The buzz on these books! I'll often wait until a series is complete (rather than waiting between books) but I went ahead and read Fourth Wing to see what the big deal was. I've always enjoyed dragons, adored the Pern series. This is similar with the human/dragon bond/selection, dragonrider. The Pern series will always be the best in my opinion :)

I went with the audio edition again. Despite the popularity, I was able to get this book almost immediately after release (as my libraries had anticipated demand and ordered a ton of copies!) I don't love the 1st person/present tense. I DID really appreciate the change in the presentation of the little quotes before each chapter. In the last book, I couldn't tell if the thoughts were a quote or our MC's thoughts, as the attribution (of a quote) wouldn't be given until the end. Not a big deal in print, as it's easy to see it's a quote (different font, centered). In this installment, the audio shifts from the printed text just a bit to start with "Excerpt from" ... listing the attribution given at the end in print, then saying the quote. THANK YOU EDITORS/PRODUCERS for seeing this need in audio! I still wonder if these excerpts would have been better read by the male narrator. Again, this is pretty much all from Violet's POV, with a final chapter from Xaden's. Simple numerical chapters, two "parts" ... 

There was a lot of action, a lot of sex, a lot of proFanity (f-bomb 395 times). Again ... the sex/swearing almost felt added JUST to pull in the audience that likes smut but not fantasy/dragons. I still wonder how a "made up" replacement (like "frack" in BattlestarGallactica) would have come across. My mom had started Fourth Wing (I guess she didn't read my review saying I would NOT recommend it to her because of the sex/swearing) but had to stop early on, just didn't like the constant profanity (hadn't even hit the sex yet). Yes, there is a "warning" (trigger warning, proud shout out?) at the beginning of both books. It would be interesting to find out how many read the book BECAUSE of the adult content, how many read DESPITE it, and how many won't read it because of it. I can't deny the popularity, so I guess it doesn't matter to most. It would be interesting for me to have an "edited" edition w/o the sex and profanity and see if the story was really affected negatively. I honestly don't think it would. 

Book 1 had ended on a major cliffhanger, and this book started up right where the last one left off. It had been a few months and a lot of books in-between. I did a little skim, but generally remembered the overall story (if not the names of all the locations/characters). Lots going on, with the revolution, the reveals, fighting and death. The story is pretty interesting ... I know I'm perhaps a bit biased, but it doesn't live up to Anne McAffrey's Pern series. I never got completely connected to the characters here, emotionally intwined as I did with the Pern books.