Iron Flame is fast paced and has a great (if somewhat clumsy) story — entrapment via ‘one more chapter’. As I was expecting following Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros knows how to write a compelling story but misses the mark on great writing / prose. I appreciate the purposeful use of modern, plain English which makes the fantasy genre so much more accessible. But just because it’s written in plain(er) English doesn’t mean the book wouldn’t be even better to read if the prose made the reader feel something. There hasn’t been one line or phrase in either of the books that has made me stop and go over the beauty or mastery of what I’d just read before moving on. The only time Yarros has made me emotional was during

Liam’s death and when Violet hallucinates seeing him while being tortured

. With a bit more effort, she could make the whole book have that sort of effect. But maybe not prioritising spending much time on the writing itself was a purposeful decision.

The plot is packed, which was one of the book’s — and story’s — downfalls. It felt like too much was trying to be crammed into one book. The story would have benefitted from most (if not all) of the plot points and characters being more fleshed out.

As a side note, it feels like more effort was made in the first book to have an actively diverse cast of characters. There also wasn’t as much character development in this book, which is something the first one already lacked quite a bit. That being said, I loved seeing all of the characters, especially Violet, trust and rely on each other more and become a really solid unit.

All in all, the book was enjoyable with fantastic twists and turns. I loved the stronger focus on politics and war strategy, as well as the found family within the Iron Squad and its newcomers. It just seems like fast pacing is what’s being aimed for with this series to its own detriment. Even more so than Fourth Wing, Iron Flame feels too rushed, like developing both plot and character were sacrificed in favour of fitting as much in as possible. Which is bonkers, considering the book is 600+ pages long. The premise, world building, characters, and story are all so interesting and promising — I can only imagine how incredible this series would read if it were given the space to do so, with an author / editor / publishing house team that were willing to spend more time and care on it rather than prioritising churning the sequel out so quickly. Or maybe Rebecca Yarros just always writes this way.

But gosh darn did she get me and I read it in 13 hours, unable to put it down for long. So, I’m boo boo the fool.

This follow-up to "Fourth Wing" did not disappoint. It continued with non-stop action, twists and turns, and romance to make for terrific storytelling. It'll be hard to wait another year for the next book.

I definitely enjoyed it. I’ve also definitely read better fantasy books. I also definitely know that fourth wing was better. However, none of that is stopping me from wanting to continue with the series and find out what happens. This author does an excellent job keeping me hooked and I did not want to stop reading the book even when I was finding it to be a little over the top with the world building. It’s definitely interesting because this is a romance writer writing sci-fi which is exactly some thing that I would like better than a sci-fi writer writing romance.  But there’s barely any romance. When there is romance though it’s excellent and the smut is awesome but it’s definitely not enough for me. All that said she must be doing something right because I’m definitely going to keep reading

What. Even. I have to wait until DECEMBER? I really can’t. The ending of this book is such a cliffhanger and a twist I was not anticipating. I enjoyed this book, but felt some of it could’ve been condensed. I also felt that some of the magic wasn’t explained as well as I would’ve liked, but all in all, this was a good part 2. The characters are embedded in my heart now, and I hope they all have a happy ending. 

I AM NOT OKAY!!! Not one bit okay!!! Rebecca Yarros has really just torn my heart from my chest & fed it to a dragon!!! 
If you have not started this series yet. DONT! Atleast not right now, wait for all 5 books to come out first!! I don’t know how I’m going to survive until book 3 comes out & we don’t even have a release day yet! 😭
That being said. This book was INCREDIBLE!!! I do highly recommend it, just be ready for all the emotional turmoil that comes along with it! Cause I was not, I thought I was, but I was severely mistaken!