Iron Flame (Empyrean)

After the cliffhanger ending of book 1, I had no idea what was going to kick off in this story, and it absolutely kept me guessing all the way through! We are introduced to a lot of new characters, some incredibly unsavoury ones that I absolutely detested, ones that I loved and ones that were definitely acquired tastes! How clever though to be able to write such characters who convince you to feel so many things. Speaking of feeling things, I ran a whole host of emotions reading this. I had a number of chuckles - particularly around the banter and Andarna's adolescent moods, I swooned - Xaden is one smooth-talking, arrogant shadow-wielding, alpha male! I cried - some sacrifices feel too huge, I panicked - there was so much that could go wrong so often! And finally I ended the book once again frustrated as anything by another intense ending, will life ever be simple for my favourite couple?! I loved meeting some of the new first years and seeing our faves starting their second year at Basgaith, it was great to see the changes that come with progressing to their next year. There were only a few spicy scenes this time, in part because Violet and Xaden are kept apart so much throughout the story, I would have liked more, but the ones we did get were HOT - especially that throne scene!!! I was frustrated a number of times with Xaden and Violet, with him I wanted him to stop playing games, there were so many things he should have just been open about, and for her I wanted her to just put on her big girl pants and ask the questions she was holding back on, they both could have saved a lot of time and hurt had they just communicated better, but I did like when they finally did open up to one another and revealed their true feelings. I love all the relationships between squad members, they are so loyal and supportive, I'm glad Violet realised she needed to be open with them instead of hiding from them because when they work together they are incredibly powerful. They also started working a little more with other cadets of the infantry and the archivists and I really liked seeing these lines blurring - I hope this is continued to be explored as the series progresses. The introduction of the riders to work alongside the fliers was another interesting development and I liked getting to know their abilities too. I'm glad to no longer feel like strangling Cat though! There is action continually throughout this, there is always drama and something going on somewhere - this makes the pacing very quick and I devoured many pages in no time at all! The pacing reads like its made for a tv show, it has a very Game of Thrones episodic feel where certain points would be contained to their own episodes with the overarching story flowing through them all, I would love to see it developed in this way! There are so many new secrets and developments in this story, and its hard to see where the story is going to progress, I had thought the next story would wrap it all up and I've just discovered that its actually going to be a 5 book series and now I'm thinking there is going to be so much heartache and loss still to come. There's some things I hope will end happily, but right now I have no faith in any happiness for anyone - that is the turmoil this story leaves you feeling. I am absolutely loving this series, and this is a hell of a story. I'd absolutely recommend this to all!

Hold onto your imaginary dragon-riding helmets because "Iron Flame" just unleashed a torrent of excitement in my bookish world! After being lured into the fantasy realm by "Fourth Wing," I was practically vibrating with anticipation for Rebecca Yarros' second instalment, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I might even go out on a limb and say I loved it more than the first – a fantasy rollercoaster with more drama and action than a Shakespearean play. Now, let's talk dragons. Can we just take a moment to appreciate these magnificent, fire-breathing creatures? They're the real MVPs of this fantastical adventure, and I'm here for every swoop, soar, and dragon-human interaction. The plot? Top-notch. The romance? Sizzling. The other woman? Drama alert! It's like a soap opera with wings, and I'm all in. But, and there's always a but, my dear fantasy aficionados, I found myself tiptoeing on the tightrope of confusion more times than I'd like to admit. Deciphering sentences became my own quest, and I'm left with a pile of unanswered questions that's starting to rival my TBR stack. And let's talk about the constant "Gods" refrain. It's like having a friend who insists on saying "literally" in every sentence. Oh, and shields getting "slammed up." I mean, seriously? Is there a universal fantasy handbook that mandates shields must be slammed on the regular? It's like a medieval version of slamming doors in a fit of drama. The ending had me squealing like a pig - an unexpected twist that had me on the edge of my seat! My heart.. am shook!! In conclusion, "Iron Flame" is a dragon-packed extravaganza that knows how to keep the drama alive. Despite my occasional confusion and the divine overdose, it's a wild fantasy ride that'll have you hooked from start to finish. So, grab your shields, pray to the gods for clarity, and embark on this adventure – just don't be surprised if you find yourself muttering "Gods" in everyday conversation afterward.

