Audiobook Review: The first 30-40% of this narration was terrible quality and I'm shocked that this was the final product.

Book Review:
Like most people, I was hyped about this new fantasy romance featuring dragons. So, it’s never a good sign when I can easily put the book down at 45% with no desire to pick it up again. If it weren’t for my obligations as a cohost for a live review, it would have been a DNF.

There are some major issues that can be summed up as: Marketing, Dragons, Character Development, World Building. Let’s get to it!

Marketing
The strategy that Entangled and Rebecca Yarros seemed to use was straddling the line. First up, contemporary vs. fantasy romance. This can come down to personal preference, but this was way too modern in world-building and dialogue for me. In theory, it’s a great strategy if you want to appeal to a broader audience. Non-fantasy readers wouldn’t have much trouble because the world-building is practically nonexistent. That’s not what I’m looking for in a fantasy featuring dragon riders and a country/world (I’m still not even sure after reading the books) at war.

The other line Fourth Wing straddles is YA vs Adult fantasy romance. Even though this is sold as a “new adult” fantasy, it’s really YA with some sexy scenes thrown in to satisfy spicy booktok. The problem isn’t necessarily the smut (we’ll get to dragon lust later…) but the fact that the tone of this book is so confusing.

Everything about this world and the characters is written to feel young. It could have easily been set in a magical boarding school instead of college without changing a thing. BUT “spicy” is a huge selling point at the moment and in order to toe that line, the characters are in their early 20s so that we can have on-page sex.

Granted 20 year-olds are generally not the most mature, but I am a reader who prefers emotional maturity in my characters regardless of age. I AM NOT THE AUDIENCE FOR YA ROMANCE. If I would have known that this is mislabeled YA romance, I would have skipped it.

I stand by my label of YA romance because this is just Divergent with dragons.

Dragons
The dragons suffer due to the modern feel of this world. The book can’t decide if dragons are ancient and powerful beings or their rider’s BFF.

On the one hand, dragons are shown to fry cowardly would-be-riders to a crisp as they turn tail and run in fear, and smite those they see as unworthy while humans are paraded in front of them. They give their riders inordinate powers once bonded, and can crush a human with their giant claws and teeth. The candidates are told to not even make eye contact with the dragons because they could just decide to unalive them. In other words, these are creatures that you do not fuck with…

But they are also creatures that potential dragon riders have no problem bad-mouthing in front of their faces during the dragon presentation. I kid you not, one dude-bro loudly complains that he can’t see the tails (an indicator of breed), and basically says “ewww” about one dragon who “looks like a freak” and is weak. These same dude-bros decided that they are going to kill the weak dragon later on.

How am I supposed to take dragons seriously when the author can’t decide if dragons are supposed to be feared or easily disrespected? Not to mention the way our main characters converse with their dragons.

Violet bonds with Tairn, supposedly an incredibly powerful and rare dragon, and then she immediately feels comfortable scolding him and cracking jokes like this is a lifelong pal!

So which is it? Are dragons THE power in this world? The ones who bless their human riders with abilities that are far superior to that of any other faction? Or are they just an accessory/sidekick?

I haven’t even gotten to the dragon lust scene. Oi.

After bonding with her dragon and struggling to not jump her mortal enemy’s bones since they first locked eyes, Violet gets a sudden case of the hornies when Tairn is mating with Sgaeyl. That’s right, dragon sex brings our two protagonists together! What in the hell am I reading?


Character Development
Violet Sorrengail is our classic underdog heroine. She’s physically weaker than anyone else going into the Rider Quadrant due to an illness that her mother had during pregnancy. This resulted in both fragile bones and joints, not to mention she is pint-sized and dragon riders are usually tall.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a heroine who can prove everyone who underestimates her wrong, but Violet is not the empowered FMC that this story requires to convince me that she can actually survive this world.

Trained to be a Scribe by her father, Violet is out of her element as she is forced to join the Rider Quadrant by her mother. This is a faction that prizes brute strength over everything else. It’s kill or be killed. There is one half-hearted attempt to develop Violet’s arsenal. We are told she is skilled at making poisons, but it's barely referenced and only at the most convenient time.

