Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Iron Flame

So... This book should have been put through at least one more round of edits. It definitely could have been cut down by 100+ pages. It's really sad because I was so excited to read this sequel, but it dragged so much in the middle. I would have rather waited for a much better version of this book to be published, than what we got. I hope that Rebeca Yarros and her publishers get back on track for book 3.

That said, it definitely picked up A LOT over the last 150 pages and the story really progressed a lot towards the end. If you're struggling with the middle, keep going. It is, at the very least, worth finishing.

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ka_ke's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.75

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spootilious's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

Read: November 29, 2023
Title: Iron Flame

Series: The Empyrean #2

Author: Rebecca Yarros

Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Rating: 1.5 / 5
Review:

Let me start by saying, I’ve been trying…. SO HARD… to like this book and I just… Can’t.

I didn’t care much for the first either, but I’ve been hoping that the series will redeem itself… so far that has not happened.

Did I enjoy reading the book? I suppose so. Is the book good? Absolutely not.

There are two issues more than anything that stand out before I simply provide a list of what I liked and did not like about the book: 1. Yarros seriously needs to find an editor the writing is just terrible! And 2. There is ZERO originality in the series.

Okay… Onto the list of this I liked:
1. The story concept is a good one. And if another author (a skilled one) had written this story I’m sure I would have LOVED it.

2. I like Dragons.

Onto the list of things I didn’t like:

1. I don’t think Yarros understand that in order to build the climax of a story you have to have a consistent baseline that is lower than the climax itself. If the punches never stop then the ‘final blow’ won’t feel any different than the first 100 jabs. There is absolutely zero downtime between ‘big’ events throughout this book and thus the ending (and everything really) wasn’t memorable in the least. Yarros didn’t get herself space to build on when she set the base line on the same level as the climax of the book. Honestly, I’ve never read an author who wasn’t self aware enough (or skilled enough… whatever the case may be) to realize this and it’s EXTREMELY disappointing.

2. Almost all the characters (minus a small handful) weren’t memberable and very flat. I can’t even remember all of Violet’s squad members… I might be able to name… 3? And that’s after the merge. All the characters are 1 dimensional and unremarkable… Too many names not enough characters.

3. As mentioned in the things that I liked, the story is good. Which is a problem because Yarros isn’t. It makes the story disproportionate to the author’s skill level. Which is nothing against Yarros, no one starts off skilled, but when your story is better than your abilities it causes problems.

4. This, like Fourth Wing, felt like a young adult novel wanting to be adult by adding sex and violence. Not a good mix.

5. The main character is EXTREMELY hypocritical, expecting so much from so many people when she does the same exact things with no consequences.

6. There is no real character development for any of the main characters.

7. Violet once again gets away with EVERYTHING with practically no consequences, and conveniently finds the solution to all their problems every time just in time. (superman syndrome) Which is amusing considering this isn’t a ‘chosen one’ series.

8. The pacing is TERRIBLE. Which goes back to the whole jab jab punch thing. All jabs… no punches.

9. Every female character in this series are defined by male characters, with the exception of maybe 2 (Mira and Ri which are in the background).

10. Yarros keeps telling the reader how smart and strong and unique violet is but violets actions never really show it. She always has to be saved or comes to these big epiphanies when guided but not on her own. She doesn’t stand out.

11. Toxic relationship(s) on both (and every) side

12. So repetitive both in dialog and plot points.

13. The hole book felt like a scramble to try and fill in every plot hole found in book 1 while ignoring all the ones in book 2. Which means book 3 will probably be the same.

14. Honestly the entire novel felt like a regurgitated version of Twilight but with Dragons.

15. Which brings us back to the first issue of being completely unoriginal.

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vivivi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ohhhhhh things keep happening ahhhh

It's one thing after another! People are dropping like flies!

Really hard to put down.

Finally able to catch my breath at the halfway mark.

And somehow we manage to come back to a school setting, which I love.

Things are looking bleak. I'm in the final 2 hours of the audiobook. Anything can happen. Anyone might die. Ahhh

Holy cow that ending. Two cliff hangers in a row!! Amazing. Love it. Also, I need the next book.

Are reviews supposed to make sense? I can't make any sense at the moment.

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katvou's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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comfy_anna's review against another edition

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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

5.0

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sauvageloup's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

another extremely gripping read!

pros:
- the writing is just addictive, even though 600+ pages of small text, I didnt want to put it down.
- overall, i enjoyed this more than the first i think, there were less tropes i didnt like and the writing felt better.
- xaden does finally tell violet his secrets which was character growth.
- the twists and turns were fun to read and I didnt predict many, if any, of them.
- while impulsive, violet does show her intellect in figuring shit out and I liked

how protective she was of Sloane and that she confided in her friends despite xaden's reservations.

