Member Reviews

THIS BOOK! Its an absolute masterpiece!
Its such a fasted passed fun read. I read it in two days it was so good! I loved, hoped, smiled, cried, enjoyed the spice and had a jaw dropping moment!
This is a must read, top book for 2023!

Was this review helpful?

Sé que no soy el público objetivo de las novelas juveniles, pero no por ello voy a dejar de leerlas, si ofrecen algo que me interesa. En el caso del audiolibro de Fourth Wing, reconozco que los dragones mezclados la academia militar me llamaba la atención, aunque el resultado ha acabado por debajo de mis expectativas. Y eso que la narradora del audiolibro Rebecca Soler, lo vive tanto que hace que te metas mucho en la historia. Pero no consigue compensar una trama muy exagerada y descompensada, con unos personajes bastante histriónicos que se encuentran inmersos en un cóctel hormonal que entre su juventud y su líbido hacen que estén más calientes que la superficie de Mercurio.


La protagonista es Violet Sorrengail, la hija menor de la militar al cargo de la defensa del reino de Navarre, que esperaba tener una vida tranquila como escriba, pero que se ve forzada a entrar en la prestigiosa academia militar del país, donde se forma a la flor y nata del ejército destinada a cabalgar dragones… si es que sobreviven al curso.

El ambiente en la escuela militar es extremadamente competitivo y peligroso, porque casi en cualquier momento se puede eliminar a otro cadete si crees que no está a la altura de las expectativas… Y el hecho de que la madre de Violet sofocara de manera muy violenta una rebelión interna no hace que ella sea bien recibida entre los descendientes de los ajusticiados. Un caldo de cultivo para “accidentes” e “infortunios” que ella deberá esquivar.

Rebecca Yarros plantea por tanto una historia bastante convencional, que podríamos adscribir al subgénero de la “dark academy” pero con fantasía militarista y personajes de sexualidad desbocada. El secretismo de las operaciones militares ya nos da una idea de que no todo lo que se conoce de la interminable guerra es creíble, con una maquinaria propagandística detrás que haría llorar de felicidad a Goebbels. El caso es que a mí no me ha terminado de convencer, tanto por lo manido del argumento como por lo previsible de los giros conforme vas avanzando en la lectura. Es una novela muy cinemática de la que no extrañaría para nada que tuviera versión audiovisual dentro de poco, con su retahíla de adolescentes y jóvenes hipermusculados y atractivísimos que viven al filo del abismo por defender su patria.

Was this review helpful?

I would happily describe this book as An Ember in the Ashes meets How to Train Your Dragon but make it sexy 😏

If you’re a romantasy lover, this one definitely lives up to the hype!

This story follows 20 year old Violet Sorrengail, who must compete to become a dragon rider of Navarre thanks to her mother, the commanding general. But with a fragile body and others that want her dead, Violet is in for fight of her life.

I loved the world building, the grueling war college competitions, and the dragons! I also loved the slow burn yet incredibly spicy romance that unfolds between Violet and Xaden.

I also love that at no point is Violet’s disability magically cured away or avoided!

I wasn’t ready for the sheer gore and war scenes that unfolded in this book, but I was 100% here for it!

The last 20% of the book was so action packed that I’m pretty sure that I got whiplash. And with ending, I NEED book two NOW!

Was this review helpful?

How do you review a book that when you place it down from reading the final page, your jaw drops to the floor? Rebecca Yarros, The Empyrean Series, is on my watch list for the next book. I had never read a book by this author, but when you put dragons in a book and say war college, I jumped in with both feet. The subject matter is this book is highly recommended for adults and not for young adult readers. It deals with graphic sex, violence, and emotional triggers for death. Just tread carefully with your hearts, dear friends. I was emotionally invested from the first page to the heart-stopping ending. Violet and Xaden have profound steamy moments on the page and are very descriptive. I was glad I was the only one in the room; I am sure my cheeks were blushing. The dragons are lovely, and the connection between the rider and the dragon is emotional, mysterious, and unique. The fantasy elements with the dragons and the riders getting signets were so interesting. The rebellious kids having to be in the rider's quadrant as a way to kill them off hopefully was cruel but made the plot twist at the end so intriguing. Like I said jaw dropped, and I am eager for book two.

Was this review helpful?