Instead of Violet leaning more on her strength - book smarts - she just gets extra combat training (apparently six months of training with a professional hired by her mother was not as effective as training from fellow novices), poisons a few people, and skates by on a very underwhelming version of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. That was exactly how I pictured this obstacle course in my head…

Why not empower her more by letting Violet herself come up with the dragon scale armor that her sister gifts her? It's apparently a new invention, but it would have been so much cooler if our book smart heroine figured out how to engineer one for herself. Why not have Violet make other things besides poisons? Elixirs for more energy and better stamina etc. Just give her something that makes her character worth rooting for instead of twiddling our thumbs for so long until her secret dragon power is revealed. It was so underwhelming when she gets her signet because that’s truly the only way she survives by these people’s rules.


Xaden Riorson is the classic dark-haired, brooding MMC in all fantasies. These are Violet’s first thoughts about Xaden “He is the most exquisite man I’ve ever see. Flaming hot. Scorching hot. Gets-you-into-trouble-and-you-like-it level of hot.” And I’m not above falling for a 6ft honed warrior with a chiseled jaw and piercing eyes. But oh-nos he’s the son of the leader of the rebellion and will totally kill her at his first chance.

Except I never, NEVER believed he would actually try to kill her. He had so many opportunities to at least try and make her life a living hell, but refrains. So the tension the author tries to create every time they accidentally find themselves alone - and Violet is convinced to the marrow of her bones that THIS is the time he will try to kill her - just never works. Violet is so dense that even after he gives her pointers while sparring, she still thinks he is out to get her. I’m tired.

Not only is this threat made of hot air, but we don’t even know what the rebellion was all about anyway. One province wanted to secede, but we don't know why and our heroine doesn't seem to want to find out. Xaden’s father was the ringleader and all the kids pay the price and are conscripted into the Rider Quadrant. This is the whole reason why he is supposed to hate her, but it’s so weak and clumsily handled. Xaden is surprisingly the least memorable character for me since I felt so neutral about him. The romance between these two was very forced. I just couldn’t seem to care enough about the juvenile attraction that turns into full-blown love in the blink of an eye.

I have to mention Dain briefly. This man’s sole purpose is to show us how much Xaden understands her. Every single conversation that Dain and Violet had went the same.

He insists there is still time for her to defect to the Scribes.
She reminds him that her mother has sworn to drag her by the braid back to the Riders if she even attempts it.
He bemoans how he can’t stand to watch her be hurt.
She fumes that he thinks her weak.

Over and over again. It was a waste of page space. We get it! Her childhood crush isn’t right for her and Xaden is, geez!

The plethora of side characters (except Liam) were so forgettable that it hardly feels like any unique character work went into them at all. Rhiannon is the instafriend that Violet snags on day one. That's all I know about her. Every other character is there as dragon fodder, so the author can kill off unimportant people that we don’t care about.

Liam’s is the only death that felt impactful and moving.

I'm not even going to get into the lazy caricature villains who hate Violet. Just...so bad.

World Building
As I mentioned earlier, the world feels very modern with a dash of dragons and run of the mill powers thrown in for good measure. I do prefer fantasy worlds that have a more historical atmosphere. This won’t be a problem for those who mainly read contemporary and are just getting into fantasy romance. I read both romance genres and this was just a badly disguised Divergent blueprint with minor changes.

One of my biggest complaints with many new fantasy romances in the last year is that they tend to throw the reader straight into action with very little framework to understand the world. I’m not a fan of info-dumping, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil. Skilled authors can integrate the information quickly and meaningfully before the action begins.

We are barely introduced to Violet before she is thrust onto the Parapet for the first death-defying stunt. But why should we care about her? I don’t even know what this world is all about let alone why we should be interested in the Rider Quadrant other than *magic hands* dragons.

A half-hearted attempt at world-building is made with Violet reciting random facts about the world as she completes these do-or-die tasks. It’s stated in such a forgettable manner that it’s hard to retain the information. It’s hard to reconcile having so little context of the world aside from the fact that the Riders Quadrant is the most revered because *magic hands* dragons and a rebellion happened in the past, with the fact that the FMC is basically a historian!

