This is the third time I have read Fourth Wing. I absolutely love the characters and the development of our FMC Violet. I felt like the rereads offered me a more in-depth understanding of each of Violets squad mates. I reread the book to prepare for Onyx Storm coming out. I am very excited to revisit Iron Flame as well.
This book made kept me up all night creating parallels to real life. The idea of blindly following rules like Dain vs taking care of those we love. It is so clear to me that Dain doesn’t really feel for Violet at all like Xaden. When Dain admitted he wouldn’t break the rules for Violet’s safety, I realized he was bad news. That being said I do understand more why Violet doesn’t cut him off quickly. If I think about my childhood best friend, I realize it would be so hard to sever ties. No matter what they say. I would want to believe that they truly were looking out for me. Violet outgrows her relationship with Dain. I am more than happy to see her move past him.
I also thought a lot about cutting people out of our lives. These are people who don’t understand new versions of us. We have the ability to change and evolve and that is one of my favorite things about being human. We can decide to take risks and through those find new versions of ourselves that we like better. I really love how Violet evolved throughout this book. She creates a new version of herself that she loves. It makes her feel confident. The people we surround ourselves with have a huge impact on how we see ourselves. I was thrilled when Violet realized that Dain was not someone who supported her. He couldn’t see the new version of her.
Now the biggest problem I have with this book. This idea of keeping secrets to protect the ones we love. I understand why Xaden is keeping secrets from Violet. He has taken on a huge responsibility with the other marked ones. He must keep them safe to ensure his own safety. However, Violet has chosen him repeatedly. Yet, he still doesn’t share even the smallest bit of information with her. Tairn getting mad at Xaden about this really was the icing on the cake for me. Tairn bonded Violet and therefore feels a soul deep connection and trust with her. Tairn is also mate bonded to Xaden’s dragon and obviously that connection takes precedent. I believe Xaden betrayed Violet by using the mate bond to make Tairn withhold this information. This was the biggest betrayal of the whole book.
This book convinced me that rereads are necessary. I remember not loving this book on my first read, but I sure love it now. This book holds a piece of my soul just as Violet holds all of Xaden’s.
I love the banter between our MCs and Cat’s character adds some of the reality this fantasy book needs. Our MCs prioritize the safety of all over themselves. The ending of this book is heartbreaking.
I will do another review of this book on my next reread. I jumped right into Onyx Storm so I can’t adequately describe this book without getting into Onyx ideas.
** spoiler alert ** REBECCAAAAAA (In Klaus Mikelson accent)!!!!
This book was so good I did not want to put it down. We learned so much in this book! Let’s start at the beginning so I don’t lose my thoughts lol.
Xaden is turning Venin, scary, and Violet has decided that she will stand with him no matter what. I absolutely love Violet for this and think it just shows how deep their love actually goes. We learn more about Andarna and what type of Dragon she is. In searching for more dragons like Andarna we learn that Violet is a major baddie. She takes on a queen. She poisons leaders of a foreign land. She doesn’t break when a squad mate is killed in front of her.
There were many heartbreaking moments throughout this book. Sawyers recovery after the battle at Basgiath. Xaden seeing his mother. Violet learning more from her dad’s research. Andarna severing her bond with Violet. Mira almost dying. Xaden having to channel to protect everyone. I feel so deeply for Violet at the end of this book. How much more can this poor girl carry? Violet’s second signet is also revealed. She is a dream walker. She can visit other peoples dreams.
We hear Violet say throughout the book that she lives in pain, pain she can handle. I cannot express enough how gratifying it is to see a character like Violet represent in this way. She shows her strength by being a baddie. We also have moments when we remember that she is doing all of this while constantly dealing with pain. SHE IS A FREAKING GODDESS.
It is revealed near the end the Aaric has precognition which I am assuming could get him killed as well. I have a feeling that Aaric is going to start getting closer and closer to Violet in the next book. Now… let’s talk about Dain. I saw an interview with Yarros. She talked about how much she loves Dain. Hear me out, she isn’t wrong. It was easy to hate Dain in the beginning because we only saw Violet’s POV. We have to take everything written with a grain of salt since we don’t get a Dain POV. I really believe now that he was trying to do right by her in the beginning. Since everything was revealed to him he has been steadfast in his support of Violet and Xaden’s cause.
I could write about this book for days. I absolutely will be rereading this book soon. I am eager to see what more I pick up on a second read!!
