Sometimes you read a book that just blows other books out of the park. This book is IT!! This book was the most amazing ride! I loved every single second of it!!! There are very few fantasy series that I enjoy this much. This book is well written with a wonderful slow burn, enemies to lovers romance. Violet is a character with flaws and challenges, but she’s so darn tough! There’s complicated family dynamics and a hero equally as complicated. I could not stop listening to this book. The conflict and twists and turns are never ending. The dragons was a unique twist! There’s some great spice, too. The narrators made this one even better! All in all, I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could.

Fantasy Book you want to read this year!!!
It is adult Harry Potter goes to college with military training (Hunger Games theme you survive or die), but this is not Harry’s story, it is Hermione’s story. Yes, there are dragons too like in Eragon. Love scene and love triangle reminded me of Courts of Thorn and Roses. The worst part of the book is waiting for next since there is a cliffhanger at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced listening copy of fourth wing. This was absolutely fantastic. If you read red queen you will see the similarities but on its own it can absolutely stand. I cannot wait for this to release. This I will say is my favorite new book for the year so far.

20/5 stars; this book is AMAZING. Rebeca Yarros nailed EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of this story, and how dare she leave us on such a cliffhanger. :)

Dragons, magic, romance, dragons, badass FMC (and MMC, honestly).... did I say dragons? I just finished the audio of this (narrators did an outstanding job), and am still left speechless and wondering how I can do justice to this masterpiece with mere words. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy. If you like The Blood Trials by Nia Davenport, you will also love this.

MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR!!!!! Hot dang that was amazing!!!!!
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best fantasy books I have ever read!

I cannot express how much I loved “The Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros! Book 1 of The Empyrean series takes off straight out of the gate with immaculate world building, chaos, tension, banter, DRAGONS, conflict, history, action and mystery! I was glued to the story and could not put it down!!! It felt like I was reading a cross between an adult version of How to Train Your Dragon crossed with the ACOTAR with a splash of Lost Girl vibes!
I went in absolutely blind and was blown away! I don’t want to give away any spoilers but if you like Fantasy with romance, a badass female mc, morally grey characters, chronic illness rep, dark academia, mysteries, family secrets, spice, dragons, heart pounding action, magical elements, mythical creatures, warring factions, world building and did I mention DRAGONS!? Then pick up The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros!! I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here and in the meantime I’m going to read it again! ♾️/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros sounds like an intense and thrilling fantasy novel. The premise of a war college for dragon riders immediately captures the reader's imagination, and the challenges faced by the main character, Violet Sorrengail, as she strives to become an elite dragon rider in a world where dragons don't bond with fragile humans is both compelling and suspenseful.

The high stakes are heightened by the fact that the war outside the college is growing more deadly and that leadership may be hiding a terrible secret. The tension between the cadets, who are both friends and enemies, adds another layer of intrigue, and the possibility of romance further entices readers.

Overall, Fourth Wing promises to be a gripping read, full of danger, intrigue, and unexpected twists. Rebecca Yarros has established herself as a talented writer of action-packed and emotionally resonant stories, and this novel appears to be no exception. Fans of epic fantasy and adventure are sure to find much to enjoy in this thrilling tale.

This book was sooooo good. And extremely fast paced. Listening to it on audiobook was almost a little hard just because I had to keep rewinding the audio so I wouldn’t be left out of anything. But besides that. I loved it.

Thank you to Rebecca Yarros, RB Media, and NetGalley for the eALC of Fourth Wing! I had very minimal knowledge of this book before diving in, but I was sucked in from the very beginning. I loved rooting for the underdog, our FMC, Violet, as she fights to survive in the cutthroat, competitive branch of the kingdom’s army of dragon riders. But something that really sets this book apart is also the depth and detail given to more minor characters as well as the dragons! The slowburn of the enemies to lovers romance kept me on the edge of my seat and the themes of friendship, betrayal, good over evil, not judging a book by its cover, and that cliffhanger at the end will keep me in my grave until the next book gets published.
Content warnings for language, a couple of open door sex scenes, familial death, military/training death, and betrayal.
Since I specifically received an ALC, I want to also say that the narrator was so fun to listen to and did a good job of telling the entire story. 5/5 book and 5/5 narration!

Instagram post will be posted to https://www.instagram.com/laurensturningpages/ on April 24, 2023

Big thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the audio ARC of this book. It is actually one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. The narration was spectacular!

