there is no representation.
I think that this book would be enjoyed by a person who hasn’t read the above-mentioned books or doesn’t want to read them so you get to read a mash-up of them. If you are this person, then this book is perfect for you
However, I am a reader who values authenticity not imitation done blatantly. There was no originality in either the story or the plotline
These are some TT posting similarities with pages and story👇🏻
pages from the book
fourth wing and GoT
how FW was writtent
important note
I was one of the first who read this book upon release. if you check the tiktoks I've put, you'll see that the first one was made May 15 2023, same week.
Since then, I've answered so many questions in my TT account and here, and a lot of them are so repeated
So, please, if you read this review, and find yourself wanting to comment with:
1- nothing is original
2- read for fun
3- do your research
4- it's not that serious
5- why are you taking the joy out of others
I urge you to read the comments first because I won't be repeating myself for your lack of effort.
What I am willing and happy to do, is have a respectful discussion. I am not trying to persuade anyone. If you feel you want to disagree with me and do it in a logical, respectful way, I am always open to that.
If your response is in any way disrespectful, know that I have a spiteful bitch in me that would come out to play
and as always, happy reading
1- it dissects a lot in the book, if this is not a clue for you that there are spoilers then maybe check your IQ.
2- For those who are saying "make it short" you know you could scrol by and not read right? just take your own advice especially if you love this book and move along to the millions of 5 star reviews
3- STOP SAYING NOTHING IS ORIGINAL..I can slap you with at least 20 books written in 2923/2024 that has more originality than this book! We are not asking for a Tolkein level of originality, but if you cannot even come up with your own character description and had to take the literal description from other books (among others) then why are you even called an author?
4- in a world that is coming soon to be drowned with AI movies and clips and pictures, I do not want to read an AI book. and I do not mean that the author used AI (Although at this point no one knows), I mean the copy, paste, and stitch from other books
other than that, knock yourself out
The sad reality is this book will probably be GR best fantasy of 2023 though it has NOTHING of the fantasy elements
If I wanted to read cheap immitation of every other fantasy book then this book it is 😡😡😡😡
every time I have an atom of hope that there is something 0.0000001% original, someone casually points out that it's not!
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR READERS AT THE END
Is this the future of books? writers shamelessly taking others' work without even bringing their own to the table and the unknowing masses cheering them on!
by now, this has become a game of "SPOT THE COMMON, AND FIND THE DIFFERENCE"
this book does not deserve an ounce of respect and this came after confirming that even the main characters' descriptions are literally taken
PLEASE STOP SAYING THAT NOTHING IS ORIGINAL ANYMORE! YEAH? PROVE IT
AND EVEN IF THIS IS TRUE, IF A WRITER FAILS TO BRING AT LEAST 20% ORGININALITY ONTO THEIR BOOK, DO THEY DESERVE TO BE CALLED WRITERS???
It is one thing to sample an idea or concept from "a book", it is another to take the whole storyline and plot from "a book" or in this case "books" and make it your own.
This book is a memory quilt
Made from old stuff to look new
It takes everything that we know as familiar, comfort and nostalgic and weave it together to present it as something new giving you a FAKE sense of enjoyment
Let's imagine that I am a new reader or someone who never reads fantasy or someone who hasn't
read and loved the other books mentioned down 👇🏻 I would have absolutely adored this book and considered it one of the best Adult fantasy this year because I knew nothing of them.
And surprise surprise! This is what is happening
but ignorance is not an excuse! Just because you haven't read it does not mean it is OK for this book to copy everything!
starting this book, I liked that the characters were older than 18. As much as I enjoy YA, sometimes the age just throws me off! However, they still acted like a bunch of 16 and 17 yr. the lingo itself was so cringe
image:
I read many YA characters more mature than the main characters in this book
read Ageless and Warda's one 1 star review of this book to understand where these characters went wrong
This book attempted to give us a badass female lead that understands that she is flawed, and recognizes her physical incompetence, but does not give a shit. She knows her worth and trusts her intelligence to be her biggest asset so she uses it to get what she wants. She is unapologetic. She knows that if she can’t be cunning, it's her life on the line. “I’ll never get over how quickly people move on around here, how callously death is swept under a rug and trampled on minutes later”
but, personally, this failed. Because Violet was the typical "I am weak in the body but somehow I can wip all your asses and accomplish anything". She is supposed to have a sort of chronic pain that renders her in the disabled category. This is not said out loud in the book. You have to guess it yourself if you are not familiar with the symptoms or learn it from social media. So, it was a role-eye for me seeing her winning every challenge by cheating (which I accepted at first because she was disadvantaged) but then we get no information on how she trained and made herself stronger!. so what was the point of giving her a disability if we cannot see how she overcame it? Also, It was annoying at times seeing Violet practically throwing herself at Xaden like “Pick me, choose me, love me, fuck me”. Girl! Have some dignity. But who can blame her, X is hot and has "Shadow hands, iykyk.... looking at you ACOTAR and ToG fans"
and let’s not forget the dragons! I mean who doesn’t love dragons? Throw in dragons with personalities who can hold a conversation and you get yourself a winner
But these bastards decided with their ever Holly wisdom that a person with a mental disorder (look up Aboulomania) or with a bit of a bitchy attitude is weak and should be scorched to death
I am not going to touch on the characters more than that. Others have explained in detailed reviews the problems with the main leads.
And the world building? Excuse me! What world building! If you can answer one question that's been nagging me (from the book, not theories) then I'll shut up about it
A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.
Why? Why is it this way?
However, there is a big issue that is nagging at me and making feel like I am sitting on the most comfortable sofa in the world but someone has put a cushion full of needles at my back. Every time I get a little bit relaxed, a needle pricks my spine or neck or back arm.
THIS BOOK HAS NOTHING ORIGINAL AND I DARE ANYONE TO PROVE OTHERWISE
What this book did is take several old famous ideas from other books and movies, weave it together, and the author simply tailored them with spray edges and a catching cover for bait to come up with a supposedly new book that would please young readers mostly. to quote my friend: "This book scratches an itch
and boy! did this strategy work!
This did not sit well with me because :
One: the author did not just take from one or two books, she took from several.
Two: these ideas were not just inspiration or sampling, in many parts were almost literal
Three: copying and sampling are OK as long as the book brings it's own added plot or storyline which in this case, Fourth Wing did not
When I was annotating this book, I marked each time I found an almost literal resemblance to other books. (yellow marks the number)
So lets begin (and I am keeping the best or worst to last)
Let me begin with the main characters description
No, this is not Violet Sorringale. This is Mare Barrow from Red Queen series. Brown and silver hair and lightning power
And the whole "assumed dead brother who is resurrected and turns out he joined the rebellion"
Yeah
It's like FW has this weird fixation on this series
but Violet braids her hair you say! you know who else has silver braided hair and dragons?
and how about this one?
no this is not Xaden Riorson
this is either the tall dark and all powerful Rhysand and his Shadow power (and Rhys sacrificed himself for his people, Xaden did as well)
or the tall dark and handsome Dorian and his shadow hands
But Xaden has a scar on his face, near his eye more precisely! You know who else tall dark and handsome with an eye scar and rhymes with Xaden!
Meadows baby! Our last name is Meadows
No!? OK, here's another tall dark and handsome with scars and is always surrounded by showdows and his name starts with Az and ends with "are you for real?!"
Now, here's a trivia for you
Let's count the number of books where if the guy has Shadow powers the girl gets a control over lightening
Just off the top of my head
Red Queen
Shadow and Bones
The Shadow of Lightening .. etc.
Now the plotline
1- Harry Potter: not talking about magic systems and dragons because many books have those, but “the cadets are thrown into “four wings” upon their arrival, they have to study and compete by gaining “points” and showing skills both physically and mentally. . The literal taking was from p 313 when there is a “tournament” where they had to “retrieve a stolen treasure” to “earn 60 points”
2- Divergent: I knew that this book was marketed as a combination of Divergent meets Game of Thrones I think, but it took the inspiration too far. I don’t want to read a cheap imitation of Divergent which this book had. The cadets are distributed into quadrants (factions). Violet ends up in the Riders (Dauntless) quadrant where if you show any sign of weakness you are either killed by a fellow cadet or scorched by a dragon!
And the Tris/Four moment between Violet and Xaden is also hard to miss. She has a parent/sibling issue, he has a daddy issue. She fantasizes about him all the time (which is nauseating and untasteful at times). Him beating her ass and showing her that he hates her and maybe wants to kill her then ending up saving her life and training her. Even the knife-throwing scene was taken. And it goes on and on
3- The Hunger Games: this whole book was the Hunger Games – Dragon Edition. The cadets are literally allowed to kill each other even under the watchful eyes of their superiors. But that is not surprising when the professors so simply snap a cadet’s neck infront of others. I guess “the odds are always stacked against them” yep! This was in the book!
And since they are at war and need soldiers, what better way to show how desperate they are than killing off their cadets, instead of sending them off to the other houses 🙄🙄
4- Shatter me/ACOTAR: What are these two series famous for? You guessed it. The predictable love triangle where the first love interest turns out to be a douche and the heroine ends up falling for the dark morally grey character. This is really starting to sound repetitive and obvious.
5- Throne of Glass (Empire of Storms): Dorian Havilliard has Phantom hands and Xaden has Shadow hands! Both can lift and hold anything with these “hands” and use them during intimate moments. In the beach scene, Aelin and Rowan’s passion fuses their power together and lose control. Same with Vi and X
6- Mulan: (yep! The animation) Mulan shows her strength and proves herself to her camp by using her wit to climb the pole using the weights instead of carrying them to retrieve the arrow and later they use their belts to climb the columns of the palace. The same move Violet uses by planting the rope around the shaft to climb it.
7- How to train your dragon: from the description of the dragons, to the lowering of the eyes when meeting one, to the Hiccup and Toothless moment, and the big scarry dragon and the small golden cute one, you cant help noticing these similarities when reading this book
BUT HERE ARE THE MOST OBVIOUS COPY CAT ISSUES
8- The plot conflict of the book is the same as Game of Thrones
So instead of the seven kingdoms, Navarre is divided into six but with the province in the east makes it seven! To protect itself, Navarre has built a WARD (wall) around its borders to stop an enemy that we later learn about. This enemy is ruled by a Sage (night king) who creates these venin, monsters that are destroyed only by a special material (valerian steel) which the cadets are forging into blades!
people inside the kingdom think that those creatures are just folklore. Venins have the ability to make dragon-like creatures, wyverns, that can breathe BLUE FIRE and dies immediately if their creator dies
image:
And the h that has the baddest dragon has silver hair which is always in a braid🙄and thought at first to be fragile and weak!
9- Dragon Riders of Pern and Eragon (edited,) I originally related it to Eragon but many friends pointed out that the whole concept of dragon riders bonding with the chosen dragon and that such a dragon can mentally communicate with its rider through witty conversations and big personality is from the mother of all Dragon stories - the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery
Even the scene where V and X feel horney bec of the Dragon lust is definitely not original to The Fourth Wing
10- Dragon School: Just when you think that having Voilet be a Female main lead with a disability is something original of this book, you find out it is not! Dragon School is an acclaimed YA book series by K.L Wilson published in 2017 about sixteen-year-old Amel who joins the Dominion Dragon Riders. But Amel has not only a crippled leg but also chronic disease and Dragon School training is grueling. Before she can even become an initiate, she must complete her First Flight on a dragon. Everyone around Amel thinks she will die before her first ride because of her fragile state and disability. SOUNDS FAMILIAR?
Bonus courtesy of @Soyas.Readingpalace
This is the map of the Fourth Wing
This is the map of the Witcher books
notice anything?
so, there is nothing original about this book
You want to take the characters' descriptions? fine
oh, you want to take also the plot conflict? fine
what? you want also all the famous plotlines?
BUT
What are you bringing to the table then?????
Another side issue that bugged me which was the queer representation. What representation??? I didn’t see any! A representation is when you have a character or a couple of them who are queer. This book made it out as if everyone is Bi and that it is natural for everyone to jump into bed from man to woman. If this is everyone, then this is the norm of the society in the book and there is no representation.
I think that this book would be enjoyed by a person who hasn’t read the above-mentioned books or doesn’t want to read them so you get to read a mash-up of them. If you are this person, then this book is perfect for you
However, I am a reader who values authenticity not imitation done blatantly. There was no originality in either the story or the plotline
These are some TT posting similarities with pages and story👇🏻
pages from the book
fourth wing and GoT
how FW was writtent
important note
I was one of the first who read this book upon release. if you check the tiktoks I've put, you'll see that the first one was made May 15 2023, same week.
Since then, I've answered so many questions in my TT account and here, and a lot of them are so repeated
So, please, if you read this review, and find yourself wanting to comment with:
1- nothing is original
2- read for fun
3- do your research
4- it's not that serious
5- why are you taking the joy out of others
I urge you to read the comments first because I won't be repeating myself for your lack of effort.
What I am willing and happy to do, is have a respectful discussion. I am not trying to persuade anyone. If you feel you want to disagree with me and do it in a logical, respectful way, I am always open to that.
If your response is in any way disrespectful, know that I have a spiteful bitch in me that would come out to play
and as always, happy reading
September 18, 2024
∞/5 ★’s
⁀➷ ❝a dragon without its rider is a tragedy. a rider without their dragon is dead.❞
welcome to the fourth wing 🐉
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
what is more than infinity stars? i’ll tell you what. it’s this book. besties let me just start with saying…i am a romance/dark romance girly through and through. the only other fantasy books i’ve ever read were the acotar books and that series was so good. easily one of my favorite series ever, but fourth wing? it was even better…literal chefs kiss🤌i was hooked from the very first sentence to the very last. i’ve read one of rebecca’s romance books and i loved it, but her writing fantasy?! she ate that up and left zero crumbs. this is easily one of my top reads of 2023. fourth wing was action packed and the romance was amazing.
❥ 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈:
⤷ found family
⤷ enemies to lovers
⤷ slow burn
⤷ touch her and you die
⤷ morally grey mmc
⤷ forced proximity
❥ 𝒶𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒾𝒸:
⤷ dragons
⤷ academic setting
⤷ divergent vibes
⤷ dystopian fantasy
❥ 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎:
this book is about violet sorrengail, the daughter of a high ranked general. most of her life she was practicing/training to be apart of the scribe quadrant because of her love for books and her intelligence, but her mother told her that she must follow in her siblings footsteps and become a dragon rider. violet is in no way prepared for that, but she ends up going to basgiath war college to do exactly what her mother asked of her. to become a dragon rider, you must pass all these very deadly challenges that are designed to kill off the weak. while violet is trying her very best to become a dragon rider…she‘s constantly fighting her attraction for xaden riorson (her enemy that she was told to stay away from). xaden is a well respected wingleader of the fourth wing and his one goal was to kill violet because of the family she belongs to, but what happens when her life suddenly becomes tethered to his?
❥ 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈:
this book was so easy to follow and it was so fast paced. i was a little intimidated because the font was small and the chapters were longer than i usually prefer, but there was not a single page in this book that was boring. i’m usually the type to see how many pages are left in a chapter, but i simply did not care. i was fully consumed by this book and got totally lost in it. the action…it caused me a LOT of anxiety, but i ate that shit up. this book had my heart RACING. there were so many parts in this book that literally took my breath away…had me forgetting how to breathe. the romance!?! ♾️/10. the angst, the spice, the banter…literally everything you want for a romance plot. the writing was absolutely amazing. the descriptive writing omg…10/10. it was so easy to picture all of the different settings and picture everything that was happening. i felt like i was sitting in the front row watching this entire book unfold. this book has so much potential to be turned into a movie omg please😭cast theo james as xaden IMMEDIATELY and then cast me as violet🤭and then let’s just erase dain completely. i adored most of the characters in this book. i love when i fall in love with side characters just as much as main characters.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
❥ 𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓁 (𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒):
⁀➷ ❝i am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. i am infinite.❞
⁀➷ ❝i will not die today.❞
this woman. one of my all time favorite fmc’s who i admire so much. her character development was phenomenal. i swear it was the most satisfying thing about this book. as soon as she was painted to be this tiny, weak, helpless woman…i was impatiently waiting for my girl to prove everyone wrong and she DID that. i love how well she knew her own mind and was not afraid to come forward and speak it. a place like the riders quadrant is where people go and get stripped of their humanity, but i love how violet kept all her morals intact. she knows who she is and y’all she is THAT bitch. the way she had so many people wanting/trying to kill her, but she never lost sight of who she was so when it came to her having a perfect chance to end the lives of those who wanted to end hers…she didn’t want to do it. it’s not her. ahhh i just love her so much.
❥ 𝓍𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓃 𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 (𝒽𝓊𝓈𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒹):
⁀➷ ❝fascinating. you look all frail and breakable, but you’re a violent little thing, aren’t you?❞
immediately theo james. that is who he reminds me of. but then THE FANART!?! was not prepared😩xaden is a man you steer clear from and because he’s that kinda man…sign me and violet the fuck up cuz we’re THERE…on our knees. he’s the type of man that raises your pulse because of fear or lust…there’s no in between. xaden has so many walls up and throughout the book, violet tears those down…one by one. i loved xaden’s character from the start which is crazy to say because he made it very clear that he wanted to kill violet. but just know this… behind every villain is me falling in love with them.
⁀➷ ❝i might be a villain to some, but not you.❞
this man could literally run me over with his dragon and i’d still chase after him. i love his leadership and it meant so much more to me after finding out about his past. this man deserves the world. i love how protective he is and how he always challenged violet to do better and get stronger. AND HE’S FUNNY!? he had me giggling, swooning, kicking my feet, BLUSHING. this man may not be real but he gave me real butterflies in my tummy every time he spoke.
❥ 𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒:
first things first. the spicy scenes…i’m blushing just thinking about them. they definitely live in my mind rent free. the sexual tension was REAL. the things xaden did for violet throughout this entire fucking book.
⤷ he had an entire arsenal of daggers crafted specifically for her.
⤷ he designed a saddle for tairn so that she could ride without falling to her death.
⤷ he taught her how to defend herself.
⤷ he protected her when she needed it.
⤷ he had a harness made for andarna that attaches to tairn so she could keep up with them.
⤷ he picked violets for her…😩
this man is the definition of perfect. idc. i will stand by this man forever. he was one of the very few people who saw violet’s potential. he allowed her to handle herself because he knew that she could. he respected her and he showed it in more ways than one. the way he nicknamed her violence😭🤭
⁀➷ she exists, and i get turned on.
⁀➷ i can’t help it. i smile. this brilliant fucking woman is mine.
⁀➷ ❝not all strength is physical, violet.❞
this man seriously owns me. like i am SAT. i just love the way violet was told to stay away from xaden because he’s dangerous, but she found the most comfort with him. her trying to resist him and his attractiveness is me af…
⁀➷ beautiful. fucking. asshole.
⁀➷ you are not attracted to toxic men, i remind myself, and yet, here i am, getting all attracted.
