SPOILERS AHEAD
I am at a loss as to the 4 and 5 star reviews for this book. Another 2025 BookTok popular title that just wasn’t very good that everyone says is the best EVER (read: Silver Elite).
While not marketed as such, this is an almost an idea-for-idea fanfic of Fourth Wing, but…with key differences that were, I suppose, meant to set it apart, but unfortunately just dragged it down.
The FMC is embued with all typically villainess traits. She’s ruthless, a murderer, has no personality, is extremely manipulative, is only interested in the MMC to further her social standing, and I could go on and on. There is simply just nothing to sympathize with, root for, or to like about her.
The MMC wants to be Xaden, but he is forever destined to be a Dain. Ugh, he uses words like boudoir and is utterly unsexy (except of course, in the mind numbingly, constant inner monologues of the FMC drooling over his beauty and his perfect chest). He’s obsessed with following rules, except when it comes to having the subordinate FMC in his boudoir. But in a romantasy twist it’s the MMC here who is hyperfixated on the should I/shouldn’t I trope. And, again, it’s super unsexy. Oh, and her dragon hates him. Although, one hopes with that ending that they are not endgame.
The dragons are all the same, there is no differentiation other than what powers they have and what color they are: orange for fire, silver for air, blue for water, etc.
There is no communication between the dragons and their riders. All of the riders, other than the FMC who has a second power of “weaving,” a forbidden mind power (mind powers = bad in all romantasy dragon riding universes), rely on “feelings” and “intuition” with their dragons. So no snappy dragon chats. Which wouldn’t be bad if the human characters had any redeeming qualities.
We skip all of the “schooling,” jumping straight into the “choosing” which is extremely “light” and really doesn’t seem to pose any challenges.
We are meant to believe that not one, of course, but two dragons want to “bond” with the annoying FMC. Oh and bonding is almost unheard of in this world.
There are no female dragons because the “goddess” of the dragons, the mother, lover, sister, queen of ALL dragons disappeared 1,000 years ago and no dragons have been born since, so dragons are dying out. And ew, no wonder she disappeared…that’s a lot of responsibility for one dragon.
There are even enemies that the riders have to go and fight, with barely any training mind you, called Venin, oops I mean Screechclaws (can you guess that they screech and have claws?).
Oh that brings up names…every character name involves their ability, Wyndward, Stormsong, Stonethrower, Firemaker (ok just kidding on those last two, but you see where I’m going). Almost to the point of distraction.
There are literally no side characters of import. None. Not one. The FMC has no friends and neither does the MMC. There are people around them peripherally, including a Jack Barlow wannabe, but none that are truly a part of the story or that you get invested in.
There is even an almost-verbatim-tragic-Liam scene with no tragedy and serving no purpose.
All in all, the things that made Fourth Wing a surprise success are missing here; good, easy, snappy banter and dialogue; an interesting plot; big twists; great characters (even all secondary characters); hot spice; a worthy MMC and (sometimes) FMC; interesting villains; brutal training; and of course the dragons.
I am in no way dissing fanfic, and I know that I am the exception here, but this was simply not worthy of its muse, or original enough to stand on its own, at least not for me.