ren
im so baffled by this book
nice writing, very poor pacing
but the most bizarre thing to me is the framing?? this sounds like a whimsical fairy tale... and then it does nothing with it. its like the author thought the twist of the dragon who locks the girl in the tower not being a literal (or even metaphorical) dragon was cool and then just beat this story into fitting this premise. the beginning is mc going “sooo we have a dragon but he is not a real dragon! also we must give him a girl every 10 years and it is a Big Deal but he doesn't kill her or anything, they just leave” and i was like cool!!! cant wait to find out what the not-really-a-dragon is up to!!!
... nothing, it turns out. none of this has any bearing on the real plot whatsoever.
i'm just ?????
spoilers below, you've been warned
why in the freshest hell ever did the dragon never pick any guys??? why girls???
there is no reason for him to pick only girls!!! he does so bc if fits the “dragon + girl in the tower” fairy tale trope!!!! that's it!!!!
bah!!
i feel like i should like this book much more than i did and i do not understand why i dont.
worldbuiling is right up my alley. writing is good/fine. side characters are fun. i like the mc and the love interest. but mostly in theory. not really attached to them, you know? there were some annoying bits (not so clever fox. twin souls. why?). but overall a good read i guess?
this book is soooo uncooked
its RAW
(spoilers below!! by the end but warning here just to be safe)
i know theres been a lot of discussion about what this book wants to say and i dont have the knowledge, expertise or lived experience to judge that, but i can judge it for the story it (apparently) wanted to tell and well.... it wasnt a good story.
again, uncooked
this book doesnt let you interpret ANYTHING. it tells everything all characters are feeling ALL THE TIME. the main flaw (imo) in first person stories is laid out here: a main character who is just TOO aware of her own feelings and that manages to describe things that she wouldnt/shouldnt notice at the moment, all so the reader can reach the “right” conclusion.
here are my impressions:
- the romance in this book is nonexistent. like, i know antony (why isnt he named antonio, btw?) is the romantic interest here, and i know both feel something for each other by the end, but FROM WHERE????? THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP BUILDING HERE. just a six month time skip??? wtf
- ruying was far too aware that antony was a piece of shit and too blind to see it at the same time. i never got the impression that she TRULY believed him to be a good man. and i don't say this in a good way, not in a “hmm the character is an unreliable narrator AND she's lying to herself, but deep down she knows he's trash” way. just in a “reader, i want you to know this man SUCKS. ruying will point it out but not absorb it for dramatic effect. please keep reading” way.
- the other characters were not subtle. which i think was the point. it just didnt make sense for ruying bc, again, I NEVER GOT THE IMPRESSION SHE BELIEVED IN ANTONY TO BEGIN WITH. he was terrible from the start!!! she knew it, she talked about it, and somehow i have to entertain these two contradicting thoughts as if its normal?????
- mind, i think this can be pulled off. a character so desperate to save her family she ignores all the red flags to believe the hot apparently-not-so-bad guy. but antony is never given the opportunity to actually convince the reader (and ruying) that he isn't as bad!!! its obvious he is just as bad if not worse from the beginning!!! if this book was internally consistent ruying would have turned into a spy at 50% AT MOST.
- the plot is just so contrived. are you telling me that the guy locked in a cage with a girl who can kill at will just decided to start mocking her and being a sexist asshole at the first opportunity???? wtf??? doesn't he have a SHRED of a sense of survival???
- but you see, if he's a sexist asshole its okay when the main character snaps and finally kills him. just saying.
- some plot points are just so unserious. the sihai emperor wants to sign a new treaty with rome, so the best way to keep said treaty for the foreseeable future is... to kill him afterwards??? im sorry, but the in-universe explanation just doesn't fly.
- speaking of sihai, why are the (maybe? probably?) queer characters the only blink-and-miss-it part of this book? i mean, i think the writing implies the sihai prince AND ruying's sister are gay, right? or am i just reading into things now
- god, speaking of ruying's sister (whose name i honestly can't remember), i'm just so annoyed by all relationships in this book. the only one i enjoyed a tiny bit was the one between ruying and her grandmother (AND HER GRANDMOTHER IS BARELY IN THE BOOK). every relationship is half baked, implied, told and not shown. like, i think there's TWO scenes with ruying's sister in the whole book? and literally ONE with her best friend!!!