I wish I could actually put into words how phenomenal this book is. It’s been so long since I’ve read a book that completely captivated me from beginning to end but this one did just that.
The world building was so easy to follow which is key to a fantasy book. I didn’t get confused at all with the characters or setting.
Violet, the main character was a complete badass. She was doubted over and over but she never gave up and ending up being key to the story later on.
And Xaden - don’t even get me started. New book husband (not even boyfriend) he was everything you want in a man.
This book had dragons, enemies to lovers romance, action, fantasy college setting and SO much more.
It was ACOTAR meets Harry Potter meets Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones and I am HERE FOR IT!
Be prepared to read your favorite book of the year with this one!

Was this review helpful?

Firstly thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity of this Advance Reader Copy.

Every once in awhile you read a book where in the first chapter you can tell it’ll be a five star read, and this is one such book. I finished Fourth Wing weeks ago and the story has not left my mind every day.

It is a beautifully written stunning story chock full of great characters and fantasy that leaves you obsessed.

Going into Fourth Wing I knew it was highly hyped and anticipated and when such happens I am worried the hype won’t live up to the story. Well, I’m here to say the hype, glowing reviews all live up to the story inside.
From the first page I was engaged in Violet’s story. The world building was handled very well, it was easy to learn of Navarre it’s people, creatures and history. You get just enough information at a time so it’s not a huge info dump at once.
The characters are very strong and well written. Violet has great character growth through the book, not too fast or too slow. She is a solid an easily likeable heroine who is flawed and has many weaknesses but makes up with it with her tenacity, stubbornness and cleverness.
Rebecca is a master at memorable characters, one such tragically dies in the first few chapters and even though I knew only briefly it was tragic and sad their loss.
The fellow cadets of Basgiath War College will steal your heart and have you rooting for them and their survival through the term.
Rebecca also made me completely change my opinion on one character in the book through the incredible writing. I started out liking them and through the course of the book you find out what they truly are and I have a physical reaction of despise for such character as I’m so mad at them.
The romance, oh boy. The beautiful slow burn, longing, the NICKNAME, mutual respect, of enemies to lovers is *chefs kiss* and is the epitome of morally grey ‘burn the world for her’ love interest.
For me one of the best parts is the dragons. I love how they are these beings of great respect above humans and not mindless servants to humans. They are strong, powerful and smart beings that humans both respect and fear from their alliance in the war.

The twists keep you guessing and while I saw some of them coming some caught me completely unaware. Something truly heartbreaking happens near the end and completely wrecked me, I genuinely cried reading it and thoughts of HOW COULD REBECCA YARROS DO THIS.
Fourth Wing ends on a cliffhanger leaving you with whiplash with all that happens in the last few episodes and hungering for the sequel.
I literally cannot wait for the second book to come out this November and I know it’ll take up my every waking moment again.

If you have any apprehensions to picking up this book and reading it I hope my review (amongst the hundreds of other glowing reviews) will help change your mind.

Was this review helpful?

Scholomance (magical war school) meets Hunger Games (students are allowed and encouraged to kill each other to weed out the weakest) meets Eragon (dragons and dragon/rider bonds). This was mostly fantasy in the first half with it almost becoming more romance than fantasy in the second half. The romance itself is enemies-to-lovers (literally enemies — Violet’s mom killed Xaden’s dad and his dad killed her brother), slow burn to start but spicy enough to rival any genre romance novel in the second half, with a hero that seems morally gray to start but who turns out to have an unshakeable moral compass.

This was fast-paced, almost too much so. A quibble I have with a lot of the fantasy I’ve read recently is that pacing is often prioritized over necessary world-building. We know dragon riders are trained at Basgiath War College to fight griffin-flyers at the borders of Navarre and that there was an internal rebellion in the recent past, but we don’t know why there’s a war or what the Navarrian rebels were rebelling against until the very end of the book.

Violet has a chronic illness (hyper mobility), and her illness is pervasively but naturally woven into the narrative. The rep here was great: Violet has limitations that present extra challenges at a physically demanding war school, but she’s clever and confident in her ultimate success.

I did feel the book veered too much into what felt like self-insert romance in the latter half: Xaden is just *too* perfect. And the book got a bit too YA-y here, too, with Violet’s naïveté: she says at one point that if you love someone, you don’t have anything you keep secret from them. Um, no. Her belief in this despite Xaden’s actions throughout the book proving over and over how he truly felt annoyed me. I also felt the character of her childhood best friend could have been portrayed better here: it’s sort of a love triangle but not really, and he is so overprotective of Violet without respect for her self-autonomy that it made me wonder why they’d ever been friends in the first place. It felt as though the best friend was only there to serve as a foil to the true romantic interest / make him jealous.

This ended on a mini-cliffhanger but not a horrible one, and the author’s already announced that the next in the series will be published in just 6 months!

