I’m not going to lie, but Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was probably the most surprising book of the year for me. Yarros was already one of my autobuy authors, but she hadn’t published a fantasy novel before. I absolutely adored this book and therefore couldn’t wait for the sequel, Iron Flame. Earlier this month it was finally time to find out what happens to Violet, Xaden and the others after that gigantic cliffhanger of the previous book. There was such a huge hype around it and everyone started reading it almost immediately. At least, if you could get your hands on a copy. That wasn’t a concern for me since I listened to the audiobook. Was this story just as investing and compelling as its predecessor? Please be aware of Fourth Wing spoilers in this review.

About the book

• Title: Iron Flame
• Author: Rebecca Yarros
• Series: The Empyrean #2
• Publication date: November 7, 2023
• Publisher: Entangled
• ISBN: 9781649374172
• Number of pages: 623
• Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

My review

Okay I’m not going to deny it, this was my most anticipated release for the second half of 2023. I even powered through my previous book, A Fire in the Flesh, to be able to start reading Iron Flame. I was expecting a lot after the revelations of the previous book. And yes, a lot happened. I was expecting more obstacles for Violet and her friends, but also some intriges and rebellion planning. Yes, I got it all, including a lot of Violet and Xaden fighting.

The book was again centered around Violet who is starting her second year at Bassgiath, alongside her squad mates. Xaden is a newly graduate and that means they have to go their seperate ways. Because their dragons are mated, they still have to spend time together at least every week. This is the perfect opportunity for them to plot a revolution and solve their personal issues, isn’t it? Yes, it is. They indeed work together, but they still were bickering a lot. They didn’t know where they stood regarding their relationship. Violet has a tough time trusting Xaden after what happened, but she also finds it impossible to stay away from him. The constant fighting is what keeps the character growth going, because believe it or not, it adds up to their character development. However, sometimes it was a little bit too much.

Another character who developed so much literally and figuratively and therefore needs an honorable mention is Endarna, what an awesome dragon she is. You will understand why when reading this book. Besides all our familiar characters, there are a lot of side characters. Actually, yarros introduced a whole bunch of new ones in this book. This made it hard to tell them apart sometimes, especially because so many characters’ and dragon’s names are similar. Many of these new characters play a little role in this story, others a bigger one. However, all of them, no matter their role, get a background story. Interesting? Yes. Necessary? Definitely not. On one hand this slows down the pace, but on the other hand relationships get tested because of all the new characters and their background. Because, whose loyalty lies where?

As Yarros already was one of my autobuy authors, I was already familiar with the writing style. So, I knew I would be sucked into this book from start to finish. This actually happened and that has been a while as you may have noticed. I loved this about this novel, allbeit sometimes a little too long and a little too slow. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of this reading experience, but my concentration and attention span desperately needed to move onto something else after a week. It usually takes me less time to finish a book, but I’m slumpin so hard lately that I take longer to finish stuff. Also, it’s a long book.

The plot builds furrther on the events in Fourth Wing. The politics off the dragon riders is explored more in depth and preparations were made for a rebellion. This mainly takes place in the second half of the book, while the first half focuses on Violet training as a second year on Bassgiath. It might not seem like it because of the slower pacing, but there are already things happening there which lead to the eventual katalyst. This way, the author has succeeded in building up tenttion, because I wanted to know what would happen next. I just couldn’t stop reading. Unfortunately, the ending was less interesting for me, I was less invested than I was in the final chapter of Fourth Wing. However, it provides a good fundament to build this story on further.

Overall, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros was the book I was seeking right now. It managed to intrigue me from start to finish, even thouggh it was a tad slow at times. Both characters and story have grown so much compared to the previous book. Actually, the world building did too. Many events from Fourth Wing got explored more in depth in this book and we get provided with a look into the politics of the dragon riders. However, the constant bickering of Violet and Xaden annoyed me at one point, although it really adds up to their growth both individually as together. Although the final chapter was not realy something I enjoyed, it’s a good fundement to build this story upon. I’m really curious what direction this series will move into and therefore can’t wait for the next book.