- said best friend's death was so unrealistic as well. you mean me to tell she's been kept a prisoner ALL THESE MONTHS and they chose to push her to her limits and kill her RIGHT WHEN RUYING IS THERE?? please
- i still can't believe the time skip was considered a good option by everyone involved in the making of this book.
now, as to what this book wants to tell. i dont believe it was the author's intention to soft forgive antony for anything in this book. here im going blind, btw. i don't know how this book was marketed since i first heard about it in the cait corrain controversy. but antony is not framed as that much of a good guy at any point. i just don't see it? i'm not sure if its the aromantic in me speaking, but surely people don't think he's forgivable/redeemable?
i can see how his only point of view chapter can be pointed as a sign of his upcoming redemption arc but i just. i just don't see it. i can't believe the author would be this foolish. this was the guy who killed his bio parents when he was a child. and even worse, it's the guy who whined about how much his bio parents struggled to provide for him IN THE SAME CONVERSATION IN WHICH HE ADMITS TO KILLING THEM TO BECOME A PRINCE?? HELLO???
there can't be antony stans out there. i refuse to believe.
now, i saw/read some reviews and some people seem to be stuck/confused by the idea of “the romans are world hoppers actually” but i just don't see how? it's explained in the first page of the book and it's very obvious that the romans come from a world like ours where rome never fell. they even say their first emperor was caesar. i mean.
i really like this concept tbh. i actually like most of the ideas in this book. i just think they were executed rather poorly. the premise, worldbuilding, etc, all seemed to be a lot of fun. it was just written terribly.
(tho im curious about the existence of rome-world china???? like, since pengu is basically fantasy china in another dimension, does that mean there isn't one in the rome-world??? hmm)
i'm curious about the hostage princess (helei?) apparently recognizing ruying. is that enough to make me read the next book? probably not. i mean, right there it's one of the reasons i think this book is flawed in a craft/fundamental level: ruying NEVER acknowledges that the princess apparently recognized her, even if for a moment. it's why i've grown to dislike first person stories. characters notice things so readers can notice said things but they only acknowledge them when it fits the story. it's so annoying. it's like the reader is a tiny parasite inside the main character's brain, making them note everything down but carefully intercepting the very obvious questions and/or conclusions before they actually reach the characters' mind. its frustrating.
anyway. 2 stars. cool ideas, sadly not well executed.
“why do ppl think its sexy when the love interest chooses the mc over the world? it's not sexy. its cringe,” me, as i finally (FINALLY) finished nightbane. but then... then i realized.
yes it is?
you know, doomed love and all that, love the corrupts, is selfish, etc. these are all very nice tropes. tropes i really enjoy (in theory at least). but here we have two love interests who are more or less choosing the mc over thousands of lives and all i feel is annoyance.
ive been thinking about why (for like 30min aka the time between finishing the book and writing this review).
is it bc it feels unearned? is it bc isla is just not a good character? is it bc no one in the wonder trio is?
is it the flat, uninspired writing?
the stupid as hell worldbuilding?
maybe. i don't know.
at this point im not sure i care
edit: also what happened to “grimshaw is holding something much worse than the curses”???? where did that go??????????????????
the main problem this book has is a chronic lack of subtlety.
also it is ridiculously immature for a ~new adult~ fantasy novel.
but first things first.
i love me some good tropes. every book has them, its normal/expected, yadda yadda. so my problem with fourth wing is NOT the use of tropes. it's that it uses tropes with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and does not trust the reader ONE BIT to think for themselves.