The publisher was generous enough to grant me an ARC of the audio, and I have a couple additional quibbles about the book in that medium. The narrator overall does a good job, but sounded like she had a stuffy nose for most of sections 1-11. Also, her pronunciations of some words were odd: “armoire” was pronounced as “ar-moi” and a character whose name was spelled, I’m guessing, “Rhiannon” was pronounced “Rhionnon.” The male narrator for the last chapter was excellent, though, and I’d love to see more chapters from Xaden’s perspective in future books.

Overall, I can see this being the biggest fantasy book of 2023 and can’t wait for the next book.

Was this review helpful?

4.5 Fourth Wing was one of those books that seems intimidating at first, but once you start it, you find yourself immersed in the world building and the plot: next thing you know its dawn and now you have to deal with a book hangover.
This book includes:
Dragon school, enemies to lovers, and many more representations.
This book reminded me a lot of Divergent meets Harry Potter and honestly it would make a great series for the big screen.

Was this review helpful?

Audio book narrator was great. Really engaged with the text and gave nuance to the characters.



This book had no right to be as good as it was. From an objective viewpoint, it should have been too much – academy fiction, dragon riding, underdog unusual but clever and kind MC with a Musculo-skeletal and connective tissue disorder, war with griffin riders, Hunger Games-esque cut throat military school, steamy fantasy romance, magical powers, death around every corner, a rebellion and something rotten at the heart of the kingdom. All of that in theory should have made the story collapse under its own weight but it didn’t. The book soared and despite being a decent size at around 600 pages, I just devoured it in a couple of sittings.



This is how you do fantasy romance (SJM please take notes). The worldbuilding was phenomenal and never over powering, instead we are filtered through the ruthless military academy and the world gradually opens up to us. There wasn’t a scene in this book that didn’t need to be there. The structure was perfect. The characters were likeable and engaging and even when you didn’t agree with their actions, what they were doing made sense for them. I’d also like to add that the dragon and rider bond is explored here in a way that’s far less squicky than the Dragon Riders of Pern series managed, without shying away from some of the disadvantages.



Violet is the perfect reluctant hero. Deceptively tough and determined despite her frail exterior. Much as I like a ruthless heroine, it was nice to see kindness and compassion being celebrated without making the character weak. The romance – which rarely ever hooks me because I am not a romance first reader – was well balanced between gradually unfolding and building trust and the physical attraction between the pair.



And I am in awe of how Yarros leads the reader to think they know what’s coming without annoying or boring them, then performs clever bait and switches again without annoying the reader, and then presents them with what they thought they were getting in the first place with a twist. I salute you. This was a fantastic new adult fantasy. Fast paced, engaging, fun and no holds barred. If we’re talking matters for improvement, I have nothing. Literally no notes. Highly recommend this, especially if you’re fed up with romantasy that sacrifices plot/ characterisation / story in favour of smut.

Was this review helpful?

This was really fun. It’s a very consumable fantasy romance, with a really interesting magic system and politics.

I felt like the pacing could have been a little better towards the end of the book. While the first half was very information heavy, it also had enough suspense and intrigue to keep my interest. I didn’t like the ending chapter the way the perspective changed, it felt unnecessary and pulled me out of the narrative a little too much. I listened to the audio book and the narrator for the last chapter also felt kind of out of place.

Overall it’s a quick, engaging read that has dragons and spice. Reminiscent of dystopian trial books but with a more built out world and magic system. I enjoyed it and I’ll definitely be picking up the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

Was this review helpful?

This book was literally fantastic!!! I can’t wait for book two omg especially with how the book ended!! Need it right now. And the audiobook was fantastic

Was this review helpful?

If you’re questioning whether this book is worth the hype, let me reassure you - IT IS.

Holy hellaroni I went through the full range of emotions with this one. The world building feels very natural and is done in a way that still moves the plot forward. For a fantasy book, everything is very digestible, and I love me some well-explained magic.

I love the bonding between dragons and their riders. You don’t just get to fall in love with characters; you get to fall in love with the dragons and their complex thoughts and feelings.

I am currently not okay, so just going to warn you all now that the last few chapters of this book will have you on the edge of your seat with tears in your eyes, and then will put your jaw on the floor, so buckle up!

Was this review helpful?

OBSESSED is an understatement. I don’t even know where to begin because I loved this book SO. FREAKING. MUCH.

The dragon war college is a fun twist on the magical academy setting. I love that the heroine Violet is an underdog with physical disabilities that make others view her as weak…but she is anything but. She has the sharpest mind, skill with knives, and a fierce determination that prove she is not to be underestimated.

