Every now and again, a book comes around that takes readers by the collar and pulls them in, making them obsessed with it. We see everyone gushing about it and praising it to high heavens. But then that crest begins to plateau and the disappointments start rolling in. The whole ‘Booktok lied to me’ and ‘Finally here’s an honest review’ thing starts, which is a rather questionable stand to take (a discussion for a different day, perhaps). The same thing happened with Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and I obviously wanted to get in on the action. One, because of it being everywhere and hard to miss. Two, because of that GORGEOUS cover! And I did read it.
I also recorded my experience with the book in a different kind of reading vlog that went up on my Booktube channel a while ago. Here’s the link if you’d like to watch it: Reading Vlog – Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
If you’d like to watch a mini vlog instead, here’s where you can: Mini Vlog – Fourth Wing.
Fourth Wing is the story of Violet Sorrengail, who is getting ready to enter Basgiath War College that’s headed by her mother, Lilith. But she can’t expect any mercy just because her mother is in power. True to Lilith’s character, she tells Violet that she needs to go into the Riders Quadrant and that if she comes to know that Violet has opted for the Scribes Quadrant, she will personally drag her back to where she must go. Violet knows she has no choice but to obey. But as her sister says as she helps her prepare, she is fragile but needs to know how to survive.
Prepped with knowledge and advice from her sister and the threat from her mother, Violet prepares to enter Basgiath. But it can’t be that easy, can it? She has to cross a parapet to enter the college, the very sight of which can nauseate the strongest of warriors. As she prepares to take this test, she is confronted with Xaden Riorson, whose eyes seem to flash with hatred at the very sight of her. It doesn’t help that a couple of the riders who are preparing to cross along with her are openly antagonistic for many reasons, swearing to kill her at the earliest.
Will Violet be able to cross this parapet? Will she be able to find her best friend, Dain, and some comfort in what promises to be a bloody year? How will she deal with the history of her country and the hatred that seems to be directed at her in all directions, especially from Xaden? Most important of all: Can she survive?
First off, let me get this off my chest: Dain is one of the most infuriating characters I’ve ever come across. The boy (I can’t bring myself to call him a man, the antics he gets up to) is like a mosquito, constantly buzzing in your ear and approaching at the most unexpected of times and making you lash out at him, but then end up catching nothing because he’s gone from the scene. He has good intentions, perhaps, but oh my god, he got on my nerves!
Phew, I feel light now.
There are quite a few good parts about Fourth Wing, the best being the magic system and the dragons. As you move through the story, new details open up and new parts of this world are revealed to you. It’s probably slower than you like, but it’s still very intriguing and keeps you engaged throughout. You tend to develop a better liking for the dragons than for the human characters, especially since the dragons are so sassy and upright in their own ways. Their banter with the humans is something that gives this book a little levity that it needs in order to keep afloat.
There is loads of action in this book, both the violent and the romantic kind. While the violent action starts right off the bat, the romantic action, which is quite steamy, comes later. Both are quite shocking to a certain extent. While the battle action is shocking because of how easily people are bumped off and how soon mentions of death become casual, the romantic action comes after a lot of build up. I don’t know how to say this with a straight face but both are equally engaging. 😛
By the end of Fourth Wing, I was pretty hooked onto the story and that shocker of a cliffhanger left me asking for more. The history of Navarre and all the pieces that make up the present, come together in a fiery show of power that will leave you breathless. Adrenalin pumping through your veins, you’ll most likely be clamoring for book 2 (Iron Flame – coming this November, btw) and like me, lament why I read this now when there’s 4 months to go before explanations can be given. It’s action-packed, it’s a paradoxical mix of a fast-paced adventure and a slow-burn romance, it’s engaging, it has dragons, there are classes, there’s learning, there are friendships that will break your heart, there’s understanding, and did I mention it has DRAGONS?!
But despite all of these, I have my complaints with the book.
There’s way too much fluff in here. It could have been cut down by 100-150 pages to turn it into a crisper, more fast-paced version of the story. While mentioning details and events multiple times with tiny differences can be a tool to opening up the story to the reader, those in here are just repetitive, as if to tell us that life at the college can get monotonous and repetitive. Given, my memory isn’t all that great, but I did get the point the first time around.
While the characters do have admirable traits, some of them can get pretty annoying. Dain, as I’ve mentioned before, is one of the most irritating characters ever, but he is followed closely by Violet herself because of the kind of questions she asks. Questions like “Aren’t you going to disarm me?” or “Aren’t you going to handle me?” angered me because why ask when you see he’s walking away? And for the love of God, those innuendos aren’t going to get you through.
That ending, however, was something I didn’t see coming! Given how the book plateaud after a while, I didn’t think I would go out on a high. But there’s a fabulously action-packed sequence towards the end and the cliffhanger, the dialogue on which the book ended just blew my mind. I knew I wanted to read book 2 of this series but this just made sure that I WILL read it, no doubts.
Overall, all elements combined, it felt like the book was a good experience, although not great. I would still recommend it, though, because of the dragons, the action, the heartlessness of the school, and that absolute banger of an ending.
Have you read Fourth Wing? What did you think of it? And what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
I’ll see you in the next blog post.
Until next time, keep reading and add melodrama to your life! ❤
The Melodramatic Bookworm 