*pterodactyl screaming*
The way I was obsessed the whole time reading this book. I apologize to my friends for talking ONLY about this novel for the past few days.
Do I have this book pre-ordered? Yes. Could I have waited? Absolutely not.

What to expect:
✨ fast pacing
✨ constant action
✨ academia setting with dragons
✨ underdog, witty FMC & disability rep
✨ graphic content (🔪&🌶️)
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ he falls first
✨ slowest of the slow-burns (2.5 🌶️)

Viole(n)t 💜, I love you with all my heart. You are such an unhinged person, it's beautiful. 🥹 It's been a while since I've had so many laughs with a main lead. Violet was pushed in a very brutal direction of studying to be a dragon rider after preparing her whole life to chill out in an academic safety as basically a librarian/historian. She has every right to be pissed and her sass never disappoints. The dark humor in this book is outstanding.

Dragons are so FUN. I've picked up books where I was promised dragons, or dragons in the academia setting or special dragon bonds and sadly it always felt somehow underwhelming. However, Fourth Wing freaking delivered and I was thrilled by every single savage dragon moment. 🐉

Xaden, welcome to the flock, you're my newest book boyfriend. 🥰 Thanks to their past, this is a true enemies to lovers, not one of those "they-actually-just-never-met" to lovers. The loathing, the murderous intent, the tension, the glances, the angst. Give. Me. More. Keep in mind that the first 50% of the novel romance is barely a subplot, and that's the way I love it for my favorite masochistic (superior) trope — slow-burn. There isn't a lot of spice, but what we got was absolutely state-of-the-art.

My only complaint is that this book came to an end.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an audio ARC for this book. I also managed to get a physical copy of the book at an event earlier this year, but OMG I have no idea where to start. Dragons. White-haired MC. Warring nations. Enemies to Lovers. Spice. A larger looming threat. Sound familiar? Yes, this book gives me some Game of Thrones vibes (with a focus on the Targaryen family), and I venture to say that it is one of the best fantasy reads I’ve had in a while. The pacing and the world-building of the story was spot on. Fast, but not in a way that left users confused, the author did a spectacular job in building the world and its system. I think what was most intriguing was the fact that readers are able to get a very clear understanding about the entire world, even though most of the events (until 95% into the story) took place within the confines of the Riders Quadrant. The way it was revealed piece by piece to create an eventually full view of what Navarre was actually like, but still grounding all the events that occur through the lens of the main character, Violet, was very masterfully told. And despite dragons being a key feature of the story, it still manages to retain its focus on the characters and their journeys, rather than the story being reduced down to just being about the dragons.

Another aspect that I loved in addition to the beautiful prose and world-building is the way the author embraces the dangerous nature of the riders quadrant. Oftentimes stories place characters in environments that are dangerous, yet the main group of characters seem to be immune from thm. But in Fourth Wing, everyone — and I mean everyone — is fair game. The way that the author makes you start caring about a character only to suddenly take them away at times you least expect to grips at the readers’ heartstrings. But I love how it shows the reality of this world. It’s brutal. It’s merciless. It increases the stakes, as even the most skilled rider is at risk.

And of course, this review cannot be complete without talking about Violet and Xaden. Oh. My. Goodness. The way that their relationship is built up?! The spark, the tension, the chemistry, the longing that subconsciously pulls them to each other despite common sense telling them to do so otherwise. Again, I’ve read a lot of fantasy books, so I’ve seen a lot of ways romance is built up. But even though I saw it coming, their relationship is told in a way that felt new, and most importantly, real. A very small contention I have is what was done with Dain’s character. Despite Violet no longer having feelings for her childhood friend, I hoped that Dain’s character would be mature enough to look past that. Instead, he becomes quite two-dimensional, child-like and frustrating — a typical character who can’t move on, and is now instead retaliating against Violet as payback. I hope that his character would grow in the sequel.

But otherwise, there’s not much else to say but WOW. WOW. WOW. For all readers who enjoy fantasy, adventure and romance, this book is a complete masterpiece, and I guarantee that you will not be able to put it down once you start it. It hasn’t even been released yet but I already NEED the sequel ASAP. So make sure you get your copy once it released on May 2, 2023!

This book grabbed my heart and wouldn't let go.

I will say, I almost DNFed it. It took almost too long to get going, but once it did... Dear god. I'll break it down because that's the only way I'll be able to truly decipher everything amazing about it.

The fantasy and lore was so compelling. It was amazing, jaw-dropping. Everything had been thought through. Everything had a bit of history to it that really sold this universe.

