A Quick Overview of Fourth Wing
Fourth Wing is a fantasy novel about a girl named Violet with a chronic condition who gets forced into a dragon college by her mother (war general). This college is designed to separate the weak from the strong, and only the strongest survive. This process is preparing the students for war, because once they graduate, their duty will be to fight on the front lines and defend their kingdom.
Violet faces many challenges during her time in the Dragon college, between her chronic condition (EDS), her small size, her lack of strength, and the big target on her back as many students want nothing more than to see her dead – Violet has her work cut out for her!
As she progresses through the college, she comes to discover there are some dark secrets being kept, a rebellion brewing, and things become even more complicated and heated as she starts to fall hard for the person she thought was the enemy.
My Impression
The last time I purchased a book based on hype, I was slightly disappointed. I decided to purchase another book based on the hype and let me just say… Fourth Wing absolutely did NOT disappoint, it ABSOLUTELY lives up to the hype, and I think I just found my favorite book of all time. ♥
While I absolutely adore this book and it’s an easy 5 stars, I’ll break down the things I really loved about this book and some things I think could have been improved upon that I’m hoping will be better in the next book Iron Flame.
Firstly, I love that Violet is not your stereotypical hero. She has all the odds of survival stacked against her, yet, she survives using her wits and some really out-of-the-box thinking. She is a great example of how you don’t need to take the stereotypical path people expect to achieve success, and it’s OK to not be cookie cutter.
I also love how open minded Violet is. When she was warned about Xaden, she didn’t take other people’s word for it. She remained open minded and let actions speak louder than words, to see that there was a lot more to him than meets the eye. This is such an admirable and rare trait, and something I wish was seen more often in the world. Violet doesn’t follow the herd, she is a leader. And on the contrary, this book also reveals how those you think you can trust can betray you and not be as good as you previously thought they were.
Rebecca did an amazing job with her use of foreshadowing in the book. There were many scenes were I had a feeling of what was coming before it happened because of this and I loved it, but there were also some crazy plot twists I absolutely was not expecting. This book took me on a ride of so many different emotions. It includes heartbreak, betrayal, love, spice, shock, excitement, and feeling so much pride for the FMC and MMC. I also love a good story about rebellion. Fourth Wing ticked all the boxes for me and I don’t know if I’ll be able to recover after reading this book.
All this being said, there were a few things I agreed with critical reviewers on that could be improved upon. While the world building and plot were amazing, I felt there were areas that lacked connection and depth. I would have loved to see more backstory of Violet’s upbringing and the dynamic with her mother and father, and how her mother became such a hard person. I also would have loved to see more background on Violet and Dain, and also more build up and connection between Violet and Xaden as their relationship seemed mostly lust driven. It would have been nice to see more heart to heart and emotional moments between Xaden and Violet before their relationship solidified. And lastly, I’d love to have read more about Xaden’s perspective and background because he has such an interesting story! This might be something Rebecca expands upon in future books though as there’s plenty of opportunity for this.
Conclusion
If the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and How To Train Your Dragon had a baby, it would be Fourth Wing. Despite the things I feel could be improved, this book is easily a 5 star read and exceeded my expectations. Rebecca stated in a TikTok video that she intends to write 5 books for this series, so if you loved the first book be sure to pre-order her next book now if you want to receive the first edition with the beautiful painted edges! The painted edges are only available for the first edition copies of her books so if you’re a book collector and care about having the most beautiful edition as part of your permanent library, get them while they last because after the first print run that edition won’t be printed again!
The Cozy Cat Rating: ★★★★★
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