Warning: this review contains spoilers for book 1 of the The Empyrean series, Fourth Wing. So don’t read this review before reading that book. This review also contains slight spoilers for Iron Flame – I try not to write spoiler reviews but it’s been very hard avoiding them in this review so please read at your own risk. I was late to the Fourth Wing BookTok mania, but I really enjoyed it when I read it. However, I was doubtful the much-anticipated sequel, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, would be as enjoyable as Fourth Wing. However it totally hit the mark. This is 4⭐️ from me. So Violet and the gang are back at Basgiath War College for year two. But Violet knows that the real danger are the venin and their wyverns, not the gryphons they’d been taught were the enemy. Her best friend from childhood had betrayed her. And Xaden is graduating, leaving her behind. And to top that? The military commanders know what she’s seen, and her very life is in danger, as are the lives of any of her friends she might dare telling… but the venin are still coming. I had a fair bit of criticism of Fourth Wing, but I also just really enjoyed reading it. So I was really excited for Iron Flame – but after the disappointment of A Curse For True Love earlier this month (the conclusion the the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy by Stephanie Garber) I was also a bit nervous that this one wouldn’t be great – especially because Fourth Wing was enjoyable despite all the issues with it, not because of it. However, I was really pleasantly surprised. I’d say that the problems with Iron Flame are similar to those of Fourth Wing – I still don’t entirely understand why Xaden and Violet are in love with each other, Violet is still a special super powerful Mary Sue (although the plot line about her lightning is a step in the right direction), she still has super special dragons x2, and her friends and friendships are still a little 2D as well. But I just really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed seeing more of the gryphons and their fliers. It was unfortunate that Cat was made into such a 2D second rate villain for most of the book, and I didn’t feel her bonding with the Iron Squad was really well displayed on page, but I still enjoyed seeing the contrast between the fliers and riders a lot. Xaden and Violet’s relationship changes in this book – obviously Yarros felt we still needed conflict and angst to create romantic and sexual tension, and the ‘ask questions’ thing I just didn’t buy at all. If someone has lied to you, and has said they’ll continue keeping secrets from you… how is it your fault for not asking more questions? It’s such manufactured drama and honestly between overprotectiveness and this weird relationship dynamic where it feels like Xaden is gaslighting Violet over honesty, I’m less convinced by this relationship than ever. It’s like a pair of 16 year olds not early twenty something hardened military. Their whole relationship is pretty toxic and not something to aspire to. That meant the ending was as much a groan as a cliffhanger for me. Also, I still don’t entirely get why Varrish needed to be so obsessed with Violet. It was as though Yarros wanted to recreate the vibe of Fourth Wing, with a big bad antagonist (the gryphons/venin) and a lesser but more immediate antagonist (Jack Barlowe and generally surviving first year). But to do so Yarros needed a reason that second year was as deadly as first, and Varrish’s campaign against Violet became that reason. It felt a bit lazy to be honest, because his actions felt like a really personal vendetta and we didn’t really have a citing incident for that to be believable – and whilst there wasn’t much to incite Jack’s hatred of Violet in book 1, it at least felt more realistic having a fellow cadet hate her than Varrish, a very senior rider. Whilst we’re on Jack… that whole plotline made very little sense to me and wasn’t built up well. It wasn’t a good twist IMO. And honestly? I’m still not sure I understood the motivations of the Navarrians in the last 15% of the book. Why are they keeping the venin secret from the rest of Navarre? What was the point of Jack’s storyline from their perspective? Why the meeting at all? How did Violet know about the behaviour of the wards but not them? I have so many questions on how this played out. But that ending. Yarros sure knows how to kill you with an ending. I’m gagging for the next book already! Despite all my criticisms, and I know reading this back there are loads, I did really enjoy this book in a way that I can’t really explain (a bit like reality TV such as 2 Hot 2 Handle or Love Is Blind, it’s just really addictive) and can’t wait for the next one. This series is for you if you liked A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas, The Scholomance series (starting with A Deadly Education) by Naomi Novik, or The Black Witch Chronicles by Laurie Forest.

