TLDR: If you (like me) were hoping the Zodiac Academy fandom would lead to us getting a college-age fantasy romance in a school that's not toxic and is actually well-written...I give you Fourth Wing!

Detailed Review:

A college-age magic school, a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance (with all the pent up desire), political twists, and dragons...truly what more could you ask for?! I've got to say, reading Fourth Wing is the most pure FUN I've had with a fantasy book in awhile.

This delivered all the tropey goodness I could want, while also being compulsively readable with an interesting world. And we get a disabled heroine which is cool! She has a ligament disorder and deals with chronic pain, and eventually we even get a fantasy-world disability aid for her that's pretty awesome. I had such a good time with this book and it is expertly executed.

Survive, or die. Violet Sorrengail has trained to be a scribe, but her mother is the general of the dragon riders and insists she become a rider as well. The catch? The mortality rates for cadets are incredibly high, plus Violet has a chronic disability that makes her even more vulnerable. But she's smart and determined to survive, regardless of how many people want her dead because of who her mom is....

I won't say too much about the plot, but it's fast-paced, twisty, and the stakes are high. Violet uses her brains to save her when her body can't, but she also finds ways to strengthen the body that she has, even if it's not like everyone else's. I love the way Violet claims her agency in this book and isn't content to let someone treat her as less capable. And the romance she ends up in is really well-balanced with a partner who supports her, but also respects her. This was excellent and with the cliffhanger ending I'm looking forward to book 2! The audio narration is also fantastic, easy to follow, and kept me listening. I received an audio review copy of this book from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

this book was one of the best books I've EVER READ. EVER. I....I cannot say enough things about the perfection of this book. It. Is. PERFECT. And the disability rep? STELLAR!!!!!! I want to cry bc how will I go on from here? *cries!*

This has to be my favorite New Adult book I've read, maybe ever.

New Adult isn't a genre/target demographic I venture into too often, but this pulls it off well. It borrows a lot of familiar YA tropes (enemies to lovers, forced proximity, love arrow, and certainly more) but really isn't afraid to dive straight into an explicit scene.

Fourth Wing is a story about a woman, the daughter of one of the more important military leaders in the country, attending a college to learn how to be a dragon-riding warrior. Our protagonist, Violet, had always wanted to be a scribe, but due to her mother's rank, the perception it would bring, and a few other factors, that's not an option. Instead, Violet, who has some unique challenges, is thrust into the most dangerous track at her isolationist country's only place of higher learning; she's to learn to be a rider.

The book follows Violet through her first year. She must fend off those who think she's too weak, pair with a dragon, learn to fight with said dragon, and avoid the children of a group of people who rebelled against the central government, primarily the son of the leader of the uprising, who have been conscripted into the dragon-riding ranks, as well. Why does she have to avoid these children of rebels? Her mother was primarily responsible for their parents' executions.

Violet brings cleverness and intellect to what's often a game of violent power, and she does her best for herself.

Ultimately, this is a gripping NA novel that, while borrowing a ton of tropes from standard YA fantasy novels, keeps things fresh and exciting.

Fourth Wing is an absolute must for romantic fantasy fans. While the audiobook clocks in at just over twenty hours, the writing is simplistic enough that you can listen to it at a high speed comfortably. The subject matter can be very adult, but the sentence structure and word choice are what I would expect from a YA novel. I found that what it lacked in sophistication and ambiance was more than made up for by the story that kept my full and undivided attention. Violet is a unique and relatable character that I loved following. Her romantic interest is the typical dark-haired tormented hero you see in most romantic fantasy. Fans of Maas, Armentrout, and Bardugo will be thrilled.

Thank you Rebecca Tarros, RB Media, and Netgalley for my advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing - 3
Character Development - 4
Narration - 5
Personal Bias - 5
Final Score - 4.2

Rated 4.5 Stars

Fourth Wing was a wild ride! One that I would take over and over again! It was an edge of your seat, heart in your throat type of read. It was filled with twists and turns, adventure, action, betrayal, secrets, lies, love and so much more. It was epic! I loved it.

