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A review by ashleerosereads
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
This was a breath of fresh air coming out of the disappointment that was Iron Flame. It feels like RY found her footing, found the direction she wanted to take the series, and buckled down to get there. Everyone and their mother is reviewing Onyx Storm so I'm going to keep mine relatively short. But honestly, this is my favorite in the series so far and has renewed my excitement for what's to come.
1. While the first 2 leaned more into Romantasy, this one veers more into Epic Fantasy with a romance subplot. I liked this - it feels like RY finally found her footing and is actively doing things to drive the plot.
2. TONS of character development!! I see a lot of people complaining about the characters and not remembering them but like... did you do a reread? I don't feel like these characters were just plucked out of thin air. We had background for minor characters, and major development for mid and major characters. I personally wasn't confused - we expanded a bunch on the plot, it makes sense that we also expand on the number of characters.
3. We got rid of the damn miscommunication trope that ruined IF for me!! Violet and Xaden have grown so much coming out of IF, and I really liked how mature they were about their relationship in this one. It just felt so locked in - with Violet being driven to find a cure for Xaden, and Xaden focusing on not turning fully venin. I just really liked their approach to this relationship and it didn't just feel like insta-love like it did in IF - they've done so much together and really have an opportunity to explore (or explore as much as they can with one or both of them flying off to do dragon things) their relationship and next steps.
4. If you didn't like the first 2, you're not going to like this one. I feel like that's a given for any series.
I really don't have any major complaints - just some minor ones that hindered a 5 ⭐️ review. The emotional scenes didn't impact me all that much. I saw a lot of people crying on tiktok and insta, and I didn't really have that reaction. I was saddened when I was supposed to be, but it didn't illicit a visceral emotional response - which is kinda what I need to give something 5 stars. I just wish it was a little more emotionally impactful for me. Beyond that - I'm really happy with the direction RY is taking the series in, and I'm very excited to continue this story.
1. While the first 2 leaned more into Romantasy, this one veers more into Epic Fantasy with a romance subplot. I liked this - it feels like RY finally found her footing and is actively doing things to drive the plot.
2. TONS of character development!! I see a lot of people complaining about the characters and not remembering them but like... did you do a reread? I don't feel like these characters were just plucked out of thin air. We had background for minor characters, and major development for mid and major characters. I personally wasn't confused - we expanded a bunch on the plot, it makes sense that we also expand on the number of characters.
3. We got rid of the damn miscommunication trope that ruined IF for me!! Violet and Xaden have grown so much coming out of IF, and I really liked how mature they were about their relationship in this one. It just felt so locked in -
4. If you didn't like the first 2, you're not going to like this one. I feel like that's a given for any series.
I really don't have any major complaints - just some minor ones that hindered a 5 ⭐️ review. The emotional scenes didn't impact me all that much. I saw a lot of people crying on tiktok and insta, and I didn't really have that reaction. I was saddened when I was supposed to be, but it didn't illicit a visceral emotional response - which is kinda what I need to give something 5 stars. I just wish it was a little more emotionally impactful for me. Beyond that - I'm really happy with the direction RY is taking the series in, and I'm very excited to continue this story.