Fourth Wing (Special Edition) (The Empyrean, 1)

Plot or Character Driven: A mix Strong character development: Yes Loveable characters: Yes Diverse cast of characters: Yes Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated Fourth Wing has been on my TBR list for quite some time. I finally had the time to read, and I now know why so many people have been talking about this series. I quite enjoyed reading Fourth Wing. The story is engaging, with a plot that leaves you wanting to know more, and the characters are entertaining. This slow-burning, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance is definitely a page turner. Adding the dragons to the mix makes the read even more exciting. Violet always thought she was to be a scribe, writing the times and reviewing the history of the city and its future. She was not like her brother, a healer or a badass rider and fighter like her sister. She was a scribe like her father. Violet is also quite fragile; every week, something happens to her resulting in an injury. However, times have changed, and her mother, who is the General, demands that she become a rider. Violet has to go through the list of challenges, just like the others. The only rule is that one must stay alive. As Violet makes it through the challenges. She learns that not only is her fragile state something she has to work on, but also the other prospective riders who may view her as competition or even harbour hatred towards her because of her family name. Violet finds the courage and strength to overcome these challenges one by one. She is even chosen by one of the most powerful dragons to be his rider. Xaden, a third-year wingleader, has revenge on his mind towards Violet. After all, her mother killed his father in battle. He moves Violet and her squad to his section and lets her know that he intends to kill her. After watching her move through the challenges, he has started to develop respect for her and thinks less of killing her. Xaden's dragon and Violet's dragon are mates. This leads to them spending more time in each other's space. The attraction between them starts to sizzle. Xaden has now turned his focus toward keeping Violet safe. Reasons I enjoyed this book: Action-packed, Entertaining, Great world building, Page-turner, Romantic, Twisted, Wonderful characters

Guys. I’m not lying here: 2023 is MY YEAR for reading. I cannot tell you how many books I’ve read that have been so astonishingly beautiful and amazing and overall top tier. This novel is no exception. Coming into this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The only other book I’ve read by Rebecca Yarros is The Things We Leave Unfinished. Also amazing, but if you’ve read it you know it’s on a completely different playing field than this book. I mean, Fourth Wing is on a different world and isn’t a historical romance novel. It is epic, though, and I’m not using that word lightly. Fourth Wing is a fantasy novel set in the world of Navarre where dragons, griffins, and magic are real. If you’ve followed a majority of my reviews on my blog, you know that I hardly ever review fantasy novels. I honestly think the only other fantasy novel I’ve reviewed was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which honestly was a real world fantasy, so wasn’t that far outside of my realm. With that being said, this book is outside of my typical comfort zone but holy hell did I love it. Now I’m thinking I’ve been missing out on all of these amazing fantasy novels and I might just go on a binge. So, what exactly did I like about this novel? Everything. But to break it down: the world building that went into writing this is absolutely insane and makes it an amazing read in itself; the characters that don’t necessarily make you think “oh this again” with the main heroine; the unbeatable plot; and the beautiful, comical writing style that Rebecca Yarros demonstrates. The world building speaks for itself, but the characters that don’t follow typical patterns particularly made me like this novel. For instance, our main heroine, Violet, is way weaker than other riders. She doesn’t fit the mould. While this is typical for our main character, what follows isn’t. Instead of her beating all odds and becoming the strongest rider of all, she basically just… adjusts. She has to do things differently and doesn’t just become a natural born rider. It’s amazing and you’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve read the book. The plot is just like what I said: unbeatable. You have foreshadowing, a romantic subplot, tension and high stakes throughout the entire novel, and man is it satisfying. I’m not sure how long this series is going to be, but I am here for it. Lastly, Rebecca Yarros’ writing style in this novel is nothing short of spectacular. You get epic battle scenes, romantic moments that play with your heart, and comical snips that make you laugh out loud. It really does have everything and I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire novel. Overall, this review is huge but I had a lot to say. I honestly can’t even point to something that I disliked about this novel, which just goes to show you how much I loved it and how great I think it is. If you enjoy fantasy novels, you’ll fall in love with this book. If you don’t enjoy fantasy novels? You’ll still fall in love with this book. I’ve already recommended it to my book club, my mom, and my brother. Y’all are welcome. Favorite quote: “And when others are quick to stand in front of me, Xaden always stands at my side, trusting me to hold my own.”

