Fourth Wing

More of a 3,5 stars

The (in)famous and very hyped Fourth Wing. I had fun reading this, it is a very “readable” book.
I was expecting to either absolutely love this, or really hate it. I'm suprised at myself that it landed in the middle of the road. A few thoughts as to why:

What I liked:
- The characters are likeable and approachable. Even the more shady ones are easy to grasp. I enjoyed the dialogue a lot in this book, lots of snappy comments and snarky remarks, without it being too over the top. The sweet moments between characters also land well.
- The setting is very interesting. A school for dragon riders, where riders have a very possibility of dying in training, has more stakes than your typical magical school.
- Again, it's very readable. Fast paced just how I like my adventure/fantasy/YA books. Once you get invested, which for me was at about the 200-page mark, it's easy to fly through this in no time.
- The ending: While it took me a while to adjust to the rhythm of the final fight scene, which I found to be a little disjointed, the stakes become real for our squad and I liked to see it. The final reveal is promising for book 2

What I disliked (sorry, might be a little bit ranty):
- The “violent” female main character. We see it too often in fantasy romance, and I have stopped long ago to find it engaging. Besides, that's not even her main character trait, as she tries to talk her way out of situations more often than anything.
- The “smartest” female main character. Show it to me, don't tell. I know that as readers, we have a different perspective on events, but the whole "evil government" and "legends are real" was too easy to catch on. Probably also because it's a recurrent theme in politically-driven fantasy romance. But as a former scribe/scholar, Violet should have known to look into censorship and politics much earlier.
- More explanation for the magic, please!!
- I don't have the grounds to discuss the chronic illness rep, but I wish we had seen more of the consequences of her body being permanently affected by this. Our main character adamantly fights the prejudice that it makes her weak, which I stand for, but as we progress in the book, the illness is less and less present, as if shoved aside.
- The language. It's very modern, and the impacts works in the setting, but the modern swearing in a fantasy setting always bugs me (where the origins of the words don't carry the same meaning). It's a choice I can understand, and adds to the readability, but it's not what I prefer in my fantasy books.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but it didn't make it to the top of the top for me. It also didn't do anything much “different” from many fantasy romance books out there. If it's your thing, you'll most certainly enjoy this one, but if you're looking for something new, this might not be it. Will be continuing on with book 2 eventually.