⁀➷ toxic. dangerous. wants to kill you. nope, doesn’t matter. my pulse still skitters like a teenager.
one of my all time favorite enemies to lovers romance i swear it was so good and written perfectly to me. i love these two endlessly🥹🤭
❥ 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎:
i will be talking more about the side characters, but talking about them in depth means spoilers. so let me just say this…rhiannon, aurelie, liam, heaton, sawyer, ridoc, and mira. the love i have for these characters🤭🤭then we have the dragons deigh, andarna, sgaeyl, and tairn. there is nothing i can say about them without completely spoiling a bunch of stuff so just know that the dragons are literally my favorites. they are in charge of everything that has to do with dragons and they’re all different! the excitement i have for the next books to see all these relationships grow. i wanna know more and i’m wondering if rebecca will have some of the books in this series be in some of their povs…but please i seriously wouldn’t mind having three or more books about xaden and violet, kinda like the acotar series!! but just know that there are so many characters in this book to fall in love with hehe.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
❥ 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓈𝒸𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓈:
“now, get back to bed before your wingleader realizes you’re out after curfew.”
“what?” i gawk after him. “you’re my wingleader!”
~this had me giggling🤭
“going for blood today, are we, violence?” he whispers. metal hits the mat again and he kicks it past my head and out of my reach. he’s not taking my daggers to use against me; he’s disarming me just to prove he can. my blood boils.
“my name is violet.” i seethe.
“i think my version fits you better.” he releases my wrist and stands offering me a hand. “we’re not done yet.”
~them on the sparring mat for the first time🫠the way he taught her lessons without hurting her.
then he guides our hands back to my ribs and slides the ruby-hilted blade back into its sheath. the move is unnervingly…hot.
“you’re not going to disarm me?” i challenge as he releases his grip and pushes up more, removing his weight from my body. my ribs expand as i take my full first breath.
“nope. defenseless women have never been my type.”
~BYEBYEBYEnsync vibes LMAO
“did you know that the first time i climbed these steps with dain, i was horrified that there wasn’t a handrail?”
“did you know i can’t stand to hear his name on your lips while you’re leading the way to my room.”
~the jealousy is hot.
“you should end the enemy at your feet.”
“i can’t kill an unconscious man.”
“he could kill you given the same chance.”
“well, that’s a statement on his character. not mine.”
~I LOVE VIOLET’S CHARACTER SO MUCH.
“have you always been this tall?” i blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
“no, i was a child at some point.”
~xaden is effortlessly funny.
“you’ll have to—“
“i know how to handle a corset.”
~okay so, run me over.
“i should have killed him slower.”
“i’m fine.” i’m not.
“never lie to me.”
~🫠pls be mine.
“i just need to know what my chances are here.” my hands curl into fists. the ass has the nerve to smile.
“that’s the oddest way i’ve ever been hit on—“
“not my chances with you, you conceited prick!”
~THIS HAD ME ROLLING😭😂
psa:
dain, jack, and all the other loathed characters that i don’t wanna waste time listing…WE DON’T SPEAK OF THEM HERE…unless you’re talking negatively about them. dain is literally tamlin and a redemption arc for him will not be accepted.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
❥ 𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓇𝓃 & 𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒶:
i was SCREAMING when tairn landed because i just knew he was going to bond with violet, but at the same time i was sad because violet had been protecting andarna so i was rooting for andarna to bond with her and then THEY BOTH BONDED WITH VIOLET. violet is her. when tairn spoke directly into violet’s mind omg i was so excited 😩
⤷ “i know exactly who and what you are, violet sorrengail.”
i just love that one of the strongest dragons chose to bond with violet because of the person that she is omg.
⤷ “you will not fall. i will not allow it.”
the way most dragons let their newly bonded riders fall to their death if they can’t stay on…but tairn put in extra work to keep violet on his back omg🥹tell me that tairn isn’t like violet’s second dad…and overprotective too. their bond is so precious.
⤷ “i’m proud you’re mine.”
andarna is the most precious dragon i swear. finding out that she’s only two years old🥺🥺i love her so fucking much. the power she gave violet to freeze time, but if you use so much of that power, andarna could die. ugh the the way andarna trusted violet with that power. it just really goes to show how well violet carried herself throughout this book. at the end of the book, xaden said got big!! i cannot wait for for the next book.
also can we just quick talk about how funny tairn actually was…
⤷ “you’re bleeding, stop it.”
⤷ “and to think, i’d almost forgotten just how loquacious humans are.”
⤷ “you’re making us look bad, stop it.”
⤷ “now get in the seat and actually hold on this time, or no one is going to believe that i’ve actually chosen you.”
⤷ ”there’s no need to shout. i can hear you just fine. the entire mountain can probably hear you.”
⤷ “pronunciation could use some work.”
⤷ “you’re worthy. at least i think you are, but you apparently don’t pay attention in class.”
⤷ “the closest translation for humans is probably ‘for fuck’s sake.’ now. are you going to stay in your seat this time?”
⤷ “stubborn silver human.”
⤷ “you only fell about a dozen times that trip.”
⤷ “this grumpy ass just caught you a dozen times, silver one.”
⤷ “and i could call you violence like the wingleader.”
⤷ “tell him if he harms you, i’ll scorch the ground where he stands. tell him, or i’ll take it up with cath. word for word, silver one.”
⤷ “i hear it’s all the fashion.”
⤷ “should i get the wingleader?”
⤷ “if they try anything, they’ll be a snack.”
imagine having a dragon like tairn…😭
❥ 𝓈𝑔𝒶𝑒𝓎𝓁:
⤷ “they’re a mated pair, tairn and sgaeyl. the strongest bonded pair in centuries.”
SCREAMINGGGG! oh xaden…how your plans have changed.
⤷ “i belong to tairn and andarna…and, in some really fucked up way…xaden.”
yes violet, yes you do. i love the way sgaeyl can talk directly into violet’s mind too. usually dragons can only do that to their own riders, but tairn and sgaeyl have such a strong bond🤭so now they’re all a lil family🥹
guys xaden and violet being able to speak directly into each others minds. i SCREAMEDDDD. also xaden’s pov for the very last chapter😭i hope the next book has more of his pov!!
❥ 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉:
“what changed?” frustration tightens my grip on the mug. “when exactly did you decide not to ruin me?”
“maybe it was when i saw oren holding a knife to your throat,” he says. “or maybe it was when i realized the bruises on your neck were fingerprints and wanted to kill them all over again just so i could do it slowly. maybe it was the first time i recklessly kissed you or when i realized i’m fucked because i can’t stop thinking about doing more than just kissing you.”
can anyone hear me screaming?
❥ 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈
violet being able to wield lighting and xaden wields shadows…i love their signets so much!
THE BETRAYALS aaaaa i’m so glad rebecca patched things up for the most part between xaden and violet because idk what i would’ve done if THAT was the cliffhanger. now i know i said we don’t speak of dain here but i’m about to drag this bitch through the fucking mud really quick. he was literally supposed to be violet’s best friend. i despise this man, IT SHOULD’VE BEEN HIM AND NOT LIAM. he consistently put violet down and made her feel like she wasn’t good enough to become a dragon rider and then he has the audacity to kiss her and shit and claim that he has feelings for her!? bro what. he’s actually the shittiest person. and then he stole violet’s memory. without her consent. she full on trusted this guy.
⤷ “i’ve unknowingly betrayed xaden…betrayed them all.”
THIS HURT ME OK. violet finding out about xaden’s betrayal, and then dain’s betrayal, and then her feeling as if she betrayed all of them. it was too much.
rebecca…listen to me😭the AUDACITY you had to make me fall in love with liam and then brutally rip him away from me. i could not stop crying. i want to cry right now thinking about it. he was such a fun character. he was literally violet’s protector ugh he was so sweet and flirty. i’m so pissed because i thought maybe rebecca was hinting at a little romance between liam and jesinia or am i the only one who thought that??? this is how y’all know i’m such a slut for romance. i just be pairing characters together after one little interaction lmao. but :( ugh it’s gonna take me a little bit to forgive you, rebecca. that death hurt me like no other and then when xaden found out, i cried HARDER.
violet’s brother being alive…i cannot stop thinking about the next book. i seriously need it right now. i need to know everything. i’m honestly glad this was the cliffhanger tho because it’s not a devastating one hehe.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
this fantasy book makes me crave more fantasy! i really stepped outside of my comfort zone with this one and i’m so glad that i did! not everyone is going to love it, but give it a try because if could be your newest favorite, like it is mine🤭
❥ 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓆𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈:
➛ ❝there’s no where in existence you could go that i wouldn’t find you, violence.❞
➛ ❝none of this is worth it without you.❞
➛ ���i am annoyingly aware of everything you do.❞
➛ ❝stop. fucking. coddling. her.❞ period.
➛ ❝we can love as cowards or die as riders.❞
➛ ❝fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.❞ screaming
➛ ❝i fucking love your hair. if you ever want to bring me to my knees or win an argument, just let it down. i’ll get the point.❞ STOP IT RN. i’m obsessed with his obsession with her.
➛ ❝everything between us is real, violence.❞
➛ ❝you get to feel however you want within these walls.❞
➛ ❝you’re going to be the death of me.❞
➛ ❝welcome to the revolution, violet.❞
⁀➷ ❝a dragon without its rider is a tragedy. a rider without their dragon is dead.❞
welcome to the fourth wing 🐉
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
what is more than infinity stars? i’ll tell you what. it’s this book. besties let me just start with saying…i am a romance/dark romance girly through and through. the only other fantasy books i’ve ever read were the acotar books and that series was so good. easily one of my favorite series ever, but fourth wing? it was even better…literal chefs kiss🤌i was hooked from the very first sentence to the very last. i’ve read one of rebecca’s romance books and i loved it, but her writing fantasy?! she ate that up and left zero crumbs. this is easily one of my top reads of 2023. fourth wing was action packed and the romance was amazing.
❥ 𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈:
⤷ found family
⤷ enemies to lovers
⤷ slow burn
⤷ touch her and you die
⤷ morally grey mmc
⤷ forced proximity
❥ 𝒶𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒾𝒸:
⤷ dragons
⤷ academic setting
⤷ divergent vibes
⤷ dystopian fantasy
❥ 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎:
this book is about violet sorrengail, the daughter of a high ranked general. most of her life she was practicing/training to be apart of the scribe quadrant because of her love for books and her intelligence, but her mother told her that she must follow in her siblings footsteps and become a dragon rider. violet is in no way prepared for that, but she ends up going to basgiath war college to do exactly what her mother asked of her. to become a dragon rider, you must pass all these very deadly challenges that are designed to kill off the weak. while violet is trying her very best to become a dragon rider…she‘s constantly fighting her attraction for xaden riorson (her enemy that she was told to stay away from). xaden is a well respected wingleader of the fourth wing and his one goal was to kill violet because of the family she belongs to, but what happens when her life suddenly becomes tethered to his?
❥ 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈:
this book was so easy to follow and it was so fast paced. i was a little intimidated because the font was small and the chapters were longer than i usually prefer, but there was not a single page in this book that was boring. i’m usually the type to see how many pages are left in a chapter, but i simply did not care. i was fully consumed by this book and got totally lost in it. the action…it caused me a LOT of anxiety, but i ate that shit up. this book had my heart RACING. there were so many parts in this book that literally took my breath away…had me forgetting how to breathe. the romance!?! ♾️/10. the angst, the spice, the banter…literally everything you want for a romance plot. the writing was absolutely amazing. the descriptive writing omg…10/10. it was so easy to picture all of the different settings and picture everything that was happening. i felt like i was sitting in the front row watching this entire book unfold. this book has so much potential to be turned into a movie omg please😭cast theo james as xaden IMMEDIATELY and then cast me as violet🤭and then let’s just erase dain completely. i adored most of the characters in this book. i love when i fall in love with side characters just as much as main characters.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
❥ 𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓁 (𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒):
⁀➷ ❝i am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. i am infinite.❞
⁀➷ ❝i will not die today.❞
this woman. one of my all time favorite fmc’s who i admire so much. her character development was phenomenal. i swear it was the most satisfying thing about this book. as soon as she was painted to be this tiny, weak, helpless woman…i was impatiently waiting for my girl to prove everyone wrong and she DID that. i love how well she knew her own mind and was not afraid to come forward and speak it. a place like the riders quadrant is where people go and get stripped of their humanity, but i love how violet kept all her morals intact. she knows who she is and y’all she is THAT bitch. the way she had so many people wanting/trying to kill her, but she never lost sight of who she was so when it came to her having a perfect chance to end the lives of those who wanted to end hers…she didn’t want to do it. it’s not her. ahhh i just love her so much.
❥ 𝓍𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓃 𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 (𝒽𝓊𝓈𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒹):
⁀➷ ❝fascinating. you look all frail and breakable, but you’re a violent little thing, aren’t you?❞
immediately theo james. that is who he reminds me of. but then THE FANART!?! was not prepared😩xaden is a man you steer clear from and because he’s that kinda man…sign me and violet the fuck up cuz we’re THERE…on our knees. he’s the type of man that raises your pulse because of fear or lust…there’s no in between. xaden has so many walls up and throughout the book, violet tears those down…one by one. i loved xaden’s character from the start which is crazy to say because he made it very clear that he wanted to kill violet. but just know this… behind every villain is me falling in love with them.
⁀➷ ❝i might be a villain to some, but not you.❞
this man could literally run me over with his dragon and i’d still chase after him. i love his leadership and it meant so much more to me after finding out about his past. this man deserves the world. i love how protective he is and how he always challenged violet to do better and get stronger. AND HE’S FUNNY!? he had me giggling, swooning, kicking my feet, BLUSHING. this man may not be real but he gave me real butterflies in my tummy every time he spoke.
❥ 𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒:
first things first. the spicy scenes…i’m blushing just thinking about them. they definitely live in my mind rent free. the sexual tension was REAL. the things xaden did for violet throughout this entire fucking book.
⤷ he had an entire arsenal of daggers crafted specifically for her.
⤷ he designed a saddle for tairn so that she could ride without falling to her death.
⤷ he taught her how to defend herself.
⤷ he protected her when she needed it.
⤷ he had a harness made for andarna that attaches to tairn so she could keep up with them.
⤷ he picked violets for her…😩
this man is the definition of perfect. idc. i will stand by this man forever. he was one of the very few people who saw violet’s potential. he allowed her to handle herself because he knew that she could. he respected her and he showed it in more ways than one. the way he nicknamed her violence😭🤭
⁀➷ she exists, and i get turned on.
⁀➷ i can’t help it. i smile. this brilliant fucking woman is mine.
⁀➷ ❝not all strength is physical, violet.❞
this man seriously owns me. like i am SAT. i just love the way violet was told to stay away from xaden because he’s dangerous, but she found the most comfort with him. her trying to resist him and his attractiveness is me af…
⁀➷ beautiful. fucking. asshole.
⁀➷ you are not attracted to toxic men, i remind myself, and yet, here i am, getting all attracted.
⁀➷ toxic. dangerous. wants to kill you. nope, doesn’t matter. my pulse still skitters like a teenager.
one of my all time favorite enemies to lovers romance i swear it was so good and written perfectly to me. i love these two endlessly🥹🤭
❥ 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎:
i will be talking more about the side characters, but talking about them in depth means spoilers. so let me just say this…rhiannon, aurelie, liam, heaton, sawyer, ridoc, and mira. the love i have for these characters🤭🤭then we have the dragons deigh, andarna, sgaeyl, and tairn. there is nothing i can say about them without completely spoiling a bunch of stuff so just know that the dragons are literally my favorites. they are in charge of everything that has to do with dragons and they’re all different! the excitement i have for the next books to see all these relationships grow. i wanna know more and i’m wondering if rebecca will have some of the books in this series be in some of their povs…but please i seriously wouldn’t mind having three or more books about xaden and violet, kinda like the acotar series!! but just know that there are so many characters in this book to fall in love with hehe.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
❥ 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓈𝒸𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓈:
“now, get back to bed before your wingleader realizes you’re out after curfew.”
“what?” i gawk after him. “you’re my wingleader!”
~this had me giggling🤭
“going for blood today, are we, violence?” he whispers. metal hits the mat again and he kicks it past my head and out of my reach. he’s not taking my daggers to use against me; he’s disarming me just to prove he can. my blood boils.
“my name is violet.” i seethe.
“i think my version fits you better.” he releases my wrist and stands offering me a hand. “we’re not done yet.”
~them on the sparring mat for the first time🫠the way he taught her lessons without hurting her.
then he guides our hands back to my ribs and slides the ruby-hilted blade back into its sheath. the move is unnervingly…hot.
“you’re not going to disarm me?” i challenge as he releases his grip and pushes up more, removing his weight from my body. my ribs expand as i take my full first breath.
“nope. defenseless women have never been my type.”
~BYEBYEBYE
“did you know that the first time i climbed these steps with dain, i was horrified that there wasn’t a handrail?”
“did you know i can’t stand to hear his name on your lips while you’re leading the way to my room.”
~the jealousy is hot.
“you should end the enemy at your feet.”
“i can’t kill an unconscious man.”
“he could kill you given the same chance.”
“well, that’s a statement on his character. not mine.”
~I LOVE VIOLET’S CHARACTER SO MUCH.
“have you always been this tall?” i blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
“no, i was a child at some point.”
~xaden is effortlessly funny.
“you’ll have to—“
“i know how to handle a corset.”
~okay so, run me over.
“i should have killed him slower.”
“i’m fine.” i’m not.
“never lie to me.”
~🫠pls be mine.
“i just need to know what my chances are here.” my hands curl into fists. the ass has the nerve to smile.
“that’s the oddest way i’ve ever been hit on—“
“not my chances with you, you conceited prick!”
~THIS HAD ME ROLLING😭😂
psa:
dain, jack, and all the other loathed characters that i don’t wanna waste time listing…WE DON’T SPEAK OF THEM HERE…unless you’re talking negatively about them. dain is literally tamlin and a redemption arc for him will not be accepted.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻 𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷
❥ 𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓇𝓃 & 𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒶:
i was SCREAMING when tairn landed because i just knew he was going to bond with violet, but at the same time i was sad because violet had been protecting andarna so i was rooting for andarna to bond with her and then THEY BOTH BONDED WITH VIOLET. violet is her. when tairn spoke directly into violet’s mind omg i was so excited 😩
⤷ “i know exactly who and what you are, violet sorrengail.”
i just love that one of the strongest dragons chose to bond with violet because of the person that she is omg.
⤷ “you will not fall. i will not allow it.”
the way most dragons let their newly bonded riders fall to their death if they can’t stay on…but tairn put in extra work to keep violet on his back omg🥹tell me that tairn isn’t like violet’s second dad…and overprotective too. their bond is so precious.
⤷ “i’m proud you’re mine.”
andarna is the most precious dragon i swear. finding out that she’s only two years old🥺🥺i love her so fucking much. the power she gave violet to freeze time, but if you use so much of that power, andarna could die. ugh the the way andarna trusted violet with that power. it just really goes to show how well violet carried herself throughout this book. at the end of the book, xaden said got big!! i cannot wait for for the next book.
also can we just quick talk about how funny tairn actually was…
⤷ “you’re bleeding, stop it.”
⤷ “and to think, i’d almost forgotten just how loquacious humans are.”
⤷ “you’re making us look bad, stop it.”
⤷ “now get in the seat and actually hold on this time, or no one is going to believe that i’ve actually chosen you.”
⤷ ”there’s no need to shout. i can hear you just fine. the entire mountain can probably hear you.”
