Iron Flame (The Empyrean, 2) Hardcover – November 7, 2023

Iron Flame was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. I didn't know I was anticipating it until the fall when I read Fourth Wing, but I would have picked it up immediately upon finishing Fourth Wing if it had been released. I did purchase it on the release date which is rare for me to do these days. *And I've been holding this review for about a year waiting for my "All Things Halloween" event to publish it.Violet and Xaden start off in a bit of a rough place where Fourth Wing ends and Iron Flame begins. They'd just survived the attack at Resson and Violet was dangerously injured. Xaden brings her to a safe place where he reveals that her brother, who she thought dead, is in fact, alive and he's known about that the entire time.Violet feels utterly betrayed on all sides. Her mother is a leader in a corrupt government, hiding creatures, the true enemy, from an entire society. Her brother has let her believe he's been dead for years. Xaden has kept the truth from her on so many issues that it's hard to keep count. Dain was her best friend growing up and he sent her on a mission that was near suicide, where some of her friends didn't survive. Her own bonded dragons kept information from her that influenced her thoughts, feelings, and actions. She feels alone like never before. But she doesn't stay there. She rallies. Because she has to. Evil is coming for them and they have to do what they can to prepare, to stop the slaughter of everyone they know and love.Violet and Xaden then proceed to have the same argument throughout the entirety of the book. All 884 pages seem to revolve around this argument. He wants her to ask him questions, especially the hard questions. She wants him to volunteer information that affects her without having to play games or know the right questions to ask. At times, I wanted to laugh. I've seen my parents who have been married 50 years have the same argument over and over that it's totally relatable. And yet, I wanted to bang my head against a wall. How can Xaden expect her to know which questions to ask if she doesn't? Of course, I can see his point of view that if she wants to know something about him or if she has a conflict, don't avoid it, just ask. Do the work to find out what you want to know. But sheesh this kind of got old and frustrating.I did like that Violet had a realization that the trials they're put through in the dragon rider's quadrant aren't without purpose. The teachers and leaders aren't simply cruel. And they aren't even trying to weed out the weak in the barbaric way that it appears. The purpose is to harden these warriors into steel so that they can face battle, evil really, and not flinch. Even the constant death of cadets serves a purpose. This realization was profound in a way that I don't think most readers would have been expecting--I wasn't expecting.I was also glad that Violet called Xaden on acting like Dain. I was feeling that way myself about how he was treating her, but I wasn't sure if the characters would address it or not. Xaden has also been keeping a pretty ginormous secret beyond all the others.Favorite quotes:-They seem to form a pattern, but I'm too close to see the whole of it. There's no perspective, which pretty much feels like a metaphor for my entire life right now.Perspective is so important, I've found. So many times I've found myself in a valley, but if I can remember to change my perspective, even if my circumstances do not change, the way I see them does and that can make all the difference.-"Stop bringing logic into an emotional argument."-Love doesn't even have the decency to die. It just transforms into abject misery. That's what this ache in my chest is: misery.-"We'll get back there. The anticipation is good for us."-I stumble on a rock, or my feelings, but manage to catch my balance. Physically, at least.-"You need to trust me even with secrets for this to work."-"I'll be here when you're ready because your friendship is precious to me. But please, for the sake of that friendship, don't insult me by lying."-"Trust has to go both ways to mean anything."-"You want to know something true? Something real? I love you, I'm in love with you. I have been since the night the snow fell in your hair and you kissed me for the first time. I'm grateful my life is tied to yours because it means I won't have to face a day without you in it. My heart only beats as long as yours does, and when you die, I'll meet Malek at your side. It's a ... good thing that you love me, too, because you're stuck with me in this life and every other that could possibly follow."-"You raged today because you were angry. ... You got jealous because you were jealous. You grappled with inferiority because for some reason I can't understand, you feel inferior. And you lashed out with insecurity because I think both of us are just figuring this out as we go. Own your feelings like you did last year and be honest with me."-"How long do you think it takes for someone to fall out of love? .. A day? A month? I'm asking because I don't have any experience with it. ... I'm asking ... because I think it will take you all of a heartbeat once you know."-"My love isn't fickle. ... So you'd better live, because I'm ready to ask you all the ... questions."-I'm quickly learning it's possible to love someone and not want to be with them at the same time.-"I love you enough to bear the weight of your disappointment."Man, just re-reading my highlighted sections of Iron Flame has me reliving this rollercoaster. I felt all the feelings during this book. I felt what Violet felt: sadness, betrayal, fear, love, sacrifice, work, jealousy, inferiority, power. I felt what Xaden felt: fear, love, pressure, responsibility. Even the side characters. Sloane reeling from her brother's death. Rhi feels like Violet is shutting her out. Man, I could keep going. Everything Violet goes through in just this book is mindblowing. This review will not measure up to this book. And I took too long to sit down to review it.And that ending...Man, I do not know how we're going to move forward with that ending. I have to say that I want to read the next book because I NEED to know how things wrap up, but I'm also dreading starting the next book because I don't love it when characters I've grown to love are facing such adversity. This is the kind of cliffhanger that leaves you feeling hopeless instead of all positive and tingly for what might be to come.Sheesh, I think I've rambled all over the place trying to describe Iron Flame and how I felt about it. I can't say that I'm hopeful for where our characters left off, but this rollercoaster ride was nothing short of 4.5 Stars. It would have been 5 Stars without that ending. Sheesh. Have you read Iron Flame? What did you think? Let me know!