I loved the world, the magic system, the characters. It was all pieced together superbly. I loved Violet aka Violence. I loved her resilience, her fortitude, her strength, her with and l loved the chemistry between her and the hero. They were combustible. The nickname he had for her should not be endearing but it is, it so is. I can sing the praises of this book all day.

The narrators did an amazing job bringing this book to life. Rebecca Soler excelled at so many things in her narration/portrayal of these characters especially in those high tension moments. I loved both her and Teddy Hamilton's voices.

I adored this book and very highly recommend it. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. It is totally worth the hype!

Amazing story with great narration. Not a story I’ve read before and love the twists and turns and can’t wait for more!!! Slow burn but then spicy!

This is probably one of the best fantasy book I've read, well listened to, in a long time.

The romance was believable (not just slapping you upside the head out of nowhere as some books do. Ugh!) It actually made sense as the two kept getting thrown together and got to know each other, and became more than a physical attraction.

The world building was excellent, and unfolded seamlessly around the characters and plot, rather than as a frustrating info dump.

An of course....

Dragons!! Through they don't really make a proper appearance until a little bit into the book. Throughout the first section, the focus is on the training of Violet, the main character who was forced into rider training by her mother, and the other trainees. Training is dangerous, brutal and very interesting. Violet, denied her dream of becoming a scribe, is doing her best to survive training, and survive being a target of the children of the recent rebellion, who parents' were killed by her mother., the commanding general.
I adored Violet. She wasn't where she wanted to be. She was afraid, and often in pain... and she still did her best to succeed and help those she (tentatively) befriended as well. She's smart, compassionate and loyal and altogether amazing.
And when the dragons become more than just a background detail! It brought me back to reading the Pern books as a kid... but even better.

Narrator was excellent, and I hope she continue for the next book(s), which I will anxiously be waiting for.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Although this manages to hit every branch while falling down the YA cliché tree, I still found this to be incredibly enjoyable. To be honest, I am not even sure why - yet somehow it works in all its cheesy hoary glory I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a great job of really having fun with the book.

Story: All Violet wants is to follow in her father's footsteps and become a scribe. Yet, inexplicably, her mother, the general, demands she join the highly deadly dragon squad and survive the trials long enough to bond with a dragon and go to war. The only problem is that all the students will be gunning for her - trying to take out the hated general's daughter. Especially her squad leader and son of a rebel leader, Xaden, who had a vested interest in seeing Violet dead. Fortunately, childhood best friend (and secret crush) Dane is there to protect/help her.

So yes, every YA cliché is here: unique snowflake, egregious tell but not show, emo enemies to lovers hot boy, former childhood good guy friend who will lose to the emo bad boy, secret conspiracy that will destroy their world if not uncovered, adults being stupid and ruining everything, heroine who has some weakness suddenly gets the strongest ability that will be needed to save the world,etc. etc. Let's not get into the really silly plot and dialogue: at the point the heroine starts describing how the emo hot boy smells like mint and sandalwood - you know what you are getting into.

And yet - as silly (and it gets REALLY silly) as it is, it is surprisingly fun. I was invested from the beginning and somehow managed to keep the eye rolling to a minimum. There is a LOT of swearing and graphic sex - so be ready for that. But like all guilty pleasures, you get hooked against your better judgement and learn to just enjoy the ride.

The audio narrator had fun with the assignment and emoted the heck out of the book (this would have failed horribly with a serious reading). Since the plot is so simple and the book is mostly action, the audio version is a good choice since you don't need a lot of concentration and won't get lost if distracted. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is how a book should be written. The compelling storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The unique setting that is beautifully created. The characters that are simply mesmerising. This book set the bar quite high for all the other fantasy books.