And oh my, the romance. The enemies to lovers is FLAWLESS with a very slow and satisfying burn from distrust to reluctant allies to something more, with just the right amount of spice for a new adult fantasy. Xaden is the definition of morally gray with a heart of gold.

And DRAGONS! The dragon/rider bonds were so cool in this book, and they felt just as much as part of her found family as her human friends.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. At first I thought other early reviewers must be overhyping this book, but no. At a certain point I was OBSESSED! Even though the book is about 500 pages, it is a fast-paced, action-packed adrenaline rush with so many twists that genuinely shocked me!

The audiobook narration by Rebecca Soler was FANTASTIC and enhanced an already incredible story. I BEG OF YOU, read this book so we can gush about it together!

Was this review helpful?

Abso-freaking-lutely loved this book! If you could take How to Train Your Dragon and set it in the world of Divergent, you'd have Fourth Wing.

Since the audiobook is twenty hours long, I was going to spread it out and listen to a few chapters a day this week.

What happened was, I ended up devouring 69% of it the first day and had to make myself stop for the night. It's all I've thought about ever since, and I have told everyone I meet to read it.

There will be laughter, tears, magic, a touch of romance, and DRAGONS! Do not miss out on this wonderful start to a new series. I can't wait until the next one releases in November!!!

Was this review helpful?

Reading this book felt like I was actually watching or living the story, this doesn't happened to me a lot, and it's thanks to the perfect balance between the description, the world building, the pace, and off course the romance. I felt in love with the characters, specially the Dragons and the main characters. it was very easy to read, I read the audiobook and I love the narration.

Thank you so much RB Media and Rebecca Yarros for letting me listen to a ARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely devoured this book and it is hands down the best fantasy book I've read in so long. There is so much happening in this book that kept me engaged the entire time. The slow burn romance, enemies to lovers, the dragons and their bonds with the riders, the politics happening (that felt a little to real, Rebecca Yarros killed it with this!), everything was so good. The chronic illness representation was incredibly well done. I have read Rebecca Yarros's other books and loved this, so I'm not surprised by how great this debut fantasy novel was, but I am amazed by it. I absolutely cannot wait until book two!

As far as the audiobook goes, I definitely enjoyed it, however, my only complaint is at times it was difficult to deduce who was speaking because the narrators voice did not change consistently. Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook and it did not take away from my love of the book.

Thank you #netgalley for an early listen of #FourthWing

Was this review helpful?

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

The hype for this book is real y’all.

As a working mama, I rarely stay up past my bedtime to read these days (sleep is precious when you have little kids!) but I stayed up late to finish the last 70 pages of this book because Rebecca Yarros had me in an emotional chokehold and I needed to know how it ended.

This book made me feel all the feels. I was giddy with the banter and obsessed with the slow burn. Every time Xaden calls her Violence instead of Violet, I swooned a little. And then the ending had me in tears and I would do pretty much anything to get my hands on an ARC of the second book.

One of the easiest 5 stars I’ve given all year! There’s a reason all your fantasy girlies are raving about this one!

Fourth Wing came out on Tuesday and the first editions all have these amazing sprayed dragons on the edges. So run out to your local bookstore or order it online because you are not going to want to miss out!

Thank you for the #gifted ALC @Entangled_Publishing! I did a mix of audio and physical because I couldn't get enough of this one!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5494798913
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr03wAxLGRU/

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

If you are part of the bookish online community, chances are that you, like me, have seen this book all over your feed, accompanied by lots of praise and people begging you to read this.
So I went into this with pretty high expectations, and it completely lived up to them.

I have read many fantasy books, and there are so many wonderful ones out there that I absolutely love and that really captivated me, but there are only a few that have this very special feeling of addictiveness.
The Hunger Games (though dystopian) is one of those series, and A Court of Thorns and Roses also had that quality where I just had to READ it all and put everything on hold until I finished the series.

Fourth Wing was the same.
And while I absolutely loved the audiobook, the narrator did a fantastic job and created tension and suspense; I really wish I had a copy to read because I just wanted to sit down and binge it all.
It was just so, so good and engrossing and captivating.

I usually enjoy school/college/etc. settings, but this was one of the best ones in a long time. The author did a fantastic job at giving the book a really adult feel despite the academic setting, and yet we also got the drama and interpersonal relationships and gossip that makes these settings so fun. It was such a perfect balance, especially because it made the quieter parts of the plot a lot more entertaining.

