Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Fourth Wing

Loved. Seriously a top read ever and fantasy isn't my go to. Especially romantasy. But the writing is wonderful and her use of disability, accommodations, self reflection on ability, accepting help, etc was so valuable as a fellow zebra.
Also the spice was spicy and I didn't know I was into shadow daddies a friend calls them lol

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notthattypeofkaren's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring fast-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

Interesting story; I was led to believe that the main character was a Mary Sue, but I didn't find that accurate at all. Watching Violet gain strength and confidence while battling what appears to be a formidable disability (especially in the Basgiath environment) was very inspiring.

The chemistry...whew! One of the spicier ones I have read up to this point, love it.

I love the unexpected Threshing twist; I look forward to seeing how Violet's relationship with dragons evolves over the course of the series.

Getting the sequel ASAP! Not life-changing, but SUPER fun to read and very engaging.

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nat20charisma's review against another edition

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4.75

I found it a bit predictable and the romance to be a bit cheesy at times, but it was still enjoyable!

From what everyone else was saying I expected a lot more smut tbh. It was good as it was though, more would’ve been distracting from the plot and world building.

I love that the main character isn’t perfect and has an illness to cope with on top of everything else.

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draconicmama's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

In December 2023 a friend of mine told me I -needed- to read Fourth Wing. Desperate to break out of my reading slump, but not really believing any book could do it, I went ahead and borrowed it from my library.

It changed my life.

Not only did this book break me out of my reading slump, it encouraged me to get back into writing. Yarros is an absolute master of her craft. The romance, the intrigue, the world-building, the INSANE amount of subtle foreshadowing is all done to perfection. This story is so much more than a smutty romance. Honestly, the smut is pretty mild and there are only a couple explicit scenes and they aren't even that graphic. The news headlines focusing on the fact that there's sex in this series are seriously missing the point. This is an epic fantasy driven by the choices of our romantic heroes. It's exciting, tension filled, emotional, and constantly leaves the reader saying, "What else could possibly happen to this girl?!" I -love- this book.

In January 2025 I did a re-read in preparation for the launch of Onyx Storm. It was just as good the second time and I had a fantastic time tabbing all the foreshadowing and little hints I knew Yarros had left us due to my knowledge of Iron Flame, but also all the little things I thought might be important in the other books going forward. I used almost 100 tabs. Yarros is brilliant.

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