✶✶✶✶✶ / 5 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔰 ꔫ Dare I say this was better than Fourth Wing? I dare. ⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ "𝔐𝔶 𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔰𝔢. 𝔐𝔶 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔦𝔯. 𝔐𝔶 𝔴𝔬𝔪𝔞𝔫." ⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ I was so late to picking up this book because of all the mixed reviews I was hearing. Everyone I know kept saying it was boring, or that it started off too chaotic and then just dropped off. Well, I’m honestly regretting listening to them because they were completely wrong! I’m never taking their word for it again—clearly, they just don’t get this series like I do. I did an immersive read with the graphic audio, and it made the whole experience ten times better. This book had everything you'd want in a second installment—new relationships, new characters, plot twists, and so much growth. I have to admit, I really appreciated Dain's redemption arc. He’s not my favorite character, but you can see he’s deeply flawed, and it’s really refreshing to watch him grow and change. He’s not completely off the hook yet, but he’s definitely on his way. The Iron Squad’s friendship is also amazing, and I loved how the book really highlights Violet’s struggle with not being able to be fully honest. It’s so clear that the squad consistently proves they’re there for her, trustworthy, and reliable. જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝔙𝔦𝔬𝔩𝔢𝔱 I absolutely love Violet—she’s such a relatable character, and she means so much to me. I’m so glad Rebecca continues to do her justice. It was amazing to see her relationships with both Tairn and Andarna grow, and she really gets the chance to shine in this book. She definitely deserves all the spotlight. Watching her grieve Liam was so tough, especially while carrying so many secrets. It nearly broke me seeing her pull away from her friends, all while dealing with the pain of Xaden being away longer than expected. And on top of that, she’s feeling Tairn’s grief for Sgaeyl. Even though she had so much growth in this book, I have a feeling by the end of the series, Violet will be completely unrecognisable in the best possible way. “𝔙𝔦𝔬𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢, 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔱'𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱'𝔰 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔩𝔢. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔟𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔨𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢.” “ℑ𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲’𝔡 𝔭𝔲𝔱 𝔛𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔡𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯, ℑ’𝔪 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔢 ℑ 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔢𝔯𝔠𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩.” “𝔗𝔬𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔪𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 ℑ 𝔰𝔴𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔡𝔰, ℑ’𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔣𝔲𝔠𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔬𝔣𝔣 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔮𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔰𝔬𝔯𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔵𝔱 𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔰, 𝔇𝔞𝔦𝔫 𝔄𝔢𝔱𝔬𝔰.” જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝔛𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔫 Xaden just keeps getting better and better, and my obsession with him is honestly becoming unhealthy. Why isn’t he real? I absolutely loved seeing him get jealous over Halden—exactly what we needed. And. You. Delivered. I was devouring that scene like a starved beast. But also, small f you (though honestly, I can’t stay mad at you even if I tried) for not giving Violet the heads-up about Cat. Rule number one: never let the love of your life find out about your past from a JEALOUS ex. Anyway, “My house. My chair. My woman.” I might just have to tattoo that on my forehead because I literally couldn’t breathe after reading it. And the end? I get it, Xaden—you did what you had to do to buy the woman you love some time. But I’m not mentally prepared for the next book. At all. If you betray Violet we will be having words. “𝔜𝔬𝔲’𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔶 𝔤𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔦𝔱𝔶. 𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔨𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲.” “𝔊𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔦𝔱𝔶,” 𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔯𝔰, 𝔞 𝔰𝔩𝔬𝔴, 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔰𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔢 𝔠𝔲𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔥. “𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔢 𝔴𝔢 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔰𝔠𝔞𝔭𝔢,” ℑ 𝔱𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢.” “𝔐𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔰 𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔰 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰 𝔡𝔬𝔢𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔦𝔢, ℑ’𝔩𝔩 𝔪𝔢𝔢𝔱 𝔐𝔞𝔩𝔢𝔨 𝔞𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢.” ˚ ⋆୨୧― 