I am so in awe of both "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame" that I thought I would sit here staring at a blank screen for a long time while trying to find words to express my respect for Rebecca Yarros, author of both books. I just spent 3 days reading them and the only reason it took so long is that one still has to bath, eat, water plants, feed pets and sleep though I did not do much of the latter.
What writers call voice in both books is so very perfect that I immediately want to reread both books! The voice is fresh and up-to-date and modern even for the dragons yet fits perfectly into whatever period of time this fantasy took place but clearly when there were dragons! Before proceeding, however, I need to hyperventilate briefly.
First of all, it is totally immature and so unnecessary for anyone to post a critical plot point in a review especially on purpose and without first posting a spoiler alert. This happens not only with these books but others as well. Doing so is just another, although minor, example of how Homo sapiens have free will which they unfortunately can and often do waste on trivialities. So, then, here is how I deal with the review situation.
I do not read them until after I read the book, then I read them to see how others felt about the book. Since one needs to know what the book is about before purchase, then reading the descriptive paragraphs at the listing along with reading the free chapters Amazon thankfully offers at the listing itself will provide that. Thanks Amazon. Reading those chapters and the description plus checking the star/purchase numbers are good steps to take to avoid learning too much in a review prior to reading the book.
The second rant has to do with plot. Let me assure everyone there are NO NEW PLOTS. People have been murdering people since the beginning of time. It is how the author takes a plot(s) and makes it her/his own that matters to the reader. It is doubtful anyone knows how many dragon/people/rider fantasy books are out there so in the end it is a personal opinion as to which book(s) one chooses to like.
Having so many to choose from means some plot points will seem similar. For instance how many ways are there to shove a dagger into someone's ribs, a plot point in a massive number of books? This author knew how to handle the plot she chose and then developed with aplomb. Both books kept my attention fully--page after page after page.
I so love both books. What is so outstanding about both is that we learn most everything we need to know about each well developed character, not by telling, but by showing through their actions and their sharp and sometimes witty dialogue. It is beyond skillful at how on point the conversations are not only between the humans but the humans and their dragons especially Tairn and Violet and with Andarna--such a cutie and definitely my favorite dragon. The growing relationship between Violet and Xaden is razor sharp and on point.
Violet gets wonky with her "having to know all the truth up front demands" regardless of how Xaden has put forth so much effort to show her he cares. Everyone has secrets but a book needs tension to advance so whoa and hold on the tension builds and builds between those two. Xaden is my favorite character out of many favorites. Their arguments are worth "eavesdropping" on and their love scenes are well done (Chapter 48 is mentioned by some reviewers).
In this book Violet, in spite of her fragile bones and smaller size but because of her iron will and cleverness, and all those who made it through First Year at the Basgiath War College (covered in
Fourth Wing") are now Second Years. Third years like my favorite character, Xaden, have graduated out and been assigned to outposts outside Basgiath. Thus begins an every other week trip for Violet and Xaden, him with her one weekend, her with him the next weekend. This is so their mated dragons can have time together each weekend.
It is also in this book that Basgiath and all the outposts are put in perspective regarding the coming battle. The 'revolution' becomes a much larger focal point and Violet learns about Xaden's connection to the estate in Aretia. One can already see by this point how hard it is to give this book the 10 star, 100% review it deserves! Just read it and see what I mean. It is one well-done, well written heck of a book and do not forget "Fourth Wing first!!
This book covers in more detail wards, the reason for them and the ins and outs of setting them up and what happens when they do not work (descriptive details I liked BTW). Details regarding the approaching battle then the battle itself are incredible. I am skimming plot points here since others have covered them very well but there is a lot of stuff left hanging at the end of this book and the end itself will floor you. It is like learning to fly on your own and suddenly losing that ability and plopping onto the ground and then fighting to just take a breath. It is shocking, promise.
When an author has done their job, the reader will fantasize about what may happen next but this book leaves so much stuff hanging that there has to be another book. My favorite character deserves a better ending--the last two chapters still has me plopped on the ground breathless. So here's a partial list of the left-hanging questions.
What happens between Violet and Xaden after the battle's aftermath? What happens to Aretia? Will Andarna's newly acquired fire play a role in the future especially in helping to set up wards? What happens to Basgiath after the war? What happens about the new dragon hatchlings? Will Cat's crew of riders play a future role? And, BTW, how did Jack get the way he turned out?