She’s incredibly incurious about the reports coming in from the frontlines and the discrepancies in the Battle Debfriefing class. Which brings me to my next point.

Why is it that this kingdom is so willing to kill off their able-bodied dragon riders in a murder school instead of properly training them? You would think protecting those that bond with dragons would be a priority when the frontlines are desperately in need of reinforcements. Nope! Kill the weak (or the unlucky) *cackles in villain*

The concept of this college makes no sense. The deaths are supposed to up the stakes, but it just feels like a silly waste of resources. I would have taken this book more seriously if it took the recruitment and training of dragon riders seriously.

This was the book I never knew I needed. I was hesitant to read it because I'm resistant to major hype.....but I'm glad I gave the audio a chance. I listen at 2.2x speed so the narration was not an issue for me. While not normally a fantasy reader this author is a favorite of mine and it did not disappoint. In addition to the fantasy elements there's romance and thriller war type action as well. I loved the fast pace, the characters and most of all The Dragons! Bring on book #2.

After procrastinating a bit, I finally decided to pick it up. My expectations were high but the fact that it was so hipped scared me a little since I often don’t like them.
This one was an exception, I truly enjoyed it. The start had me hooked and kept me interested for the whole time. The romance made me root for the pair. When the ending came I wanted to know how it continue. Will absolutely pick up the second book.
I doubt there is anything more to say that you haven’t already heard, since it’s so popular.
The Audiobook was great to listen to and the narrator was easy to follow. Her voice was really pleasant.
Would recommend.
I received a E-Audio Arc via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am not normally a fantasy fan but this audio was fantastic!!! All of the characters came to life to perfection. You will hear about this book everywhere you turn and you know why?? It's that darn good!!! It's every wonderful dragon story you've read weaved together better than ever. I highly recommend the audio version because it truly brings the story to life!

First, THANK YOU to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and to Rebecca Yarros for the ARC copy of Fourth Wing! I am reviewing the audiobook version.

Typically, I don't read books about war and dragons and the like but I had to see if this book lived up to the hype. It does. I have not read any other books by Rebecca Yarros so I cannot compare the writing or storylines. Fourth Wing exceeded my expectations on every level. I love the dragons and their personalities. The story was beautifully written. The character growth was wonderful. I enjoyed the narrator, the audiobook was exciting and easy to follow...even in the particularly action packed scenes.

This is probably my very favorite of the books I have read so far this year. I highly recommend it and cannot say enough good things about the story.

Before diving into this review, I want to point out that I am reviewing the audiobook version of Fourth Wing and not just the ebook. For starters, this book is addictive. I have not read any of Yarros' previous work, but I believe that she has a bright future ahead because Fourth Wing was pretty much everything I ever want in a fantasy. It has politics, lore, history, romance, action, and plot twists galore! I truly could not stop listening to this book, although I will go ahead and say that the audiobook needed a lot of editing and possibly re-recording because the narrator was very obviously sick for like half of the book. It took me out of the experience, so I really would like to push the producers to explore re-recording because I really believe that this audiobook could hinder enjoyment for some people. As I said before, this book is still very addictive and fun, but the narration was just hard to get through at times.

Violet is a great protagonist--full of quick wit and is as smart as she says she is. She is courageous and seeks truth and at times can be brutal as needed. I really liked her POV. Of course, I also loved Tairn and Andarna too much. Their whole dynamic was just incredible and I'm looking forward to their progression in the rest of the series. Xaden is also a great MMC and he actually surprised me by how much I enjoyed his interactions with pretty much everyone.

I can't wait to get my hands on Iron Flame. I think this series is the next big thing.

I received an audio arc of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had low expectations considering the hype, but I loved this. It reminded me of Divergent and a little of The Hunger Games - classics I read when I was first getting into reading. I also got vibes of Zodiac Academy from the writing, and Fate: The Winx Saga.
I'm excited about the sequel and interested to see where the story goes, apparently, this is going to be a 5 book series.
XadenViolet has me in a chokehold, 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I’m still miffed at how the publisher archived this the day I got it and I didn’t get to download it. Then unarchived it and archived it again shortly after, but at least I got to download it. But geez, stick to the date you said you’d archive it.