look, i used to be in love with the idea of new adult fiction, was kinda sad that it never took off like young adult did, but this was not what i had in mind when i thought “new adult” back then. this book is YA, but it wants to talk and depict sex, so it begrudgingly dragged itself over to new adult. i don't say this as a dig at YA- it's because this book reads as if it was written for a younger audience, which doesn't work because these protagonists are not teens so they don't have nearly as much good will with me to act childish. the main character is 20, her love interest is 23, and yet the romance is the most immature thing i've read in years. there is no depth to the themes presented, no complexity to anything or anyone, and no freedom to make your own interpretation. fourth wing is not brutal - it is shallow, from plot to characters to romance.
i have a theory. it's just a theory, mind, but it's hard not to believe it after reading stuff like fourth wing. fantasy books with romance subplots are, to me, nine times out of ten hindered by their romance subplots. this is the case for fourth wing. not that there arent problems with the book besides the romance (will get there) but my theory is that some authors are way too used to relying on already established frameworks of how romance subplots work (or how readers expect them to work) to actually do much of the work themselves. the romance in fourth wing doesn't feel built as much as it feels rehearsed. you've seen it already before, a thousand times. it's like the most boring roller coaster ever - you know where it begins, the path it takes and where it ends the moment the love interest shows up.
and, you know, i don't think using a familiar structure is necessarily a problem. you can do wonderful stuff following a known path. some people will be turned off by it because they are tired of said similar structure, sure, but most people will be okay with it. the problem here was, as i said, the lack of subtlety. not only is the romance in fourth wing following an already known path, it makes no effort to at least pretend it's trying to put its own spin on familiar tropes. it relies on the reader already knowing how this kind of romance work while at the same time not trusting them to come to their own conclusions. this book will tell you, repeatedly, how the characters feel and how much they mean to each other. it will not let actions speak for themselves. it will not let you realize on your own how much these characters care for their romantic interest. it will not let any character keep any semblance of personality because they must become ridiculously devoted to their love interest to the detriment of their portrayal so far. it will beat you over the head with the absolute truth that is these characters' love because their love is SO beautiful and SO strong and the most intense thing EVER and they can't live without each other and by god you will know it!
i could go on about how said love is never developed but that isn't the truth... kind of. this book tries to use dain, the childhood friend who at the beginning was one side of this awful love triangle (it doesn't last long, though), to prop up xaden in a way that gave me ACOTAR vibes in the worst way. again, the idea is fine! the childhood friend does not believe in the protagonist despite saying he loves her; he ignores her choices and tries to do what he thinks it's best for her without her consent or input; he keeps information from her; etc. contrast him with xaden, who never coddles her! who (eventually we find out) believes in her! who also keeps information from her but whatever it's for a good reason. isn't xaden better, reader? isn't he good? isn't he feminist-adjacent enough? isn't him incredible for supporting our strong independent woman and believing in her? isn't their love empowering???
book, i can see your innards and they are not pretty.
again, the lack of subtlety is staggering. the immaturity of the writing is ridiculous. i can see this working on baby ren from 15 years ago, when i was, you know, a tween. actually i don't because tween ren was still too aromantic for this. but the idea is there: this book treats the reader like they have never seen this trite bs before while still relying on them to do much of the work with the already established path. it reminds me of how some people will go from fandom to fandom shipping a relationship even if their interpretation of the characters are a bit divorced from canon - they are not looking to engage with this specific work of fiction, they want characters they can project onto so they are free to enjoy a particular dynamic. which is fine by me btw! fandom is supposed to be enjoyable and if this is what makes it fun for them, good. but see how it is the reader who is bringing their baggage onto the characters here, sometimes disregarding what and who these characters are? i believe something similar happens with these romance subplots that have no spine to speak of: the author builds a shaky bridge, the readers are the ones responsible for actually making it strong enough to last. but what happens if the reader brings no bricks and is not interested in building this bridge any further? what happens if the reader would rather jump into the water instead of setting foot on the bridge?
this review happens. that's it.
i have no interest in building this bridge. but others have. if you enjoy this particular trope, you might do it because you enjoy this dynamic and the author is giving you just enough that you can build on top of it of your own volition, with your own ideas. who knows. but (again, in my opinion) there is nothing to sink your teeth into here and i'm not into the habit of chewing on bone.
now on to the plot & characters, quickly because this is already long enough:
1. this military academy is brutal just for the sake of being brutal. the in-universe reasons given to make it so bad don't make sense. it'd be fun if that was the point - maybe mc and her friends could lead some sort of reform in the academy, who knows? - but it isn't. they would be way more efficient if the plot(tm) hadn't determined that facts and logic dont matter.