Violet is an amazing FMC, she's a badass, she is headstrong, she doesn't let herself get treated poorly and she stands up for herself. The chronic pain rep was also wonderful, and I think many readers will love seeing themselves represented here.
The romance was sizzling, the enemies to lovers was done so well and it was just SO HOT, I loved the spice and it really felt like a great payoff after all the pining and back and forth.

The plot is a great mix of the academic parts that come with the school and also the war and conflicts raging on the outside. It also did a fantastic job at setting up book 2.

And we can't forget the dragons of course. I LOVED them (I mean, how could you not?!). They're a really central part of the world, the plot, the magic and also the characters, I think this is one of the books that really do our communal love for dragons justice.

Overall, I loved this book so much, it's one of my favorites of the year so far, so needless to say, I absolutely think it lives up to the hype around it.

Was this review helpful?

This book is my new obsession.

Violet is meant to follow in her father’s footsteps as a Scribe but her mother, who is a General, forces her towards the path of becoming a dragon rider. Unfortunately, Violet has many enemies within her training towards dragon rider and is seen as a useless weakling. Against all odds, and even those closest to her believing her incapable, she fights for her life and for the honor of being a rider.

I felt like if you took Elide from Throne of Glass and threw her into an adult militant How To Train Your Dragon kind of college (plus so many other things I love about fantasy)…it would be this amazing freaking book! The absolute best part is the fact there were no lulls or crazy info dumps for world building. The author did such a fantastic job keeping me engaged and wanting to know what will happen next & how these characters develop. When she did need to give information it was during times of stress that was so artfully done. I was enthralled with what was happening but also recognized I needed to pay extra attention to the information being given during said stressful times. So clever and well done.

The romance…ahhh…the romance. Tropes I enjoy as a romance reader but I constantly feel they get overdone…but Yarros really amped it up and did it well. The slow burn…the banter…I was incredibly happy with how it was done. There was even a really interesting kind of force proximity that was very original to me. Open door scenes but can be skipped easily for those not interested, as there are only 2.

Now…the dragons…*SQUEALS*…honestly the best part of this book. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE DRAGONS!!!! I don’t want to spoil anything so, I’ll only say this…the back and forth between riders and dragons was absolute perfection. Just *chef’s kiss*

Lastly, I listened to this on audio and the narrator Rebecca Soler (who has narrated the Lunar Chronicles & the Caraval trilogy) did such a fantastic job. Her inflections, character voices, & even making it sound like she was actually doing whatever the character was doing in that moment was just phenomenal. Narrators don’t get enough credit and she deserves all the praise in this audiobook.

So so many thanks to NetGalley & RB Media for so graciously giving me an audiobook ARC.

Was this review helpful?

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the best book I have read to date. I was riveted. I devoured it. I loved it. I had never read a fantasy book before. I have been interested, but honestly, they terrify me a bit. However, I have been reading Rebecca’s contemporary romances for years. I love her writing. So, when I had the opportunity to listen to an early audio arc of this book, I jumped at the chance. Best. Decision. Ever. I listened to 12 hours the first day and finished it the second. The characters. The story. The worldbuilding. The ending. All of it was amazing. I am already planning on reading this again.

We start with meeting Violet Sorrengail on the day she will enter the war college that will make her a dragon rider or die trying. Her entire life has been spent with the expectation of becoming a scribe like her father. Then her mother orders her to become a rider. Where others have been preparing for years, she has had six months. She is small and suffers a chronic illness that should make this impossible, but her determination and inner strength drove her to not fail. I loved her resolve and cleverness to get through each day. Many want her dead just because who her mother is. But Xayden Riorson has more personal reasons for wanting her dead. So, staying alive becomes a necessity she will face every day.

But as each days passes, it’s hard to tell who is a friend, ally, or enemy. Not everything is what it seems and those who should have her allegiance and trust may not be true. I also loved the worldbuilding and characters introduced. I could easily imagine every moment in my head as I listened to the audio. It was absolutely amazing. I fell in love with the characters so much. I loved the push and pull between Violet and Xayden. The banter between them was top notch. The chemistry was steamy and undeniable, even as they sparred and sniped at each other. Rebecca Soler was amazing as the narrator who brought Violet to life. She made me feel right in the middle of the story the entire time. And Teddy Hamilton was amazing as always. I do hope we get more of him in future books.

I was consumed with this story and the last few chapters had me at the edge of my seat. I cannot express how much I loved this story. It was absolutely amazing and am already counting down the days to get my hands on the next book.

Happy listening!

Was this review helpful?