Violet Sorrengail has planned on becoming a scribe so she can live a quiet life of immersing herself in books and history. But, her mother is the commanding general and has different plans for Violet. Violet will now compete against hundreds of
canidates to become one of the elite dragon riders of Navarre. Violet is considered an underdog with being smaller than others with a fragile body. The dragons would rather end Violet due to being fragile so they can further their odds of success. Then, the other cadets rather end her because of who her mother is and the one who would like to end Violet for this reason is Xaden Riurson who just happens to be the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Rider's Quadrant. Violet will need to find ways to survive each day.

I have had my eyes set on Fourth Wing for a while due to how gorgeous the cover is and the beautiful sprayed edges on the first editions. Plus, the premise sounded beyond amazing with the dragons, a falling kingdom, and how cadets attend a school to become a dragon rider, but the only way out of the school is to survive, which most do not. On top of all these reasons on why I wanted to read this book is because it is marketed as a new adult romantasy.

I was having bad FOMO from those who were receiving physical arcs from Red Towers, but I was able to obtain the audiobook are off of NetGalley.

I could not put this book down and am officially obsessed!

Violet is a badass and fights for her life even though she is deemed to fail due to her frailness. I love that Rebecca made Violet have a chronic illness because I feel not many fantasy books have characters with disabilities and to me this really makes Violet seem real and relatable.

This book was fast paced and super addicting. I was so invested with the world, the friendships, the enemies to lovers trope, and of course the dragons.

Fourth Wing definitely had me thinking of The Schoolmance series since that series features a deadly school and the only way out is to survive and graduate, which this book has with its school.

Rebecca does a great job with the world building and character development. Violet definitely grows and matures over the course of the book. Supposedly the sequel is coming out this November of 2023 and I am very much looking forward to exploring more of this world, the politics, dragons, and of course spending more time swooning over Violet and Xaden.

I am definitely planning on buying a physical copy of Fourth Wing since I loved it so much.

HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP

Fourth Wing was everything that I wanted and more. The pace is phenomenal, the exposition and world building is done in a very unique way, you can't help but love the FMC, it's in first person POV (my fave), the story line in interesting and you're itching to know more. It's truly a wild ride and, for once, have no notes. This is a truly exceptional story and I am already very excited for the second installment.

The narrator is also great, it was easy to understand her at 2x speed.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Found Family, Bad Bitch Energy, Underdog Comeback.
TW: (heavy) Murder, (moderate) Sexually explicit content (18+)

Thanks to this book I have a new Goodreads Shelf for books in which the next in the series is an absolute can't miss.

Violet Sorrengail has been ordered by her mother, the Commanding General of the Navarre dragon riders no less, to become a candidate at Basgiath War College and vye for the chance to join the ranks of the dragon riders among hundreds of other candidates. Only a quarter of the candidates will survive their training and death can come from anywhere: a fall, a fatal blow during training from another candidate, or incineration by a displeased dragon.

There is more to the story, though, than a quest to survive the training. There are secrets both within and without the boundaries of Basgiath that leaves the survival of many more than just this year's crop of candidates hanging in the balance. The plot checks all the boxes: adventure, fantasy, romance, suspense, friendship and dragons. Rebecca Soler delivers an edge-of-your seat narration as Violet, one of the most likeable heroines of a story I've encountered in ages, struggles to overcome the odds despite some very difficult obstacles.

If the hundreds of 5 star reviews, before this book is even published, don't convince you to immediately buy and read this, then please keep reading and let me try and convince you!

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for letting me listen and review the aARC of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros left me ADDICTED. This is the type of book where you just know after the first chapter it will be 5 stars and after that last chapter it left me knowing I will 100% purchase any and all special editions that will be released.

I don't fully know how to put into words the feelings this book gave me. The plot, the world building, the characters. Everything was just phenomenal. If you love dragons, magic, enemies to lovers, factions of society, you WILL love this. And for anyone in a reading slump, I whole heartedly recommend you pick this up. I have been in a slump for over a month, but when I started this, I was hooked from start to finish, only stopping to sleep.