I am so in awe of both "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame" that I thought I would sit here staring at a blank screen for a long time while trying to find words to express my respect for Rebecca Yarros, author of both books. I just spent 3 days reading them and the only reason it took so long is that one still has to bath, eat, water plants, feed pets and sleep though I did not do much of the latter.What writers call voice in both books is so very perfect that I immediately want to reread both books! The voice is fresh and up-to-date and modern even for the dragons yet fits perfectly into whatever period of time this fantasy took place but clearly when there were dragons! Before proceeding, however, I need to hyperventilate briefly.First of all, it is totally immature and so unnecessary for anyone to post a critical plot point in a review especially on purpose and without first posting a spoiler alert. This happens not only with these books but others as well. Doing so is just another, although minor, example of how Homo sapiens have free will which they unfortunately can and often do waste on trivialities. So, then, here is how I deal with the review situation.I do not read them until after I read the book, then I read them to see how others felt about the book. Since one needs to know what the book is about before purchase, then reading the descriptive paragraphs at the listing along with reading the free chapters Amazon thankfully offers at the listing itself will provide that. Thanks Amazon. Reading those chapters and the description plus checking the star/purchase numbers are good steps to take to avoid learning too much in a review prior to reading the book.The second rant has to do with plot. Let me assure everyone there are NO NEW PLOTS. People have been murdering people since the beginning of time. It is how the author takes a plot(s) and makes it her/his own that matters to the reader. It is doubtful anyone knows how many dragon/people/rider fantasy books are out there so in the end it is a personal opinion as to which book(s) one chooses to like.Having so many to choose from means some plot points will seem similar. For instance how many ways are there to shove a dagger into someone's ribs, a plot point in a massive number of books? This author knew how to handle the plot she chose and then developed with aplomb. Both books kept my attention fully--page after page after page.I so love both books. What is so outstanding about both is that we learn most everything we need to know about each well developed character, not by telling, but by showing through their actions and their sharp and sometimes witty dialogue. It is beyond skillful at how on point the conversations are not only between the humans but the humans and their dragons especially Tairn and Violet and with Andarna--such a cutie and definitely my favorite dragon. The growing relationship between Violet and Xaden is razor sharp and on point.Violet gets wonky with her "having to know all the truth up front demands" regardless of how Xaden has put forth so much effort to show her he cares. Everyone has secrets but a book needs tension to advance so whoa and hold on the tension builds and builds between those two. Xaden is my favorite character out of many favorites. Their arguments are worth "eavesdropping" on and their love scenes are well done (Chapter 48 is mentioned by some reviewers).In this book Violet, in spite of her fragile bones and smaller size but because of her iron will and cleverness, and all those who made it through First Year at the Basgiath War College (covered inFourth Wing") are now Second Years. Third years like my favorite character, Xaden, have graduated out and been assigned to outposts outside Basgiath. Thus begins an every other week trip for Violet and Xaden, him with her one weekend, her with him the next weekend. This is so their mated dragons can have time together each weekend.It is also in this book that Basgiath and all the outposts are put in perspective regarding the coming battle. The 'revolution' becomes a much larger focal point and Violet learns about Xaden's connection to the estate in Aretia. One can already see by this point how hard it is to give this book the 10 star, 100% review it deserves! Just read it and see what I mean. It is one well-done, well written heck of a book and do not forget "Fourth Wing first!!This book covers in more detail wards, the reason for them and the ins and outs of setting them up and what happens when they do not work (descriptive details I liked BTW). Details regarding the approaching battle then the battle itself are incredible. I am skimming plot points here since others have covered them very well but there is a lot of stuff left hanging at the end of this book and the end itself will floor you. It is like learning to fly on your own and suddenly losing that ability and plopping onto the ground and then fighting to just take a breath. It is shocking, promise.When an author has done their job, the reader will fantasize about what may happen next but this book leaves so much stuff hanging that there has to be another book. My favorite character deserves a better ending--the last two chapters still has me plopped on the ground breathless. So here's a partial list of the left-hanging questions.What happens between Violet and Xaden after the battle's aftermath? What happens to Aretia? Will Andarna's newly acquired fire play a role in the future especially in helping to set up wards? What happens to Basgiath after the war? What happens about the new dragon hatchlings? Will Cat's crew of riders play a future role? And, BTW, how did Jack get the way he turned out?So very many unanswered questions in addition to many, many not covered here. So, then, Rebecca Yarros, listen up: We readers have to have another book--please, please and thank you!!

This book was extremely long and I got lost just a tad bit every so often with it being dragged out/ over explained in some bits. While I loved fourth wing this is not as good but went more into depth about how things work and bonds with the dragons. It's a book where you are basically told everything about the first book is a lie and this is what is actually the truth.There was not really any character development as we continue to just look back at previous squabbles specifically between Xaden and Violet and it was exhausting for me to read because I just want them to be in love honestly lol. But nonetheless there were many new characters introduced that didn't give space to see the characters we knew. But I love knowing more about the world they live in and a good amount of foreshadowing for Onyx Storm. The ending upset me and thats valid IDC IDC