2. violet bonds to not only the strongest dragon around but to two dragons. it's just... forced. i mean, why? what does this achieve? couldn't dragon 2's powers be given to dragon 1? violet would already be special enough just by having a giant ass black dragon. why add the second dragon? this goes from cool to uncool and unbelievable so fast.
3. the dragons are fun but their bond with violet is nonexistent. by the end of the book she is waxing poetics about how close to her dragons she is and i just dont know when/how said closeness happened. she bonds with them and they are immediately close. that's it.
4. wait, i'm not done talking about this godawful romance. xaden nicknames violet violence (she is, unsurpringly, not that violent). and it's so ridiculous. it gets even worse when he actually uses the nickname in tense, life or death situations. please. i'm against calling things cringe but yall. this is testing me.
5. isn't it stupid to let the children of people you killed into your most prestigious academy? isn't it absurd to allow them to bond with ridiculously powerful dragons? not for fourth wing apparently.
6. the worldbuilding is barely there. there are gods in the world of fourth wing. we know that because two or three are mentioned a few times. how does religion work? we don't know. the whole venin and wyvern thing is tacked on, not woven enough into the story to work as a good hook. the world is accepting of queer people, which i appreciate, but of course you won't catch a main character dead being even a little queer.
7. the plot is also barely there? violet goes to dragon school. violet gets dragon(s). random final battle shows up out of nowhere. the only thing that led to violet being there in the end is violet choosing to go with xaden. violet's agency within the plot? pffff. not here.
8. the writing is so immature. i know i've said that a thousand times but it's so bad. there is a scene near the beginning, for example, where violet eavesdrop a bunch of marked cadets (that is, children of traitors from a war years ago). there is a rule against more than 3 marked cadets talking/meeting and there are definitely more than 3 of them in this scene. violet lets you know that, eavesdrop a bit and then proceeds to tell you how they aren't doing anything bad, really. there is no plot, no scheme. they are just taking care of each other! have you sympathized with them yet, reader? isn't violet challenging her views amazing? isn't it great? (ugh).
9. the characters are barely there either. violet's friends are nothingburguers. same for xaden's friends. so many people die and yet nothing of importance is lost.
10. i will not even touch the modern millennial slang in this book. i refuse.
tldr: there is no depth to anything here, the romance is bad, the plot is nonexistent, characters are bland. it only gets two stars bc it is an easy read and i did finish it within a couple of hours.
thanks to netgalley for FINALLY approving my south american ass for something???? amen??
well, this is a weird one to review.
first half was ROUGH. so much that i just set the book aside for months because the writing and story simply weren't compelling enough to turn one more page. it did get better and once i started reading again i finished it all in one sitting - but that was mostly because my expectations had been adjusted accordingly.
because you know what? this is the least dragon-y dragon book i've read in a long time. no, not because the dragons in question rarely take dragon form or anything like that - but because these dragons do not feel like dragons at all! they could have been elves, or fairies or some made up race and the story wouldn't change much, if at all. the worst thing is, i don't find them interesting. most dragon characters just... didn't have anything going for them. they were boring which is just bonkers. these are dragons!!
this was the big disappointment that eventually made me put this book aside for a long time.
the writing didn't help much in this regard. again, expectations. i was under the impression that this would a fast paced adventure... and that's partly my fault, since i thought this was YA. it isn't. so the slow pace is fine. i was just expecting something different.
as for the povs, i was not a big fan of every single one being narrated in a different style - first person for arcady, third person for sorin, second person for everen - not because they are different exactly, but because the book doesn't have a reason to do this. why is arcady in first person and sorin in third? why is everen telling the story to arcady (implying he's doing so after it already happened)? it doesn't feel natural. but this was mostly a small annoyance, to be honest.