Be prepared for some emotions to show. The author writes all of their characters so well, first you're falling for childhood friend and then you're rooting for the toxic guy that wants to kill the main character, leading to you being attacked as the reader by the main character monologuing "you are not attracted to toxic men". Sorry hun 👀.

The main characters struggles through her lack of self esteem, as well as her lack of her best friends belief in her, really, really hit me. The absolute character growth she had was astounding. It wasn't too drastic to be unbelievable, it wasn't too little to be annoying, it was written just right. The author really brought the emotions to life with her writing.

Some plot points were a little predictable, however some really had me second guessing. I fully thought I knew one plot and then BAM hit with another path, then BAM hit with an additional one when you didn't know it was possible. Really did keep me on my toes for a alot of chapters. There was especially one time where I was screaming at my partner to be silent while I tried to find out what was going to happen after a certain train of events.

People who loved Divergent, the Hunger Games, and Eragon will love this. If you love a gripping, fantastically built, storyline, you WILL love this.

Lastly, I speak directly to the Author, so there are some spoilers that follow.
HOW DARE YOU ALMOST KILL LIAM, LET VIOLET SAVE HIM, THEN PROCEED TO KILL HIM ANYWAYS AND MAKE HIM DIE IN HER ARMS
I will never forgive the absolute heart ache this gave me, but it won't stop me from loving this book and eagerly reading the rest of the series.

Plot before romance!! Yes please! Oh and dragons? Double YES!
In a world of plot or spice it is nice to find a book that is easy enough to read through with a plot that is addictive and still caters to the people who want a little spice/romance.
I can see why so many people are talking about this book, it is so easy to get addicted to.
Also, the audiobook is done very well. Adds to the experience instead of distracting.

5⭐️

You need to read this book! I have not felt so invested in a book like this since FBAA and ACOTAR. It got to the point where I was just sitting and listening to this audiobook and doing nothing else. Typically when I listen to an audiobook, I try to multitask and get other things done, but this one completely consumed me and I had to stop everything to listen. The audiobook narrator is also so perfect. Absolutely spectacular in every way and easily one of my new favorites of all time! Dragons, enemies to lovers, and a war college?! What’s not to love?

HOLY FUCKING SHIT !!!! I am unwell. This book is amazing. That ending. What. I can’t form complete thoughts now…

Ok Ok Ok... honestly this book is freaking AMAZING.

* enemies to lovers
* fantasy romance
* political intrigue
* dangerous and deadly school trials
* DRAGONS
* the most delicious slow burn that is 1000% worth the wait. Oh man guys... the CHEMISTRY!!
* An ending that LITERALLY made my jaw drop and say out loud "No way!"
* found family elements that I'm always such a sucker for!

I mean... honestly... this has EVERYTHING I could ask for in a fantasy romance. EVERYTHING. And the audiobook is FANTASTIC.

EASYYYY 5 STARS!! I would give it more if I could lol

Look out readers, Red Tower Books has something up their sleeve and the first release is on FIRE 🔥🔥🔥 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and on my favorites shelf for this year.

This book sucked me in from the very first page! It was non-stop action and got to points I didn't even see coming!!! You will not want to put this down.

I have been craving a fantasy romance lately and the ones I picked up weren't doing it for me, BUT glad I read this one BECAUSE IT HIT EVERY POINT I was looking for. Violet with a disability rep. also proving everyone wrong. Cast of diverse characters with Dain, Xander, Rhia , Liam and plenty more that you'll fall in love with. The fantasy, challenges, emotion, secrets, and love that will just take the reader out of this world. The SLOOOOW BUUURRNNN. This one worked for me in that trope. I didn't want the story to end as I was savoring and dreading till the last page. With the cliffy, I will for sure be back to continue. Can't wait.

