Book Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Title: Iron Flame
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Publisher: Red Tower Books
Publication Date: November 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781649375858

Synopsis:
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.

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UUUGH I am ruined. What was that ending?? If there’s any one thing that Yarros excels at, it’s the cliffhanger. She leaves both chapters and books on the absolute works cliffhangers so that you’d totally and utterly hooked. I’ve been so invested in this series the past few weeks and I just don’t know how I’ll get into anything else. I expect I’m going to have the biggest book hangover after this one and there’s no concrete release date for the next book in the series at this point. Now, I did have a ton of disruptions reading Iron Flame that I didn’t have with Fourth Wing, so I’m going to have to go back to the start of Iron Flame and begin again. I think my perception of this book felt a bit more broken than did my experience with Fourth Wing, because I never had a set block of time to sit down and just devour it. I’ll remedy that with the second read.

What did I love about this book? Well the dragons in particular have quickly become my favourite characters. Andarna and Tairn are hilarious and endlessly joyful in their sassy banter with the sarcasm layered on thick. It’s immense comic relief in an otherwise heavy story that grows darker by the page. They are the joy that keeps this book in balance. Characters like Sawyer, Ridoc, and Jesinia begin to take more of the spotlight and as their personalities unfold, I felt more drawn to each of them. If Jesinia doesn’t get a spin off series out of this, I’ll be sorely disappointed. She’s the unsung hero of this whole story and the fact that we don’t get more time with her as she place an intensely pivotal (albeit less dramatic) role in saving the lives of all those in the Rebellion.

But Xaden and Violet, I don’t quite know what to think. I give the greatest critique here because they shone so brightly in Fourth Wing and there’s so much anticipation coming out of that book, that truly just falls flat as we enter Iron Flame. There’s so much thoughtfulness and intentionality apparent in Fourth Wing that doesn’t overtly carry to the second book, though I hope we’ll see that resolved as we move through this series.

When it comes to Xaden and Violent, the chemistry and the natural, endearing banter that brought these characters to a whole other level in Fourth Wing really fell flat in this book. Hence, only 4 stars from me on Goodreads. Everything that was wonderful about each of them in book one is stripped away in book 2 as they make decidedly terrible personal decisions as the story progresses. Neither acts like themselves, both romantically, but also professionally. Violet isn’t her kick-ass self at all throughout this story. She’s emotionally reckless, lacks attentiveness and thoroughness in her research, and rarely overcomes challenges due to her own merit, falling instead to rescue by the stronger male figures in her clan. Fourth Wing represents Violent as toting a will-not-be-defeated attitude, but Iron Flame sees her reduced to someone relatively unremarkable. The characters all say she’s great, but I don’t see it. I actually felt this book to be much more rushed than the first book. It’s a little sloppy, and it shows.

Xaden, too, becomes almost performative in his proclamations of love, yet the descriptions of his ruthlessness and ferocity are not naturally represented in his actions. We’re told, rather than shown, his violence. The control he exhibits in book one is entirely unravelled in Iron Flame, to a point of seeming no-return. I’m not sure if we can recover from that ended. I’ll be avoiding all fan theories, because I hope somewhere in Yarros’ brain is a solution to resolve all of these intense issues that she’s introduced. My heart won’t take it otherwise.

I am a die hard fan at this point and I’m deep in it, with no hope of pulling back. I’ll be waiting anxiously for the next book along with everyone else, no doubt about it. Don’t let my struggles impact you picking up a copy of both of the books in The Empyrean series. It is SO worth it.

Happy reading!