The romance. Oh. My. God. Enemy to lovers, slow burn. And... not a fade-to-black. I was so surprised. I thought it would be.

This just became the first and only book I won’t accept criticism on.

♾️ stars. I knew very quickly this was going to be a 5 star book for me. And just like that, I have a new favorite book of the year. Of ever. I am literally obsessed.

There has been so much hype around this book that I didn’t hesitate when there was a chance at getting an ARC of the audio version (and I am NOT an audiobook girl). NO REGRETS. 1/3rd of the way in and I pre-ordered my physical copy.

The story sucked me in from the very beginning. Literally page 1 all the way to the very end. It had me laughing out loud, crying and literally dropping my jaw more than once (THAT cliffhanger…). The fast-pace, action, characters, enemies to lovers, slow burn, etc. etc. etc. Everything I needed, it gave and then some.

I feel like I’m just word vomiting at this point, but still haven’t said nearly enough. Just do yourself a favor and move this book to the top of your TBR.

Rebecca Yarros, you beautiful genius, this book was EVERYTHING. How am I supposed to wait until November for the second one? Who do I beg for an ARC?

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC.

In Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros we are introduced to Violet who has always expected to become a scribe until her mother demands that she become a dragon rider or die trying .

Why I loved this book
1. Military academy with a dragon centric magic system.
2.chronic pain/chronic illness representation through the Main character.
3.High stakes throughout training and in practical use of any magic.
4..political intrigue
5. commentary on the power of knowledge and information, but also on the value of folklore and myth.
6.Well written and well timed intimate scenes.
7. Superb utilization of foreshadowing.
8.well done unlikeable characters
9. The narration, for the audiobook was wonderful.
10. LGBTQIA representation

What didn’t work as well for me
1. Most of the conflict between the main character and both of the supposedly most important people to her come down to people being unnecessarily, stubborn.It is believable it was just frustrating.
2.I want to see more of what life outside of service in the four quadrants is like for people inside and outside the kingdom.
3. I didn’t realize it was going to be a series until I reached that glorious ending that left me pining for a sequel whose release date is as of typing this unknown to me.

Who would I recommend this Title for ?

Readers looking for the Graduate or die intensity of A Deadly education by Naomi Novick, paired with Dragon fantasy and sprinkled with sensual tension will love Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

Wow. This book had me completely in its thrall. I started the audiobook (which by the way is 20 hours long) thinking I could dip into it bit by bit. Nope! Had to binge the whole thing. I haven’t slept. I have subsisted only on dragon gossip & sexual tension for DAYS. I’m obsessed with this fantasy world & somehow 20 hours was not enough.

This book is like, okay so you’re an English major with zero aptitude for sports who is suddenly drafted into the marines BUT WAIT it’s also the hunger games & oh right it’s also the DRAGON marines. The protagonist is a wise cracking nerd with chronic pain who is constantly underestimated and bullied and she has to create a space for herself in a world that was not designed for her survival.

If you loved Rosaria Munda’s Aurelian Cycle series or Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse, then this book is for you. A million stars, give the people what they want (what they want is a Netflix series), I literally wept, goodnight.

If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. I am officially obsessed with fourth wing and Rebecca Yarros. I loved every second of this book. Every. Second. It was absolutely phenomenal.
I have no idea what to do with myself now that I finished it, and don’t have a sequel to read! I’m gonna have fourth wing withdrawals.

With dragons, mythical creatures, epic fighting, death, tension, lust, spice, war and politics, romance, heartbreak and betrayal, and a ton of great characters, this book has it all, and more. The plot is incredible, and nothing like anything I’ve read before, and I can’t wait to read what happens next.

Definitely a new favorite book for me, and I already want to read it again.

I listened to this as an audiobook ARC through NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

Dnf @20%

I’m going to start this off by saying it’s possible that fantasy romance just isn’t for me anymore but if you enjoy fantasy romance, this could be up your alley.

Anyway—
There are three main reasons for my DNFing
1. The plot and love triangle is painfully formulaic. There’s the childhood best friend (who she may have a history with) and the bad boy who is out to get her (and he has shadow magic). I’ve seen this set up 100 times, I can guess how it will go and I have no interest in even finding out.

2. The writing/voice of the main character. I can’t stand this writing style for fantasy books, it just does fit for me. It felt way too modern and jokey for a society that didn’t even have regular pens (I will get back to this). And I’m not saying you can’t have some of that voice in fantasy but it’s incredibly overdone and heavy handed.

