Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Fourth Wing

If you get fed any social media posts about books, you have probably heard about Fourth Wing. Admittedly, I went into reading this book thinking “Everyone is saying it’s a game changer, so it must be amazing” and I think that is the wrong way to start this, or any, book.

I’d like to start by saying it is good. If you like romantasy (fantasy+romance) with a touch of dystopia, you’ll have a great time reading Fourth Wing. The main character is also explicitly disabled and it is intertwined with her journey of self-discovery, as well as challenging the status quo of the society she is in. Based on the descriptions, I think she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I also love the dragons. They are characters in their own right, not just tools to be used. However, the entire time I was reading, I couldn’t help but tell myself “This is just Divergent with dragons.” The general plot is almost identical. Everything was predictable because of this and the only things that I didn’t predict were because something we were told was “impossible” was, in fact, possible for our super special main character. This occurs multiple times. I don’t even think it’s an unreliable narrator at that point. I think it’s an unreliable universe. The upper hand that Fourth Wing has over Divergent is that this fantasy setting allows for more creativity (and covering up for narrative mistakes). Additionally, I did not enjoy most of the main character’s “love life”. This is enemies-to-lovers, so much so that it is almost anti-friends-to-lovers. I don’t care about either trope, but the blatant comparisons get old. I also felt that the main character thinks about “spice” a lot more than I care for, especially considering the actual spice level of the book. There may be people who want to see this since women’s sexuality is largely swept aside in many stories. But this was not it for me.

Overall, this is a decent adult romantasy book and probably a good introduction to the genre for people who prefer epic fantasy stories. I don’t feel like I wasted my time reading it. But it is not groundbreaking in the slightest and I’m not sure if I will continue the series.

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euleau's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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indigo_fox's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Enemies-to-lovers, lovable characters, magical abilities, DRAGONS. What more could a guy ask for? This book was amazing. Most of the characters were so easy to love and the ones that weren't were designed to be hated. The side characters didn't feel cheap, it was easy to see their personalities shine through the text. The MC had a fun personality, she'd often make me smile or laugh.

The story itself was interesting. I found myself excited to find out more details as the plot unraveled. It was good, there were times when I HAD to read another chapter before returning to regular life. I'm definitely going to read the next book.

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my_aesthetic_is_books's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny sad 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

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chloe_acceber's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

This one took me up until about the halfway point to really be invested in but it was well worth it. I immediately downloaded the next in the series upon finishing it. My jaw was on the ground from the last few chapters. And 10/10 for disability representation in fantasy!

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