Scan barcode
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
nanastradamus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
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.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Grief
rosieholmes99'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
josiee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
erinbahrenfuss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Drug use, Blood, and Death of parent
hezzahrae's review
- 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
3.75
That said, it's not a bad read/listen. There are quite a few moments that are fairly predictable but just enough twists to keep you guessing. I did feel quite a bit of emotion at the end so kudos to the author/narrator for being able to immerse the reader in such a tear-jerking scene.
I also feel like this book could have been split into two, because the amount of information that is in both "parts" can get hard to keep up with after so long. The twist at the last two chapters had me gasping. Now, I must suffer the wait.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood and Fire/Fire injury
e_emmaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
the_rabble's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Has an excellent sex scene involving a
Back half of the book moves, but first half is very masc-Dolores Umbridge, but with an unrepentant murder college instead of a whimsical murder boarding school.
You may want to wait for the entire series to be out.
Graphic: Death, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Abandonment
mzquirk'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
4.0
Things I could do without - Violet's wishy/washy "I'm made, I'm not mad, he's gorgeous and I hate him"-ness. ...and that is it. That's all. I was annoyed by that and only that.
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
redpollrory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, and Gaslighting