A review by 2blueshoes
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book brought the “dangerous magical school” vibes of Harry Potter and mixed it with the “dystopia and constant death” of Hunger Games. I enjoyed it. I felt weird about it. I had a lot of questions. 

The heroine of this book (Violet) is twenty, but reads younger at first in her emotions and lack of experience. As a reader it is gratifying to see her grow and become stronger (both mentally and physically) throughout the book, but it means she’s a difficult character to get to know - she is developing and changing so quickly it’s hard to pin her down. She’s weak then feisty, strategically clever and then angsty and recklessly plunging into danger. It feels like you are reading about twenty years of someone’s life, instead of one. By the end, Violet is undeniably a badass, and speaks her mind (especially to the men in her life) in a way that had me texting cheer emojis and sharing screen shots. 

Although there are multiple heroes in this book, the only one that anyone cares about is Xaden.
(That’s a lie, I’m obsessed with Liam bring him back please).
It’s clear from the start he’s a love interest, and Violet is immediately and unwavering in her desire to… uh, ride his dragon. The sexual tension didn’t absolutely wow me in this book, but all the right elements for a dishy shadow zaddy romance are there. Xaden reminds me so much of Reven, the hero in Liar’s Crown, but he’s definitely a more morally questionable character. (I’m always low key wishing heroes could be badass and also not murder people, but that doesn’t really jive with the tone of the book. So, prepare yourself to not love everything he does.)

If you are someone who needs to know how complicated magical worlds work straight away, this book will test your patience. I had questions all the way through, and even after finishing the book many aren’t answered (what is up with the white hair thing?) That said, the world building is impressive, and differs from any magical school or dragon stories I’ve ever read. I enjoyed the scenes with the dragons SO much, and found their complicated personalities and lore the best part. 

This book is really long, but I didn’t find myself bored or skipping scenes. I loved how much we got to explore in just book one of the series - and can’t wait for the next. 
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