⤷ “pronunciation could use some work.”
⤷ “you’re worthy. at least i think you are, but you apparently don’t pay attention in class.”
⤷ “the closest translation for humans is probably ‘for fuck’s sake.’ now. are you going to stay in your seat this time?”
⤷ “stubborn silver human.”
⤷ “you only fell about a dozen times that trip.”
⤷ “this grumpy ass just caught you a dozen times, silver one.”
⤷ “and i could call you violence like the wingleader.”
⤷ “tell him if he harms you, i’ll scorch the ground where he stands. tell him, or i’ll take it up with cath. word for word, silver one.”
⤷ “i hear it’s all the fashion.”
⤷ “should i get the wingleader?”
⤷ “if they try anything, they’ll be a snack.”
imagine having a dragon like tairn…😭
❥ 𝓈𝑔𝒶𝑒𝓎𝓁:
⤷ “they’re a mated pair, tairn and sgaeyl. the strongest bonded pair in centuries.”
SCREAMINGGGG! oh xaden…how your plans have changed.
⤷ “i belong to tairn and andarna…and, in some really fucked up way…xaden.”
yes violet, yes you do. i love the way sgaeyl can talk directly into violet’s mind too. usually dragons can only do that to their own riders, but tairn and sgaeyl have such a strong bond🤭so now they’re all a lil family🥹
guys xaden and violet being able to speak directly into each others minds. i SCREAMEDDDD. also xaden’s pov for the very last chapter😭i hope the next book has more of his pov!!
❥ 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉:
“what changed?” frustration tightens my grip on the mug. “when exactly did you decide not to ruin me?”
“maybe it was when i saw oren holding a knife to your throat,” he says. “or maybe it was when i realized the bruises on your neck were fingerprints and wanted to kill them all over again just so i could do it slowly. maybe it was the first time i recklessly kissed you or when i realized i’m fucked because i can’t stop thinking about doing more than just kissing you.”
can anyone hear me screaming?
❥ 𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈
violet being able to wield lighting and xaden wields shadows…i love their signets so much!
THE BETRAYALS aaaaa i’m so glad rebecca patched things up for the most part between xaden and violet because idk what i would’ve done if THAT was the cliffhanger. now i know i said we don’t speak of dain here but i’m about to drag this bitch through the fucking mud really quick. he was literally supposed to be violet’s best friend. i despise this man, IT SHOULD’VE BEEN HIM AND NOT LIAM. he consistently put violet down and made her feel like she wasn’t good enough to become a dragon rider and then he has the audacity to kiss her and shit and claim that he has feelings for her!? bro what. he’s actually the shittiest person. and then he stole violet’s memory. without her consent. she full on trusted this guy.
⤷ “i’ve unknowingly betrayed xaden…betrayed them all.”
THIS HURT ME OK. violet finding out about xaden’s betrayal, and then dain’s betrayal, and then her feeling as if she betrayed all of them. it was too much.
rebecca…listen to me😭the AUDACITY you had to make me fall in love with liam and then brutally rip him away from me. i could not stop crying. i want to cry right now thinking about it. he was such a fun character. he was literally violet’s protector ugh he was so sweet and flirty. i’m so pissed because i thought maybe rebecca was hinting at a little romance between liam and jesinia or am i the only one who thought that??? this is how y’all know i’m such a slut for romance. i just be pairing characters together after one little interaction lmao. but :( ugh it’s gonna take me a little bit to forgive you, rebecca. that death hurt me like no other and then when xaden found out, i cried HARDER.
violet’s brother being alive…i cannot stop thinking about the next book. i seriously need it right now. i need to know everything. i’m honestly glad this was the cliffhanger tho because it’s not a devastating one hehe.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･･:*.ೃ࿔⋆❀°
𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻
this fantasy book makes me crave more fantasy! i really stepped outside of my comfort zone with this one and i’m so glad that i did! not everyone is going to love it, but give it a try because if could be your newest favorite, like it is mine🤭
❥ 𝒻𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓆𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈:
➛ ❝there’s no where in existence you could go that i wouldn’t find you, violence.❞
➛ ❝none of this is worth it without you.❞
➛ ���i am annoyingly aware of everything you do.❞
➛ ❝stop. fucking. coddling. her.❞ period.
➛ ❝we can love as cowards or die as riders.❞
➛ ❝fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.❞ screaming
➛ ❝i fucking love your hair. if you ever want to bring me to my knees or win an argument, just let it down. i’ll get the point.❞ STOP IT RN. i’m obsessed with his obsession with her.
➛ ❝everything between us is real, violence.❞
➛ ❝you get to feel however you want within these walls.❞
➛ ❝you’re going to be the death of me.❞
➛ ❝welcome to the revolution, violet.❞
August 23, 2024
5 ⭐️ If Throne of Glass, Divergent, Eragon, and Zodiac Academy had a baby. . . but this is better!!!
*PS: I don't really even like ZA, but it's similar because of the academic setting, the heroine's journey to understanding her strength, and the enemies-to-lovers aspect (it's not quite a bully romance though).
You know when you finish a book, and it leaves an ache in your chest because it was so good, and now it’s over? Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel after finishing Fourth Wing.
Summary:
There are only two ways to leave Basgiath War College: graduate or die.
Violet was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet life among books. However, when her mother, the commanding general, forces her to join the Riders Quadrants to become a dragon rider, she must push herself past all limitations in order to survive.
Staying alive would be a lot easier if Violet didn't have a target on her back for not only being 'small and frail' but the daughter of the woman responsible for the deaths of many cadet's traitorous parents, including Xaden Riorson's - the most powerful and ruthless wingleader. She should stay away from him, but a fire burns between these two that is bound to consume them both.
With stakes this high, every day could be her last. So Violet must learn to do the one thing she was never trained to do: fight.
"I will not die today." -Violet Sorrengail
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult romantasy
✨ true enemies to lovers
✨ war college setting
✨ dragon riders
✨ magic
✨ underdog fmc / chronic illness rep
✨ scarred anti-hero mmc
✨ unique world building
✨ complex politics
✨ found family
✨ high stakes
✨ insta-lust with slow burn
✨ 2/5 🌶️ (2 explicit spicy scenes)
✨ cliffhanger ending
My Thoughts:
I am utterly obsessed! Mark my words, this is the next big romantasy series!
The writing is easy to digest, the world-building is fascinating, the heroine is an underdog and total badass, and the romance develops at a believable pace and is scorching! I laughed. I cried. And I fell in love. This book will forever live in my head rent-free!
Violet Sorrengail is a secret badass! I LOVE her!!!!! She’s a twenty-year-old bookworm who’s expected to live a life as a scribe but now must survive and become a dragon rider. Physically, she’s smaller and frailer than the other cadets in the quadrant, but that doesn’t make her weak. Her mind is her strength and what she needs to survive. I love how Violet handles her situation with courage and grace and how she creates meaningful relationships at the risk of her own heart. She’s extremely relatable, and I can’t wait to see how she grows.
Xaden Riorson...this man has easily become one of my top book boyfriends of all time! The son of a traitor, he’s out for revenge against Violet, whose mother led to his father's death. From a distance, he’s a scary, scarred, intense anti-hero, but deep down, he’s a man who is loyal, caring, and wise. And the way this man obsesses with Violet….damn. You truly don’t know if he wants to kill or f*ck her, probably both, but yeah, it’s hot! The things I would let this man do to me. 🥵
The enemies-to-lovers romance was perfect, with an intense slow burn and eventually spice! I appreciated the time it took for these two to finally get together. And when they finally do, it’s explosive! Thank goodness this is new adult fantasy because the things Xaden says and did go straight to my core, lol.
The dragons stole my heart. I don’t want to say too much because it would spoil some of the books, but they are terrifying and amazing!!! They have their own hierarchy and politics, which we don’t see much of since they’re very secretive, but it’s fascinating how they decide to bond with humans to create a symbiotic relationship that ultimately helps protect the land. Can't wait to learn more about them in the next book!
The found family aspect was done so well! As a dragon rider, you're encouraged not to form strong attachments since most people in your school will either die before becoming riders or later on during battle. But Violet goes against this and finds her ride or dies - specifically Rhiannon and Liam! 💕
The world building so easy to understand yet very interesting. I’ve never actually read a series focused on dragons and dragon riders, so this was new and exciting for me! It was so interesting learning about the different quadrants - scribe, rider, healer, and infantry - and the schooling required for each. Obviously, this story focuses more on the Riders Quadrant, which honestly is the most exciting because it's so intense, challenging, and cutthroat. I personally don’t know if I’d survive, but maybe if I had a friend like Violet, it would be possible!
PS: For all you Manon and Abraxos fans out there, you’re going to fall in love with this world!!!
For the most part, the story was a bit predictable, but it’s all done in a way that I was entertained and excited to keep reading! I mean, we've seen similar stories where the seemingly weak heroine finds herself in a kill-or-be-killed situation and has to learn to fight and ultimately ends up thriving. So in that regard, you can guess where the story is heading.
HOWEVER . . .
That ENDING was everything I was not expecting! Those last 50 pages were absolutely epic and blew my fucking mind!!!!!! I DID NOT see that ending coming! I cried and then was left stunned by that last sentence. It's a cliffhanger, but it'll leave you more in shock instead of in pain, so don't be afraid of it! It's brutal and will make you want to immediately pick up the next book. Luckily we don't have to wait for long since the release date is November 7, 2023!
But with everything I love, there are a few things I didn't like . . .
Sometimes, the wording Violet used to concerning Xaden was a bit repetitive and immature. She kept describing him as beautiful and hot anytime he crossed her mind or showed up. I wish she would have used other words from time to time.
The reader has to essentially piece together why Xaden falls for Violet. It’s quickly explained later in the story, but by then, it felt like we were being told more than shown. I would have liked for him to verbalize it more during the story. At least, more than him just saying things like “I can’t stay away from you”or “you’ll be the f*cking death of me”. Every time he's say those things, I was like, tell me why, though!
Overall, Fourth Wing is an epic story that you will devour! I wouldn’t say this is a perfect 5-star read, maybe it’s closer to 4.5 since it wasn’t ‘perfect’, but honestly, I don't care. I haven’t read a fantasy I felt this way about in a long time, so I'm giving it all the stars.
Thank you, Entangled Publishing, for sending me an arc copy in exchange for a review. As always, all opinions are my own.
-
The Empyrean Series:
1. Fourth Wing: 5 ⭐️
2. Iron Flame: 3 ⭐️
3. Book 3
4. Book 4
5. Book 5
-
Favorite Quotes:
"Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you're really a violent little thing, aren't you?"
_______
“Are you going to die a scribe? Or live as a rider?”
_______
"You want to know why you're still alive? Every day I let you live, I get to convince myself that there's still a part of me that's a decent person."
_______
"Not all strength is physical."
_______
"She should have killed you in the field, but she's merciful. That's not a flaw I possess."
_______
"He cares for you. That’s already hard enough for him."
"He cares about keeping me alive. There's a difference."
"Not for him there isn't."
_______
"I am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. I am infinite."
_______
"There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence.”
_______
"Oh, gods."
"Which one are you calling out for? Because it's just you and me in this room, Vi, and I don't share."
_______
"I'm going to keep you. You're mine, Violet."
_______
"I would rather lose this entire war than live without, and if that means I have to prove myself over and over, then I'll do it. You gave me your heart, and I'm keeping it."
_______
"None of this is worth it without you."
_______
*PS: I don't really even like ZA, but it's similar because of the academic setting, the heroine's journey to understanding her strength, and the enemies-to-lovers aspect (it's not quite a bully romance though).
You know when you finish a book, and it leaves an ache in your chest because it was so good, and now it’s over? Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel after finishing Fourth Wing.
Summary:
There are only two ways to leave Basgiath War College: graduate or die.
Violet was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet life among books. However, when her mother, the commanding general, forces her to join the Riders Quadrants to become a dragon rider, she must push herself past all limitations in order to survive.
Staying alive would be a lot easier if Violet didn't have a target on her back for not only being 'small and frail' but the daughter of the woman responsible for the deaths of many cadet's traitorous parents, including Xaden Riorson's - the most powerful and ruthless wingleader. She should stay away from him, but a fire burns between these two that is bound to consume them both.
With stakes this high, every day could be her last. So Violet must learn to do the one thing she was never trained to do: fight.
"I will not die today." -Violet Sorrengail
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult romantasy
✨ true enemies to lovers
✨ war college setting
✨ dragon riders
✨ magic
✨ underdog fmc / chronic illness rep
✨ scarred anti-hero mmc
✨ unique world building
✨ complex politics
✨ found family
✨ high stakes
✨ insta-lust with slow burn
✨ 2/5 🌶️ (2 explicit spicy scenes)
✨ cliffhanger ending
My Thoughts:
I am utterly obsessed! Mark my words, this is the next big romantasy series!
The writing is easy to digest, the world-building is fascinating, the heroine is an underdog and total badass, and the romance develops at a believable pace and is scorching! I laughed. I cried. And I fell in love. This book will forever live in my head rent-free!
Violet Sorrengail is a secret badass! I LOVE her!!!!! She’s a twenty-year-old bookworm who’s expected to live a life as a scribe but now must survive and become a dragon rider. Physically, she’s smaller and frailer than the other cadets in the quadrant, but that doesn’t make her weak. Her mind is her strength and what she needs to survive. I love how Violet handles her situation with courage and grace and how she creates meaningful relationships at the risk of her own heart. She’s extremely relatable, and I can’t wait to see how she grows.
Xaden Riorson...this man has easily become one of my top book boyfriends of all time! The son of a traitor, he’s out for revenge against Violet, whose mother led to his father's death. From a distance, he’s a scary, scarred, intense anti-hero, but deep down, he’s a man who is loyal, caring, and wise. And the way this man obsesses with Violet….damn. You truly don’t know if he wants to kill or f*ck her, probably both, but yeah, it’s hot! The things I would let this man do to me. 🥵
The enemies-to-lovers romance was perfect, with an intense slow burn and eventually spice! I appreciated the time it took for these two to finally get together. And when they finally do, it’s explosive! Thank goodness this is new adult fantasy because the things Xaden says and did go straight to my core, lol.
The dragons stole my heart. I don’t want to say too much because it would spoil some of the books, but they are terrifying and amazing!!! They have their own hierarchy and politics, which we don’t see much of since they’re very secretive, but it’s fascinating how they decide to bond with humans to create a symbiotic relationship that ultimately helps protect the land. Can't wait to learn more about them in the next book!
The found family aspect was done so well! As a dragon rider, you're encouraged not to form strong attachments since most people in your school will either die before becoming riders or later on during battle. But Violet goes against this and finds her ride or dies - specifically Rhiannon and Liam! 💕
The world building so easy to understand yet very interesting. I’ve never actually read a series focused on dragons and dragon riders, so this was new and exciting for me! It was so interesting learning about the different quadrants - scribe, rider, healer, and infantry - and the schooling required for each. Obviously, this story focuses more on the Riders Quadrant, which honestly is the most exciting because it's so intense, challenging, and cutthroat. I personally don’t know if I’d survive, but maybe if I had a friend like Violet, it would be possible!
PS: For all you Manon and Abraxos fans out there, you’re going to fall in love with this world!!!
For the most part, the story was a bit predictable, but it’s all done in a way that I was entertained and excited to keep reading! I mean, we've seen similar stories where the seemingly weak heroine finds herself in a kill-or-be-killed situation and has to learn to fight and ultimately ends up thriving. So in that regard, you can guess where the story is heading.
HOWEVER . . .
That ENDING was everything I was not expecting! Those last 50 pages were absolutely epic and blew my fucking mind!!!!!! I DID NOT see that ending coming! I cried and then was left stunned by that last sentence. It's a cliffhanger, but it'll leave you more in shock instead of in pain, so don't be afraid of it! It's brutal and will make you want to immediately pick up the next book. Luckily we don't have to wait for long since the release date is November 7, 2023!
But with everything I love, there are a few things I didn't like . . .
Sometimes, the wording Violet used to concerning Xaden was a bit repetitive and immature. She kept describing him as beautiful and hot anytime he crossed her mind or showed up. I wish she would have used other words from time to time.
The reader has to essentially piece together why Xaden falls for Violet. It’s quickly explained later in the story, but by then, it felt like we were being told more than shown. I would have liked for him to verbalize it more during the story. At least, more than him just saying things like “I can’t stay away from you”or “you’ll be the f*cking death of me”. Every time he's say those things, I was like, tell me why, though!
Overall, Fourth Wing is an epic story that you will devour! I wouldn’t say this is a perfect 5-star read, maybe it’s closer to 4.5 since it wasn’t ‘perfect’, but honestly, I don't care. I haven’t read a fantasy I felt this way about in a long time, so I'm giving it all the stars.
Thank you, Entangled Publishing, for sending me an arc copy in exchange for a review. As always, all opinions are my own.
-
The Empyrean Series:
1. Fourth Wing: 5 ⭐️
2. Iron Flame: 3 ⭐️
3. Book 3
4. Book 4
5. Book 5
-
Favorite Quotes:
"Fascinating. You look all frail and breakable, but you're really a violent little thing, aren't you?"
_______
“Are you going to die a scribe? Or live as a rider?”
_______
"You want to know why you're still alive? Every day I let you live, I get to convince myself that there's still a part of me that's a decent person."
_______
"Not all strength is physical."
_______
"She should have killed you in the field, but she's merciful. That's not a flaw I possess."
_______
"He cares for you. That’s already hard enough for him."
"He cares about keeping me alive. There's a difference."
"Not for him there isn't."
_______
"I am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. I am infinite."
_______
"There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence.”
_______
"Oh, gods."
"Which one are you calling out for? Because it's just you and me in this room, Vi, and I don't share."
_______
"I'm going to keep you. You're mine, Violet."
_______
"I would rather lose this entire war than live without, and if that means I have to prove myself over and over, then I'll do it. You gave me your heart, and I'm keeping it."
_______
"None of this is worth it without you."
_______
October 4, 2023
this review will contain spoilers
Do you remember when you were 10 and you were left alone playing in your backyard, talking to yourself, and in the little roleplay in your mind you were the coolest, hottest, bravest and everyone around you thought you were impressive, badass , with a "mind sexy as hell" (quote from this book)and you blew everyone's minds because you can be as cool as you want to inside your own head?
Yeah, this is what this book reads like. I can't humanely comprehend how this has a higher rating than Six of Crows. I just can't. Here are the things I agree with that everyone has been saying:
Good idea, fucking awful, god awful execution. And a little bit of a Shadow and Bone rip off if you ask me.
She is supposed to be a scribe. She is forced to become a rider, she gets there, her childhood best friends who has always had feelings for her is mad that she is there, and worried that she won't survive. But don't worry, because the SHADOW WIELDER bad boy who hates her is there to train her and teach her all about that world. Oh and by the end she ends up being a LIGHTENING WIELDER. There hasn't been one in centuries.
May the sun summoner bless you Fourth Wing, you're about to get roasted.
Let's get the disability rep talk out of the way, many people told me there was some. And even if there is, the author approached the subject so so so subtlely I honestly couldn't even tell it was there. Because the only thing that was actually written was: I am so tiny, I am so weak, I am so fragile, frail, I will crumble. Please, don't send me to the dragon riding academy, because I am ramen noodle and I will break and die. Have I also mentioned I am white, pale, and very very very very thin? By the way, I am tiny. I am so smoll. I can't even jump on the dragon's back I am so small.