Now, I’ll keep this review short because as I said, I’m miffed.

Was this a masterwork of literature?
No

Did I have fun?
Yes

Are me and my friends all obsessed?
Also yes

Unfortunately the first third of the book.. the narrator sounded like she had a cold and it was not edited well. Luckily I had already read the book and the book itself was 5 stars, however this narrator should have either re recorded the part where she was sick or edited the extra noises. Honestly, it kind of nauseated me with all the swallowing and nose noises.

Overall likely to be one of the great books of 2023. I don’t know about her intricate plot, deep and complex characters and talking dragons. There’s a lot to love about this novel. Yarros keeps the audience guessing as to the past, and who is on what side. I listen to the audiobook version which was great, except for the occasional technique of the narrator, reaching the point of yelling, rather than using better vocal technique to help the reader get into what was happening to the characters.

Looking forward to more in this series.

🐉Fourth Wing🐉

"A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without its dragon is dead."

@rebeccayarros has created an absolute fantasy masterpiece with Fourth Wing. I initially read and listened to Fourth Wing and it was pure PERFECTION! I can safely say I’m still obsessed after my annotated re read! Having the audio book was such an experience as I was annotating.

Fourth Wing is filled with Dragons, war and brutal high stakes trials. The absolute unflinching brutality the characters are put through during Threshing is addictively shocking. Yet Fourth Wing has some of the best heart flutter moments.

“Are you going to die a scribe? Or live as a rider?”

Our FMC Violet is a legit badass! While she’s physically smaller and frailer than the other cadets, she’s not weak. Her mind is her biggest strength. I can’t thank Yarros enough for this beautifully honest chronic illness representation. Violet is up there with Aelin and Brexley as one of my favourite FMC🙌🏻

"Not all strength is physical."

In the Riders Quadrant you're encouraged not to form attachments. So what does Violet do, she finds her ride or dies! And Rhiannon and Liam are my absolute favourites. Violet also discovers some friends aren’t what they appear (Dain radiates some serious Tamlin in ACOMAF energy).

And I can’t forget the seriously delicious enemies to lovers sexual tension. Xaden Riorson! Top tier book boyfriend right there!🔥

“Don’t do what? Tell you I can’t get you out of my head, or speak directly into yours.”

“Fuck that stubborn feisty look always makes me wanna kiss you.”

The world building is STUNNING! With Dragons like Tairn and Andara how could it not be. And the ending was epic. The audio narration was as brilliant! Definitely helps to draw you in to the world of Basgiath War College

"... There's nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn't find you, Violence."

I’m already counting down the day till Iron Flame releases in November.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I am the sky and the power of every storm that has ever been. I am infinite.”

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

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

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

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

Definitely one to add to your to read lists!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

While I'm not sure there is much I can say that hasn't already been said, I will say that I this was such a good time. Fourth Wing gave exactly what I needed it to give. It was fast paced and exciting and sexy and just a great time overall.

Read Fourth Wing for:

- DRAGONS
- (Another ) Shadow Daddy (Can't have too many imo)
- Enemies to Lovers
- Found family
- Brutal war academy
- FMC with chronic pain
- Spice

Overall, I absolutely recommend this to fans of romantasy - particularly those with dragons!

-----4.5/5

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book follows Violet as she fights to survive her training. Her new environment is violent and her life is constantly in danger.
The book is an interesting beginning to a series.

*This is where I would throw the book if I had it*

Asdfghjkl

This won’t be some deep thought providing piece of literature, but it’s fast-paced and the characters are likable. I literally didn’t see any of the twists until almost the very end.

This is the New Adult fantasy novel every other should be compared to.

Dragons. Sexy outcast dragon riders. Civil war. Amazing.