Narrated by Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton did an excellent job in narrating. Maybe this will lead to more of other Povs as the series continues.

I have full confidence Red Tower books are just going to continue to surprise us. Looking very much forward to others that will be coming out.

I received this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Okay, wow. Just wow. This book had me hooked from the start. I fell in love with Violet and all her trials and tribulations. She is the epitome of never give up. She embodies such a powerful essence and i love her for everything that she works for. After losing her father and her brother during the rebellion 6 years prior we see Violet Sorrengail push through constant tests on her life of being a dragon rider and we watch her prove just how strong she really is despite how fragile she looks.

I want to talk about the love interest but I don’t even know how to type what i feel. Just know i love them together and i love him and i need me one in real life because lord have mercy that man is fine asf.

This book made me cry and honestly that doesn’t happen often. Thus proving just how involved i was in the story. I cannot wait for the sequel to this book bc that cliffhanger was absolutely insane.

This book has everything you need in a fantasy with romance and i absolutely cannot wait till the official book is released so that everyone has the opportunity to experience this amazing world like i have.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled publishing for this amazing opportunity.

I was immediately drawn to this book for the dragons, but wow it really blew me away. I would describe this book as an adult version of How to Train Your Dragon mixed with some Divergent. There are politics, action, female empowerment, romance, spice, plot twists, magic, humor, inspiration, I could go on and on. This book is loaded with content and a great overarching story that caused a slew of emotions in me as a reader, in the best way. Plus the dragons! This was such a fun read that I could not put down. One of the best books I have read this year!

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebecca Yarros & RB Media for an audio arc of Fourth Wing in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

Thank you to RB Media for adjusting the archival date so that I could give this book a listen. Especially since this was THE BEST BOOK I have read this year – actually in a really long time.

For some reason, no clue why, I was under the impression that it was YA Fantasy. I was very pleasantly surprised to discovery that it was NOT YA at all.

I didn’t know how I would feel about this book and really almost passed it up, but the reviews were so overwhelmingly good that I had to see what it was all about.

Fly or Die. That’s the motto. Violet, the youngest child of the General of Navarre is of age to go into the 3-year training program to become a rider. The only problem is, she trained her whole life to join the scribe quadrant. Violet has a disorder that causes her to be extremely small and frail neither of which are qualities that will help her survive the training to become a rider. A rider of what, you might ask? Well, dragons of course! Nonetheless, her mother (the General) insists she enter the rider quadrant. It is there that she is warned to stay away from Zaiden who has an extreme had to Violet’s family and will most certainly kill her. And Zaiden isn’t her only threat. She risks dying every single day of training and others are soon out to get her if not for the sole reason of being the general’s daughter. Then there is the part where Violet has to see if a dragon will even bond with her or incinerate her.

That is a general synopsis of the story – to go any further than that would potentially reveal spoilers.

I had some inklings in the very beginning of some events and reveals that would take place, but that did not keep me from loving every single word of this novel. I describe this book as Hunger Games meets Divergent with dragons & a little bit of Harry Potter magic mixed in.

I loved all the characters for their intended parts and purposes in the novel. The main characters were pure perfection. You will find yourself rooting on more than just the main characters. There is an entire cast of characters you will fall in love with. The story started off interesting from the very start. It didn’t take several chapters to get going like some books do. It started immediately and at no point did I want to stop the audio to take a break or work. When I wasn’t able to listen, I was chomping at the bits to get back to the story to find out what happens next. It was soooooo addictive. The most addictive book I’ve read in an extremely long time.

This was also my very first Rebecca Yarros read. I foresee more of her books in my future. Especially the subsequent novels in this series. I absolutely cannot wait for Book 2.

I have reviewed this book all over Instagram & sang its praises. I even went out to my local Barnes & Noble this week to snag a copy of the Special Edition finished copy that they already had out for purchase.

This book gets ALL the stars. Five are NOT enough, but that’s all it will let me give, so you’ve got’em!