Book Review: Fourth Wing
Some of my best friends have been nagging me to read this forever. And honestly, I'd been putting it off because there is so much hype around this book series that it somewhat dampened my resolve to read it. I do have a habit of reading over hyped books when the hype has died down, so I'm not too disappointed. But Fourth Wing definitely lived up to my expectations. Fantasy and even Romantasy are huge in the book world at the moment. BookTok is all the rage with Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR universe and now Fourth Wing. Millennials had Harry Potter, Gen Z have ACOTAR and Fourth Wing; the phenomenon is just as large and passionate.
When Violet Sorrengail’s mother volunteers her for the Quadrant to become a rider instead of a scribe. Violet believes she is definitely going to die. The sorrengail children are all legendary dragon riders, but Violet has a chronic illness and brittle bones. The Quadrant is essentially a death sentence, not that her mother, a high-ranking general, seems to care. As a Sorrengail, she already has a target on her back; the children of failed rebellion all see her as the enemy, and none other than Xaden Riorson, who promises to kill her. Who doesn't love a fantasy novel with dragons, high stakes and an enemies-to-lovers romance thrown into the mix?
There are some great aspects to this book that set it apart from other fantasy worlds and fiction that I have read. For one, the world-building, usually the first book in a series, takes the reader into the universe in which the story is set, with some mild action/terror/threat thrown into the mix. However, this story plunges you right into the deep end with a sense of threat and a world around you. Harry Potter gently introduced the wizarding world, but not Fourth Wing - chucks you right across (or off) the parapet and into War University. Now I like the idea that War University brings out the real you, meaning there will be some interesting character development. Violet becomes stronger, both physically and mentally. We grow to understand the way prejudice works - should you really damn the children of a rebellion that they had no part in by physically branding them? Apparently, in this world, you do. As Violet learns, history is written by the victor and isn't always true. I also like the little tidbits of information, journal entries and words of wisdom that head each chapter. They give further insight into the world and the war that happened before the events of the book. It adds texture, foreshadowing or exposes cruelties about Violet’s world.
I didn't think I would enjoy a book about dragons, but I was pleasantly surprised. I will have to wait till next year before I can read the next books in this series, and I’m excited to see how the plot develops, the new characters we will undoubtedly meet and of course, Violet's Dragons. Okay, sure, and Xaden: your new book boyfriend.