How will she ever survive?
I feel like for people who don’t know that specific disability, she doesn’t give you any insight? Like what does it mean? How does it happen? What is it called? As someone who had never heard of it before it was hard to even notice when she was talking about the disability. It didn’t bring any kind of awareness (which I’d think would be the whole point) Also someone who is this breakable can’t be having wild fucking sex but apparently we forgot about her disability during the sex scenes lmao. But it doesn’t matter because no matter what, everyone wanted to kill her and THERE WAS NO WAY SHE WOULD EVER SURVIVE
In this place where apparently people die daily, like flies. So much danger, so much death, so much struggle. That you don't see. You just hear about it because the author got too lazy to actually do any world building. So for the first half of the book there is just a bunch of telling and no showing.
But don't worry, this frail, little pale, white girl, with white hair will bond not ONE BUT TWO of the rarest most powerful dragons alive. Even if she's not even tall enough to jump on their back.
Also, enemies to lovers? Where? Where the fuck was that? These two have less chemistry than a priest with a hooker. Her mom is responsible for the death of someone in his family, so he blames her, he wants to kill her, he hates her from the momen the sees her (it lasts about two pages). But every time SHE SEES him, all she can think of is: "He's a shark and everyone next to him is a fish", Dammit I don't want to find this asshole hot, but he's so hot", " "omg, he calls me violence intead of violet, I am not attracted to toxic men but why do I want to bounce on his dick sooooooooooo bad..."
So she basically sounds like a 14 year old valley girl for the entire book.
They barely have any significant encounters, all of their interactions are so cringe that it makes me think this book should have been published in 2001. He smells like citrus, he has 107 scars on his back. And he tells her she's going to be the death of him every time he gets a chance.
"He's a very dangerous addiction. Something women will kill for. "
If you catch me killing for men, please, end me first.
Anyways, of course we have the most recycled sex dialogue on the plannet.
OH GODS - WHICH GOD ARE YOU CALLING OUT FOR ITS JUST ME HERE AND I DONT SHARE
They fall deeply in love with each other, even though they barely interacted throughout the book, barely created a connection and didn't even hate each other at all for longer than a couple of pages. She bonds with the most powerful dragons alive, one of her dragons is mated to HIS DRAGON, and every time the dragons get horny SO DO THEY. So they have to learn how to control the hornyness coming from the dragons wanting to fuck. I wish I was joking.
The book ends with a very predictable cliffhanger (which is a rip off from Red Queen and Divergent) and now this is one of the best selling books in the world.
Watchu gonna do.
I guess there is something out there for everyone. Part of me thinks that most people got paid really well to love this book so much. But that would be disingenuous of me to say, because I know people who didn't get paid who enjoyed it. So I guess I can see that this book might feel nostalgic.
It gives you all the 2001 writing cringe fest, so if you missed reading something like Twilight, you'll definitely have fun. The characters are as childish as Zodiac Academy characters, so if you enjoy that, you might have a good time. She steals elements from Harry Potter, Shadow and Bone (most of the plot actually) ACOTAR, and used the writing style and sex scene lines most booktok people love, so BOOM! Best-Seller.
Anyways, I am finally fucking free. I think I have learned my lesson and I willl chill on the booktok recommendations for a LONG LONG LONG TIME.
She just "borrowed" SO FREAKING MUCH from many other popular series that this feels so unoriginal. It almost feels like she threw this book into an AI and said: write me a YA novel and the AI grabbed all the most popular series and put it in there. The sex scenes are all repetitive and recycled. It reads like YA, but it has none of the good aspects from YA, there’s too much sexual content that adds nothing to the plot (and this is supposed to be a fantasy series) So yeah, it's a no from me. Too bad as well because the dragons were cool.
UPDATE: I was literally going through my old Throne of Glass highlights and found ANOTHER series this author ripped off. Aelin says she wakes up everyday and tells herself she will not be afraid. Guess who does that too in this series? 🤣
March 1, 2024
”there is no me without you.”
I. NEED. THE. NEXT. BOOK. NOW. 🗣️
— i cannot gather my thoughts and get my points out coherently rn — like how can i even write this review and explain how much i loved this book - i swear this book had me in the biggest fkn chokehold 2 chapters in!! I. AM. OBSESSED. WITH. THIS. BOOK. fourth wing had a great mixture between romance and high stakes, this story was giving me major divergent and the hunger games vibes like when i tell you the vibes where there, THEY WERE THERE. it had everything i loved (and dragons) - i haven’t felt this excited about a fantasy book in MONTHS but this was captivating and now i feel a reading slump coming bc of it lmao rip to me. this is a book that is really easy to get into, it’s very fast paced and was engaging right from the beginning to the very end, I WAS HOOKED!! this lives up to the massive hype it’s getting, i get it now.. i could have read this in a day, but i needed to slow it down and savour this book.
➳ i found the fantasy and world building easy to understand (there are no dumb info dumps) - so this book is perfect for those who are new to reading fantasy; yarros takes what most other books only manage to allude to and truly brings depth to her story which brings it to life. i got hooked with the whole fantasy war school, quadrants and politics setting. this is a book i want to live in, i want to jump into the pages and never leave!!
➳ i understand now when people say it was very predictable bc i guessed that ending from page 1 - however, i would much rather have a predictable book than one that makes no sense bc it is trying to confuse the reader w so much unnecessary shit added into it. this was done in a perfect way.
”you look all frail and breakable, but you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”
↳ violet is probably one of the most incredible FMCs i have read about in a while. i loved her tight bond w her sister, her dragons and the love she has for books. she’s tough, very strong willed, quick witted and not afraid to go the extra mile to succeed. she works through each challenge that is thrown at her by using her strengths and knowledge, and proves she belongs just like everyone else. i loved reading about her journey, seeing her exceed all expectations and break down every barrier she succumbed.
— there is an disability representation with the fmc (she has a chronic illness) and the author done an amazing job at showing how her chronic illness doesn’t define her. i love how she shows everyone she is not some frail weakling that constantly needs to be protected.
↳ xaden is first introduced as the most powerful wing leader violet is warned to STAY AWAY from. violet had this superstition that he is out to kill her bc her mother had his father executed. but from the get go, we all know as an audience he doesn’t want to kill her, he was so smitten for violet right from the start. that man had weapons custom made for violet that would fit her body type, built a harness for andarna that clips onto tairn just so she could ride along with them and also literally made a saddle for violet to use on tairn so she doesn’t fall off while riding!! i can’t explain how much i love this man and his grumpy exterior but deep down he’s a big softy for those he loves. I JUST LOVE MEN WHO SHOW THEIR LOVE THROUGH ACTIONS!!
— i will take no slander on him EVER. he is that typical broody, morally grey love interest ppl roll their eyes over, but he has DEPTH. this man fr had me kicking my feet in the air, giggling and screaming into my pillow whenever he would call violet “violence” 🤭 he is exactly what vi needed!! i just love how he always believed in her and only wants to see her at her full potential and succeed.
the romance: oh my goddd, the romance was perfect!! 😮💨🤌🏼 the slow burn? was burning, absolutely delicious. enemies to lovers? SPLENDID, BEAUTIFUL, EXECUTED PERFECTLY. i was itching for xaden and vi sm. the spice? DELECTABLE. TOE CURLING. the enemies aspect of this book was so satisfying, istg it had me going feral !! the tension was EVERYTHING. it's the perfect build up and the pay off is amazing once it happens.
↳ dain is another adam kent loser side hoe. he acts like vi is some fragile little girl that needs constant protection, tells her to leave bc he wanted her to be a scribe like she was intended to be not a dragon rider and hides her away. he was constantly holding her back and questions her ability at every turn,, PLS HE IS ADAM KENT CODED. and the sort of love triangle was very juliette, adam and warner literally cut the mf cameras. his death arc when?? next book im praying.
↳ tairn and andarna - they were the best addition to this book!! yarros done an incredible job with providing so much details about the dragons, their history and their personalities - i absolutely loved the interactions between the dragons and their riders - i fkn love tairn my grump, i adored his protectiveness over violet and would not even think twice about burning you alive if you hurt or touch her, yes xaden included lmaoo. he was so snarky it had me giggling w how sassy and unbothered he was. and i love how tairn and sgaeyl were a mated pair bc it ended up making violet and xaden tethered heh 🤭
“there’s no where in existence you
could go that i wouldn’t find you, violence”
— okay but i could enthuse ab every little detail of this book, but this is one of those stories that you NEED to read. you don't just read a book like this, you live in it and never want to return, specially bc in this world xaden exists and you get to ride dragons.
this isn’t a perfect book there are some flaws, but this was perfect to me! like yes it is super predictable, yes it’s tropey, but am i obsessed? YES, YES I AM. it had everything i wanted in a fantasy book and so many dragons. this story will be something different to everyone, you’re either going to love or hate it, but you need to read this at least once in your life. but ahh i can’t wait to get my greedy little hands on iron flame, i needed that book in my hands yesterday.
thank you amelie & hannah for br w me!! 🩷✨
October 22, 2024
1.5/5
New half-year resolution—I need to stop taking recommendations from Booktok.
I’m not gonna to lie here, if this series hadn't been raved about everywhere I looked online, I probably wouldn't have read it. I’m trying to stop reading TikTok popular books, but the rating in this book made me picked it up. Fourth Wing was my first book by Rebecca Yarros, so I didn't know what exactly to expect, but at least now I know that it will be my first and last story by this author, because it turned out not to be for me.
This review probably won't cover all the things I didn't like about it, as I started skipping pages after about sixty percent of the book. But without further ado, let's finally get to the point of my review—what exactly didn't work out for me in this story.
The story didn’t hooked me up from the beginning at all. The main reason for this is probably because the writing style didn't speak out to me. I actually dnfed it the day before, because of that reason, but decided to give it another chance because I thought it might not be my day for it or maybe I wasn't in the right mood after a whole week. At one point I was even glad about this decision, but my enthusiasm didn’t last long. I have to be honest and say that around forty percent of the book I was pretty invested in the story when the dragons finally showed up. Unfortunately, it turned out I was only interested when the dragons were involved. The rest was just boring for me.
The second thing is that I felt no connection to the characters. Literally nothing. I must admit that Violet had some great moments, but most of the time I was just embarrassed by her actions. The example.
That line sounded like a horny frat boy.
Also, if you didn’t get it that she was short and tiny, the author kept reminding you of that, because that information was indeed very important.
That's only from twenty-six percent of the book. I did not include the rest, because I would not have enough space for the rest of my review.
Moving to Xaden—aka, your typical fantasy hero. Seriously. He was your usual tall, black haired, with strong sharp jaw, muscled body, but this time he was riding dragons. I almost forgot, he was
you get the picture. He was also tall. I've written about it before, but we've also been reminded of it a lot. I had to mention that sentence he said here, because I was laughing my ass off at that moment.
Touchable skin? What does it mean buddy?
Honestly, the dragons were more interesting than the main characters here. If the book was about Tairn, I'd probably be more eager to read it. This dragon had better personality than both of them. At least for me. Tairn was literally my favorite character here. That says a lot about how much I enjoyed this book.
The last thing is the romance between Xaden and Violet. This series is supposed to have five books and they already done the deed, are in love—probably because I didn't make it to this part, and have a strong connection—again, probably because I didn't make it to this part. I thought that at least their first meeting, which is usually quite important, will be more spectacular. But, no. They met in the fourth percent of the book and I was like "Well, that’s it? Already?". They were supposed to be enemies to lovers, the reasoning behind it made even sense, but they delivered nothing. I felt no chemistry between them, no tension, especially the sexual one, and no hatred that they should feel towards each other as enemies. Almost every time Violet saw Xaden it went like that.
Not even their first kiss and the cute nickname the hero usually gives the heroine saved them. The first kiss happened after Violet found out that they could feel when their dragons banged. Yes, they could feel their dragons banging. This information made me feel quite uncomfortable. Extremely even. I know they could get rid of that with some magic or whatever, but just why? The nickname "Violence" that Xaden called Violet was tacky and the book could easily have survived without it. Not to mention this line.
My only thought was From Blood and Ash. It sounds damn similar. Even though I only read the first book from this series.
Moving forward to the things I liked.
The dragons.
Ending my review, all I will say is that I am pretty sad and disappointed that I didn’t end up liking this book. I wanted to start a new fantasy series that I would be obsessed with, but I guess we can't have everything we want. I’m happy for people who loved it though. Good for you guys.
New half-year resolution—I need to stop taking recommendations from Booktok.
I’m not gonna to lie here, if this series hadn't been raved about everywhere I looked online, I probably wouldn't have read it. I’m trying to stop reading TikTok popular books, but the rating in this book made me picked it up. Fourth Wing was my first book by Rebecca Yarros, so I didn't know what exactly to expect, but at least now I know that it will be my first and last story by this author, because it turned out not to be for me.
This review probably won't cover all the things I didn't like about it, as I started skipping pages after about sixty percent of the book. But without further ado, let's finally get to the point of my review—what exactly didn't work out for me in this story.
The story didn’t hooked me up from the beginning at all. The main reason for this is probably because the writing style didn't speak out to me. I actually dnfed it the day before, because of that reason, but decided to give it another chance because I thought it might not be my day for it or maybe I wasn't in the right mood after a whole week. At one point I was even glad about this decision, but my enthusiasm didn’t last long. I have to be honest and say that around forty percent of the book I was pretty invested in the story when the dragons finally showed up. Unfortunately, it turned out I was only interested when the dragons were involved. The rest was just boring for me.
The second thing is that I felt no connection to the characters. Literally nothing. I must admit that Violet had some great moments, but most of the time I was just embarrassed by her actions. The example.
“Glad to see our year apart hasn’t dulled your tongue, Vi.”
“Oh,” I toss over my shoulder as we walk into the hallway, “I can do quite a few things with my tongue. You’d be impressed.”
That line sounded like a horny frat boy.
Also, if you didn’t get it that she was short and tiny, the author kept reminding you of that, because that information was indeed very important.
"I’m too short."
“So she’s small.” Mom scans me up and down"
"Good gods, I don’t even reach his collarbone."
"I’m shorter than most."
“You’re pretty small for a rider, but it looks like you made it.”
"I’m at a disadvantage, that I’m too small to climb its foreleg and mount,"
“You’re tiny.” He says it like an insult"
"I’m the smallest of our squad"
“I’m too short for the ramp,” I whisper to Rhi."
“I’m too short to span the distance!” I hiss, uncaring that anyone could hear us."
That's only from twenty-six percent of the book. I did not include the rest, because I would not have enough space for the rest of my review.
Moving to Xaden—aka, your typical fantasy hero. Seriously. He was your usual tall, black haired, with strong sharp jaw, muscled body, but this time he was riding dragons. I almost forgot, he was
"Flaming hot. Scorching hot. Gets-you-into-trouble-and-you-like-it level of hot."
you get the picture. He was also tall. I've written about it before, but we've also been reminded of it a lot. I had to mention that sentence he said here, because I was laughing my ass off at that moment.
"You have incredibly touchable skin.”
Touchable skin? What does it mean buddy?
Honestly, the dragons were more interesting than the main characters here. If the book was about Tairn, I'd probably be more eager to read it. This dragon had better personality than both of them. At least for me. Tairn was literally my favorite character here. That says a lot about how much I enjoyed this book.
The last thing is the romance between Xaden and Violet. This series is supposed to have five books and they already done the deed, are in love—probably because I didn't make it to this part, and have a strong connection—again, probably because I didn't make it to this part. I thought that at least their first meeting, which is usually quite important, will be more spectacular. But, no. They met in the fourth percent of the book and I was like "Well, that’s it? Already?". They were supposed to be enemies to lovers, the reasoning behind it made even sense, but they delivered nothing. I felt no chemistry between them, no tension, especially the sexual one, and no hatred that they should feel towards each other as enemies. Almost every time Violet saw Xaden it went like that.
"I hate him so much"
"But he is so sexy and beautiful and sexy. And tall."
Not even their first kiss and the cute nickname the hero usually gives the heroine saved them. The first kiss happened after Violet found out that they could feel when their dragons banged. Yes, they could feel their dragons banging. This information made me feel quite uncomfortable. Extremely even. I know they could get rid of that with some magic or whatever, but just why? The nickname "Violence" that Xaden called Violet was tacky and the book could easily have survived without it. Not to mention this line.
"you’re really a violent little thing, aren’t you?”
My only thought was From Blood and Ash. It sounds damn similar. Even though I only read the first book from this series.
Moving forward to the things I liked.
The dragons.
Ending my review, all I will say is that I am pretty sad and disappointed that I didn’t end up liking this book. I wanted to start a new fantasy series that I would be obsessed with, but I guess we can't have everything we want. I’m happy for people who loved it though. Good for you guys.
May 7, 2023
If I had a million dollars for every cliche in this book, of which there are a multitude, I'd still regret spending $20 on all 498 pages of this mess.
Spoilers to follow :)
Let's start with the worldbuilding!
Now, this book had two things I love dearly: dragons, and an academic setting. Yarros, however, explains almost every element of her world so poorly and sporadically that the entire story feels as though it were concocted page by page. The hierarchy of squadrons and sections and wings is so unnecessarily confusing. The whole "war" going on along the border is so vague, it was obvious from the start that some twist was going to reveal the good guys were actually the bad guys all along. The author's primary method of exposition is dropping pieces of information into conversations that feel forced and completely unnatural. No one talks like that. No one shares information like that.
Now, the writing!
The sentence constructions alone were enough to give me a headache. I can't tell you how many times I had to reread entire paragraphs because of poorly written and run-on sentences. As for the dialogue, let's discuss the fact that everyone talks like it's 2023, despite the medieval setting. I'm not kidding, the female character asks herself at least twice, using these exact words, "Is it toxic that I like this guy even though he can kill me?" Yes. Yes it is. And so is all this internal monologuing. Please, end my suffering. Apart from the sentences and dialogue, the descriptions were severely lacking. Every location felt like a vague impression rather than an actual place. I don't think I've ever encountered a book suffering from white room syndrome quite like this one.
Now for the characters. Oh, the characters.
Starting with the main event, we have frail young Violet who is SO relatable because she's SO clumsy and SO bad at things! Simultaneously, she is SO smart (like smarter than everyone) and SO unique that she gets not one, but TWO dragons to bond with her! And of course, they're both the rarest kind of dragons that exist!!! And naturally, everyone wants her dead for... reasons. But does her life being in danger give her any sense of self control? Absolutely not! She argues with everyone and throws her sass around to both peers and superior officers with little to no consequence. This woman has the survival skills of a fruit fly!! Additionally, her moods go back and forth quicker than an Olympic ping-pong match. First she hates Xaden because he's a traitor. Then she loves Xaden because she decides to trust him. Then she hates Xaden because he's a traitor. I'm expecting the cycle will continue in Book 2. Also, she starts off wanting to be a scribe and gets pissed when she's thrown into the Rider's Quadrant, then she decides she desperately wants to be a Rider because... because? The decision is given hardly any explanation or emotional weight.