I really appreciated the main character being coded as having Ehlers-Danlos but also very capable. Strong of heart and mind > strong of body

The beginning got me engaged, but very quickly I recognized that there is no sense in the facts presented to me. We have a dragon academy that specializes in training young adepts for the war. They are not very picky about who goes there because they need more trained people, but also have no problem unliving them every chance it gets. No wonder they are at war. Soon the kingdom will have no people to live in it at all.

The main character is a girl who finds herself in a branch that has nothing to do with her passion for history. She carries the burden of a warrior like everyone in her family. Great. Now you won't believe me but there is a boy that should be her sworn enemy. She hates him so badly that she falls in love with him. I was truly annoyed by all this internal monologue in which she just debates how much he's about to kill her when EVIDENTLY he is not, but ok, thanks for clarifying this for us.

There are many instances of telling not showing, and then not following through. Especially with dragons. They are cool. And they get to have dragon sex. Maybe some magic, but whatever. Importantly: they make our protagonist even more horny than she is. And when we finally get to the point of resolution the scenes are not spicy at all. They are simply vulgar. But ok, I've never been hyped for romance, so let's come back to the plot.

I noticed repetitions in scenes, time skipping that move pacing with a clear intention to force slow burn. I'm not sure that this is how it works. We just jump like those bunny rabbits. The facts and world-building are just enough to be used by characters as resolutions to problems of their own making mostly. Don't make me start on cringy, obvious dialogues.
Overall, I feel like it could have been done better. More seriously and less cheesy. But here we are and obviously something was done right but went right over my head.

Okay so many thoughts.

The beginning of the book didn’t immediately catch my attention and that was because of Dains annoying personality ruining everything. But once Xaden came into the picture I was hooked. He was exactly who Violet needed in order to build her up to become as powerful as she did. I also loved the way the author incorporated the side characters in order to give us a better understanding of who Violet and Xaden are as people. But I will never forgive the author for making us fall in love with Liam only for her to kill him not once but TWICE. Uncalled for.

Another thing that was great about this book was the plot twist that happened during threshing. I was fully expecting it to go the cliché route of her bonding to the smallest dragon. BUT when she bonded to the biggest baddest dragon in the squad I knew this book was going to get better. Now the second Tairn entered the story I was stunned by how much of a sassy baddie he was. His retorts to everything was my favorite part of the book and I think he surpassed Xaden in that department. We love a big protective dragon ready to burn anyone who touches his precious rider. And don’t get me started on how cute Andarna is, she’s like the golden retriever of dragons.

Throughout the story Violets morals are respectable and I understand why she didn’t have the heart to kill any of her opponents but the way she annihilated Jack was so satisfying. That man had it coming for him since chapter 1 and the fact that it was the first time her powers unleashed fully, just beautiful. However, I liked how she wasn’t overpowered after this incident and instead she still continued to make a lot of mistakes showing that she has so much room for growth as a rider.

Lastly, the slow burn was burning. I was on edge every chapter WAITING for something to happen between Violet and Xaden and when it finally did it was amazing. Xaden being so undone by Violet since the first time he met her is perfect. I just hate the whole redemption/second chance trope that’s going to take place in the sequel. Like we get it he lied/betrayed Violet BUT it was for the greater good of the people. Also the second plot twist just sprinkled in at the ending leaving us with more questions has me excited for what’s to come.

10/5 stars. Amazing. Perfect. Absolutely loved every second of this. I really enjoyed the narration and it made it so easy to fly through this book. The story is incredible and I still can’t stop thinking about it… is it too soon for a reread?? I also picked this for my Instagram Book Club for our May read, and it was a hit. I’m absolutely a Rebecca Yarros fan now!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was AMAZING and lived up to all the hype! I adored Violet and Xaden. This book has everything, adventure, action, slow burn romance and bad ass dragons. That ending was shocking and I am dying for the next book! I think I will be in a reading slump after this spectacular book!

Absolutely hooked. I could not put this book down. I can not wait for the next book. So much happened in this book and yet it feels like we’re just getting started. Between the dragons, war college, enemies at every turn and building angst action and spice this book was everything. The audiobook was fantastic and I loved every second. The narrators did such an amazing job bringing this story to life.