𝔗𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔫 & 𝔄𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔞 ―୨୧⋆ ˚ What’s better than Violet and Xaden? Tairn and Andarna, honestly. They’re some of the best characters I’ve come across. It feels like I’m bonded to them too because I’m right there, feeling everything they’re putting down—it’s crazy. Andarna is the sassy teenager, and Tairn is the tired dad who always knows best. Their interactions had me laughing out loud. I do have to say, though, my heart broke more for Tairn than for Violet when we found out about that certain (HUGE) secret that both Xaden AND Sgaeyl kept. My jaw hit the floor. It wasn’t surprising that Xaden kept Violet in the dark (that’s pretty much standard behavior for him at this point), but Sgaeyl keeping it from Tairn too? Wow. EXCELLENT WRITING. MIND BLOWN. “𝔖𝔠𝔯𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔲𝔱,” 𝔄𝔫𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔞 𝔰𝔲𝔤𝔤𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔰. “ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔶. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔣𝔱𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔱𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔲𝔢. 𝔍𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔧𝔞𝔟 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔲𝔪𝔟𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢—” “𝔄𝔫𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔞! 𝔘𝔰𝔢 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔬𝔫 𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔢,” 𝔗𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔫 𝔰𝔫𝔞𝔭𝔰. “𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔭𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔤𝔢𝔱.” “𝔊𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔞. ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔲𝔰𝔢 𝔞 𝔰𝔫𝔞𝔠𝔨.” 𝔄𝔫𝔡𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔞’𝔰 𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔩𝔶 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔡. “𝔚𝔢 𝔡𝔬 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔢𝔞𝔱 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔰,” 𝔗𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔫 𝔩𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔢𝔰. “𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔪𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔣𝔲𝔫.” “ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔥 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔦𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢,” 𝔗𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔫 𝔬𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔰. “𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔬 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔪 𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔞𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔡.” “𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔪𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔰𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣," 𝔗𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔫 𝔡𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔰. "ℑ 𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔶 𝔫𝔢𝔵𝔱 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔶 𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔱, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔞𝔩𝔩, 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴.” “ℑ𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔦𝔡𝔫'𝔱 𝔣𝔦𝔤𝔲𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔬𝔲𝔱, 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔫'𝔱 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔶 𝔬𝔣 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔤." 𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔲𝔣𝔣𝔰. "ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔰𝔦𝔵 𝔥𝔲𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔣𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔶 𝔶𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥. 𝔚𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔥 𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔯, 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔫 ℑ 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔩𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔨 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔴𝔢𝔞𝔨𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔡𝔞𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔦𝔯 𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔞𝔩, 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔤𝔦𝔯𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔟𝔢𝔰, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔴. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔰𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔟𝔢 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔞 𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔯. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢." 𝔖𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔶 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡. "𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔮𝔲𝔢 𝔞𝔰 ℑ 𝔞𝔪. 𝔚𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰." Oh and the end? Yeah I will be billing Rebecca and her team for my therapy sessions. PS. As much as I was late to picking this masterpiece up, I am glad Onyx Storms release is a stones throw away.