And then there's discount Rhsysand. Oh wow, the moody black-haired rebel with tattoos is actually the good guy. Shocking. He's hard on the outside, but a softie on the inside. Groundbreaking. Also, the way that Yarros writes his character from Violet's perspective is downright sickening at times. From the very first scene with him, Violet's internal thoughts about Xaden are grossly objectifying. Everything is about his body, and how hot he is, and how badly she wants to sleep with him. There's an entire scene spanning two pages where Violet and another woman are straight-up ogling shirtless Xaden while he's sparring with another guy. It's disgusting. If the roles were reversed, if a male author wrote about a male character viewing a woman in the same way, heads would be rolling. It's gross, and frankly one of the most disappointing things about this book.
Honestly, none of the other characters were interesting enough to write about. The dragons were fine, and probably the most likeable. Sawyer was the only human I found tolerable. Dain was just annoying, as he was clearly meant to be.
Now, the plot.
The majority of this book was consumed by Violet being horny and a random series of challenges. There was no explanation anywhere of what the academic year would look like, which makes me think the author was just making up more challenges and battles and war games as she went along. All of this, of course, leading up to a real challenge where we find out information that was abundantly obvious from the start. Oh no, the good guys are the bad guys. The bad guys are the good guys. The dead brother is actually alive. I wish I cared about any of this, but I don't because it's been so blatantly obvious since the first chapter. The pacing of this book was tedious in a lot of places because there wasn't really any kind of looming threat beyond the vague allusions to bigger attacks along the border. Nothing in this book surprised me. Nothing came even remotely close. Everything was so over-ridden with cliches and ideas from other books (mainly Divergent, and a little bit of Red Queen with the not-dead-brother ending) that nothing felt original or creative at all.
I have searched earnestly, to the farthest hills on the horizon, for something good in this book. Alas, I return to my homeland empty-handed.
And here's the thing: I so desperately wanted to enjoy this book, which makes it all the more disappointing. If you've made it this far, I want you to know I did not approach this book with the intention of feeling this way. If you enjoyed this book, kudos to you. Feel free to keep on enjoying it. These are just my thoughts and opinions, and I'll content myself to be the cranky grandma of Goodreads if need be. But good heavens, am I glad this is over with.
Spoilers to follow :)
Let's start with the worldbuilding!
Now, this book had two things I love dearly: dragons, and an academic setting. Yarros, however, explains almost every element of her world so poorly and sporadically that the entire story feels as though it were concocted page by page. The hierarchy of squadrons and sections and wings is so unnecessarily confusing. The whole "war" going on along the border is so vague, it was obvious from the start that some twist was going to reveal the good guys were actually the bad guys all along. The author's primary method of exposition is dropping pieces of information into conversations that feel forced and completely unnatural. No one talks like that. No one shares information like that.
Now, the writing!
The sentence constructions alone were enough to give me a headache. I can't tell you how many times I had to reread entire paragraphs because of poorly written and run-on sentences. As for the dialogue, let's discuss the fact that everyone talks like it's 2023, despite the medieval setting. I'm not kidding, the female character asks herself at least twice, using these exact words, "Is it toxic that I like this guy even though he can kill me?" Yes. Yes it is. And so is all this internal monologuing. Please, end my suffering. Apart from the sentences and dialogue, the descriptions were severely lacking. Every location felt like a vague impression rather than an actual place. I don't think I've ever encountered a book suffering from white room syndrome quite like this one.
Now for the characters. Oh, the characters.
Starting with the main event, we have frail young Violet who is SO relatable because she's SO clumsy and SO bad at things! Simultaneously, she is SO smart (like smarter than everyone) and SO unique that she gets not one, but TWO dragons to bond with her! And of course, they're both the rarest kind of dragons that exist!!! And naturally, everyone wants her dead for... reasons. But does her life being in danger give her any sense of self control? Absolutely not! She argues with everyone and throws her sass around to both peers and superior officers with little to no consequence. This woman has the survival skills of a fruit fly!! Additionally, her moods go back and forth quicker than an Olympic ping-pong match. First she hates Xaden because he's a traitor. Then she loves Xaden because she decides to trust him. Then she hates Xaden because he's a traitor. I'm expecting the cycle will continue in Book 2. Also, she starts off wanting to be a scribe and gets pissed when she's thrown into the Rider's Quadrant, then she decides she desperately wants to be a Rider because... because? The decision is given hardly any explanation or emotional weight.
And then there's discount Rhsysand. Oh wow, the moody black-haired rebel with tattoos is actually the good guy. Shocking. He's hard on the outside, but a softie on the inside. Groundbreaking. Also, the way that Yarros writes his character from Violet's perspective is downright sickening at times. From the very first scene with him, Violet's internal thoughts about Xaden are grossly objectifying. Everything is about his body, and how hot he is, and how badly she wants to sleep with him. There's an entire scene spanning two pages where Violet and another woman are straight-up ogling shirtless Xaden while he's sparring with another guy. It's disgusting. If the roles were reversed, if a male author wrote about a male character viewing a woman in the same way, heads would be rolling. It's gross, and frankly one of the most disappointing things about this book.
Honestly, none of the other characters were interesting enough to write about. The dragons were fine, and probably the most likeable. Sawyer was the only human I found tolerable. Dain was just annoying, as he was clearly meant to be.
Now, the plot.
The majority of this book was consumed by Violet being horny and a random series of challenges. There was no explanation anywhere of what the academic year would look like, which makes me think the author was just making up more challenges and battles and war games as she went along. All of this, of course, leading up to a real challenge where we find out information that was abundantly obvious from the start. Oh no, the good guys are the bad guys. The bad guys are the good guys. The dead brother is actually alive. I wish I cared about any of this, but I don't because it's been so blatantly obvious since the first chapter. The pacing of this book was tedious in a lot of places because there wasn't really any kind of looming threat beyond the vague allusions to bigger attacks along the border. Nothing in this book surprised me. Nothing came even remotely close. Everything was so over-ridden with cliches and ideas from other books (mainly Divergent, and a little bit of Red Queen with the not-dead-brother ending) that nothing felt original or creative at all.
I have searched earnestly, to the farthest hills on the horizon, for something good in this book. Alas, I return to my homeland empty-handed.
And here's the thing: I so desperately wanted to enjoy this book, which makes it all the more disappointing. If you've made it this far, I want you to know I did not approach this book with the intention of feeling this way. If you enjoyed this book, kudos to you. Feel free to keep on enjoying it. These are just my thoughts and opinions, and I'll content myself to be the cranky grandma of Goodreads if need be. But good heavens, am I glad this is over with.
October 31, 2023
UPDATE- STFU IT'S BEING DEVELOPED INTO A TV SERIES 🤯😱
"A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead."
✅ Reread done right (Aug 2023)
I loved it as much as I did it the first time I read it, in fact I loved it more. Picked up on a lot of foreshadowing. Rebecca Yarros is a truly talented writer, the emotions I felt reading it were so genuine, I was fully immersed. The characters and the story are fire.
I loved Xaden and Violet even more, hated Dain with passion, Tairn and Adarana continue to be badasses and Liam...I got no words, I love that guy.
~•~•~
ORIGINAL REVIEW 👇 (May 2023)
THIS BOOK🤌🤌 Y'all believe me it's worth the money. I am in loveeeeee, easily the best book I read this year and one of the best romantasy I've read in a while. Books like this are the reason I fell in love with reading.
Let's just jump right in, cause am excited to write this review.
Read if you like-
✔️ Zodiac Academy
✔️ Divergent
✔️ Throne of Glass
✔️ Dragons🐉
✔️ Academia setting (war college)
✔️ High fantasy
✔️ Chronic illness rep
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Slow burn
✔️ Spice (3.5/5) 🌶️
"... There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence."
Trained to be in the Scribe Quadrant, the FMC- Violet, found herself in the Riders Quadrant- the most elite of Navarre, where survival is of the fittest and the strongest. All she needs to do is not get killed and bond with a dragon, but it's not as easy. Not only she has to escape the clutches of the students who want her dead, with few dragons willing to bond; she also has to keep away from Xaden, MMC who wants her dead.
From page 1 till page 633 I was hooked. The world building is detailed and well thought out. The plot is consistent and true to itself. The pacing, fluctuates a bit in the second half but mostly stays fast paced for the majority of the book.
"Tell me what you're thinking?"
"I was thinking you are exactly as I predicted the first time you took me in my room."
"Oh yeah? And what was that?"
"A very dangerous addiction."
Coming to the characters-
⚡Violet- I loved her. She's brave, compassionate, goes to lengths to protect others and knows how to stand up for herself and others. Having had chronic illness, people always underestimate her (all but one) but that's what makes her an underdog. I liked how balanced her character and personality was, never over the top. Loved following her journey through the war school and boy how she developed and grew in those pages.
🖤Xaden- Idk if anyone else is saying this but I will- Xaden has the same vibe that Warwick from Savage Lands does, but Xaden does it better. There's just something about their personality that's so similar. Give the Savage Lands series a go if you liked Xaden. Anyway, I loved him so much. He's a badass. Once her started opening up, and we got to see the softer side of him- I was swooning. He's powerful, sexy, and knows when to pick his battles, certainly not a push over.
Dain- What an ass. Radiates the same energy as Tamlin in ACOMAF.
The other supporting characters are good as well, they grow on ya- especially the dragons and Liam. Tairn and Adarana have my heart. I loved them since the first time they spoke. They have a sense of humour, are badass and protect so fiercely. Saegyl was okay-ish, not much of her tbh. Now I want a dragon 😭
"I'm going to keep you. You're mine, Violet."
"Only if you're mine."
"I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine." ❤️🔥❤️🔥
The romance is an angsty slow burn, enemies to lovers with spice and oh how brilliantly it was executed 🥰 I was all in my feels, swooning and melting and basically loved it. And if you like the characters being jealous, you'll enjoy that trope here too. I do think there was a pinch of "who did this to you" but wasn't that impactful. Xaden and Violet's chemistry is off the charts. They compliment each other so well and I like how open and honest they are with each other, and that both of them don't hold each other back and give the other room to make mistakes, learn and grow. It is a mature relationship yeah. Also, the smut was hot.. no seriously, things did get hot and broken down 🤭
The ending was an emotional rollercoaster. I was crying so much at one point, had to take deep breaths to resume reading. I cannot wait for the sequel 🤩
It's such a masterpiece in my opinion. I haven't felt this in love and so strongly about a book in a while and am so genuinely happy I read this 😭😭❤️
It's a binge worthy action packed romantasy with never a dull moment. You are missing out if you haven't read this. Idk what are you all doing, GO READ IT! I promise it won't disappoint.
Y'all think Amazon will have a dragon? 🤔
~•~•~
I have no words. I'm gonna take some time to collect my thoughts. But WOW.
~•~•~
Y'all I know I just started reading this but am already in love. I predict 4-5 star rating, hopefully that will be the case.
"A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead."
✅ Reread done right (Aug 2023)
I loved it as much as I did it the first time I read it, in fact I loved it more. Picked up on a lot of foreshadowing. Rebecca Yarros is a truly talented writer, the emotions I felt reading it were so genuine, I was fully immersed. The characters and the story are fire.
I loved Xaden and Violet even more, hated Dain with passion, Tairn and Adarana continue to be badasses and Liam...I got no words, I love that guy.
~•~•~
ORIGINAL REVIEW 👇 (May 2023)
THIS BOOK🤌🤌 Y'all believe me it's worth the money. I am in loveeeeee, easily the best book I read this year and one of the best romantasy I've read in a while. Books like this are the reason I fell in love with reading.
Let's just jump right in, cause am excited to write this review.
Read if you like-
✔️ Zodiac Academy
✔️ Divergent
✔️ Throne of Glass
✔️ Dragons🐉
✔️ Academia setting (war college)
✔️ High fantasy
✔️ Chronic illness rep
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Slow burn
✔️ Spice (3.5/5) 🌶️
"... There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence."
Trained to be in the Scribe Quadrant, the FMC- Violet, found herself in the Riders Quadrant- the most elite of Navarre, where survival is of the fittest and the strongest. All she needs to do is not get killed and bond with a dragon, but it's not as easy. Not only she has to escape the clutches of the students who want her dead, with few dragons willing to bond; she also has to keep away from Xaden, MMC who wants her dead.
From page 1 till page 633 I was hooked. The world building is detailed and well thought out. The plot is consistent and true to itself. The pacing, fluctuates a bit in the second half but mostly stays fast paced for the majority of the book.
"Tell me what you're thinking?"
"I was thinking you are exactly as I predicted the first time you took me in my room."
"Oh yeah? And what was that?"
"A very dangerous addiction."
Coming to the characters-
⚡Violet- I loved her. She's brave, compassionate, goes to lengths to protect others and knows how to stand up for herself and others. Having had chronic illness, people always underestimate her (all but one) but that's what makes her an underdog. I liked how balanced her character and personality was, never over the top. Loved following her journey through the war school and boy how she developed and grew in those pages.
🖤Xaden- Idk if anyone else is saying this but I will- Xaden has the same vibe that Warwick from Savage Lands does, but Xaden does it better. There's just something about their personality that's so similar. Give the Savage Lands series a go if you liked Xaden. Anyway, I loved him so much. He's a badass. Once her started opening up, and we got to see the softer side of him- I was swooning. He's powerful, sexy, and knows when to pick his battles, certainly not a push over.
Dain- What an ass. Radiates the same energy as Tamlin in ACOMAF.
The other supporting characters are good as well, they grow on ya- especially the dragons and Liam. Tairn and Adarana have my heart. I loved them since the first time they spoke. They have a sense of humour, are badass and protect so fiercely. Saegyl was okay-ish, not much of her tbh. Now I want a dragon 😭
"I'm going to keep you. You're mine, Violet."
"Only if you're mine."
"I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine." ❤️🔥❤️🔥
The romance is an angsty slow burn, enemies to lovers with spice and oh how brilliantly it was executed 🥰 I was all in my feels, swooning and melting and basically loved it. And if you like the characters being jealous, you'll enjoy that trope here too. I do think there was a pinch of "who did this to you" but wasn't that impactful. Xaden and Violet's chemistry is off the charts. They compliment each other so well and I like how open and honest they are with each other, and that both of them don't hold each other back and give the other room to make mistakes, learn and grow. It is a mature relationship yeah. Also, the smut was hot.. no seriously, things did get hot and broken down 🤭
The ending was an emotional rollercoaster. I was crying so much at one point, had to take deep breaths to resume reading. I cannot wait for the sequel 🤩
It's such a masterpiece in my opinion. I haven't felt this in love and so strongly about a book in a while and am so genuinely happy I read this 😭😭❤️
It's a binge worthy action packed romantasy with never a dull moment. You are missing out if you haven't read this. Idk what are you all doing, GO READ IT! I promise it won't disappoint.
Y'all think Amazon will have a dragon? 🤔
~•~•~
I have no words. I'm gonna take some time to collect my thoughts. But WOW.
~•~•~
Y'all I know I just started reading this but am already in love. I predict 4-5 star rating, hopefully that will be the case.
December 4, 2023
my review got taken down. z*on*sm at its finest.
November 1, 2023
Re-read bc we are so close to Iron Flame!!
Update on my re-read! Loved it as much as the first 3 times I read it! AND WE ARE ONLY DAYS AWAY FROM IRON FLAME!!!
"A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without its dragon is dead."-Article One, Section One. The Dragon Rider's Codex 🐉
Well, you guys all know how excited I have been for this book release since I haven't been exactly subtle about it, so the big question is, did it meet my unreasonably high expectations? The answer is NO......... because this book exceeded my expectations. WOW!!! What an absolute wild ride! Obsessed is the only word I have to describe how I feel about this book. Every page, every word had me on the edge of my seat, and this book elicits every emotion from you. The absolute unflinching brutality the characters face is both addictive and shocking, but there are also so many triumphs and heart squeezing moments. I am not exaggerating when I say this is my favorite fantasy read this year if not in many years! I can't wait for the next installment to come out bc that ENDING!!!
"It seems.... cruel, but the first rule of living at Basgaith is never question a dragon. They tend to cremate anyone they find rude." -Violet
20-year-old, Violet Sorrengail, was never supposed to be facing risking her life in the most brutal and deadly program at Basgiath War College. She has trained her whole life to be scribe but when her mother, a General and the head commander at Basgiath orders her to sign up as a Dragon Rider cadet her odds of survival aren't looking too good. All the odds are stacked against her, from a condition that affects her bones and ligaments that leaves her in chronic pain to the brutal and unforgiving dragons that kill without mercy to her fellow cadets who are just as blood thirsty and willing to kill her to even the odds. Certain death seems to be around every corner. Violet is not going down without a fight though, and she will do everything she can to defy the odds to earn her spot and above all a DRAGON!
"But I will not run. I wouldn't be standing here if I'd quit every time something seemed impossible to overcome. I will not die today."-Violet
"I'm used to functioning in pain asshole. Are you?" -Violet
Violet- I don't say this lightly, but Violet Sorrengail is among my all-time favorite fmc's ever. She is the embodiment of determination, grit and bravery. Her willingness to bet on herself time and again when so many around her keep telling her she will never be good enough is so inspiring. You can't help but root for her as the quintessential underdog bc she never lets herself be a victim despite her physical limitations. She feels like the blueprint for my favorite kind of fmc.
"Killing you wouldn't be any trouble Violence. It's leaving you alive that seems to cause the majority of my trouble." -Xaden
"Now earn your nickname and try your best to kill me"-Xaden
Xaden- Xaden is the most powerful and brutal Wing leader at the academy and also the main person likely to kill Violet while she is in the Riders Quadrant seeing as how her mother had his father executed for treason. I love Xaden, he only gets more interesting as the story goes on and the heat between Violet and him is hotter than the dragon fire!!! And his signet power is always on my checklist!! (can't say what it is but it's GOOD really, really GOOD) And his nickname for Violet! 🫠🫠
Presentation Day is unlike any other. The air is ripe with possibilities, and possibly the stench of sulfur from a dragon who has been offended. Never look a red in the eye. Never back down from a green. If you show trepidation to a brown......well, just don't." -Colonel Kaori's Field Guide to Dragonkind.
The Dragons They are AMAZING. Lethal, terrifying, and spectacular. They blew my mind, and that's all I can really say bc I refuse to spoil anything. 🐉🐉🐉
"People die, it's going to happen over and over again. It's the nature of what happens here. What makes you a rider is what you do after people die." -Xaden
" This place can warp almost everything about a person Vi. It cuts away the bullshit and the niceties, revealing whoever you are at your core." - Dain
Friends- There are so many great supporting characters that I completely fell in love with and the camaraderie and rivalry between the riders is such a significant part of the story bc you can feel the tension and the anxiety of their circumstances throughout the entire book.
Rebecca Yarros has expertly written such a thrilling and compelling introduction book to this wonderful world of dragons and their riders, and I can't wait to see where the story continues!! Is it too early to start the countdown clock for the next book?!!
Please check TW besties as this book deals with themes of Violence and War.
Update on my re-read! Loved it as much as the first 3 times I read it! AND WE ARE ONLY DAYS AWAY FROM IRON FLAME!!!