So very many unanswered questions in addition to many, many not covered here. So, then, Rebecca Yarros, listen up: We readers have to have another book--please, please and thank you!!
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“There’s nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn’t find you, remember?”Highlighted by 20,644 Kindle readers- “If Solas comes near you again, he knows I will devour his human whole and let him rot within me while his heart still beats, and then I’ll take the eye I so graciously left him.”Highlighted by 15,240 Kindle readers
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↳ Iron Flame (The Empyrean, 2)— Rebecca YarrosRating— ★★★★★“𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓃𝒸𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝒾𝑒. 𝐼𝓉 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓈𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓂𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝒷𝒿𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝑒𝓇𝓎.” ⟡ Thoughts—The emotional rollercoaster I endured while reading this book was so intense that I had to take extra time between scenes to stop reading & ponder what just happened. I felt every emotion under the sun, laughing one moment then being pissed off the next. There were hardly any moments where I felt I could take a mental rest because of how action-centered this book was. I’m still in awe that this is only book 2 out of a 5 book series given all that happened. It’s no secret that I absolutely adore the main characters & their dragons, but what took me by surprise was my fixation for the supporting characters. I’m usually indifferent when it comes to side characters, but Yarros made it utterly impossible for me NOT to care. I thought Liam was the exception but after finishing Iron Flame, I realized I’m completely attached to the entire squad—new members included. This book just about alleviated most of the queries I harbored from Fourth Wing, while also sparking up so many more. My advice before going into this book is to re-read Fourth Wing right before jumping into Iron Flame. I personally followed this route, and it was definitely worth taking the extra time. Most of the theories I pondered in the first book were set to rest and I’m glad for it.With all that being said, I can admit that this was by no means a perfect book. There were things I found unnecessary and some scenes I thought were anticlimactic. However, for being only the second book of a series, I think Yarros did a fantastic job— hence, there’s still plenty of time to iron out the bumps in the story. I speculated that this book was going to be solely transitional, but I found it to be that & so much more.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2024
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Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2024
In recent weeks, my friend (and author!) John Palladino cherry picked FOURTH WING for me to read and review. While I do think this pick was done mostly in jest, I also believe there was an honest to goodness underlying curiosity to know if this book - this series - was worth all the hype it was receiving.
In my opinion, I do think the series is a bit overhyped, but I also must admit that I find these books rather addicting. So much so that I once again suffered through the audiobook during the times I was unable to sit down to read my physical copy. I just do not care for Rebecca Soler as an audiobook narrator.
In some aspects, I liked IRON FLAME better than the first book: interesting new characters introduced, more focused on the rebellion element, more dragon involvement and new revelations with the magic system. Where it fell flat and lacked for me was lack of furthering the world building and not enough scenes depicting the camaraderie of Violet's Fourth Wing Squad.
Now for those of you who were into this series for the romance subplot - well, you might be a little disappointed. (I was not) It's a very minor plotline and missing all of the fun sexual tension from the first book.
That said, I still enjoyed the heck out of this book, read one chapter three times because it was just THAT good and I'm counting down the days until I can get my hands on the third book. Rebecca Yarros did her readers so dirty at the end of this one!! (Like, HOW?!)
In my opinion, I do think the series is a bit overhyped, but I also must admit that I find these books rather addicting. So much so that I once again suffered through the audiobook during the times I was unable to sit down to read my physical copy. I just do not care for Rebecca Soler as an audiobook narrator.
In some aspects, I liked IRON FLAME better than the first book: interesting new characters introduced, more focused on the rebellion element, more dragon involvement and new revelations with the magic system. Where it fell flat and lacked for me was lack of furthering the world building and not enough scenes depicting the camaraderie of Violet's Fourth Wing Squad.
Now for those of you who were into this series for the romance subplot - well, you might be a little disappointed. (I was not) It's a very minor plotline and missing all of the fun sexual tension from the first book.
That said, I still enjoyed the heck out of this book, read one chapter three times because it was just THAT good and I'm counting down the days until I can get my hands on the third book. Rebecca Yarros did her readers so dirty at the end of this one!! (Like, HOW?!)
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This books is amazing!! And it has a beautiful picture!!
Reviewed in Brazil on July 21, 2024
