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A review by dylanhenning
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
I read the Holiday 2023 Edition with the two bonus Xaden chapters.
This book is normally not my cup of tea because while it is classified as fantasy which is definitely up my alley, this is a sub-genre of “romantasy” with is basically fantasy smut. I’m not really a fan of smutty books. Have nothing against it but in my history sex scenes in books are poorly written and painful to read.
All that being said, this book was way better than I expected it to be. From my knowledge Rebecca Yarros mostly writes military fiction and this is her first dip into fantasy and she does a pretty good job at the character work and world building.
My biggest criticism here besides some clunky writing is that the lore is often dumped in big chunks since the main character recites things she’s learned about the history of this world to herself when she’s stressed and it just feels like a lazy way to present the lore.
As for the sex scenes they were surprisingly well written. As I’ve said before I don't care for smut and most times sex scenes feel like they’re written by a teenage boy who’s writing what he thinks sex is and using too many words when he just wants to say d**k and t**s. Yarros writes her sex scenes with a lot of sensationalism you’ve come to expect from these types of books but it’s also pretty realistic.
Now as for the bonus chapters found in the 2023 holiday edition I found them interesting with some insights into Xaden’s thinking during a couple pivotal moments in the novel and also pose one question I have that I hope future books will answer.
This book is normally not my cup of tea because while it is classified as fantasy which is definitely up my alley, this is a sub-genre of “romantasy” with is basically fantasy smut. I’m not really a fan of smutty books. Have nothing against it but in my history sex scenes in books are poorly written and painful to read.
All that being said, this book was way better than I expected it to be. From my knowledge Rebecca Yarros mostly writes military fiction and this is her first dip into fantasy and she does a pretty good job at the character work and world building.
My biggest criticism here besides some clunky writing is that the lore is often dumped in big chunks since the main character recites things she’s learned about the history of this world to herself when she’s stressed and it just feels like a lazy way to present the lore.
As for the sex scenes they were surprisingly well written. As I’ve said before I don't care for smut and most times sex scenes feel like they’re written by a teenage boy who’s writing what he thinks sex is and using too many words when he just wants to say d**k and t**s. Yarros writes her sex scenes with a lot of sensationalism you’ve come to expect from these types of books but it’s also pretty realistic.
Now as for the bonus chapters found in the 2023 holiday edition I found them interesting with some insights into Xaden’s thinking during a couple pivotal moments in the novel and also pose one question I have that I hope future books will answer.