"A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without its dragon is dead."-Article One, Section One. The Dragon Rider's Codex 🐉
Well, you guys all know how excited I have been for this book release since I haven't been exactly subtle about it, so the big question is, did it meet my unreasonably high expectations? The answer is NO......... because this book exceeded my expectations. WOW!!! What an absolute wild ride! Obsessed is the only word I have to describe how I feel about this book. Every page, every word had me on the edge of my seat, and this book elicits every emotion from you. The absolute unflinching brutality the characters face is both addictive and shocking, but there are also so many triumphs and heart squeezing moments. I am not exaggerating when I say this is my favorite fantasy read this year if not in many years! I can't wait for the next installment to come out bc that ENDING!!!
"It seems.... cruel, but the first rule of living at Basgaith is never question a dragon. They tend to cremate anyone they find rude." -Violet
20-year-old, Violet Sorrengail, was never supposed to be facing risking her life in the most brutal and deadly program at Basgiath War College. She has trained her whole life to be scribe but when her mother, a General and the head commander at Basgiath orders her to sign up as a Dragon Rider cadet her odds of survival aren't looking too good. All the odds are stacked against her, from a condition that affects her bones and ligaments that leaves her in chronic pain to the brutal and unforgiving dragons that kill without mercy to her fellow cadets who are just as blood thirsty and willing to kill her to even the odds. Certain death seems to be around every corner. Violet is not going down without a fight though, and she will do everything she can to defy the odds to earn her spot and above all a DRAGON!
"But I will not run. I wouldn't be standing here if I'd quit every time something seemed impossible to overcome. I will not die today."-Violet
"I'm used to functioning in pain asshole. Are you?" -Violet
Violet- I don't say this lightly, but Violet Sorrengail is among my all-time favorite fmc's ever. She is the embodiment of determination, grit and bravery. Her willingness to bet on herself time and again when so many around her keep telling her she will never be good enough is so inspiring. You can't help but root for her as the quintessential underdog bc she never lets herself be a victim despite her physical limitations. She feels like the blueprint for my favorite kind of fmc.
"Killing you wouldn't be any trouble Violence. It's leaving you alive that seems to cause the majority of my trouble." -Xaden
"Now earn your nickname and try your best to kill me"-Xaden
Xaden- Xaden is the most powerful and brutal Wing leader at the academy and also the main person likely to kill Violet while she is in the Riders Quadrant seeing as how her mother had his father executed for treason. I love Xaden, he only gets more interesting as the story goes on and the heat between Violet and him is hotter than the dragon fire!!! And his signet power is always on my checklist!! (can't say what it is but it's GOOD really, really GOOD) And his nickname for Violet! 🫠🫠
Presentation Day is unlike any other. The air is ripe with possibilities, and possibly the stench of sulfur from a dragon who has been offended. Never look a red in the eye. Never back down from a green. If you show trepidation to a brown......well, just don't." -Colonel Kaori's Field Guide to Dragonkind.
The Dragons They are AMAZING. Lethal, terrifying, and spectacular. They blew my mind, and that's all I can really say bc I refuse to spoil anything. 🐉🐉🐉
"People die, it's going to happen over and over again. It's the nature of what happens here. What makes you a rider is what you do after people die." -Xaden
" This place can warp almost everything about a person Vi. It cuts away the bullshit and the niceties, revealing whoever you are at your core." - Dain
Friends- There are so many great supporting characters that I completely fell in love with and the camaraderie and rivalry between the riders is such a significant part of the story bc you can feel the tension and the anxiety of their circumstances throughout the entire book.
Rebecca Yarros has expertly written such a thrilling and compelling introduction book to this wonderful world of dragons and their riders, and I can't wait to see where the story continues!! Is it too early to start the countdown clock for the next book?!!
Please check TW besties as this book deals with themes of Violence and War.
July 4, 2023
I’m sorry, but it’s a no from me.
It’s always a case of you questioning yourself when a hyped book doesn’t work for you.
But I have reasons and regrets and I want a refund. Of my time and money.
I can’t decide whether to rate this 2 or 1 ⭐️.
It’s a 1 ⭐️ rating. 🤦🏾♀️
I’m about to drop some truth bombs, so if this is the type of book for you in where you don’t want to hear any form of slander, then look away.
I’m going to be honest about my reading experience, which wasn’t all that great.😓
It seems that fantasy romances, whether they’re adult or YA, have been using the same formula these past few years in where the focus solely lies on the plot and the action scenes and the same attention isn’t given to the characters and their world. And I do not understand why that is the case. The balance between them all is off.
The characters (all of them, not a single one was interesting) lacked substance, background and history. So by nature, I’m not even remotely interested in rooting for them and seeing them overcome the challenges they’re facing, because they are so poorly developed to begin with.
The foundation of this world felt unbelievably flimsy and read messy to me. It was supposed to feel dangerous, the stakes were supposed to be high. Characters were being killed left, right and centre and the only thing I felt was nothing.
There was no order to the way it was being built upon. Just chaos, convenience and stupidity all round.
Violet’s character could’ve been made more interesting (to me) if:
▪️We had we seen her time as a scribe before she was forced to become a rider.
▪️See her actually train and get stronger.
▪️See how she generally fought through her chronic pain.
▪️See her deal with the grief of her brother.
▪️Explore the weird dynamic she has with her mother.
▪️See the friendships forming and the romance truly developing.
▪️See her fuckin’ bonding with those dragons.
All of these things would’ve added nuance and depth to her characterisation, to the actual story itself. Are we privy to any of that? No. Those aspects are mentioned and that’s supposed to be good enough whereas I would’ve liked layers.
Characters shouldn’t read so one-dimensional.
And enemies-to-lovers where? Please. 🙄 This trope was used in the most juvenile way. You could argue that the romance itself was juvenile.
We could’ve honed in on the hate since both these characters suffered losses, come from different and opposing backgrounds, have some real animosity and tension built between them but the love interest was hardly ever present.
Next thing you know, the trope was flung out the window instead of it being morphed into something real.
So, I fail to understand why this was sold as a fantasy romance. I can’t tell you why these two liked each other, let alone love. There was no development of genuine, romantic feelings. There was a buildup of attraction and supposed sexual tension. But that’s it.
Another thing that bugged me is that we only got Violet’s perspective. I mean, this occasionally works, but ideally, no fantasy book should have a singular POV. I can’t begin to tell you how boring that narrative is. It gives such a limiting and subjective view of the world and the characters, and this especially gets more limiting when there are other characters present that also play a significant role in the story.
Yet they weren’t utilised.
Is it that hard to give different perspectives?
The dragons were the ONLY interesting parts about this whole book. But they didn’t even get as much page time as they should’ve. They deserved more page time. I mean, if you’re going to have them talking, give them a POV as least. They could’ve told us about their own history.
There were also some language choices that were made that felt odd in a fantasy setting.
“Personally, I’m not arguing with their logic, just enjoying the view…respectfully, of course…”
“So. Freaking. Beautiful.”
“Holy. Fuckin. Hot.”
No one talks like that in a fantasy world. 😒
You know damn well some of this lingo doesn’t belong here. It’s so embarrassing and a testament to bad writing and bad editing.
To top it all off, I still don’t know whether this was adult, new adult or YA fantasy. I couldn’t tell you. Goodreads has them all listed. Clearly, everyone is confused.
In conclusion, all of this to say that this brand of poorly written, poorly developed fantasy story is just not for me. This book was not for me. I had a really difficult time immersing myself into the story.
The ending was somewhat interesting, but by that point I was skim-reading. And I don’t care about this book enough to continue on with the series. I want to forget I ever read it.
I’m avoiding all hyped books for the foreseeable future. 😪💔
It’s always a case of you questioning yourself when a hyped book doesn’t work for you.
But I have reasons and regrets and I want a refund. Of my time and money.
It’s a 1 ⭐️ rating. 🤦🏾♀️
I’m about to drop some truth bombs, so if this is the type of book for you in where you don’t want to hear any form of slander, then look away.
I’m going to be honest about my reading experience, which wasn’t all that great.😓
It seems that fantasy romances, whether they’re adult or YA, have been using the same formula these past few years in where the focus solely lies on the plot and the action scenes and the same attention isn’t given to the characters and their world. And I do not understand why that is the case. The balance between them all is off.
The characters (all of them, not a single one was interesting) lacked substance, background and history. So by nature, I’m not even remotely interested in rooting for them and seeing them overcome the challenges they’re facing, because they are so poorly developed to begin with.
The foundation of this world felt unbelievably flimsy and read messy to me. It was supposed to feel dangerous, the stakes were supposed to be high. Characters were being killed left, right and centre and the only thing I felt was nothing.
There was no order to the way it was being built upon. Just chaos, convenience and stupidity all round.
Violet’s character could’ve been made more interesting (to me) if:
▪️We had we seen her time as a scribe before she was forced to become a rider.
▪️See her actually train and get stronger.
▪️See how she generally fought through her chronic pain.
▪️See her deal with the grief of her brother.
▪️Explore the weird dynamic she has with her mother.
▪️See the friendships forming and the romance truly developing.
▪️See her fuckin’ bonding with those dragons.
All of these things would’ve added nuance and depth to her characterisation, to the actual story itself. Are we privy to any of that? No. Those aspects are mentioned and that’s supposed to be good enough whereas I would’ve liked layers.
Characters shouldn’t read so one-dimensional.
And enemies-to-lovers where? Please. 🙄 This trope was used in the most juvenile way. You could argue that the romance itself was juvenile.
We could’ve honed in on the hate since both these characters suffered losses, come from different and opposing backgrounds, have some real animosity and tension built between them but the love interest was hardly ever present.
Next thing you know, the trope was flung out the window instead of it being morphed into something real.
So, I fail to understand why this was sold as a fantasy romance. I can’t tell you why these two liked each other, let alone love. There was no development of genuine, romantic feelings. There was a buildup of attraction and supposed sexual tension. But that’s it.
Another thing that bugged me is that we only got Violet’s perspective. I mean, this occasionally works, but ideally, no fantasy book should have a singular POV. I can’t begin to tell you how boring that narrative is. It gives such a limiting and subjective view of the world and the characters, and this especially gets more limiting when there are other characters present that also play a significant role in the story.
Yet they weren’t utilised.
Is it that hard to give different perspectives?
The dragons were the ONLY interesting parts about this whole book. But they didn’t even get as much page time as they should’ve. They deserved more page time. I mean, if you’re going to have them talking, give them a POV as least. They could’ve told us about their own history.
There were also some language choices that were made that felt odd in a fantasy setting.
“Personally, I’m not arguing with their logic, just enjoying the view…respectfully, of course…”
“So. Freaking. Beautiful.”
“Holy. Fuckin. Hot.”
No one talks like that in a fantasy world. 😒
You know damn well some of this lingo doesn’t belong here. It’s so embarrassing and a testament to bad writing and bad editing.
To top it all off, I still don’t know whether this was adult, new adult or YA fantasy. I couldn’t tell you. Goodreads has them all listed. Clearly, everyone is confused.
In conclusion, all of this to say that this brand of poorly written, poorly developed fantasy story is just not for me. This book was not for me. I had a really difficult time immersing myself into the story.
The ending was somewhat interesting, but by that point I was skim-reading. And I don’t care about this book enough to continue on with the series. I want to forget I ever read it.
I’m avoiding all hyped books for the foreseeable future. 😪💔
December 2, 2023
0/5⭐️😍 OMG THIS IS THE (second) WORST BOOK IVE EVER READ IN MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE!!!🥰
I’ve posted my iron flame review!! You can go read it if you liked this one :)
Violet Sorrengail. Get it? SOARING-GALE BECAUSE DRAGONS SOAR ON GALES 🧍🏻♀️ THATS SO CLEVER.
She’s like so badass because she’s like so dainty and like so small and has insert name chronic illness which makes her so badass and a really good candidate for a WAR SCHOOL. She is totally not a self-insert of the author because unlike the author she doesn’t have blonde hair, she has ultra special brown hair that turns a really rare silver as she gets older. (Because hair pigment works like that🤭)
She’s also so super really fast because she’s SOO petite and small and little and fragile.
And also the love interest is SOO much bigger than her and he’s the most powerful darkness-wielding highlord—oh sorry I mean dragon rider at the academy.
because Violet being the daughter of the literal leader of the school wasn’t enough, she also gets a super mega rare giant black dragon AND a never-before-seen golden useless ass feathertailed baby dragon that has the ability to manipulate time. And don’t worry, Violet can summon lightning just in case you were concerned that Mare Barrow was the most obnoxious lightning wielder.
Rebecca Yarrows is such a good writer 😍 all of her world building and info dumps are so unbearable to read!! Plus her writing is entirely YA and juvenile except for the horrific car crash level sex scenes that happen 80% into the book. What a slay!!
All of her characters make me want to rip my eyeballs out🥰 but especially Xaden because he’s so tortured and scary and so much bigger than our poor baby fragile pathetic paper-boned protagonist Violet soaring-gale.
The enemies to lovers is also so well done!! They were literally never even enemies😍 and I didn’t once believe they felt anything other than the most surface level lust for the other🤭
Also why the fuck did Yarrows decide that when the dragons fuck that their riders also get really horny? That was information I did not ever need.
The world building was so amazingly perfect!! I loved how she info dumped entire paragraphs of exposition and random facts onto us, but still never managed to outline how the actual school worked or why the fuck the gryphons couldn’t just be incinerated by the giant ass dragons with literal magic!!!!😍
Oh, I also really enjoyed how the single black character with any personality was not only bisexual but hyper sexual and slept around with everyone!!! It was really great how Rhiannon was sidelined the entire novel so that Violet could also be useless!
I also love how we don’t get to know anything about any of the side characters because Violet is too concerned with fucking Xaden!! 🥵
The nickname of “Violence” for Violet, the character that literally did not kill a single person until the 75% mark also made a lot of sense!! I’m so glad she was at a war school and wasn’t required to kill a single person or even ever actually train without cheating her way through by poisoning her opponents!! She will totally not die in actual combat when she can’t sneak random ass made-up poisons into her opponents’ meals!! 😝
I think it’s also so inspiring how Violet’s tiny 90 pound frame literally could not support swinging an 11 pound sword, but the dragons did not murder her for being weak (her words not mine) because she was so strong mentally because she complained about being in pain (despite claiming to be used to pain?) and so delicate and fragile all the time!! 🤩
Also let’s just not talk about how Violet totally plays into the “toxic perseverance” trope by actively ignoring the symptoms and effects her disability has on her body and powers through everything because she’s “used to pain”!! That’s so good and such a good example to set <3
It could have been interesting if Violet actually found ways to accommodate for her weaknesses/disadvantages that made sense, but clearly Yarros doesn’t actually give a fuck so she didn’t bother. The only example we have of this is a saddle which I’m sorry is stupid as fuck because why was everyone not already using saddles?? Did Miss Rebecca ever look into how fucking uncomfortable it can be not use a saddle or padding while riding horses much less consider how painful it might be to ride a giant, roughly scaled DRAGON that is FLYING THROUGH THE SKY?? 🙈
This book was so incredible😍 I can’t believe booktok didn’t force this down everyone’s throats sooner!! It was so great to read this horrendous amalgamation of shitty world building, horrifically atrocious writing, and one dimensional characters with a nonsensical plot and a underdeveloped romance!!
Legitimately the worst book I’ve ever read. I would unkindly ask Rebecca Yarros to never write another word in her life.
I’ve posted my iron flame review!! You can go read it if you liked this one :)
Violet Sorrengail. Get it? SOARING-GALE BECAUSE DRAGONS SOAR ON GALES 🧍🏻♀️ THATS SO CLEVER.
She’s like so badass because she’s like so dainty and like so small and has insert name chronic illness which makes her so badass and a really good candidate for a WAR SCHOOL. She is totally not a self-insert of the author because unlike the author she doesn’t have blonde hair, she has ultra special brown hair that turns a really rare silver as she gets older. (Because hair pigment works like that🤭)
She’s also so super really fast because she’s SOO petite and small and little and fragile.
And also the love interest is SOO much bigger than her and he’s the most powerful darkness-wielding highlord—oh sorry I mean dragon rider at the academy.
because Violet being the daughter of the literal leader of the school wasn’t enough, she also gets a super mega rare giant black dragon AND a never-before-seen golden useless ass feathertailed baby dragon that has the ability to manipulate time. And don’t worry, Violet can summon lightning just in case you were concerned that Mare Barrow was the most obnoxious lightning wielder.
Rebecca Yarrows is such a good writer 😍 all of her world building and info dumps are so unbearable to read!! Plus her writing is entirely YA and juvenile except for the horrific car crash level sex scenes that happen 80% into the book. What a slay!!
All of her characters make me want to rip my eyeballs out🥰 but especially Xaden because he’s so tortured and scary and so much bigger than our poor baby fragile pathetic paper-boned protagonist Violet soaring-gale.
The enemies to lovers is also so well done!! They were literally never even enemies😍 and I didn’t once believe they felt anything other than the most surface level lust for the other🤭
Also why the fuck did Yarrows decide that when the dragons fuck that their riders also get really horny? That was information I did not ever need.
The world building was so amazingly perfect!! I loved how she info dumped entire paragraphs of exposition and random facts onto us, but still never managed to outline how the actual school worked or why the fuck the gryphons couldn’t just be incinerated by the giant ass dragons with literal magic!!!!😍
Oh, I also really enjoyed how the single black character with any personality was not only bisexual but hyper sexual and slept around with everyone!!! It was really great how Rhiannon was sidelined the entire novel so that Violet could also be useless!
I also love how we don’t get to know anything about any of the side characters because Violet is too concerned with fucking Xaden!! 🥵
The nickname of “Violence” for Violet, the character that literally did not kill a single person until the 75% mark also made a lot of sense!! I’m so glad she was at a war school and wasn’t required to kill a single person or even ever actually train without cheating her way through by poisoning her opponents!! She will totally not die in actual combat when she can’t sneak random ass made-up poisons into her opponents’ meals!! 😝
I think it’s also so inspiring how Violet’s tiny 90 pound frame literally could not support swinging an 11 pound sword, but the dragons did not murder her for being weak (her words not mine) because she was so strong mentally because she complained about being in pain (despite claiming to be used to pain?) and so delicate and fragile all the time!! 🤩
Also let’s just not talk about how Violet totally plays into the “toxic perseverance” trope by actively ignoring the symptoms and effects her disability has on her body and powers through everything because she’s “used to pain”!! That’s so good and such a good example to set <3
It could have been interesting if Violet actually found ways to accommodate for her weaknesses/disadvantages that made sense, but clearly Yarros doesn’t actually give a fuck so she didn’t bother. The only example we have of this is a saddle which I’m sorry is stupid as fuck because why was everyone not already using saddles?? Did Miss Rebecca ever look into how fucking uncomfortable it can be not use a saddle or padding while riding horses much less consider how painful it might be to ride a giant, roughly scaled DRAGON that is FLYING THROUGH THE SKY?? 🙈
This book was so incredible😍 I can’t believe booktok didn’t force this down everyone’s throats sooner!! It was so great to read this horrendous amalgamation of shitty world building, horrifically atrocious writing, and one dimensional characters with a nonsensical plot and a underdeveloped romance!!
