Book Review :: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
ISBN: 1649374178
Series: The Empyrean #2
Also in this series: Fourth Wing
on 7 November 2023
Pages: 624
Goodreads

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.
But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Last updated on 7 February 2024

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What is Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros about?

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros follows on pretty much straight after the events in Fourth Wing. Everyone thought Violet Sorrengail wouldn’t make it through her first year at Basgiath War College, including Violet herself. Threshing was just the beginning, meant to sift out the less determined.

Now, the real deal training is kicking in, and Violet’s wondering how she’ll pull through. It’s not just tough and brutally intense – designed to push pain limits to the extreme. The new vice commandant is on a personal mission to show Violet her supposed powerlessness unless she betrays Xaden.

“There’s nowhere in existence you could go that I wouldn’t find you, remember?”

My thoughts on Iron Flame

Well. This was not what I was expecting. When Fourth Wing came out in the early months of 2023, I quickly discovered, much like everyone else on the planet, that people were loving this book. I obviously had to see what the fuss was about (and naturally really wanted to read a book about dragons, duh), and I absolutely saw what the hype was about. I loved it.

In fact, I probably read it far too quickly and it was over too soon.

But never fear, Past Me. It would only be a few months later that the second in the series would come out. Enter: Iron Flame.

But oooooof I have thoughts.

“Because love, at its root, is hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for what could be. Hope that the someone you’ve entrusted your everything to will cradle and protect it. And hope? That shit is harder to kill than a dragon.”

Namely that this felt both rushed and slow at the same time. The first half of the book, even the first three quarters maybe, was incredibly slow. Things happened, sure, but barely. In fact, I can barely even tell you what happened in the first half of the book.

So if if felt so slow, how did it also feel rushed?

I think Yarros should have spent more time on it. Eek! I just think there were so many things that could have been cut, things that weren’t needed, that seemed sloppy and rushed in thought. Not in pace – that was slow – but in thought and execution. I was expecting Fourth Wing 2 and it felt like it was a completely different series. Not in themes or characters but in the careful consideration of the events that played out.

So why did I give it 3 stars then? Well overall, I did enjoy it. Yes it took me an age to read. Yes it was horrifically slow. Yes it felt rushed and I think she should have slowed down in her release of the book. But there were dragons. And there were the characters that we loved from the first book. And there were still twists and turns, especially in that last quarter.

And apparently, that was enough for me to give Iron Flame 3 stars, and still want to read the next one, which doesn’t have a release date yet (phew in my mind!).

A mix book bag for me! What about you? What did you think of Iron Flame?