A review by b0r3d_2710_
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“Thank you, Liam. Thank you for being my shadow. Thank you for being my friend.” He blurs in my
vision as the tears come faster.
“It’s been. My honor.” Liam’s chest rattles as his lungs struggle.
Tell me Mrs Yarros, did you have to kill him? Was that necessary? Was it required to kill such a sweet character? Why do authors make a character so likeable only to have them killed later on like :,)


The pacing is good! There really weren't any slow moments. The author does a good job in keeping you at your toes but honestly, I predicted a lot of things before they were revealed. I knew that Xaden and his group were aiding the "enemies". I also had suspicions that Brennan was alive.

“I’m not dying,” Dylan says with way more confidence than I feel as he tugs a necklace from under his tunic to reveal a ring dangling from the chain.

Ever since I read that, I just knew that he was gonna die.


The world building was not great. A lot of things weren't explained properly. Why are the youngsters going to war college to train for the war? What is this war exactly? What is the politics of this world? Who exactly are the two sides? How exactly are they getting their powers?
We are given the information at really inconvenient and random moments, so the book does feel like info-dumpy but the thing is it isn't really giving much information. Does that make sense at all? That recitation of information while walking on the Parapet and being threatened by another felt really hilarious to me. I don't know if it was supposed to be that way but it was like that for me.
I was really confused about the history of events and I feel like the politics, the war and the exact reason why the war among rebels and the Navarre people was fought will be discussed in the upcoming books. Atleast that's what I hope.


I liked the main character. She wasn't annoying and miserable but actually fun to read. She was not a pick-me like so many YA/NA fantasy. I liked the fact that the main character wasn't portrayed as weak just because she was "tiny" but because she actually has a chronic condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. It really felt like the disability affected her instead of it being just thrown in the book to show her as an underdog.
But Xaden. Tell me, why does every other "bad guy" male lead in these fantasy series all looks the same?? But he was a nice character who was technically right all the time. He was a decent wingleader and gave great advices and suggestions and encouraged Violet unlike Dain. He also had a really valid reason to keep secrets from her and not tell her things. I really liked his character because he's actually really smart.

“You’re not listening.” His voice lowers. “I. Am. Here. Tairn didn’t drag her back to Basgiath. He didn’t break through her shields and pour his emotions into her. He didn’t demand she fly across the fucking kingdom.
Your sister is still right here. I’m the one who left my post, my position, and my executive officer in charge of my wing. She’s not missing out on shit.”
He's so right here.

“She is not a child. She’s a full-grown woman. A rider. Start treating her like one and at least have the decency to give her the truth. You think Melgren or any other general—to include her own mother—is going to let her sit on a power like this? It’s not like she can hide it, not the way she just demolished one of the practice forts.” 

“By defeating invading armies before they get the chance to hurt civilians. You want to keep Rhiannon’s nephew alive in that little border village? This is how. You want to keep Mira alive when she’s behind enemy lines? This. Is. How. You are not just a weapon, Sorrengail. You are the weapon. You train this ability, own it, and you’ll have the power to defend an entire kingdom.” He smooths back more wind-loosened tendrils of my hair behind my ears, clearing my vision so I have no excuse but to see the honesty in his eyes.

I really liked Xaden here. He never babied her, nor did he ever stop her from reaching her actual potential.


Also,I know that Dain wanted to protect Violet but it's really annoying that he always wanted to transfer her to the Scribe Quadrant. Actually, he's just really annoying as a person and according to me, he’s the one who "betrayed" Violet by looking into her memories without her knowing instead of Xaden who had legitimate reasons to keep things from her. Was this really a love triangle? Like tell me honestly, did anyone ever really like Dain?


Rhiannon was a good character as well. I love to see female friendships in novels that are hella genuine and relatable. Their dynamic was really entertaining to read but I must say that some of the jokes weren't timed aptly. Why are they making sexual innuendos just after it was announced that their classmates died?

“That is…” Rhiannon murmurs beside me.
“It sure is,” I agree.
“Stop objectifying our wingleader,” Liam teases.
“Is that what we’re doing?” Rhiannon asks, not bothering to look away.
My mouth waters at the muscled expanse of his back and that sculpted ass. “Yeah, I think that’s what we’re doing.”

That was funny not gonna lie.


At times, the dialogues were a bit corny to me. I was kinda weirded out by the dick jokes in the literal beginning of the book when there was supposed to be a serious situation as Violet could be dead in the next few hours. Things like these could be find a lot of times all throughout the book. Also, a lot of things and rules in the Basgiath College seemed impractical to me. Why were the cadets literally allowed to kill each other except when the victim is sleeping? Jack literally killed a cadet on the first day I guess and he faced no repurcussions for that. Why are the cadets forced to die while walking the parapet when you could have just installed a net or used someone with a power that could've saved those fallen. I mean why was there the need to die? They could've just been disqualified and sent to other quadrants, right?
Every person who was a part of the rebellion in the past were murdered and their children were put into the military. Now I wanna know what was their logical thought process behind making this decision because they are literally giving them access to military information and well, DRAGONS! How is that a good idea because they are literally given the chance to start another rebellion!
Also how did Violet never get caught while poisoning her opponents? The author should have either shown the way she was poisoning them or atleast she should have gotten caught once. But no, she was perfect at it except Xaden finding out about that behind the scenes.


I loved the dragons in this novel. Tairn was sassy and sarcastic and well my favourite character to be honest. Andarna was really sweet and I don't know how to describe my opinion about Sgaeyl but her personality screamed "boss".


“You’re making us look bad. Stop it.”

“Now get in the seat and actually hold on this time, or no one is going to believe that I’ve actually chosen you,” he growls.

“Please, do tell me more about what I should value.”Sarcasm drips from his tone.

“You’re worthy. At least I think you are, but you apparently don’t pay attention in class.” He chuffs and a warm puff of steam blasts the back of my neck.

“They’re accommodations for me. I’ve seen your memories. I’m not about to have you sticking daggers into my leg to climb up. Now let’s go.”

“Annoys you?” Tairn chuckles above me, the sound like a chuffing cat.
“Is that what you call it when your heart rate—”

“Tairn says if you harm me, he’ll burn you,” I say as dragons to the left and right launch skyward without their riders, headed back to the Vale. But not Tairn. Nope, he’s still standing behind me like an overprotective dad.

“Should I get the wingleader?” Tairn flat-out laughs in my head.

I just love Tairn!


But speaking about the Romance...
I'm not really a fan of sexual things in novels so those scenes weren't appealing to me but I must say that the angst and the tension was great. Violet being a simp was kinda relatable and funny but ever since their first kiss, the novel kinda shifted to show the Romance plot more which I didn't like. See, Romance is good but too much of it just feels unnecessary and at times, cringy, to me. I really did not care about the romance. To be honest, if we had more of the dragons and less of the romance, I would have enjoyed this a lot more.


For a romantasy novel it is required that the characters should be entertaining and romance should be the focus while there isn't a necessity to have one of the best world buildings that exist in the Fantasy genre. So, considering and reading this book from a Romantasy point of view, I was definitely entertained and liked the characters although Romance felt a bit like insta love even though it happened slow. This book is great for those who have never read Fantasy before and wants an introduction to the genre.
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