Scan barcode
caitlinexo's review against another edition
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!
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!
oatmilklatte23's review against another edition
5.0
The Hunger Games + Dragons = Fourth Wing
so.. YEA I LUVD IT
so.. YEA I LUVD IT
tryder_99's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.25
venomvyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
nightly_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
its_breeee's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
maddileni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.75
kattotes's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars.
Here's the thing. I went in worried about the hype for this book, and it was better than I thought it'd be. Even so, it failed in so many areas that I will very likely not read more in the series.
My gripes are as followed, but are not limited to:
1. The prose. Cringetopia. The first quarter of the book is "I'd fuck him, but fuck I'm having a shit ass day and I'm so fucked for the win shit's about to get real." The book sinks back into this style every 100 pages or so for awhile, making me think those bits all were written in the same sitting and the rest came later to make it a more "serious" fantasy. The other aspect about the writing that had me going PARAGRAPHS back every chapter was someone would say something, then there would be paragraphs of unnecessary deluge, then the person would respond with one word. Huh? What were they responding to again? Oh, yeah, that thing three paragraphs back. Every. Single. Interaction. Let your characters talk to each other!
1a. Please don't use Scottish Gaelic for the convenience of randomly generating your dragons' names. It's a whole language and culture and people and mythology you know nothing about.
2. The mix of time periods. Insert tropey fantasy land of ye olde, but have all sorts of modern items strewn throughout. It feels like the author was lazily relying on convenience and not trying to do any sort of cool fusion for the setting. I just don't know why the author insisted on having a war-monarchy-school-dragon-high-fantasy setting if she didn't want to stay in it.
3. Characters. No character had any depth, not even the mains. Any emotions they had were quickly flipped in the next paragraph for the plot progression. Anyone besides the main two are easily interchangeable (ex. Tell me the non-physical trait differences between Garrick and Bodhi. Oh, you can't because they don't have any personality). Characters were introduced for plot reasons or to die and makeMary Sue Violet sad. Tokenism all over the place (Can you name anything about the nonbinary character besides their name and that they dye their hair a lot?).
4. The ending. "Liam died but Brennan didn't, so don't be mad! XD Buy my next booooook."
5. "I'm so tiny and he's so big.
Here's the thing. I went in worried about the hype for this book, and it was better than I thought it'd be. Even so, it failed in so many areas that I will very likely not read more in the series.
My gripes are as followed, but are not limited to:
1. The prose. Cringetopia. The first quarter of the book is "I'd fuck him, but fuck I'm having a shit ass day and I'm so fucked for the win shit's about to get real." The book sinks back into this style every 100 pages or so for awhile, making me think those bits all were written in the same sitting and the rest came later to make it a more "serious" fantasy. The other aspect about the writing that had me going PARAGRAPHS back every chapter was someone would say something, then there would be paragraphs of unnecessary deluge, then the person would respond with one word. Huh? What were they responding to again? Oh, yeah, that thing three paragraphs back. Every. Single. Interaction. Let your characters talk to each other!
1a. Please don't use Scottish Gaelic for the convenience of randomly generating your dragons' names. It's a whole language and culture and people and mythology you know nothing about.
2. The mix of time periods. Insert tropey fantasy land of ye olde, but have all sorts of modern items strewn throughout. It feels like the author was lazily relying on convenience and not trying to do any sort of cool fusion for the setting. I just don't know why the author insisted on having a war-monarchy-school-dragon-high-fantasy setting if she didn't want to stay in it.
3. Characters. No character had any depth, not even the mains. Any emotions they had were quickly flipped in the next paragraph for the plot progression. Anyone besides the main two are easily interchangeable (ex. Tell me the non-physical trait differences between Garrick and Bodhi. Oh, you can't because they don't have any personality). Characters were introduced for plot reasons or to die and make
4. The ending. "Liam died but Brennan didn't, so don't be mad! XD Buy my next booooook."
5. "I'm so tiny and he's so big.