🔥 5-Star 🔥 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Iron Flame is everything a sequel should be and more. Iron Flame throws you straight back into the brutal, high-stakes world of Basgiath War College, but with deeper emotion,twists, and even higher risks. Rebecca Yarros isn’t just continuing a story she’s expanding an empire. The tension is relentless, and the pacing keeps you hooked from the very first chapter to the last. What truly stands out is how layered this book feels. The action is sharper, the political intrigue more complex, and the relationships especially Violet and Xaden’s are charged with emotion, secrets, and impossible choices. Every moment feels like it matters, and the stakes are so high that you can’t help but feel on edge the entire time. what elevates it more is its emotional core. It’s not just about survival anymore it’s about truth, trust, and what you’re willing to sacrifice for the people you love. I was truly left stunned, desperate for more at the end. An absolutely breathtaking book !!

I’m sorry but not sorry, how is a 2nd book either on par or better then the 1st. I cannot out these books down and have read 2 in a week. Bring on number 3! And hopefully the rest. Thank you Rebecca Yarros for you incredible mind and writing! Giving me a incredible world to live in away from my own 🩷🩷🩷

Tropes: ▪ Slow Burn ▪ Enemies to Lovers ▪ War College ▪ Forced Proximity ▪ Obsessed MMC ▪ Magic/Dragons ▪ Forbidden romance ▪ Cliffhangers I've waited years to read this series because I hate reading unfinished series and cliffhangers, let me tell you, it's worth the cliffhangers! I cannot do separate reviews for Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm because I genuinely didn't put the series down from the moment I picked them up. Violet finds herself into the sudden unknown when she is sent to become a Dragon rider at Basgiath war college instead of a quieter life in the library, as a scribe. There are so many twists and turns throughout this series, that it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The bombshells that get dropped and the realisations! I loved every second.. minus one; 'It's been my honour'. I honestly cannot rave about these books enough. I've had a terrible year for reading in 2025 and these 3 books have ended my year on such a high, I could not put them down, and I read the physical copies, which normally i mentally struggle to pick up, not these though! I so highly recommend these books and I'm so ready for book 4!

If you don’t want to read my whole review (aka ramblings) then my summary is this: I enjoyed Iron Flame and I will absolutely be reading the next installment, but this is far from a perfect book and it’s really suffered from the rush to publish. My review features a lot of criticism (Pacing, Plot, Character development..) but despite its many flaws I did have fun reading Irong Flame! Pacing Iron Flame’s pacing felt really unpredictably to me and I’ve seen some reviewers call it ‘frantic’ which absolutely hits the nail on the head. The pacing was thrown off by 2 big issues; 1. This felt like 2 books smushed together rather than cohesive tail (this is is a criticism I come back to repeatedly in this review) and 2. Iron Flame was trying so hard to be ‘action packed’, it bombarded us with pretty pointless and boring mini adventures. There was so much thrown into this book from pointless side quests, to a million new characters, to huge chunks of info dumping - there was just too much in the mix for there to be any structured pacing going on here. Plot There are some big plot holes forming here and that’s such a shame. Half of the plot here wasn’t important, or interesting, or relevant and was thrown in for some additional action or drama. The actual plot (once you dig through the nonsense) was fine but really this is 2 books smushed together and I think they could have been so much stronger alone. Characters This brings me onto characters, who have consistently been a stand out in this series so far. I love the characters we’ve met so far but because there was so much action (most of it pointless might I add) there was so little room left for character development which was a real shame. I feel like Violet’s development in Fourth Wing was one of the major draws to the book and so for there to be so little character development here was such a shame. I really, really loved Violet in Fourth Wing. She was flawed and she knew it but she overcame so much by being clever and determined. Yet this installment saw her being whiny and insecure and just plain irrational at times. Particularly in the second half I feel like i really lost Violet Aaric - umm why was this skipped over so much? I want him to have SO MUCH MORE air time! The connection between Tairn and Andarna was still really sweet but I struggled with all the changes Andarana seemed to go through. While I absolutely understand she’s growing up I feel like we just got a caricature of a teengager rather than Andarna as a teenager. I loved the family dynamics we got to see developed here. I adored seeing Mira’s and Brennan’s reunion! It was such a classic Mira reaction to punch him in the face too - it was the perfect blend of an emotional scene with a touch of humour. General Sorrengtail had an interesting arc here though and I loved what Yarros did here. And I think that was ultimately my issue here. I found everyone else more interesting then Violent and Xaden this time around (SPOILER) those scenes with Liam when Violet is being tortured? Just such an emotional and clever idea that worked so incredibly well! Those are my biggest complaints really but I do have some other thoughts too! Romance I was so excited to see what would happen with Violet and Xaden and I was seriously underwhelmed here.Their lack of communication was annoying and honestly I think this could have been handled so much better by Yarros. It just felt like such a trope when so much conflict could have been avoided if they had just communicated.They were both being stupid the whole ‘you didn’t tell me’, ‘you didn’t ask’ back and forth was nonsense. And I really don’t feel like it fitted either of their personalities - they’re meant to be smarter than that. I know that plot wise they weren’t able to spend as much time together but I really felt like their romance struggled for this distance and it all just felt so stagnant and boring. There was none of that burning heat from Fourth Wing here. (I did like the letter concept but we should have gotten more of that!) I also hated the whole ‘other woman’ trope that got thrown in here. Yarros is better than that and I don’t feel like it added anything beneficial or interesting to the story. Honestly it was frustrating and it felt like it was added for the sake of adding some additional drama which, I mean, isn’t needed? They’re involved in a revolution in the middle of the war with a whole heaping ton of family drama - there’s enough conflict going on. World Building I enjoyed that there was some additional and much needed world building here but I feel like a lot of what we learnt here just raises so many more questions for me and some of it I’m really struggling to fit in with Fourth Wing. I get the impression that a lot of the wider details of the world weren’t known by Yarros until now and so she’s slotted in these additional elements. Fourth Wing interwove world development really well but here there was just too much info dumping. Length I don’t mind a long read. I actually quite like a longer book as it gives you something to really get your teeth into BUT I did find my attention waning quite a bit during Iron Flame which makes me wonder whether this should have been divided up. Iron Flame is split into 2 books as you read and I really do wonder whether it would have been best ending it there Suspense I’m not sure if it’s the frantic pacing, the none stop action, the split plot, or the lack of character development or what but I just didn’t feel any suspense here (apart from towards the very end). I think part of the magic of Fourth Wing was the brutal and deadly school setting, combined with the competition element which added such a familiar and engaging structure. Without those 2 things Irong Flame didn’t pack as big of a punch for me. I felt pretty confident I knew who was going to die and how things were going to pan out so apart from that very final twist I really wasn’t surprised by anything here - which is such a contrast to Fourth Wing that had some great twists! Overall Iron Flame was a fun read. I enjoyed it and I will definitely be reading the next installment (In fact I’ll probably preorder it as soon as it becomes available!) With all that being said though, this isn’t a book I’m going to be raving about and recommending to everyone I meet. I wish the book had been separated as I think if the first half had been more developed I would have probably given this another 5 stars. Likewise I think the second half could have been more developed if it had been a separate book too. There was too much filler action scenes which meant the plot and pacing was all over the place. I’m hoping that Iron Flame was rushed out because of all the hype from Fourth Wing but that the next installment will be more polished (fingers crossed!) Author I know there’s a lot of controversy going on at the moment around Rebecca Yarros and it didn’t feel right to just ignore that in this review. However, I made the decision a long time ago to separate the art and this artist so this review has purely focused on the art (which isn’t to say I haven’t commented on Yarros’ opinions elsewhere but I just don’t feel like this is the place for it)

Muy bien

حلو و نفس الصوره

Second book in the series. A thicker novel than the first, but just as delicious! It won't disappoint :D

Avevo paura che il libro sarebbe arrivato rovinato o non dell’edizione che volevo ma ciò non è successo. La confezione era un po’ ammaccata ma all’interno il libro era integro, senza nessuna ammaccatura o graffio. Comunque consiglio vivamente questa serie agli amanti del fantasy perché è semplicemente stupenda e ben scritta.

Item came in good condition except for the top of the sprayed edges has some flaws.