- I like the reveal about

andarna being a whole different species, even if it did make violet even more of a "Special" woman, in that andarna picked her out of everyone. And I liked andarna's sass and rebellion as a teenage dragon, as well as her wing being damaged by her disruptive sleep. that felt like good consequences for how Andarna saved violet's life

- I liked the bits of humor, with ridoc and tairn's sarcastic sass, as well as Andarna's.
- the angst overall was excellent, there was all different types and all of the characters went through the wringer in one way or another!
- I also liked the team dynamics a lot, with ridoc, imogen, rhiannon and the rest banding round violet and teasing her.

cons:
- biggest issue was just how many names there were. i just lost track. needed a list of characters and their roles desperately. I couldnt remember who garrick was, was still learning dragon names at the end, and thought Tairn was the biggest dragon. i did read it fast, but it did suffer from the fantasy book disease of an overstuffed cast (imo).
- the argument between xaden and violet was repetitive, which was noted but still a bit frustrating. like, the growth in xaden finally revealing his big secret(s) seems to just be that violet wore him down and he was worried they'd die. so.
-

I didnt like violet's mum being redeemed tbh. I prefer the message that it's ok not to reconcile with abusive parents, and I didnt really enjoy the revelations about her mum making xaden protect violet and her mum dying for her. maybe a personal preference tho.

- Cat was an annoying development and I didny really enjoy any of her sections. I think women managing to work together and get on dispite history involving a man is far more interesting than being petty. I know its brought up that Cat just wants xaden's crown, but it still felt like the catty (hah) ex trope.
- also, just personally, I skipped some of the sex. i thought the sexual tension between them was written great, but I would have been happy with a fade to black. but that's just how the book is.

all in all, this was highly addictive and I loved a lot of the ideas and the bits of humour. despite some significant flaws, definitely want to read the next!

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natashareadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What the ffff-!!

Ok, so I am still processing, trying to figure out what I just read and how I am feeling about it 😂😂.

Iron Flame follows the events of Fourth Wing.

Everyone including Violet expected Violet to die during her first year at Basgaith- but it turns out that Threshing was just the first test to weed out the weak-willed and unlucky.

Now the real training begins. But it's not that it is malicious and brutal, or that it is designed to stretch a riders pain capacity beyond endurance. No it is the new Code Commandment who has made it his personal mission to teach Violet how powerless she is and to betray the man she loves. The man who broke her trust.

Even though Violet's body might be frailer than everyone else's, her will is iron.

But determination to survive won't be enough.

Soooo, where do I begin?

Let's start with the issues- I feel like the release was somewhat rushed. It seems sooo many people have had issues- from businesses that were promised the black pages for preorders, having those cancelled, to the wrong title being on the covers, to the missing dragons on chapter 17 (which include my copy I got from Indigo/Coles in Canada, to the lone copy I found in NYS- but I will take the missing dragon over any other issues), but I've even heard missing pages/chapters. Honestly, I don't know where the problem was, it shouldn't have en this big of an issue to begin with.

Now that that is out of the way, let's continue onto the story within the book.

I still love this world, and these characters.

I get the conflict between Xaden & Violet, but felt like it dragged on a bit longer than it should have. The biggest issue being trust & communication after the events of Fourth Wing continued on through the whole of Iron Flame.

I also feel like the book was longer than it needed to be- I get that it was building up the story & the ending conflict/battle, but there is also a whole lot of nothing happening too. So it could have been condensed some.

But besides those, like I said, I LOVED the world, and the characters.

Even despite Violet's weaknesses she is still strong. And I absolutely love that strength about her.

And I still love Xaden- for everything he has been through and everything he is. All his lies and secrets. He is still my favorite character.

I still love Rhiannon, Ridoc, Sawyer, and all the other characters too.

And WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?! I am going to lose my mind until I get the next book, because well, as always, I need answers, i need conclusion, and i need more 😂😂. I loved this book, and cannot wait for more from this story.
4⭐ out of 5⭐.

3🌶️ out of 5🌶️. Multiple scenes throughout in detail.

Tropes:
→ fantasy romance /romantasy
→ enemies to lovers
→ forced Proximity
→ academy (war college)
→ New Adult romance
→ chronic illness (h) representation
→ morally gray H
→found family
→ slow burn
→ overcoming adversity/underdog
→ dysfunctional family

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