Fourth Wing

Going into Fourth Wing, I knew I wasn’t the target audience, but with all the buzz, I wanted to see what it was about. Early on, the book set up a lot of compelling elements—family mysteries, shifting alliances, a brutal training school, political tension, and, of course, dragons. It felt like there were so many directions the story could take.

But as things progressed, most of those threads took a backseat to Violet’s relationship with Xaden. It’s not the relationship itself that didn’t work for me, but rather the relentless focus on it—so much introspection, so much longing, with little to balance it out. The world and its complexities started to feel secondary, which was disappointing given how much potential was there.

That said, I absolutely see why this book resonates with so many readers. If you love highstakes romance with a fantasy backdrop, this delivers exactly that. I just personally wanted a broader view of the world rather than such a tight zoom-in on the relationship. Maybe the sequels will expand on that, but for now, I don’t think this series is for me.