Fourth Wing

3.5. I'll start this review by saying that fantasy/romantasy isn't a genre I'm usually interested in. I am not the target audience for this book, so take this with a grain of salt.

I, undeniably, had a very fun time reading this book. I am into this plot and I'm starting Iron Flame tonight. HOWEVER, I had some issues (all of them named Violet Sorrengail) that keep this from getting to a higher rating:

-The reason they are enemies actually makes a lot of sense, but the way Violet is written undermines this constantly during the first quarter of the book. It's ok that she finds him attractive in spite of their rivalry, but some of the moments are completely ruined by her repeating over and over how hot he is. He's about to kill her and her brain is just like “wow isn't he so beautiful.” She is written like she is a 14 year old girl who has her first crush. The insta-love thing is immediately such a turn off. And of course now having finished it knowing that they were both like this makes me roll my eyes, but at least I only had to suffer through Violet's inner dialogue.

-Continuing with that thought, when she falls for him she becomes the most insufferable character. I like a bit of longing and descriptions of how much they want each other in book, but this author does such a disservice to Violet by writing her like her brain is pure horniness and nothing else. She thinks says and does the most stupid things at the most inopportune moments. I kept thinking that maybe what she needed was a good vibrator to not act like she was in heat all the time.

-In that scene where Xaden is very upset and is at the Parapet, tell me why this girl decides to make it about herself and try to DTR? It's a good thing he already loved her, because I would've shoved her. Time and place, Violence.

-Xaden repeatedly tells her she can't fall for him because she doesn't really know him. She says that she knows enough and ignores him. Then she's so surprised to learn that shocker he has hidden some things from her and now she says she can't trust him. It's not like he isn't to blame, but she fell for him and trusted him even when he was so clear that he wasn't opening up about everything. You can't be that outraged by something that he warned you about and you ignored.

Overall, fun plot. Good war scenes. Good plot twists. Accessible to non-fantasy readers. But it's very hard to be all in on the romance when the main character is so insufferable and seemingly immature (which is a shame because she is clearly brilliant and very powerful). The main character's dialogue (both internal and external) is the weakest point of this book.