Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Alas de sangre

Dragons! Magic! Death games-y college! Underestimated main character who is Actually Very Special! Political intrigue and rebellion! Sped through this as the first new book I’ve read in years. Plot was compelling (if a tiny but predictable) and had all of the tropes and story devices that I love to read. Loved that the character lineup was so diverse in terms of sexualities, pronouns, disabilities, etc. (incl. the main character!) but what made them diverse wasn’t a plot point or huge part of the story

(besides the main character)

, they just were.

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lemonwrlds's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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vaguely_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.5

When the entire internet is collectively freaking out about a book and selling it out at every retailer under the sun, I’m going to have high expectations. And Fourth Wing just didn’t live up to the hype for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at basically-child-soldier camp. I love a fun trope-y read. I honestly even kind of liked how I was able to predict the entire plot as it happened. (I promise I’m not being shady, I really did enjoy that aspect.) Also, disability rep where the characters are accommodated for instead of having to overcome being disabled? We LOVE to see it. I’m stoked to read the sequel because I found the story, the world, and the characters really interesting. I just also found them to be rather one dimensional and at times lazily written ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Lots of the world building and characterization is told instead of shown. Violet and Xaden’s relationship is way more insta-love than enemies to lovers like it was billed. As some other reviews point out, some of the most interesting character dynamics, like Violet’s relationships with her mom and sister, are glossed over or only really spoken about based on what happened before the story begins. There’s a lot of potential here, and I hope more of that is explored in the next book.

If you’re into this kind of new adult romantasy (although this one felt way more YA than adult), I’d still recommend Fourth Wing. It’s a fun time, but if you spend any time on the internet, temper your expectations.

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magnumdanger's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Did I need another fantasy series to be obsessed with? No. But here we are!

This is the story of a bookish young woman who is the daughter of a military commander. She has been raised, by her father, to work in the archives but after his death the mother decides she should be a dragon rider. This is a very dangerous path to set her on and there are doubts she will survive training.

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