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deerbrook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and War
miaodegard's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War
marinrosee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing
etymoye's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Genres: New Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal / Supernatural
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Possessive Hero, Competent Heroine, Magic, Royalty/Aristocracy, School/College
While Fourth Wing left me feeling somewhat neutral-positive, I’d say unfortunately Iron Flame left me with more negative impressions, mostly thanks to the writing. I felt like more happened in this book plot-wise than in Fourth Wing, which is frankly why I finished it. That being said, this book needed a few more rounds of editing, and it was pretty clearly pushed out fast to capitalize on the hype of book one.
In addition to the clunky sentences, there were at least two times where I definitely felt like I suddenly missed key information that wasn’t explained anywhere. For example, the rest of the squad learning that feathertail dragons are actually hatchlings (aka children). Sawyer just casually mentions this to Violet in passing, but I couldn’t figure out when this was revealed to them. In Fourth Wing, Tairn made it ABUNDANTLY clear that this was a huge secret and Violet didn’t have permission to endanger the hatchlings…so when did she tell everyone? And shouldn’t she have cleared it with the dragons? Why are the hatchlings suddenly no longer in danger by exposing this secret to everyone?
Similarly, there were many, many times where Yarros would intentionally keep information from the reader in order to create tension, but it honestly felt clumsy and distracting more than anything. For example, here’s some of Violet’s internal dialogue at one point:
Gravity shifts. That can’t be right. That would mean—
Yarros intentionally cuts away there, keeping Violet from finishing her thought and making the reader wait pages to see what the big revelation is. I feel like this is a writing tactic that’s really only effective when it’s used intentionally and sparingly, and Yarros used it to the point where it felt incredibly annoying, like Violet could never finish any of her own thoughts.
As for whether or not I’ll read book three when it releases…I’m not sure. I liked Fourth Wing well enough, and when Yarros has a good editor and the time to devote to making a book shine, I think it definitely shows. But I’m not sure Onyx Storm will be in a much different boat than Iron Flame was, so I’m on the fence.
Safety Stats:
Ages:Violent is 21 in this book, Xaden is 23.
Cheating: None.
Other Man/Other Woman: We meet Cat, Xaden’s ex-fiancee in this book. The engagement was arranged and Xaden never had feelings for Cat, but Cat clearly wants him back and is incredibly hostile to Violet. Honestly, I pretty much hated everything about Cat’s character. Adding her accomplished almost nothing except to instill jealousy in Violet.
Separation: Yes, Xaden has graduated from Basgiath in this book, so he stationed elsewhere. However, they try to see each other once a week, but this doesn’t always happen.
Triggers: Some descriptions of violence, death, and a torture scene of Violet.
HEA/HFN?:Cliffhanger, book 2 in a series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, and War
mnash_2020's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a reread for me.
I am giving this 4 stars even though I loved it. I did find some faults. The biggest complaint I have is that the miscommunication is overwhelming in this book. It also goes on and on. I feel like in the first half of the book, it is on repeat how Violet and Xaden aren’t communicating with each other and are perpetually angry.
The ending is making me happy that I get the next book tomorrow.
I am giving this 4 stars even though I loved it. I did find some faults. The biggest complaint I have is that the miscommunication is overwhelming in this book. It also goes on and on. I feel like in the first half of the book, it is on repeat how Violet and Xaden aren’t communicating with each other and are perpetually angry.
The ending is making me happy that I get the next book tomorrow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
haleydeppert's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
i’m gonna be honest here and say that this was not quite as good as fourth wing. don’t get me wrong… this book was very good, however, it also tended to drag on and i did find myself bored at times throughout this book.
i feel as though not much of consequence actually happened for a 623 page book, which is a little irritating. part one was especially slow and just frustrating in general to read. part two was most definitely better. this book just needs a little shortening.
there were some beautiful quotes about love in this book and i did highly enjoy that, but something just felt a little lackluster compared to the previous book.
all that being said, it was an enjoyable read but it just took me longer to finish than most books of the same length. that, in itself, tells me that there’s definitely something left to be desired. i will be reading onyx storm, but i am in no rush to do so.
i feel as though not much of consequence actually happened for a 623 page book, which is a little irritating. part one was especially slow and just frustrating in general to read. part two was most definitely better. this book just needs a little shortening.
there were some beautiful quotes about love in this book and i did highly enjoy that, but something just felt a little lackluster compared to the previous book.
all that being said, it was an enjoyable read but it just took me longer to finish than most books of the same length. that, in itself, tells me that there’s definitely something left to be desired. i will be reading onyx storm, but i am in no rush to do so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
brysandvik's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and War
jennyatesfoley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is everything I hoped for after Fourth Wing. It elevated everything just a little more: there was more spice, more relationship drama, more action, more battles, more magic.
The book it long but it doesn't feel long. It moves at a consistent pace and nothing feels unnecessarily drawn out. And the end is resolved enough to be satisfying, but captivating enough to make me want to read the next book. I loved this ride from start to finish!
The book it long but it doesn't feel long. It moves at a consistent pace and nothing feels unnecessarily drawn out. And the end is resolved enough to be satisfying, but captivating enough to make me want to read the next book. I loved this ride from start to finish!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and War
Moderate: Cursing and Gore
Minor: Death
jennazim's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Torture, Death of parent, and War
ink_slinger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
READ!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail