Parisian Phoenix Publishing

If I learned one lesson recently while reading Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, those books have reminded me that the absolute most important aspect of writing (and reading) is the universe.

Readers deserve a universe that is rich, complicated and full of the right details, complex characters and a setting that comes alive.

And sure— in a romance, there is the expectation that the place will be a character in and of itself, usually inviting or exotic, and someplace we as readers would like to visit. In fantasy, the setting can be scarier or even inhospitable or on the other end of the spectrum, magical beyond belief.

But the universe matters. Readers will forgive other weaknesses, but without a universe that lives and breathes, a story will fall flat.

Thoughts on Rebecca Yarros

My daughter has a Kindle Unlimited subscription that she doesn’t use so I often skim through titles on there if I have nothing else to read or if my library doesn’t have a copy of a book I’ve been wanting. Fantasy is not my reading genre, but since Onyx Storm released I have heard people close to me talking about it more, though I have seen the hype on TikTok’s #booktok for months.

I knew I had to read it. It’s a dragon book series— and I have hopes that our publishing company may do a dragon book someday— so it makes sense to dip into the defining book of the genre right now.

I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would. And even though the writing had its flaws, I was impressed by the world-building and the layers of intrigue. What almost ruined the book for me was shift from protagonist Violet’s first-person point of view for the last chapter, and only the last chapter. That’s where we slip into the head of Xaden, the male main character. The change adds nothing of value, in my opinion, and strengthens my belief that many writers rely on first person when they can’t figure out stronger writing craft to achieve the same plot points. (Same shift happens at the end of the second book, and I find it even more perplexing now.)

After I finished Fourth Wing, I decided to see what writing craft books were available in Kindle Unlimited. One caught my eye, probably because the cover was bright yellow. I noticed that authors like Joyce Carol Oates and even self-published gurus like Joanna Penn don’t have their writing craft books in Kindle Unlimited. Paid subscribers to my Substack newsletter get to read all my reviews of writing craft books, get access to all the slides from my workshops and other special surprises.