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was a five star read for me. This book pulled me out of a reading slump and reminded me why I love getting lost in stories. I was hooked almost immediately and stayed engaged all the way through. One of the strongest parts of this book is the cast of characters. I cared about everyone, not just the main characters, which made the story feel richer and more immersive. Andarna was a standout favorite. Highly recommended for readers looking for an engaging fantasy that is hard to put down.

Absolutely loved this book, read it a few days.

Item came in good condition except for the top of the sprayed edges has some flaws.

Para quem ama esse universo de romantasy, Fourth Wing é uma ótima escolha. Superficialmente, é como se a autora pegasse Jogos Vorazes, As Crônicas de Gelo e Fogo, Harry Potter, ACOTAR e batesse em um liquidificador para criar essa obra. Porém, ao nos aprofundarmos na história, esquecemos essa primeira impressão, pois é notável que a Rebecca Yaros sabe escrever uma trama envolvente, que transporta o leitor para aquele universo e consegue fazê-lo sentir o que a personagem sente. Inicialmente, sobre a trama: Violet Sorrengail é a clássica heroína que se difere dos outros porque nunca quis se encaixar naquele contexto em primeiro lugar. Em uma escola dividida em quatro esquadrões - escribas, infantaria, curandeiros e montadores de dragões -, ela queria se dedicar ao primeiro, mas é forçada a ir para o último. Daí pra frente, apenas existir lá dentro se torna uma luta pela sobrevivência, pois os montadores de dragões não aceitam alguém que enfraqueça essa unidade. Lá, ela conhece Xanden Riorson, o qual é um, também clássico, anti-herói que será o interesse amoroso - e muito, muito carnal - da personagem. Ele tem tudo que amamos em um mocinho de romantasy: é lindo, é forte, chama a Violet por um apelido especial, apoia a liberdade e a liderança dela com um jeito de malvado, de perigoso, de irônico... mas tem todos os motivos do mundo pra fazer o que faz, é justo, é leal, é irresistível...e, no final das contas, completamente devoto a ela. É a receita infalível para um enemies to lovers de devorar em uma madrugada. Jogue no meio o perigo constante, ameaças mortais, dragões amedrontadores, inimigos POR TODA PARTE, uma revolução no mundo em que a protagonista vive e no jeito que ela vê as coisas e temos Fourth Wing nos prendendo à leitura como maníacas obcecadas. Claro, o livro tem defeitos: existem muitos clichês - desde bad boys vs mocinho, a garota diferente das outras garotas, protagonista superidealizada (vulgo Mary Sue/a escolhida/se errou, foi com razão) em alguns momentos, mommy e daddy issues pra todo lado -, pelo menos 1 palavrão por página (o que, em minha opinião, deixa o livro adolescente demais), e se você é apaixonada pelo Rhysand de ACOTAR, você provavelmente vai notar umas certas... semelhanças entre ele e o Xaden. Em suma, o livro cumpre o seu papel: é uma leitura divertida, te mantém interessada o tempo inteiro, te faz torcer por alguns personagens e odiar outros, te faz passar mal com as cenas hot (muito bem escritas, por sinal!), e ir correndo pro próximo livro da série só pra não nem 1 minuto de distância daquele mundo e daquele casal. Eu não diria que é super revolucionário, pois acho que esse nicho literário (fantasia com romances épicos para jovens adultos) já não tem tanto pra onde correr mais. Dito isso, cá estou eu, já terminando o segundo livro e em agonia por ter que esperar o terceiro. Enfim, recomendo!

Real nice book, my jaw dropped to the floor with the last sentence.

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰…” 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬, 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺. “𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.” 🐉 Romance Fantasy 🐉 Slow-Burn 🐉 Enemies to lovers 🐉 DRAGONS 🐉 Power/Magic 🐉 Death, Betrayal, War-games/Trials 3 words : 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 I’m completely obsessed, completely in love … I can’t stop thinking about it .. Xaden is in the race for my favorite book Boyfriend ever, the dragons are perfect , they are characters not just .. big pets.. The plot sucked me in, the world building made me dream, the end made me cry and the cliffhanger made me gasp .. 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. “𝘚𝘦𝘦? 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. » “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵,” Biggest hangover of the year so far, I need the sequel like I need my next breath and nothing else matters until then.. Of course it’s a big ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ♾️ for me. Nothing else to say. 𝘈 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺. 𝘈 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.