3. The magic system/world. Okay so you get magic when you bond with a dragon, make sense. This magic allows you to do all sorts of things. Like use pens…when everyone else can only use ink/quills. What? This also goes into the writing and world issues because it feels so incongruous that the character has such a sarcastic snarky modern voice but they haven’t invented a functional pen.

There is EDS rep with our main character, it seems well done, but I do not know enough about EDS or the symptoms to say for sure on that one.

What a ride! Best book of the year from beginning to end I could not put this book down and it was great to listen to it on audio. Sadly chapter 30 would not play on the audio. Not sure what happened. And poor Rebecca Soler was sick and you could tell in the reading but it was still a great listen and even though Teddy Hamilton was at the end as Xaden, I absolutely loved hearing him. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hands down! I will have to continue reading this book until book 2 comes out!

THIS BOOK!!!! Wow. Definitely going to be a top read of the year for me!

Dragons. Academic vibes. Enemies to lovers. Great friendships. Even better rivalries. Some found family developing. Great twists. Pulse pounding action. Heartbreak. Tension! Spice!

The setting is a completely unique fantasy world, but it was not bogged down by world building. It was done gradually and naturally.

The character development was so good. I loved reading from Violet’s perspective, but very glad to have one chapter from Xander’s POV at the end. I’m hopeful we can have more from his POV in the next book.

The ending was a total shock and left me feral for the next book. But not in an angsty cliffhanger way, just excited for what’s to come in the series.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to listen to an advance audio copy.

Fourth Wing is an immersive adult fantasy that takes place in a fictional military school, where our protagonist Violet becomes a dragon rider, after a lifetime of preparing to be a scholar. Listening to this audiobook evoked what I felt reading my childhood favourites, it has all the makings of a cult favourite fantasy and I am already so obsessed. I accessed this story as an audiobook and I couldn’t stop listening! Though I now realise that as I listened to this story, I don’t know how to spell any of the names of the characters or places.

The story was immediately immersive, slowly beginning rich world building without info dumping and overwhelming the audience. The early establishment of the sisterly relationship between Violet and Mira was so incredibly well done, encapsulating the tricky balance between deep love, protective instinct, pesky joking and even a sense of being overshadowed. It was indicative of the writing and the realistic relationships in an unrealistic world. The writing and descriptions were so vivid and detailed and I was easily able to picture this school, the dragons and characters. The story is so well written, I was wracked with anxiety at times due to the anticipation and constant worry for my favourites and I felt elation for their successes.

I was instantly able to connect with Violet, she loves books, has a good grasp of history and feels most at home in a library. Her struggles made her likeable and relatable. Xaden was mysterious, powerful and dedicated, I adored the scenes he was in, I think I’ve found a new book boyfriend. The narration was clear, consistent and expressive. Rebecca Soler has a soothing voice that was emotive and brought Violet to life throughout the narration in the audiobook. There was distinction in the voices of each character, which aided in the flow of the story (no cringey voice attempts) and the tone of the story (especially suspenseful or action packed scenes) was clearly established in the tone and pace of the narration.

The trigger warnings at the beginning are a great inclusion, I listened to them and probably didn’t take them as seriously as I should have. The depictions of violence do occur on page and start quite early on in the story and keep going throughout the whole story. Readers should take these warnings seriously and consider if this story is for them.

I wish I could give this more than five stars, I think I’ve found a new favourite and I can’t wait for more.

Thank you to NetGalley, and RB Media, for giving me the opportunity to listen this audiobook in exchange for an honest review, these thoughts are all my own.

YOU’RE KIDDING ME!!! (In the best way!)
I had so much fun with this book it’s ridiculous. Everything I crave and more! Full on couldn’t-put-it-down LOVE

As a huge romance/fantasy/romantasy reader, this was the book version of my happy place. It has it all;

Dragons ✅
Magical College ✅
Enemies to Lovers ✅
ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD WORLD BUILDING?! ✅🤩

Okay, so there wasn’t anything too surprising or brilliant in here for twists. That said there was almost an over abundance of foreshadowing that ended up being red herrings. While this didn’t blow me away with its originality it also wasn’t predictable.

I’m assuming this is meant to be the start of a series. Even by the end of the book there’s a lot of growth left to happen, as well as plenty of loose ends to resolve. Still, even though the primary purpose of the book seems to be setting the stage and building the world for a greater conflict, I really enjoyed watching our characters develop and seeing the tensions grow.

Audiobook: 4/5 a few small issues here and there (odd background noises) but ultimately a well done and dedicated performance!