Book Review: Is Fourth Wing Worth the Hype?

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 3.75/5 stars

I finally read it

Even though it’s taken me months to pick up the book, I finally read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. It took me about five days to finish it with about a day and a half dedicated to just reading. If I started this on a Friday, I would’ve finished it much faster.

Overall, I was hooked. I was hesitant during the first few chapters because I don’t love first-person fantasy books, but I was sucked in pretty quickly.

I rate this book a very generous 3.75/5.

My Thoughts

The two things that kept me from rating this book a five were the plot and the dialogue.

I’m definitely going to sound harsh, but as a seasoned fantasy and dystopian reader, I feel like I have to pre-recs to give an accurate review of this book.

Plot

Not to sound harsh, but this book is a dragon ripoff of Divergent.

Going into the series, I didn’t know anything about the plot besides that it’s mostly about dragons. From the first couple of chapters, the similarities were already glaringly obvious.

Now, I’m not stupid to think that authors don’t pull inspiration from other books they’ve read, but as fantasy becomes more and more popular, it’s so hard to find a series with a solely original plot. That’s why I loved A Taste of Gold and Iron. That plot was fresh, and I didn’t feel like I already read the book.

With Fourth Wing, I was constantly finding similarities between the two books to the point where some of the scenes were almost the same. I won’t spoil any scenes, but two of the basic connections were Violet’s two friends Rhiannon and Ridoc, and the boy riders who constantly kept trying to kill her. Jack Barlowe reminded me too much of Peter.

And let’s not even talk about Xaden who is her direct higher power. Ring any bells? Cough cough Four?

There were a lot of unique aspects to this plot like the bonds between a rider and the dragons and the history. I’m not saying Yarros didn’t write a great plot, but I did think that she could’ve done a little more to stray away from Divergent.

Dialogue

Okay. I know I sound like a pretentious reader, but I couldn’t get over how unrealistic and cringe a lot of the dialogue was. All writers learn to show and not tell, and no matter how dated and white-centric that teaching method is, it definitely matters sometimes.

There were too many times when Violet or her love interest were waxing poetic about each other in their heads, and I was internally screaming. Come on Rebecca, we know they’re in love. You don’t need to tell us every other paragraph.

I also just found the basic dialogue between all the characters immature. Yarro’s writing didn’t impress me.

I know I sound like a dick, but I found the writing very weak.

All the things I did like

Now before you all call me a hater and a troll, I’ll admit that there were a lot of things I loved.

Dragons!

The world in Fourth Wing revolves around dragons and dragon riders. Our main character is enduring her first year in the Rider Quadrant learning to become a rider and trying to bond a dragon. I loved the dragon aspect. The world-building revolving around the dragons was well-written, researched, and illustrated through her characters. I don’t read many dragon fantasy books, and this one makes me want to read more.

Even though I said the plotline mirrors Divergent, everything regarding the dragons was unique and new to me. Dragons in general have a boatload of history, and it’s clear Yarros incorporated dragon research and her own ideas in her story.

Plot Elements

There were some aspects of the plot I liked. I enjoyed the school setting. I have trouble reading books about people a lot younger than me, so I’ve aged out of books with school settings. However, these characters are all college-aged, so I enjoyed the age and setting.

The book takes place at Bagsiath War College. The world is also basically a military world, which is a cool characteristic. It reminded me a little of Legend but in a subtle way.

I loved the ending, even though I predicted it. I’ll only say once that this is literally the ending of Red Queen, but I’ll let Yarros have it. I wasn’t expecting it until the second to last chapter.

I liked the plot overall, but these are some things I enjoyed.

The Romance…

Now, if you don’t know me, I love enemies to lovers. I think it’s because I love slow-burn and the best slow-burn is angsty and filled with tension.

The romance between the two love interests is all angst and tension and pent-up frustrations, and I was HOOKED! I don’t want to spoil the love interest, but let me tell you, he was one hot and sexy character LOL.

Overall

If you like fantasy, I say give it a read. The book isn’t bad, and the storyline is engaging. And if you love sexy main characters, definitely check her out!’

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