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A review by eastcoastcandice
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
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? Yes
3.75
This is a tough one to rate for me.
The main plot was extremely interesting and I had times where I couldn't put the book down. I read a lot of fantasy books, and this one has a good world with interesting characters. The world building was good, but not amazing - I'm hoping the later books delve into the map and politics a bit more, as it were.
I'd say the relationships are the key focus of the book, between the FMC (Violet) and everyone else - her childhood best friend, her new friends, her love interest, her family, and the various instructors at the war college. There's most certainly some overused tropes in here, but hey, it is a fantasy book, so they're expected.
I appreciated how the author made Violet a person with a disability. I also liked how Violet fought for herself, used her strengths to her advantage to help overcome her weaknesses, and overall became a badass by the end of the book.
So those parts of the book were a 4 or 4.5/5 for me.
However, I admit that I'm not usually a 'romantasy' reader. I generally prefer my books heavier on the world building, political intrigue, magic, and magical creatures. And for the first half of the book, it was! Now, I do like romance, but the more PG style, and where it is secondary to character development and the overall plot. So the level of 'spice' in the second half of the book wasn't for me. There were plenty of times I wished we heard more about what Violet was learning in classes, her training for combat, or her friendship with Rhiannon, and less about how hot she thinks Xaden is. For folks who read this genre regularly, it's probably a pretty tame book, given the spicy scenes are really just two chapters, plus a few bits sprinkled in here and there (a kiss and some 'heavy, descriptive flirting' if you get my drift). And I will say, the author did a good job of making the sex scenes part of the overall story, and not just thrown in for the sake of it.
Will I read the other books in the series? Yes, absolutely, I'm very curious what happens next, especially with that ending!
Will I skim over the spicy chapters in the next books? Yes, because the rest of the story is what I'm more interested in.
The main plot was extremely interesting and I had times where I couldn't put the book down. I read a lot of fantasy books, and this one has a good world with interesting characters. The world building was good, but not amazing - I'm hoping the later books delve into the map and politics a bit more, as it were.
I'd say the relationships are the key focus of the book, between the FMC (Violet) and everyone else - her childhood best friend, her new friends, her love interest, her family, and the various instructors at the war college. There's most certainly some overused tropes in here, but hey, it is a fantasy book, so they're expected.
I appreciated how the author made Violet a person with a disability. I also liked how Violet fought for herself, used her strengths to her advantage to help overcome her weaknesses, and overall became a badass by the end of the book.
So those parts of the book were a 4 or 4.5/5 for me.
However, I admit that I'm not usually a 'romantasy' reader. I generally prefer my books heavier on the world building, political intrigue, magic, and magical creatures. And for the first half of the book, it was! Now, I do like romance, but the more PG style, and where it is secondary to character development and the overall plot. So the level of 'spice' in the second half of the book wasn't for me. There were plenty of times I wished we heard more about what Violet was learning in classes, her training for combat, or her friendship with Rhiannon, and less about how hot she thinks
Will I read the other books in the series? Yes, absolutely, I'm very curious what happens next, especially with that ending!
Will I skim over the spicy chapters in the next books? Yes, because the rest of the story is what I'm more interested in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Grief