surprisingly, once i came back to the story without these first expectations, i actually had a good time. the romance between arcady and everen didn't bother me much and by the end i was mostly pleased with their relationship. i liked them both as characters as well and was kind of pissed on their behalf by the time i finished the story, which is always a good sign. some dialogue was a bit of a miss for me here and there (especially for arcady's reasoning to not trust anyone) and i don't feel like i have a good grasp of how this world works (that months-long break might have something to do with it, to be honest) but overall i ended the story kinda curious about the next book.
will i read it? maybe. depends on the blurb and so far i can't find it anywhere. but we will see, i guess.
not really sure how to review or rate this book tbh. so:
the good:
- laila. the mc is pretty great and a breath of fresh air. i love how manipulative and spoiled she was while at the same time being a genuinely a good person (or at least having genuinely good intentions). she felt very real, flawed and interesting.
- the love interests, darius and dominus, were okay.
- some truly great imagery, especially in the beginning.
- solarites are just really, really cool.
- queernormativity and queer mcs!
the meh:
- writing felt very forced and artificial. and so wordy!! i love purple prose but the writing here was bashing my head over and over again with unnecessary and superfluous words. more is not always better etc
- also headhopping. personal preference here, but i deeply dislike headhopping.
- why were the doctors in this book even? i understand much of what happened to them here is setup for future books but talk about an unsatisfying arc. their point of view was actually pretty interesting but then they are tossed aside (or killed) and never brought up save for the very last scene. it's very little for the amount of page time they got in the first act.
- the pacing felt very off because the structure of this book was, imo, not built well.
- to begin with, expectations.
- the beginning of the book sets up 1. a prophecy 2. a weird ass creature up north apparently luring ppl 3. the occasso (?) as monstrous stuff of legend.
- ... then proceeds to never talk about the prophecy ever again, the creature/god just disappears and the occasso just... decide to announce to the world they exist and trade negotiations just start happening??
- and everyone is okay with this?? these were monsters out of legend two weeks ago!
- then characters start teleporting from kingdom to kingdom when the travel usually takes at least weeks? and like, okay, maybe the weeks are there, but the timeskips are never addressed?
- ppl didn't even know mortos existed a few months ago! and now its so easy go there!
- this lends an air of artificiality to the book. things happen because they need to happen, not because they are a real consequence of what came before.
- see when darius attempts to murder laila but changes his mind last second and saves her. the scene where he does said saving happens and right in the next chapter he is already in laila's kingdom being arrested by her mom the queen.
- ?????
- in a throwaway line it is mentioned the queen requested from an extradition but it makes no sense whatsoever for mortos to agree! why would the king of mortos, who was never afraid of soleterea, agree to send his son to this foreign queen? knowing what came after, it's obvious darius needed to be in soleterea so laila & her mom could use him to depose the king. which was the most obvious thing in the planet! if you give an ambitious bastard to a foreign power after almost murdering its heir, guess what's likely to happen? the foreign power will use him against you.
- not only that, but mortos had laila!! as far as they know, she is the only heir of soleterea and she was in their hands (soleterea doesn't work like that but i doubt the king of mortos knew or cared). why would he give her and his bastard son up? it makes no sense. he was the one who ordered her death!
- there are other moments where contrived stuff like this happens: léandre and lyra being the only survivors of the airship (very convenient) or laila returning to mortos to scheme with the queen as if nothing happened after the attempt on her life. darius leaving mortos right after murdering the rightful heir and sending the rightful ruler to the foreign kingdom that sponsored his coup. it's bonkers that he didn't return to a new king while he was taking a vacation in soleterea.
- none of this felt believable, is the point.
- no tension whatsoever. the moment people starting teleporting between soleterea and mortos i lost any sense of them being in danger at any point.
the conclusion:
- if you like character-heavy books and isn't bothered by plot contrivances, i'd recommend this one.
- if you don't... give it a try for the worldbuilding, which is very interesting. but otherwise, yeah, nope.
- this books lacks a spine, not in the sense of, you know, having courage or standing for something (tm), but in the sense that it feels very disconnected and without a underlying structure. which is a big no for me apparently.