Legitimately the worst book I’ve ever read. I would unkindly ask Rebecca Yarros to never write another word in her life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2023
— 5 stars ✰
I LOVE YOU REBECCA YARROS
”you gave me your heart, and i’m keeping it.
i knew i was going to love this book. the amount of five star reviews & the talk about fourth wing on social media had me intrigued since the beginning & i’m happy to confirm that this book is indeed worth the hype. like, mind-blowing-amazing 🫡
dragon, dragon-school, competition, tension, enemies to lovers, you get thrown right into the plot, you have amazing antagonists. this book was purely perfection. everything your heart desires, you’ll get it. nothing better than a fantasy novel with a subplot of romance, a good plot twist and am amazing cliffhanger. yes, you heard correctly. a cliffhanger. i might die right here right then because how am i supposed to wait that long for the sequel to come out?
PLS GIVE ME THE SEQUEL NOW!! 🫠🫠
— xaden riorsen. the man of the hour. the moment he appeared, i fell in love with him. i might be exaggerating but who cares, right? it’s the way violet describes him, i mean, how could you not fall in love with a brooding dragon rider who has a cut through his eyebrow. what makes him even hotter is the fact that he is the leader of the forth wing and oh my god, his “welcoming” speech.. i don’t know how yarros managed to make him this hot in a few sentences only. it’s his confidence. yes, that must be it. totally not his broad shoulders. or his rank. or his dark hair.
“i had it made for you.” his lips curve slightly.
his love language has to be acts of service. this man might have taken a while to admit his feelings but the things he did for violet? unbelievable. he was so ruined for her & i was so ready for it.
— violet, my beloved. i just loved how everyone underestimated her and then she showed them what’s beneath that “fragile” body everyone seems to think she has. what i enjoyed most about her was that we saw her development, saw her fight for the place in the school and proving everyone wrong. she has a good sense of humor and wit, making me giggle — especially when she was flirting with a certain someone.
“there’s a fucking smirk on
xaden’s arrogant, handsome face.”
there were so many chapters i enjoyed that were purely about violet without any mention of xaden & that means so much to me. there have been so many fantasy books were i was just so bored out of my mind when the love interest wasn’t there bc not everyone knows how to write a badass fmc with a great personality. rebecca yarros absolutely nailed it tho. the plot is just so gripping, you get sucked into their story and just want to read more about their world.
as i am a big fan of game of thrones & house of the dragons, this book was a total hit for me. i loved reading about the dragons, the different breeds, their history, their shape and color and abilities.
— xaden and violet. violet and xaden. you know who they reminded of? tris and four. the young new girl everyone scoffs at, the intimidating older guy everyone fears. also let’s not forget that xaden was the only person mira told violet to stay away from 🤭 their first interactions were so full of tension already, i was giggling and blushing and they’ve only changed a few words by then.
”going for blood today, are we, violence?”
did i mention that we get a training scene? but like a really hot, full of tension, angsty, fighting scene. she attacks him, he catches her fist, she tries again, he pulls her back against his chest, she jumps him, he pins her down. i could go on and on and on, believe me, it was really freaking hot.
we even get a “let-me-see-your-injuries“ scene and if you thought the fighting scene was impeccable, then you have to read about this one. jaw? on the floor 💗💞🩷💕💘
”there is no me without you.”
— dain, what a hypocrite. you know who this ass reminds me of? adam kent and freaking gale hawthorne. i get that he wants to protect violet but he’s holding her back unlike xaden who wants her to unravel and become stronger. speaking of that, they remind me so much of warnette in that matter. i’m not done, they’re even torydarius coded. i loved seeing their relationship develop in a long time span. days pass, weeks pass, months pass. it’s not like they were enemies and then suddenly a week later they decided to like each other, nope, it definitely took them weeks to even admit their connection. they might be enemies to the core but who doesn’t love a good old enemies to lovers?
also jack reminded me so much of cato hadley from the hunger games. i know he’s evil and all that but every books needs a cato. and he got we deserved sooo
PLS I NEED THE NEXT BOOK AS OF NOW 💥💥
I LOVE YOU REBECCA YARROS
”you gave me your heart, and i’m keeping it.
i knew i was going to love this book. the amount of five star reviews & the talk about fourth wing on social media had me intrigued since the beginning & i’m happy to confirm that this book is indeed worth the hype. like, mind-blowing-amazing 🫡
dragon, dragon-school, competition, tension, enemies to lovers, you get thrown right into the plot, you have amazing antagonists. this book was purely perfection. everything your heart desires, you’ll get it. nothing better than a fantasy novel with a subplot of romance, a good plot twist and am amazing cliffhanger. yes, you heard correctly. a cliffhanger. i might die right here right then because how am i supposed to wait that long for the sequel to come out?
PLS GIVE ME THE SEQUEL NOW!! 🫠🫠
— xaden riorsen. the man of the hour. the moment he appeared, i fell in love with him. i might be exaggerating but who cares, right? it’s the way violet describes him, i mean, how could you not fall in love with a brooding dragon rider who has a cut through his eyebrow. what makes him even hotter is the fact that he is the leader of the forth wing and oh my god, his “welcoming” speech.. i don’t know how yarros managed to make him this hot in a few sentences only. it’s his confidence. yes, that must be it. totally not his broad shoulders. or his rank. or his dark hair.
“i had it made for you.” his lips curve slightly.
his love language has to be acts of service. this man might have taken a while to admit his feelings but the things he did for violet? unbelievable. he was so ruined for her & i was so ready for it.
— violet, my beloved. i just loved how everyone underestimated her and then she showed them what’s beneath that “fragile” body everyone seems to think she has. what i enjoyed most about her was that we saw her development, saw her fight for the place in the school and proving everyone wrong. she has a good sense of humor and wit, making me giggle — especially when she was flirting with a certain someone.
“there’s a fucking smirk on
xaden’s arrogant, handsome face.”
there were so many chapters i enjoyed that were purely about violet without any mention of xaden & that means so much to me. there have been so many fantasy books were i was just so bored out of my mind when the love interest wasn’t there bc not everyone knows how to write a badass fmc with a great personality. rebecca yarros absolutely nailed it tho. the plot is just so gripping, you get sucked into their story and just want to read more about their world.
as i am a big fan of game of thrones & house of the dragons, this book was a total hit for me. i loved reading about the dragons, the different breeds, their history, their shape and color and abilities.
— xaden and violet. violet and xaden. you know who they reminded of? tris and four. the young new girl everyone scoffs at, the intimidating older guy everyone fears. also let’s not forget that xaden was the only person mira told violet to stay away from 🤭 their first interactions were so full of tension already, i was giggling and blushing and they’ve only changed a few words by then.
”going for blood today, are we, violence?”
did i mention that we get a training scene? but like a really hot, full of tension, angsty, fighting scene. she attacks him, he catches her fist, she tries again, he pulls her back against his chest, she jumps him, he pins her down. i could go on and on and on, believe me, it was really freaking hot.
we even get a “let-me-see-your-injuries“ scene and if you thought the fighting scene was impeccable, then you have to read about this one. jaw? on the floor 💗💞🩷💕💘
”there is no me without you.”
— dain, what a hypocrite. you know who this ass reminds me of? adam kent and freaking gale hawthorne. i get that he wants to protect violet but he’s holding her back unlike xaden who wants her to unravel and become stronger. speaking of that, they remind me so much of warnette in that matter. i’m not done, they’re even torydarius coded. i loved seeing their relationship develop in a long time span. days pass, weeks pass, months pass. it’s not like they were enemies and then suddenly a week later they decided to like each other, nope, it definitely took them weeks to even admit their connection. they might be enemies to the core but who doesn’t love a good old enemies to lovers?
also jack reminded me so much of cato hadley from the hunger games. i know he’s evil and all that but every books needs a cato. and he got we deserved sooo
PLS I NEED THE NEXT BOOK AS OF NOW 💥💥
July 2, 2023
3.5 🌟
OK SO I GOT PLAYED A LITTLE!!!!
THE GOOD
This was a HIGHLY enjoyable book. I had so much uni work to do, but I still flew through it. The author wasted no time – she made a fast-paced, action-packed, well established fantasy world. I love how we got introduced to bits and aspects of this world slowly, she really KNEW how to world build, how to ease us into this complicated setting. AT EVERY POINT OF THIS BOOK I knew what was going on, who I was rooting for, what are the aims of the particular scene. And you, my fellow fantasy readers, know how that doesn’t always happen. Like I said in the updates, EVERY SINGLE PAGE WAS A PLOT POINT and no fill-ins. I hate it when writers drag the story, you can really tell when they do that, and fantasy authors are for some reason prone to doing that. This wasn’t such a book. It’s not that long (around 400 pages) and I wasn’t bored in any scene. I love how the story intensified towards the end, but the stakes were high throughout the WHOLE THING.
THAT Xaden CHAPTER ATEATEATEATE, I LOVED IT SO MUCH!
AND THAT PLOT TWIST IT ENDED ON, I COULD NEVER EVEN IMAGINE THAT HAPPENING! UGH, I can’t wait for the next book.
THE BAD
I said it before, WILL SAY IT AGAIN, this is the most formulaic book I’ve read in my life. You know when popular musicians make songs SPECIFICALLY so they can become popular on TikTok and you SOMEHOW ALWAYS KNOW. Yes, this was that, but for books. You can really tell the author used EVERY SINGLE TROPE she knows people love and will eat up and put it in her book (enemies to lovers, mated pairs, the whole rebellion trope, I’m the chosen one but I don’t want to be that blablabla), I just couldn’t get past that fact. Before reading this book I saw a few posts saying how this book is similar to ACOTAR. When I just started it, I didn’t really see the resemblance, but THEN I GOT IT. Dain is SOOOO Tamlin coded, Xaden is basically Rhysand, again the rebellion thing, THE MATES THING (god I hate that so much). I wouldn’t call this a carbon copy of ACOTAR, but you can’t tell me it wasn’t loosely inspired by it (for the sole purpose of satisfying booktok).
This was in no way original, and that’s the number one thing I didn’t like about this book. There wasn’t a single thing happening, a plot point, a scene, a character trait, that I haven’t seen before. This plays into this being EXTREMELY FORMULAIC.
For those who read it, is it just me? (I know it isn’t)
THE DRAGONS WERE SO FUNNY. I’m sorry, I didn’t like the dragons. I liked them individually (as almost characters) BUT they WERE IN NO WAY WELL WRITTEN. They’re supposed to be these mysterious, dangerous, sacred creatures, but Violet’s dragon says the word FUCK at one point. I LAUGHED SO MUCH, HAD ME ON THE FLOOR.
THE CHARACTERS
Ugh, they’re supposed to be adults, but they’re SO YA CODED. You can’t tell me Violet is 20.
Surprisingly, I liked the protagonists, but individually. They’re both flawed, but also with a sense of moral, a great combination of characteristics. However, them as a couple, not really. The banter was there in the beginning but then it just evaporated. They went from being enemies to LOVERS THE PLANET HASN’T SEEN so quickly. They were enemies for a good chunk of pages, I must admit that, but the change was in no way gradual (pls go to the Mariana Zapata slow burn school k thanks).
(And also, Violet was so desperate with the L word, GIRLIE STAND UP!!!)
The spice was good ngl (had me kicking my feet lol)
I LOVED THE SIDE CHARACTERS. RHIANNON AND LIAM (sorrows sorrows prayers) HAVE MY HEART.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a fast-paced, highly enjoyable first book in the series I will for sure continue reading when the next installment is out. It wasn’t very memorable and won’t make the FAVORITES list, but I still had fun reading. I’m leaving room for improvement.
Is it overhyped, tell me in the comments??? (let’s have a respectful discussion)
💕💕
OK SO I GOT PLAYED A LITTLE!!!!
THE GOOD
This was a HIGHLY enjoyable book. I had so much uni work to do, but I still flew through it. The author wasted no time – she made a fast-paced, action-packed, well established fantasy world. I love how we got introduced to bits and aspects of this world slowly, she really KNEW how to world build, how to ease us into this complicated setting. AT EVERY POINT OF THIS BOOK I knew what was going on, who I was rooting for, what are the aims of the particular scene. And you, my fellow fantasy readers, know how that doesn’t always happen. Like I said in the updates, EVERY SINGLE PAGE WAS A PLOT POINT and no fill-ins. I hate it when writers drag the story, you can really tell when they do that, and fantasy authors are for some reason prone to doing that. This wasn’t such a book. It’s not that long (around 400 pages) and I wasn’t bored in any scene. I love how the story intensified towards the end, but the stakes were high throughout the WHOLE THING.
THAT Xaden CHAPTER ATEATEATEATE, I LOVED IT SO MUCH!
AND THAT PLOT TWIST IT ENDED ON, I COULD NEVER EVEN IMAGINE THAT HAPPENING! UGH, I can’t wait for the next book.
THE BAD
I said it before, WILL SAY IT AGAIN, this is the most formulaic book I’ve read in my life. You know when popular musicians make songs SPECIFICALLY so they can become popular on TikTok and you SOMEHOW ALWAYS KNOW. Yes, this was that, but for books. You can really tell the author used EVERY SINGLE TROPE she knows people love and will eat up and put it in her book (enemies to lovers, mated pairs, the whole rebellion trope, I’m the chosen one but I don’t want to be that blablabla), I just couldn’t get past that fact. Before reading this book I saw a few posts saying how this book is similar to ACOTAR. When I just started it, I didn’t really see the resemblance, but THEN I GOT IT. Dain is SOOOO Tamlin coded, Xaden is basically Rhysand, again the rebellion thing, THE MATES THING (god I hate that so much). I wouldn’t call this a carbon copy of ACOTAR, but you can’t tell me it wasn’t loosely inspired by it (for the sole purpose of satisfying booktok).
This was in no way original, and that’s the number one thing I didn’t like about this book. There wasn’t a single thing happening, a plot point, a scene, a character trait, that I haven’t seen before. This plays into this being EXTREMELY FORMULAIC.
For those who read it, is it just me? (I know it isn’t)
THE DRAGONS WERE SO FUNNY. I’m sorry, I didn’t like the dragons. I liked them individually (as almost characters) BUT they WERE IN NO WAY WELL WRITTEN. They’re supposed to be these mysterious, dangerous, sacred creatures, but Violet’s dragon says the word FUCK at one point. I LAUGHED SO MUCH, HAD ME ON THE FLOOR.
THE CHARACTERS
Ugh, they’re supposed to be adults, but they’re SO YA CODED. You can’t tell me Violet is 20.
Surprisingly, I liked the protagonists, but individually. They’re both flawed, but also with a sense of moral, a great combination of characteristics. However, them as a couple, not really. The banter was there in the beginning but then it just evaporated. They went from being enemies to LOVERS THE PLANET HASN’T SEEN so quickly. They were enemies for a good chunk of pages, I must admit that, but the change was in no way gradual (pls go to the Mariana Zapata slow burn school k thanks).
(And also, Violet was so desperate with the L word, GIRLIE STAND UP!!!)
The spice was good ngl (had me kicking my feet lol)
I LOVED THE SIDE CHARACTERS. RHIANNON AND LIAM (sorrows sorrows prayers) HAVE MY HEART.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a fast-paced, highly enjoyable first book in the series I will for sure continue reading when the next installment is out. It wasn’t very memorable and won’t make the FAVORITES list, but I still had fun reading. I’m leaving room for improvement.
Is it overhyped, tell me in the comments??? (let’s have a respectful discussion)
💕💕
May 8, 2023
if y’all see me on the news tomorrow it’s because i broke into this author’s house and tried to steal the manuscript for the sequel…
i can’t even begin to describe the attachment and love i have for this book and its characters. it’s one of my favorite books of all time now. the author really wrote the most heart wrenching, emotionally loaded, appetite terminating sentences and said “deal with it.”
to put into few words: this new adult fantasy romance book is set at a war college, there’s dragons, and there’s 2 main opposing sides that hate one another. our fmc belonging to one and our mmc belonging to the other. i think you can see where this is going…WRONG because you could have 30 guns pointing at my head and i still wouldn’t have predicted THAT last sentence. all my brain matter would cover the wall behind me.
Violet aka Violence (iykyk) is my favorite character all around. she’s just like me for real. the way she thinks and talks. she’s really a girls girl. i usually prefer dual pov but not in this case. being in her head made me realize i’ve never had an original thought. she’s a fmc written by a woman to its core. she strong, resilient, a fucking genius, badass, witty af, compassionate, and so damn attractive…god idk if i wanna be her or be with her… everything she goes through and overcomes made me shed a tear or 7. she’s unpredictable and that’s what i love about her.
Xaden…i’ve never read a man described so damn sexy. i was in heat and prepared to do a line off this man’s stomach…his middle name is basically “self control” and the way that crumbles from just the mere existence of Violet. he says it best when “i’m annoyingly aware of everything you do…”
i appreciated how he has a personality outside of the slow (and i mean slow) burn romance. he’s protective but not overbearing. he’s idealistic and charming without even trying. he “hates” her but literally had daggers made for her specific body shape and fit. he had a saddle made for her body type so she doesn’t fall off her dragon. he’s so thoughtful and attentive, it comes natural to him like breathing. the longing that’s in his eyes when he simply glances at violet (you’d think he’d be plotting her death from an outsider looking in) was written like poetry. Violet has him so tightly wrapped around her finger and they can’t even begin to understand the depths of it…
one would think the romance would be my hyper fixation for this book but it’s not even that (not only that.) it’s the fucking dragons! the way they are described, have personalities of their own, the way they always check and roast Violet had me LOLing and giddy. the bonds they have with their riders felt as real as oxygen in the air! 😮💨
some quotes that aren’t spoilery but still had me barking like a dog in heat:👹
“heat rushes through every vein, wakes every nerve ending. I hate the reaction of my body to the site of him, but I can’t deny it. His appeal is so fucking inconvenient.” she is so me coded
“i know how to handle a corset” and he does
“There’s a palpable energy in every room, he enters, and brushes over my skin, like a caress each time our eyes meet. Even now, I’m aware of every breath he takes, as he sits next to me midway down the table.”
“fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.” god he’s so miserable 😩
the MCs and dragons dynamic is so uniquely and well written like nothing else i’ve read. it’s so ying and yang coded. this book, in short, is a limb to me. cut it off, i bleed out and die! it is diverse, rich, deep, magnificently written, and every fiber of me loves it (i say all of this referring to a piece of media that ruined my life🥲)
i can’t even begin to describe the attachment and love i have for this book and its characters. it’s one of my favorite books of all time now. the author really wrote the most heart wrenching, emotionally loaded, appetite terminating sentences and said “deal with it.”
to put into few words: this new adult fantasy romance book is set at a war college, there’s dragons, and there’s 2 main opposing sides that hate one another. our fmc belonging to one and our mmc belonging to the other. i think you can see where this is going…WRONG because you could have 30 guns pointing at my head and i still wouldn’t have predicted THAT last sentence. all my brain matter would cover the wall behind me.
Violet aka Violence (iykyk) is my favorite character all around. she’s just like me for real. the way she thinks and talks. she’s really a girls girl. i usually prefer dual pov but not in this case. being in her head made me realize i’ve never had an original thought. she’s a fmc written by a woman to its core. she strong, resilient, a fucking genius, badass, witty af, compassionate, and so damn attractive…god idk if i wanna be her or be with her… everything she goes through and overcomes made me shed a tear or 7. she’s unpredictable and that’s what i love about her.
