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A review by maello
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
When I see reviews for this book they are usually very polarizing. Some will say that the book's writing wasn't good and the world was underdeveloped, and some will say that this book was amazing and book of the year.
I think the book was great, but I definitely think the complaints have merit.
To start, this book's romance sub-plot is very involved. If you think it's just a book about dragons and then there's some romance in it, you would be wrong. The romance is deeply engrained in this book, and in my eyes it's really important. Without this romance, the FMC would've gone down a completely different path in this book. It is necessary. Of course, she is very ... thirsty ? And there are paragraphs and pages for how thirsty it is. If you won't like reading that, this isn't the book for you. Because there is a lot. lol
In regards to the worldbuilding, I'm a bit torn. Yes, we didn't get that much information about what people care about (how dragons bond, the dragons, etc, etc). But, I think this makes sense. The parts of the world that we know, are the parts of the world that Violet knows. She trained to be a scribe, she thinks she knows everything about history. We expect her to know everything. But the truth is, she doesn't. There just isn't much written and recorded knowledge about the dragons. She doesn't know it, so we don't either. I personally like this storytelling, it makes it easier to immerse and connect with the MC rather than being an all-knowing reader. However it's definitely not for everyone, and so I can see why some people say the worldbuilding is underdeveloped and stuff is inconsistent.
All things said, I really liked this book. It is an easy-to-read non-complex world, with a physically disabled character (something I have personally never read in this kind of kickass hardcore fantasy world) and she isn't just disabled to be a diversity-quota selling point, but it actually feels important to the story. It changes how she approaches things, it shows that accommodations aren't something to be ashamed of.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and pre-ordered the next book as well.
I think the book was great, but I definitely think the complaints have merit.
To start, this book's romance sub-plot is very involved. If you think it's just a book about dragons and then there's some romance in it, you would be wrong. The romance is deeply engrained in this book, and in my eyes it's really important. Without this romance, the FMC would've gone down a completely different path in this book. It is necessary. Of course, she is very ... thirsty ? And there are paragraphs and pages for how thirsty it is. If you won't like reading that, this isn't the book for you. Because there is a lot. lol
In regards to the worldbuilding, I'm a bit torn. Yes, we didn't get that much information about what people care about (how dragons bond, the dragons, etc, etc). But, I think this makes sense. The parts of the world that we know, are the parts of the world that Violet knows. She trained to be a scribe, she thinks she knows everything about history. We expect her to know everything. But the truth is, she doesn't. There just isn't much written and recorded knowledge about the dragons. She doesn't know it, so we don't either. I personally like this storytelling, it makes it easier to immerse and connect with the MC rather than being an all-knowing reader. However it's definitely not for everyone, and so I can see why some people say the worldbuilding is underdeveloped and stuff is inconsistent.
All things said, I really liked this book. It is an easy-to-read non-complex world, with a physically disabled character (something I have personally never read in this kind of kickass hardcore fantasy world) and she isn't just disabled to be a diversity-quota selling point, but it actually feels important to the story. It changes how she approaches things, it shows that accommodations aren't something to be ashamed of.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and pre-ordered the next book as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit