She’s hot, deadly, and emotionally unavailable—but does that make her strong, or just badly written? This week, we’re dragging the “strong female lead” trope by its leather boots and asking why strength in fiction so often means violence, trauma, or just being “one of the boys.”

From badass babes to flat-out flops, we’re unpacking what happens when female characters are written for power instead of people.

And if you’ve never read these books? Don’t worry—you’ve still lived this.

In this episode of Unread & Unfiltered, we’re riding dragons straight into the feminist firestorm that is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

We’re unpacking what strength really looks like when the world expects you to break, and asking the hard questions:

• When does protection become control?

• Why do we romanticize red flags?

• And what does real power look like when you’ve been told you don’t belong?

We’ll talk Violet’s quiet resistance, Dain’s benevolent sexism, Xaden’s emotionally constipated green flag energy, and the radical magic of female friendship.

Spoilers are saved for the end—so whether you’re a first-time reader or a BookTok survivor, this one’s for you.

Because strength isn’t silence, and control isn’t care.

Witches are hunted, secrets are deadly, and fear keeps the world turning. In this episode, I’m diving into Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli to explore how culture uses fear, silence, and performance to keep people in line. From magical oppression to real-world parallels with censorship and identity politics, this isn’t just a fantasy critique. It’s a conversation about survival.

Soooo, I started a podcast. Unread & Unfiltered is where we spiral about books that hit a little to close to home and dig into what they're really saying about the world around us. It's part cultural commentary, part emotional unspooling, and fully supported by caffeine. Whether you have read the books or just love to over analyze, you're welcome here. This intro set the tone for what's coming in Episode 1...dropping on July 1st.