I have now read IRON FLAME on Kindle and listened to it on Audible. It’s every bit as good as the first book, FOURTH WING, and in some ways a lot better, as the story has moved forward in interesting and unexpected directions.
First of all, Andarna! I knew she was awesome but she BLOSSOMS in this book, and she’s my favorite character now. I won’t spoil it, but watch out reader! Andarna will surprise you.
I feel there was less sex in this one, though I didn’t count the sex scenes. Sex scenes to me are just filler between the action and intrigue, and we happily had more action and intrigue while the author is also beginning to strategically unfold the plot of the whole series.
The writing is fabulous. It is a rare treat for me to connect with characters like this, and I can only name a few series that make me feel that way: Harry Potter, Jodi Taylor’s St. Mary’s series, and this one. It is both action-packed and character-driven.
The world in this series is so well put together, and we are still learning secrets about it all the time. I like how the scribes are such a big part of the story, and Violet spends a lot of time reading and researching. Libraries are a huge part of the effort to win the war, uncover secrets and corruption, and protect the people, and I love that.
There is epistolary work at the beginning of each chapter, as in book one, comprised of letters, snippets from diaries, articles, and other forms of written communication. This is very successful.
There’s a cliffhanger at the end, and I don’t generally like cliffhangers, but there are still three books to come, and we’re going to get a lot more surprises, I’m sure.
Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton do a great job with the audiobook narration. Soler narrates the bulk of it, and she is so good at relating battle scenes and communications between Violet, Xaden, and their dragons. I enjoyed the audiobook more than the Kindle version because of Soler’s narration. She really brought this story to life.
Anyone who enjoys fantasy, dystopian fiction, romance, and/or great characters should read this one. Highly recommend!
Here is my review of Book One in the EMPYREAN Series, FOURTH WING. The EMPYREAN series is not standalone and should be read in order.
Warnings: Death, explicit sex scenes and lots of “f” bombs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca Yarros is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over fifteen novels, including FOURTH WING, and is always ready to bring on the emotions. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence in New Adult for Eyes Turned Skyward from her Flight and Glory series.
She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for twenty-one years. She’s the mother of six children and lives in Colorado with her family, their stubborn English bulldog, feisty chinchillas, and Maine Coon cat who rules them all. Having fostered and then adopted their youngest daughter, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October.
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I love the sound of this book series, Bonnie. The part about scribes and libraries made me so curious.
Thank you for an interesting review.
Yes! The author makes research, study, language, and history stand out in its strength. Physical strength is a big part of this book, but not all.
Ah, beautiful.
Excellent review, Bonnie, of a very intriguing book. Thanks!
Really I can see why this series is so popular.
Indeed!
Great review. Every review I read just makes me want to read it more.
I hope you enjoy it if you pick it up!
I wonder if it would have felt so long to me if I had read/listened to it. I’m thinking probably not. And you make an excellent point about Adarna. She definitely had a chance to shine in this story – metaphorically and literally 😂. She’s probably the most interesting dragon for sure!
There are still some things not revealed about Andarna, I think. I have one specific question, but since it involves a spoiler I can’t ask it on here. Darn.
I finally got my copy of Fourth Wing, hope to maybe read it over my holiday break, if I don’t spend it reading a bunch of holiday books. Maybe after Christmas I’ll start it. Didn’t read this too close so I would get any spoilers, but glad to hear this one was just as good as the first!