Fourth Wing

This is probably one of the most confusing reviews I’ve ever written.

When I picked this book up from the shelf, I had no idea how popular it currently is. Honestly, I just liked the sleek gold cover and the black page edges with dragon silhouettes. The plot seemed intriguing enough as well…I mean, who wouldn’t be intrigued about a deadly school that teaches students to fly dragons, but only if the dragon chooses a student as a rider. Throw in an enemies-to-lovers trope with that and it seemed like the kind of distraction from reality that I could use at this time.

As far as the plot goes, it was typically predictable, but also very entertaining, with a couple of – I don’t want to say twists…since they weren’t exactly twists – surprises thrown in towards the end that made me glad I stuck with it. Somehow, I also managed to become emotionally invested in the characters as well (the “somehow” will make sense momentarily).

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the writing style about 65% of the time. Too often did it feel as if Yarros didn’t think we, the readers, could pick up on the message she was trying to convey, and therefore felt the need to spell out what she wanted us to glean from a given sentence or tidbit of information. Additionally, I also felt as though she relied a lot on telling the reader details and information instead of showing us details and information.

Confusing sentence, right?

Let me try to explain what I mean…For example, the narrator, Violet, is angrily walking through the training grounds. We’re focusing on why she’s angry and the actions/thoughts/feelings she’s currently going through as a result of that anger, but then we’re ripped away from that emotion to be told about a random door or window that she’s walking by.

A door or window that has nothing to do with the plot. Ever.

Interspersed descriptions of a character’s surroundings is not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. I like being able to picture the surroundings of the characters with some help from the author, and enjoy getting new details in smaller chunks. I tend to gloss over description if it’s presented as an info dump.

However, there is a time and a place for imagery, and the introduction/creation of the imagery was poorly timed more often than not.

We were never really given a great character bond with some of the ones closest to Violet, with the exception of one or two, which also detracted from some of the plot and my reaction to different occurrences. I felt a greater connection with the secondary main character Xaden’s friends more than I did Violet’s at times.

Given my frustrations with the style of writing, Fourth Wing is unlikely to be a book I will pick up again, except to brush up on the plot for when the sequel comes out later this year.

Yes, that’s right. I did enjoy the story enough that I plan on picking up the sequel.

The whole time I was reading, I was thinking that the story was a weird semblance of if Twilight, Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones had a baby. And that’s probably why it’s so popular. Not the best written novel I’ve ever read, but also not the worst.

Oh. And if you don’t like cussing or sex scenes in your books, you should probably avoid this one…

Entertainment value: 4.5/5
Predictability: 10000/5
Readability (not how well written, but how easily read): 5/5
Structure: 2/5
Nostalgia: 4/5