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brandywyne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
zanazy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Xaden and Violet’s relationship is “fixed” rather too easily, with both swapping roles and Xaden being the one not wanting intimacy without hearing Violet say I love you. Meanwhile, Violet wants him to say it. Honestly, for how much I loved them in book 1, everything between them fell flat this book.
My favorite parts of the book are everything to do with the dragons. Andarna, Tairn, Sgaeyl… all of the, add so much and they have their story within the story. Sgaeyl and Tairn’s relationship even mirrors and rivals what Xaden and Violet have. Another big like is Cam/Aaric, the King’s son. We don’t get too much, but he is setup to play a key role and fill the void Violet feels after losing Liam.
The low points for me were everything dealing with the gryphon riders. It felt like filler content and took up way too much of the book even though they play almost no role in the end conflict. The Dain arc was too rushed & we get no follow up or depth which I think was needed. The ending conflict also feels very rushed, especially with how much info we get & how much impact it has on everyone and everything. Sloane was a let down. Her character could use more development, especially because I think she will be key in future books. I would much rather take out the gryphon details and get more time to the characters mentioned above.
Overall, still enjoyable, but lacks a bit in pace, story, and development compared to Fourth Wing. Book 3 will definitely make or break this series.
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Toxic relationship and Murder
lemonwrlds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
chasingpages1's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
"Iron Flame" is the much-anticipated sequel to "Fourth Wing". Violet and Xaden are being driven apart by their vindictive leaders, but they refuse to let some distance seperate them. Violet's second year at her college is going to be an even bigger challenge than her first, and she does not know how she is going to survive. Violet is determined to prove everyone wrong, and she is going to remind everyone that it is the dragon riders that make the rules.
I could not believe how invested I was in this story. Xaden's love for Violet is beautiful, and I love that Violet is holding her own. She is hurt by Xaden's refusal to share important details with her, and despite how much she wants to cave and be with him, she is holding firm.
Xaden's and Violet's scenes were spicy and really well done. I was so lost in their moments together that I completely lost track of what was going on around me.
After the huge cliffhanger at the end of "Fourth Wing" I was so excited to see what would happen next. Finding out that Violet's brother was still alive was incredible, and I was dying to get the whole story.
"Iron Flame" also ends in a cliffhanger, and I am so curious to see how this will play out for our characters.
I will definitely be anxiously waiting for the next book!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
dianaschmidty's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
- The age difference when they meet. Violet & Sloane: first-years; Xaden & Dain: third-years
- The chain of command forbiddeness. Both Xaden and Dain were/are the Wing Leaders of Violet/Sloane, and specifically in Fourth Wing.
- Each pairing has a child of a Tyrrish officer and a child of a Navarrean officer.
- Each pairing is equal in parent’s rank. Violet and Xaden are each the child of the military leader and Sloane and Dain are each the child of the military leader’s right-hand. Xaden even made that comparison, though with Liam instead of Sloane.
- Dain and Violet each thought they wanted their best friend. Xaden (and likely Sloane) didn’t really care about romance, but did care about revenge/the rebellion.
This kind of all hinges on if Sloane knows about Dain’s involvement in her brother’s death, but Sloane and Dain have similar reasons to be enemies as Violet and Xaden did. Violet disliked Xaden for his father having “killed” her brother. And Xaden didn’t like her because he hated her mom for killing his dad. Dain’s father definitely got Liam killed and there’s definitely an argument for still blaming Dain even after learning that he didn’t know about the ambush./spoiler> Violet and Xaden’s signets are both powerful and complimentary, with light vs dark. Sloane and Dain’s signets are also both powerful, and while not exactly complimentary, they are similar, with both being able to take from another rider and could easily be used as a weapon, which is demonstrated with Dain during Violet’s torture and Sloane with Violet’s mom./spoiler>
So yeah, I think that the next book should just ignore Violet and Xaden and whatever mess they’re in and focus on this new enemies to lovers story! And if Rebecca Yarros does ever see this, I’d love a shoutout in the acknowledgments!
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Classism
singingshooter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It definitely needed some more time in editing. I kinda hope the third book isn’t rushed to be published so that we can get the best book possible.
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and War
andeng's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail