Fourth Wing (Standard Edition)

Fourth Wing hat mich in die Romantasy Welt entführt. Es ist kein literarisches Meisterwerk, aber genau deswegen ist es ein super Einstieg ins Romantasy Genre. Die Charaktere, die Welt und die Drachen sind speziell und durchdacht. Die Romanze knistert und die Tränen fliessen. Genau so soll es sein.

I only started reading, because it kept popping up on my ticktock stream. But one chapter in, I was completely hooked. it is a great Fantasy story about a young woman who starts at a dragon-rider-academy. There are battles, romance, tragedies and Dragons. It is hard to put in words, why this is such a great read. I loved every page and can't wait for the next volume.

Oh boy, let’s talk about this one. We’ve seen it all over TikTok and Instagram. A massive recommendation to all of us that like romance and fantasy. This is described as something similar to the classics we all know and love, for example “Divergent” or “The Hunger Games”, to which I would say, is really not far off. It is a mix between those two. I was lucky and got myself an English copy of this book in England, so now I’m able to write you something about it. This book is about a young woman who is about to enter “dragon school” but this might be a little different than you might think. Because at least half of the people beginning in year one will be dead by the end of year three. You might be killed by a dragon because you looked at it the wrong way, or your classmates will do it. What a lovely premise. But there’s something different about this part of the school (there are four parts, the healers, the infantry, the archivists, and the dragon riders) because this part you can’t get forced into it, because so many people die even at the entrance exam. Well, our MC Violet is forced into the dragon rider school by her mother, because she is a general and all her children up until now have been dragon rider. There was her older brother, but he was killed in a civil war, and he died as a hero. There is also her older sister, who is a shielder, which makes her a powerful soldier. So now, Violet, who has a chronic disease with her joints that always get loose, must enter this school. She was trained as an archivist, which would be an obvious choice with her knees, must enter dragon school almost completely untrained. And yay, there’s also a dude at her school that really wants to kill her, because her older brother killed his dad, the leader of the civil war. Sounds lovely, right? Alright, now where do I begin… Honey, let’s just say, TikTok was not wrong about this one, which kind of comes as a surprise for me. Who would have thought? Not me! Let’s start. I will make this short, so I don’t spoiler too much of the book for you. This book had some great banter. Just lovely. We don’t get it much these days, but here it is. And Violet? She did not come to play, she came to slay (quite literally, she is a little bit stabby). But on the contrary, she also is able to show a lot of empathy towards the other characters. Also, the relationship between the dragons and the humans? Phenomenally made! And yes, I did enjoy the fact that Violet has chronic pain and some loose joints. It just really gave her something to overcome. I do have to say, I would have loved a dual POV. I would read the whole book in his POV in an instant. Also, the world-building could have used a little more work. Like, I get it, most of the book takes place in the school, but the other parts of the world could also have been incorporated a little more. If not, then why give us a map? But I’ve got to say, overall? I’m really happy with this book (it’s a debut!!!). And also, a MMC in a romantasy who understands consent (my standards have really dropped in this genre *cough* “From Blood and Ash” *cough*)??? Anyways, thumbs up from me.

I have to be honest, I knew this book was not for me. But the Onyx Storm hype became so big and everyone kept asking about it in the bookstore, that I just had to know what it was all about. Some parts of this book were actually quite enjoyable, I loved the dragons, but the romance was very boring and the dialogues were very cringe... I won't continue reading the series because the writing is just not enough for me. But I will definitely watch the TV show!