Fourth Wing: DISCOVER THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT!

it's Mills and Boon with dragons. It's an easy read and I did enjoy it as I wasn't looking for anything challenging and so it has been my guilty pleasure. I'm sure I'll read the next one. But description of each of the characters is really poor. Ditto poor description of places. I'm surprised an editor didn't pick up on this. Also she repeats words and phrases far too often - "Well aware" "Subluxate" to name two (there are loads but I CBA to look back). Due to the tropes used, the uncomplicated plot and the teen rebel vibe I often felt too old to be reading this as it felt more aimed at late teens/YA (18/19).

This is a pleasant read, and easy to pick up. The characters are decent, with the mains have a good amount of depth. It's easy to be on their side. That being said, many of the supporting characters are quite one dimensional and there just to support the mains. The story is reasonably predictable, though there are some twists that keep it interesting. Some parts are a little jarring, for example how everyone talks like a modern 20-something American, even the dragons. In addition, once the main characters start swooning for one another, some parts read more like a hormonal teen romance, but overall, it's a good read and quite enjoyable to spend a lazy weekend with.

The author misappropriated a language to add 'spice' to their book. Gàidhlig is a language that needs protected, preserved & promoted rather than used as lazy world-building zest to sprinkle on top of their story. They unashamedly butchered the language by telling people how to pronounce the words that they themself could not pronounce or understand. They were profoundly disrespectful. I hope readers can spend some time learning about Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig). It is a wonderful language - problematically pummelled across the world by the ignorantly incorrect Fourth Wing. (It was fair to give the book a try - due to my criticism of the author.) I toiled - but tried - to get through what I could; I wish the author had spent a fraction of the time learning gàidhlig as I spent scraping my brain through this. A lot of fantasy is derivative - but this read like a 'fan-fiction' from someone that has only ever read a synopsis of books they're ripping apart. It's Fifty Shades Of Glas.