Xaden…i’ve never read a man described so damn sexy. i was in heat and prepared to do a line off this man’s stomach…his middle name is basically “self control” and the way that crumbles from just the mere existence of Violet. he says it best when “i’m annoyingly aware of everything you do…”
i appreciated how he has a personality outside of the slow (and i mean slow) burn romance. he’s protective but not overbearing. he’s idealistic and charming without even trying. he “hates” her but literally had daggers made for her specific body shape and fit. he had a saddle made for her body type so she doesn’t fall off her dragon. he’s so thoughtful and attentive, it comes natural to him like breathing. the longing that’s in his eyes when he simply glances at violet (you’d think he’d be plotting her death from an outsider looking in) was written like poetry. Violet has him so tightly wrapped around her finger and they can’t even begin to understand the depths of it…
one would think the romance would be my hyper fixation for this book but it’s not even that (not only that.) it’s the fucking dragons! the way they are described, have personalities of their own, the way they always check and roast Violet had me LOLing and giddy. the bonds they have with their riders felt as real as oxygen in the air! 😮💨
some quotes that aren’t spoilery but still had me barking like a dog in heat:👹
“heat rushes through every vein, wakes every nerve ending. I hate the reaction of my body to the site of him, but I can’t deny it. His appeal is so fucking inconvenient.” she is so me coded
“i know how to handle a corset” and he does
“There’s a palpable energy in every room, he enters, and brushes over my skin, like a caress each time our eyes meet. Even now, I’m aware of every breath he takes, as he sits next to me midway down the table.”
“fuck, that stubborn, feisty look always makes me want to kiss you.” god he’s so miserable 😩
the MCs and dragons dynamic is so uniquely and well written like nothing else i’ve read. it’s so ying and yang coded. this book, in short, is a limb to me. cut it off, i bleed out and die! it is diverse, rich, deep, magnificently written, and every fiber of me loves it (i say all of this referring to a piece of media that ruined my life🥲)
September 25, 2023
This is kinda harsh but my honest opinion after reading the ARC ~
** May 2023 edit: I'm a bookseller and read a variety of genres including children's and YA. My issues are not with these genres. My issues are with books that read as clumsy, horny (and not in a fun camp way), and unpolished. Which in my Personal Opinion(tm)!!!!!!!!!! this book is.
It's pretty stock standard commercial horny hetero fiction. That's fine. Can't please everyone. I'll be totally honest: if you don't care that much about quality of writing and want an easy het romance-fantasy novel à la Cassandra Clare et al. (nothing wrong with that!), you may enjoy this. It's not my thing, though, and I can't recommend it if you want a decent wholemeal fantasy novel to sink your teeth into. **
I found this disappointing and I’m frankly shocked it has such glowing early reviews.
To be fair, my disappointment is partly caused by the misleading blurb and ARC marketing. The blurb implies a high stakes military fantasy set at a war college for dragon riders; this put me in mind of Temeraire, The Poppy War, or even elements of The Hunger Games. Romance is mentioned - “traitors will become allies… or lovers” - but it’s certainly not implied to be wholly a romance novel.
I saw on the author’s instagram that this is being marketed as a “new adult fantasy” - if 'new adult' just means ‘lacking the sophistication of genre fiction but can’t be marketed as YA romance because of sex scenes’… then, sure, call it 'new adult'.
All the characters - even supposed high-ranking military figures - speak like millennials from the year 2023. Why was the word ‘vibe’ used so many times? As in, ‘his vibe is weird’. But in other ways the setting recalls medieval Europe? Who edited this???
I would not have picked this up if the marketing more accurately reflected the content. It’s 100% a romance novel in the vein of Cassandra Claire, Sarah J. Maas, the Divergent series; any genuine stakes are basically subplot to the central romance. The oh-so-important ~tension~ could be resolved by just… talking to one another? Most other world building elements are underdeveloped & confusing, full of plot holes, and everyone’s dialogue is set up to give the protagonist & ~dark~ love interest perfect Marvel-esque quips and one-liners. I get that this is a popular thing but to me it lacks sophistication and polish of contemporary fantasy :-)
Also, my certified transgender opinion (tm) is that the inclusion of a random nonbinary side character was disingenuous and definitely tokenism, lol.
The reason for two stars instead of one is because I found the representation of the protagonist's disability - and how it was navigated in such physically demanding settings - genuinely interesting.
All in all, this, to me, read like a semi-edited fanfic. If that’s your thing, go buckwild. Otherwise, I can’t really recommend it. The blurb is pretty misleading, imo. Expect a YA romance novel.
** May 2023 edit: I'm a bookseller and read a variety of genres including children's and YA. My issues are not with these genres. My issues are with books that read as clumsy, horny (and not in a fun camp way), and unpolished. Which in my Personal Opinion(tm)!!!!!!!!!! this book is.
It's pretty stock standard commercial horny hetero fiction. That's fine. Can't please everyone. I'll be totally honest: if you don't care that much about quality of writing and want an easy het romance-fantasy novel à la Cassandra Clare et al. (nothing wrong with that!), you may enjoy this. It's not my thing, though, and I can't recommend it if you want a decent wholemeal fantasy novel to sink your teeth into. **
I found this disappointing and I’m frankly shocked it has such glowing early reviews.
To be fair, my disappointment is partly caused by the misleading blurb and ARC marketing. The blurb implies a high stakes military fantasy set at a war college for dragon riders; this put me in mind of Temeraire, The Poppy War, or even elements of The Hunger Games. Romance is mentioned - “traitors will become allies… or lovers” - but it’s certainly not implied to be wholly a romance novel.
I saw on the author’s instagram that this is being marketed as a “new adult fantasy” - if 'new adult' just means ‘lacking the sophistication of genre fiction but can’t be marketed as YA romance because of sex scenes’… then, sure, call it 'new adult'.
All the characters - even supposed high-ranking military figures - speak like millennials from the year 2023. Why was the word ‘vibe’ used so many times? As in, ‘his vibe is weird’. But in other ways the setting recalls medieval Europe? Who edited this???
I would not have picked this up if the marketing more accurately reflected the content. It’s 100% a romance novel in the vein of Cassandra Claire, Sarah J. Maas, the Divergent series; any genuine stakes are basically subplot to the central romance. The oh-so-important ~tension~ could be resolved by just… talking to one another? Most other world building elements are underdeveloped & confusing, full of plot holes, and everyone’s dialogue is set up to give the protagonist & ~dark~ love interest perfect Marvel-esque quips and one-liners. I get that this is a popular thing but to me it lacks sophistication and polish of contemporary fantasy :-)
Also, my certified transgender opinion (tm) is that the inclusion of a random nonbinary side character was disingenuous and definitely tokenism, lol.
The reason for two stars instead of one is because I found the representation of the protagonist's disability - and how it was navigated in such physically demanding settings - genuinely interesting.
All in all, this, to me, read like a semi-edited fanfic. If that’s your thing, go buckwild. Otherwise, I can’t really recommend it. The blurb is pretty misleading, imo. Expect a YA romance novel.
April 25, 2024
"Decide, Violet. Are you going to die a scribe? Or live as a rider?"
Oh, this is good. I see now why y'all love it so much.
If Fourth Wing were a drug, I'd be an addict. It grabbed me so thoroughly from the very first moment and refused to let go. I was fully immersed, I didn't want to sleep, didn't want to eat. I just wanted to inhale it as fast as I could. And honestly, isn't this why we read, for this exact feeling?
The action begins right on the first page and never lets up. There was no onerous worldbuilding, no endless backgrounds or introductions. We just seamlessly slip into the world of Navarre and Violet Sorrengail. Every time I get the itch to read fantasy, the one thing that holds me back is how much worldbuilding I would have to endure just to get to the good parts. But no such issues here. The good parts start right at the beginning.
Is this the most original story? No. Is this the most well written? Also no. (Don't kill me for saying that, all you rabid fans.) In fact, the dialogue has me cringing at times, with its penchant for f-bombs as emphasis and its often basic but slightly pompous back-and-forth that only teenagers can pull off. I guess in that way, it is true to its characters since they're all not much older than teenagers.
But slight criticisms aside, this story is executed to perfection. It takes several well-trodden tropes and not only cohesively blends them together, but also manages to squeeze every ounce of entertainment out of them along the way. And I'm not above being entertained.
This is my first real foray into the romantasy genre that's got everyone aflutter. And I can see the appeal. Fantasy is a bit of an adrenaline rush and so is romance, so blending the two together is really the perfect symbiosis. Of course you'd want your hero to fight hard in a war between good and evil. And it totally makes sense that they would love hard too if they could die any day. And if the object of desire is one's enemy instead of one's friend? Even better.
I'm a little late to the Fourth Wing party, and there's good reason. I was certain this was a duology (don't ask me why I thought this), so I figured if I just held off a little bit, I could bam my way through both books without having to stop and deal with the inevitable anguish of waiting for the next book. Well, the joke's on me because this is actually a five-parter. So lots of waiting will be had by me. As a consolation, at least I can dive straight into Iron Flame.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
#2. Iron Flame
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
May 5, 2023
Did not finish.
I’d like to know if I’m actually reading the same book as everyone else. This is the worst piece of literature I’ve read in a long while. I got to chapter 8. Couldn’t go any further.
First off, the endless use of the F bomb is tacky and lazy if you ask me. So many great descriptive words and all this author can do is spout curse words. Curse words do not a personality make. Neither is being a horny 13 year old. Violet is supposed to be 20 years old, but it seems more like she is 12. I mean…
“the scar that marks his eye brow only makes him hotter. Flaming hot. Scorching hot. Gets-you-in-trouble-and-you-like-it-level-hot…”
Who talks like that? I’ll tell you. Tweens.
I think I’m rooting for the other side of this conflict too. What kind of battle strategy is it to encourage the deaths of dozens of people as an entrance exam? Then to be okay with it when your cadets at killing each other. Let’s just kill off a huge percentage of our able bodied young men and woman every year. Yup. Sound strategy. The big bad school is so scary! It’s incredibly cliche, predictable, and trite in all the worst ways.
Violets only personality trait is that she’s SuPeR FaSt aNd SmArT. And the reason her mother tossed her into the school in the first place is super unbelievable. It’s just a weak book with weak and convenient reasons to push the plot forward.
I’d like to know if I’m actually reading the same book as everyone else. This is the worst piece of literature I’ve read in a long while. I got to chapter 8. Couldn’t go any further.
First off, the endless use of the F bomb is tacky and lazy if you ask me. So many great descriptive words and all this author can do is spout curse words. Curse words do not a personality make. Neither is being a horny 13 year old. Violet is supposed to be 20 years old, but it seems more like she is 12. I mean…
“the scar that marks his eye brow only makes him hotter. Flaming hot. Scorching hot. Gets-you-in-trouble-and-you-like-it-level-hot…”
Who talks like that? I’ll tell you. Tweens.
I think I’m rooting for the other side of this conflict too. What kind of battle strategy is it to encourage the deaths of dozens of people as an entrance exam? Then to be okay with it when your cadets at killing each other. Let’s just kill off a huge percentage of our able bodied young men and woman every year. Yup. Sound strategy. The big bad school is so scary! It’s incredibly cliche, predictable, and trite in all the worst ways.
Violets only personality trait is that she’s SuPeR FaSt aNd SmArT. And the reason her mother tossed her into the school in the first place is super unbelievable. It’s just a weak book with weak and convenient reasons to push the plot forward.
November 11, 2024
✖️This book is NOT FOR YOU if you do not like
1. “frail”, “small”, “short” heroine lead who’s obsessed with huge/big/broad male lead and who just can’t shut up about it
2. Characters not acting their age and bickering like kids
3. Everyone just automatically loves, protects, prioritise the female lead
4. Egoistic strong male romantic interests who are trying to act strong like they almost become the unknown side characters
5. No world building in a fantasy setting
6. No character depths
7. No chemistry between the main leads
8. Expecting dragons to be of a more significant role of the plot but you just have to keep waiting and waiting
9. Too much babying of one main character
10. Eye rolling the entire time
11. Hyped books
12. Your favourite book bloggers/booktubers read it just for the sake of the hype
13. Writing which seems like prepping you for the most craziest battle story ever told but it never happens till the end
.
.
.
And if this romance is the kind we are swooning over, I better shift our human species to another universe.
You know the kind of bad taste in your mouth when you read that part in Breaking Dawn, believe me you will get the worst kind of bitter taste when you read the sx scnes. (Don’t worry about the missing Es!)
The only consolation now is that I didn’t waste my precious money on the sparkling hardcover.
1. “frail”, “small”, “short” heroine lead who’s obsessed with huge/big/broad male lead and who just can’t shut up about it
2. Characters not acting their age and bickering like kids
3. Everyone just automatically loves, protects, prioritise the female lead
4. Egoistic strong male romantic interests who are trying to act strong like they almost become the unknown side characters
5. No world building in a fantasy setting
6. No character depths
7. No chemistry between the main leads
8. Expecting dragons to be of a more significant role of the plot but you just have to keep waiting and waiting
9. Too much babying of one main character
10. Eye rolling the entire time
11. Hyped books
12. Your favourite book bloggers/booktubers read it just for the sake of the hype
13. Writing which seems like prepping you for the most craziest battle story ever told but it never happens till the end
.
.
.
And if this romance is the kind we are swooning over, I better shift our human species to another universe.
You know the kind of bad taste in your mouth when you read that part in Breaking Dawn, believe me you will get the worst kind of bitter taste when you read the sx scnes. (Don’t worry about the missing Es!)
The only consolation now is that I didn’t waste my precious money on the sparkling hardcover.
June 14, 2023
i hate to admit it, but the hype is real. i wasnt sure i could trust all of the praise this book is getting because i didnt like the last RY book that was widely loved. but this one is enjoyable!
it has all of your typical fantasy tropes - a girl who doesnt know her powerful potential, found families, a magical enemy threatening the kingdom, and enemies to lovers. so nothing about this is super unique. but everything is done really well and is very engaging.
this is just one of those books that is a lot of fun to read. so you dont really care about how well its written or the bigger points reviewers usually critique. its just about pure enjoyment.
so if you like dragons and youre looking for a new fantasy read with a decent amount of romance, this is the one for you!
↠ 4.5 stars
it has all of your typical fantasy tropes - a girl who doesnt know her powerful potential, found families, a magical enemy threatening the kingdom, and enemies to lovers. so nothing about this is super unique. but everything is done really well and is very engaging.
this is just one of those books that is a lot of fun to read. so you dont really care about how well its written or the bigger points reviewers usually critique. its just about pure enjoyment.
so if you like dragons and youre looking for a new fantasy read with a decent amount of romance, this is the one for you!
↠ 4.5 stars
August 12, 2023
Omg this book. this book. this book. As soon as I finished the book I immediately started rereading all of my favorite scenes/chapters which is how I know I'm obsessed. First of all, the setting and concept is so cool. The book takes place at a war college for dragon riders. It gives slight Hogwarts/Harry Potter vibes but 100x more brutal and deadly. I also loved the politics and backstory of the outside world as well.
And then we have the romance!!! Rebecca Yarros, I bow down to you for writing Xadan Riorson. That man 🥵🥵 The way you never know if he wants to kiss Violet or kill her. The way he's so mysterious and guarded but also has these surprising and small moments of kindness and loyalty. Instantly one of my top book boyfriends.
November can't come soon enough. I need book 2 asap
And then we have the romance!!! Rebecca Yarros, I bow down to you for writing Xadan Riorson. That man 🥵🥵 The way you never know if he wants to kiss Violet or kill her. The way he's so mysterious and guarded but also has these surprising and small moments of kindness and loyalty. Instantly one of my top book boyfriends.
November can't come soon enough. I need book 2 asap
August 6, 2023
(2.5) While my rating will probably surprise some of you, my overall opinion is "it wasn't that bad." (the reading vlog: https://youtu.be/LS9W4acXEOk)
Don't get me wrong, the writing is not the best, the romance is definitely cringy and too many very convenient moments... but it's very readable and the magic system/dragons were cool.
I get why it's getting so popular as it reminds me a bit of Throne of Glass. Heck, I personally enjoyed this one more.
Am I in a rush to pick up book 2 when it's out? No. But it also won't make it to my "worst books of 2023". Murakami will though lol
Don't get me wrong, the writing is not the best, the romance is definitely cringy and too many very convenient moments... but it's very readable and the magic system/dragons were cool.
I get why it's getting so popular as it reminds me a bit of Throne of Glass. Heck, I personally enjoyed this one more.
Am I in a rush to pick up book 2 when it's out? No. But it also won't make it to my "worst books of 2023". Murakami will though lol
May 14, 2023
there's a valuable lesson to be learned here and it's that when you see the entire goodreads community read and five star the same book you run as fast as you can in the other direction
i especially enjoyed the mediocre writing, boring love story, and the "this might as well happen" plot where an allegedly frail and weak character is at the same time overpowered as fuck and gets everything handed to her on a silver platter. 0 stars.
chrysa, please don't abandon me, i can find a good book to buddy read, i am sure i still have it in me
i especially enjoyed the mediocre writing, boring love story, and the "this might as well happen" plot where an allegedly frail and weak character is at the same time overpowered as fuck and gets everything handed to her on a silver platter. 0 stars.
chrysa, please don't abandon me, i can find a good book to buddy read, i am sure i still have it in me
September 30, 2023
Some of y’all bouta be real mad at me, but this is awful. Also if this is enemies to lovers, then oh, how mighty have fallen. The amount of time I cringe was insane I’d rather stick molten hot needles in my eyes than read sequel.
Side note: ratings for this book give me Sound of Freedom vibes. How does first time fantasy author get from May to August so many reviews and almost all are 5 stars. Too much sus.
Side note: ratings for this book give me Sound of Freedom vibes. How does first time fantasy author get from May to August so many reviews and almost all are 5 stars. Too much sus.
October 20, 2023
the second hand embarrassment.... girl GET UP! set back women rights by a century
-----------------------
rebecca yarros signed with isra*li publishers, bothsidesing the oppression going on right now and her books are military propaganda, with the latest one being set in Afghanistan, about two tone deaf white mcs.
if you care, think before putting your money and time on her
-----------------------
rebecca yarros signed with isra*li publishers, bothsidesing the oppression going on right now and her books are military propaganda, with the latest one being set in Afghanistan, about two tone deaf white mcs.
if you care, think before putting your money and time on her
July 3, 2024
el hype es real, estoy que NO PUEDO.
PD: hay ciertos detalles que me hacen querer dejarlo en 4.5 estrellas, pero lo disfruté TANTO que estoy dispuesta a ignorarlos, oops. De todos modos cuando haga la reseña les voy a hablar de todo.
PD: hay ciertos detalles que me hacen querer dejarlo en 4.5 estrellas, pero lo disfruté TANTO que estoy dispuesta a ignorarlos, oops. De todos modos cuando haga la reseña les voy a hablar de todo.
May 16, 2023
Y'all must be joking...
May 11, 2023
who had a gun to the head of everyone who rated this five stars
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