Fourth Wing Series
Written by Rebecca Yarros | ★★★★★ (5 Stars)
Fourth Wing Review:
This particular book has five stars due to it’s incredible story, but I do have some opinions about it. I typically like to avoid opinions in reviews at all costs, but I’m just one type of reader and I can’t help it. First I’d like to mention these characters are well written and there were some crying points for sure. I’m not a fan of the Enemies to Lovers trope either, but it was written well and went with the story in a way that I honestly didn’t mind. That being said Rebecca isn’t my favorite author.
She lacks explaining things thoroughly and at times I was so confused I had to re-read pages in order to understand, or read further before it made sense. There was an extreme overuse of the word “purchase” in place of “grip” that I found irritating. A thesaurus is nice, but change it up a little. It took several reads to understand how the term was being used and what she meant by it. Substitute boring words all you like! I do love that, but don’t substitute then use the same word to make the reader pause and go “What? Oh yeah, she’s using it like this but she means something else.” In another instance there was a mention of the word “sign” while in an archive full of books. Okay cool, sign what? There’s no mention of anything until you realize there’s a conversation going on, and then someone WRITES the word “Wyvern” on a piece of paper and you realize…OH, Hand Sign / Sign Language / The girl is DEAF. As someone who does know how to sign and I’ve used it often in my travels, even I had no idea what the heck she was talking about until I got more context. Ergo, not well explained.
Despite my opinions I took to reading both of these books in a matter of 5 days. I still love them. I just wish I didn’t have to backtrack so much to make sure I’m understanding the terms she’s using. There is of course the modern style to her writing with a lot of cussing which I highly appreciate. Overall this book was a well-timed find at Barnes & Noble considering I finished this book 10 minutes before the delivery of my pre-ordered sequel.
Iron Flame Review:
Very well paced, the progression of story is fast and adventurous. So much action that has been built up story-wise since the first book and we get a ton of it! She still doesn’t explain everything thoroughly, but it’s not as confusing as the first time. Rather than missing points entirely it feels just a bit scatterbrained. Like there’s so much information to tell the reader that you almost can’t help but miss a few things.
There’s so much still being mentioned from the first book, and I love the growth of these characters so much. It still opens wounds and makes you cry. The first year you learn how to not piss off a Dragon, Survive the Parapet, and Sparring. Second year you learn about Lesser Magics, Develop your Signet, and RSC Training. Third year is still mostly unknown, but there is Rune Making. There’s so much detail from literally the first book onto the second when things get more “intense.”
Plus, let’s mention something Rebecca does insanely well…her cliffhangers are definitely jaw droppers. In both books it leaves you wanting more at exactly the right time. And they aren’t super lengthy books; They are just the right size. Like I said previously, I read both books in 5 days total. So umm, book 3 soon, yeah?