ROMANTASY WAS FOR ME, UNTIL IT WASN'T

From: Hemingway Bookstore

I haven't read YA or Fantasy in a while because I am in my pretentious literati era—I say this as my compendium of Clarice Lispector stories, Pablo Neruda poems, and Anna Karenina lay unfinished on the side. I had just finished Beware of Pity before reading Fourth Wing. The sudden change is definitely whiplash-inducing, but Fourth Wing was necessary to reawaken me after being put to sleep. 

YA, Fantasy, and Romantasy are fun. It's indulgent and nostalgic. It makes me giddy reading the same tropes and lusting over the cookie-cutter male lead with the female protagonist. It brings me back, and it's a great escape from life and the "serious" books I try to read.

Violet, our chronic illness queen (I hope this is not problematic to say.) This may be due to not reading fantasy as often, but this is the first time I've encountered a female protagonist in Fantasy with a chronic illness that impacts her mobility. This is incredibly ableist of me, but you expect Fantasy characters to be able-bodied to fight in their worlds because almost every character I've encountered doesn't have mobility challenges. This representation of differently-abled individuals in Fantasy is much needed. They are capable of doing the same activities. The resilience and the creativity to rise to challenges are enlightening to read. 

That being said, she is gassed up to be way stronger than what I think she's capable of. Characters are overly confident in Violet's hand-to-hand combat skills, and I cannot wrap my head around it. She gets her ass handed to her fairly often, and she's saved by other characters in the nick of time. In theory, she has one of the most powerful signets, magical capabilities granted to riders by their dragons, but she still hasn't honed it to a satisfactory level, for me! Sure, other classmates don't have equally deadly signets, but they are capable of aiming and honing their powers without performance-enhancing tools, ie, the conduit. The conduit has become a crutch. At some point, the professors need to wean her off and teach her to be more self-sufficient. She exercises less control over her powers than some of her counterparts, so it's baffling when they say she's one of the strongest riders in their generation. She's also praised for her intelligence, but she comes to conclusions pretty late, and Tairn makes most of the combat decisions/guides her in the right direction. Xaden also needs to give her pointers to get her on the right path. For someone who was originally meant for the scribe path, she lacks critical thinking skills. She's not always creative, but inspiration from others leads to creativity. 

Xaden is the stereotypical male lead: hot, arrogant, unapproachable, and desperately in love with the female lead. 

I'm a simple woman, okay!

That being said, their relationship is insufferable and repetitive. Why don't you tell me everything? We need to work on our communication. I would do anything for you. You are my ruin. OMG, you're so hawttttt. I need to protect you. I can defend myself. Let me protect you. Let's f#ck. Remember when I did...? We need to f#ck. Hoyaaaaaaaa~~~~~

Yarros' attempts to create conflict and intrigue are weak. I don't feel the stakes. It's too attraction and lust-focused. They're literally having a war meeting and mind-sexting/having sex-dreams. It's so unserious. Sure, any day can be our last, so carpe diem, but it's too much.

Additionally, I don't know what to make of characters continuing their education while a war is raging. Huge supporter of education, but not everything is being used (flight, dismount, and mount maneuvers). These classes seem obsolete because the dragons do whatever they want. The riders only need to learn how to not fall off. Runes' potential isn't being maximized. Most of the time, the lessons feel like a way to fill the time/meet that page limit, but they can also help thrust the plot when the characters chat during lessons. They can do this anywhere. Let them explore the ground and have a secret meeting place. 

So many characters were mentioned in Onyx Storm, and I couldn't remember most of them. You've been here since the beginning, but I don't care about you. Why am I reading your POV? It contributes nothing besides a sob story intermission. I'm annoyed because it's a terrible cut to the tension. This is not edging. This is a cold bucket dumped over my body when I'm almost there. 

This is war; we know people die. Comrades die. Unless you were that character in Fourth Wing (the first character out, and someone whom readers were emotionally invested in), your death won't have the same gravity. Unless the four mates die, you can't beat that. 

I loved Fourth Wing and devoured it the same way I did with The Poppy War. Unfortunately, this series is suffering the same fate: protractedly getting worse and failing to elicit the same fervor that the first installment did. 

I hope the next installment is the last and the best.