We do not eat our allies.
Teso, this book has literally been all over. There were midnight releases. It's getting a TV show. It was the national fiction bestseller (according to Seattle Times). Where have you been? In case you were wondering, I didn't get one of the botched copies (even though I did preorder it), but I did take a while to read it because I was sobbing so much. I mean...that ending...
Anyways, spoilers for Fourth Wing ahead, I hope you know that. Don't read without reading Fourth Wing If you don't want to read Fourth Wing and are just here to support me, have fun!
Short Summary:
Taking us back to where Fourth Wing left off, Violet is reunited with her (not) dead brother Brennan, in the (not) destroyed province of Tyrrendor with her (not) boyfriend, Xaden. Her entire world has been turned upside down. Xaden is a traitor, Brennan's alive, gryphons riders are friends and the boogeymen of her childhood are real. Her entire life, changed. Also, Liam's dead. That was devastating. Can't dwell on it too long, I will cry. Violet is tasked with going back to Basgiath and pretending everything is normal. Everything is fine. I am fine. When she gets there, she finds everything is not fine. Second year is crazy. Will she survive?
Who would Like this book:
People who read Fourth Wing and liked it would love this book (duh). Also, people who love dragons and have read Fourth Wing. Fans of high fantasy who have read fourth Wing. People who have read Fourth Wing Do you see the common denominator here? READ FOURTH WING FIRST PLEASE. But seriously, if you liked Fourth Wing, this book is an option. Personally, I liked it, but some didn't because of the politics and world-building. It's a large undertaking, so I suggest that if you're not sure you want it(because it's huge and expensive), check it out from your local library! It's much more wallet friendly, and it's significantly less high stakes. I bought a copy, because it's my job to read these books and review them-no it's not, I don't get enough views for that-so it's normal for me, but you don't have to if you don't want to.
Review:
I love Tairn. I love Andarna. They remind me of my dogs. I will say this until I die. They are my dogs, but in dragon form. That being said, I'm sure you didn't come to hear an in depth rant about my dogs and dragons, so yeah.
Could I have picked a more "metal" quote? Yes. There were so many quotes that made me go "wow, that's deep" in my head, but nothing quite explains the true nature of this novel other than the one I picked. People always go for the "the first year we lose our humanity, the second we lose our lives" quote, but personally? Nah. This book was mediocre in the best way. Like sure, it was kinda rushed. It had weirdly long descriptive paragraphs (listen man, I'm all for pretty worlds, but geez) and it was kinda drawn out. But I stayed. Not because I thought the (main) characters were particularly enticing (I hated Violet for a bit. I did). Not because the plot was new and novel. Not for the main romance. Nope, I stayed because it made me feel something. Listen, I can read a book about pretty much anything as long as I feel something. Rebecca Yarros is a romance author. I don't mean that to be a knock to her writing skills, but it's true. She writes romance, which is super emotion heavy. The way romance novels work are to get their main romances to be likable and make people idealize work or high school or whatever it is the book is about besides the romance. It's evident in this book. Yeah, it's not a traditional masterpiece in writing, but it made me cry. It made me laugh, it made me want to throw my book at the wall and all sorts of other things. That is why I stuck it out. That being said, I've been known to love books everyone hates and hate books everyone likes, so I may be on the outs here. I enjoyed it, to be honest. Was it the best thing ever? No. Did it live up to Fourth Wing? Eh. Did I go in with high standards? Not really, because it had a quick turnaround time, and I have low standards pretty much always. That ending? Ugh. It made me wanna keep reading.
It's been my honor. (did any fourth wing fans figure out that I accidentally butchered this quote last time?)
Teso