Reviews

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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fiesta123's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious tense 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

4.75

em_keanp's review against another edition

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2.0

This could have been great, instead, it's lazy. Rebecca yarros hints at a world that could be interesting and never gives you any of it. Have I clue what is the point of this war school they are all in? No, because she just lazily mentions a very important, years long war and gives no further details, hoping instead you'll be drawn in by her 2 main characters fawning over each other but even that is hard to do with the weird use of very modern, teen girl phrases Violet seems to love to use.
I wanted to love this, but I can't even be bothered to read the next one.

hollyamber's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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

4.75

Fully lived up to the hype! I loved how fast paced it was, and would only have wanted a couple more romance scenes between the main characters for make it a 5🌟, but I can't wait to read the next one 😍

rstorque's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

katieeelynnn's review against another edition

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adventurous

5.0

caitlinexo's review against another edition

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adventurous sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Overall, I enjoyed Fourth Wing and I think it will make a brilliant series when it eventually translates to the screen.

That being said, I had some real issues with the writing quality and character development in some areas. Aside from Violet, Xaden, Dain, Liam and Rhiannon (sort of), I felt that the characters were very much cut and paste, and honestly a little lifeless. I couldn’t tell you the difference between them as none of the background/supporting characters have clearly defined traits or backstories. Perhaps that is more jarringly obvious in my case as I read this just after Throne of Glass where every character is well-rounded and developed (albeit over 7 books, not one one!).

In addition, I found some lines super cringy - especially the overuse of modern idioms and phrases. For me personally, it just takes me out of the story and makes the world lack immersion.

That being said, the plot was good (though there is a lot of ‘hand holding’ from the author), and the ending chapters were impactful and emotional.

I’ve seen a lot of discourse surrounding violets unnamed disability and how this isn’t fleshed out as well as it could have been. I agree with this to an extent, however I must say, the point in which I really began to enjoy this book was during the saddle scene and the emphasis on how there is no shame in making adjustments for yourself to improve accessibility. Yarros really drives home the point that people with disabilities/chronic illnesses do face additional struggles, but they are more than capable of doing anything they wish when properly equipped with the right resources and support. Not only this, but I felt a sense of accomplishment on behalf of violet and this, to me, translated into a celebration of the feats disabled/chronically ill people in our society should too be proud of. I do hope she continues to explore the complexities of violets condition in later books.

The romance/spice certainly got better towards the end of the book too!