Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Fourth Wing

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

1067 reviews

orionmerlin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

Characters: 4/10

Violet Sorrengail is supposed to be this weak but brainy underdog, but don’t let the book fool you—she conveniently wins every life-or-death trial, making her struggle feel about as real as a reality TV show fight. Her fragile body? Not an issue, because plot armor beats bone density every time. Xaden is your standard brooding bad boy with a tragic past who somehow manages to be both infuriating and predictable. Jack, the main antagonist, is so cartoonishly evil that he might as well have a mustache to twirl. And then there’s Dain—walking proof that not all men should be childhood best friends. Secondary characters? They exist, mostly to die or make Violet look better.

Atmosphere/Setting: 5/10

Basgiath War College is basically Murder Hogwarts, but with dragons. Sounds cool, right? Well, it could have been if the world-building wasn’t so half-baked. The school’s entire philosophy is “survival of the fittest” but also, like… maybe don’t kill too many recruits because, hey, we need soldiers for this ongoing war? Consistency is optional here. The dragons? Underutilized. The war? An afterthought. The actual world outside of the school? Barely developed. If you like settings that look cool but fall apart under scrutiny, you’re in for a treat.

Writing Style: 4/10

The prose is functional, which is the nicest way I can put it. But let’s talk about the real problem: modern-sounding dialogue in a fantasy world. I get that snark is the lifeblood of this book, but having Violet drop lines that sound straight out of a 2020s Twitter thread? Yeah, that kills immersion real quick. Also, if I had a coin for every time Violet internally monologues about how weak she is despite, you know, constantly outmaneuvering and outlasting everyone, I’d be richer than this book’s publisher.

Plot: 4/10

This book is like an amusement park ride—thrilling in the moment, but the second you stop and think about it, you realize it makes no damn sense. The trials Violet faces? Arbitrary. The life-or-death stakes? Undermined by her constant success. The romantic tension? Predictable as hell. The War College structure? A logistical nightmare. I mean, why would a military academy just let their cadets kill each other willy-nilly when they need actual soldiers? Oh, and the big plot twists? If you’ve read any YA fantasy in the last decade, you saw them coming from a mile away.

Intrigue: 5/10

Yes, it’s fast-paced. Yes, it’s action-packed. But is it actually engaging when you stop being blinded by the constant movement? That’s debatable. I kept turning pages, but not necessarily because I was invested—I just wanted to see if this mess would eventually balance itself out (spoiler: it doesn’t). The story never lets you breathe or feel the weight of what’s happening because it’s too busy shoving the next dramatic moment in your face.

Logic/Relationships: 3/10

If you’re expecting well-developed relationships based on mutual respect and emotional growth, you’re in the wrong book. Xaden and Violet’s romance follows the "we hate each other but also want to rip each other's clothes off" formula without an ounce of originality. Dain spends half the book being the overprotective, condescending childhood friend no one asked for, and the rest of the cast exists to either be obstacles or cheerleaders. As for logic? There is none. The rules of the world are more flexible than Xaden’s moral compass, and the entire “dragons choose their riders” system feels like it was written on the fly.

Enjoyment: 5/10

Look, I didn’t hate it. If you turn off your brain, it’s fun in the same way that a bad action movie is—you know it’s dumb, but you’re still entertained. If you like hot, broody love interests, badass dragon battles (that we don’t get nearly enough of), and training montages where the protagonist somehow doesn’t die despite every odd stacked against her, then yeah, you’ll enjoy this. But if you’re looking for depth, logic, or actual stakes? This ain’t it.

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entiresunset's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I came to this book expecting to hate it or lazily skim through it but it drew me in from the first Page and I cant wait to read the sequels. I absolutely loved this book and the universe created
Tairn and Andarna are my absolutely favorite characters :D

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juliiitschka's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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megkmc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Enthralling and exciting every step of the way. With so much action, I had no chance of getting bored. It took some time for Violet to grow on me, but once she did I was all in.

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bien's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Why did it take me this long to pick up this book?! It totally lived up to the hype. My friends begged me to "please read it, you'll love it" for months.

Legit was hooked on the book when I was a few chapters in, and legit couldn't put down the book. Safe to say I did lose sleep over reading this + I planned my days in a way I could create extra time to read, oops. I haven't been into a book like this in about a year, what?!

The author included representation for disabilities by giving the main character, Violet a condition called: "hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS)". It was so interesting to see how she dealt with this, under the most bizarre circumstances and how her fellow squad mates helped her out to work with it!

I love the way Xaden/ Violet and their dragons communicate with each other without actually speaking. They are all so sassy and funny.

I called from the very first moment Violet and Xaden met, that they would end up together!!

Dian is an ASS. At first when he tried to get Violet to join the scribes after she crossed the parapet, I thought he was looking out for her. But he kept trying to "force" her to go and didn't believe she could become a rider. He said he would look out for her, but never did anything to actually help her when she needed it, because of the ""rules"". Nor did he believe her when she was almost killed in her bedroom + he betrayed her by reading her memories without her consent?! WHAT THE HECK!!

I legit was about to throw my kindle across the room when Liam died. He really did not deserve this after being such a good "protector" and friend to Violet. Still very mad and devastated about this.

Sooooo not expecting the ending, I legit gasped. Violet's brother is alive?!?!

Legit had to stare at the wall for a good 30 minutes after finishing reading this book. Which means it's totally worth to read it! Cannot wait to see what's going to happen in the next one!

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