A review by shellballenger
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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

4.25

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: BookTok made me do it.

Overall rating: Grrrrrrrr. I don't know what it is about this book that I like so much! Because let's be honest: 
  • It's predictable. Like super predictable.
  • Violet is...ugh (I really wish we knew more why she's so frail...feels like the whole 'I'm So SmAlL' trend versus being actually representative of anything). 
  • It feels like a mash-up of the mythical books that I grew up on (very Harry Potter meets Hunger Games). 
  • There's a whole chunk of the book where they entirely forget about the dragons that supposedly make them who they are (which conveniently is also the part of the book with nearly all of the spicy moments).
  • It's a very loose enemies to lovers. Like, very loose.

I do wish there was more world-building throughout the book, rather than just in little bits and pieces. And maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention in the beginning, but I wish we had gotten a bit more backstory on the whole rebellion thing. But there's something about 'Forth Wing' that sucks you in. At its core, it's a good story with characters that make you feel something. I do plan to read 'Iron Flame' and continue the series.

Reader's Note: There's definitely not a lack of sex in 'Fourth Wing.' Descriptive, steamy, wall shattering, sex. If you've read the ACOTAR series, it's Silver Flames level sex, with a few Starlight cringe moments. Additionally, I appreciate the fact that our FMC is a sex-positive individual. There are many times that Violet talks about sex in a casual and natural way. If you've read any of my reviews for a while, especially those of spicy books, you know I hate the awkward condom moment where the author suddenly gets a conscience and has to remind everyone their characters are being safe (which some authors are REALLY bad at). I definitely got a chuckle out of the 'I take the fertility suppressant' conversation, it flowed, made sense with the storyline, and was like "here's my obligation to you, the reader, to let you know that my characters aren't dumbasses." 😂