Fourth Wing

Uhh, this book maybe wasn't for me. 

I enjoy some fantasy (though I prefer sci/fi). I'm not against romance/erotica, but most of this made me eyeroll. A lot. 

The plot and storyline were okay, but the world was not well fleshed out. Not very believable. Yarros would often describe a rule or tradition that could not be questioned and immediately break it. There seemed to be a huge amount of needless death for a country at war, one who ostensibly needs soldiers to fight enemies. I understand it being very competitive, but maybe instead of killing off everyone who can't make the cut as a rider, just reassign them? It was hard to suspend the disbelief. 

I also feel there was a lot of ideas and world building borrowed from other authors. Some was a bit too blatant. Mostly this was sexy Dragonriders of Pern. 

I didn't mind the use of first person or present-day language and slang that some reviewers had a problem with. 

I did appreciate the disability representation. How hard it was for Violet to do the very physical things requited of her. I appreciated the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters. I also liked the author's characterization of a young person who is smart, but also neive (though that occasionally warranted an eyeroll as well.)

Final thoughts: very long. A bit cringey. Not my favorite, and I won't be reading more of the series. However, if you like fantasy/romance (which is a legit genre), this might be worth the read.

I read a lot. But not as much as I used to. I could blame the internet. I could blame my job. Or aging. Or whatever. I don't know the reason. Probably all of those things. I get distracted more easily now. I can hardly sit through a movie let alone read for two hours.

But I remember summers as a kid. Before I had a job or any responsibilities, I would wake up at a decent time- 8 or 9- and read until noon. At least. And then after breakfast/lunch, I'd read more. And then after dinner and chores and hanging out with the family, I'd read more late into the night. We didn't have cable. I was only allowed to watch movies on weekends. We didn't have internet until I was a junior in high school, and then only dial up. My mom thought I was a depressed kid, with how much time I spent alone in my room. I don't think I was. Just introverted and enthralled with fiction. I routinely won awards in school for most books/pages read over the summer. I also supplemented my reading with writing. Never anything long, but I was fairly prolific.

Both reading and writing carried on into college. Even with easy internet access and homework, and social activities, I still managed to read nearly as much as previously. And I think I wrote even more. Biology class seemed to become a great muse.

But now, eight years out of college, I don't write anymore. And though I still read, it's at a very slow pace. In fact, many of the book I complete are audiobooks that I listen to at work.

This is appalling to me, and yet...

I always have a yearly book goal and this year with the help of Habitica, I have a daily reading goal as well. So far, I've read at least a few minutes each day for the past couple of months. It's been really nice. I still don't read as much, but I think even this small step is an improvement. One that will hopefully get me back to writing as well.