So, I finally got on board the hype train and read Fourth Wing. And let me tell you, what a ride.
I’m not one to try to hate a book just because it’s popular. But I do try to go in with reasonable expectations because while some books are worth the hype, others aren’t.
I really liked this book. Not as much as some people out there, but it did suck me in. In fact, one day while reading Fourth Wing, I read for like four hours straight—no breaks. It’s been years since I’ve done that.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun. I mean how could dragons and deadly schools not be fun?
But let’s get into the details of my Fourth Wing review (without spoilers).
My Fourth Wing Review Breakdown
Characters: 5 Stars
I really liked the main character, Violet. She is strong in all the important ways, and I loved seeing her persevere and use her intelligence to make it through tough situations. I did disagree with her about something at the end of the book, but I get where she’s coming from.
Xaden is great of course. Like everyone else, I’m a sucker for a fictional guy surrounded by shadows, and he quite literally is. I liked Yarros’ take on these shadows—that they have a physical presence he can use to manipulate the world.
I loved everyone in Violet’s squad, but especially Liam.
Tairn, Andarna, and Sgaeyl = perfection. Enough said.
Plot: 4 Stars
While some things were a bit predictable, I love the structure of a school year for a book. And once they got to a certain point in the year, I was hooked and here for the rest of the plot.
The story is told in first person by Violet, so the stakes are a bit diminished because you can guess that she’s not going to die, which is the big threat at the war college. But it was fun to see all the ways she avoided death. There were other stakes (that would be spoilers to talk about) that I was more invested in and that carried the book.
Prose: 3.75 Stars
Overall, the prose was accessible and easy to read, which I appreciate in fantasy because purple prose is real. I do like a sprinkling of beautiful descriptive prose, but I didn’t find much of that in this book. I also noticed a lot of sentences and phrases that weren’t written super clearly. I had to go back and reread them to understand them, so I think the line and copy editor could have done a bit better with those instances.
Other thoughts:
The romance was great. I think this book might have convinced me to start reading more romantasy. Not sure why I haven’t already, to be honest, because romance and fantasy are two of my favorite things in books.
I loved the dragon aspect of the book and Yarros’ spin on it. The practical things too, like getting on the dragon and staying on the dragon. I can tell there’s a lot more for us to learn about the creatures, which makes me excited for the next books.
If you’re still skeptical about reading Fourth Wing after my review, but you like fantasy and/or dragons, I think you should give it a shot. It was a good time!
