***This review contains spoilers!!***
The next installment in our sequence of reviews shines light on the second (of three books) in the ever popular “Empyrean Series” by Rebecca Yarros. “Iron Flame” dives deeper into the story created in the first book of the series “Fourth Wing” as we see the rebellion take form as the war continues to get more dangerous and brings in some new fighters.
There are no lack of jaw dropping moments in this book. It is a rollercoaster of emotions, you might cry, you might laugh, possibly even both at the same time, but the plot twist at the end – which shall NOT be spoiled – that includes Barlowe and Riorson, will stun you.
“Fourth Wing” ended with Violet Sorrengail almost dying in Resson, Liam Mairi, one of the closest characters to Violet, dying saving Violet’s life when she was stabbed with a poison blade by a venin, and she ended up in a coma. Violet was then brought to Aretia where she was healed by her brother who was assumed MIA.
As far as cliffhangers go, Rebecca Yarros has nailed them in my opinion. I mean, it’s a cliffhanger so I wasn’t exactly ecstatic about it when I got to the end of “Fourth Wing”, but Yarros makes all of the pieces connect as soon as you pick up “Iron Flame”, just to leave her readers with another one at the end.
Needless to say, I was very excited to start reading “Iron Flame”. How do I feel now, after reading the ending? Absolutely hopeless, – I can’t wait to read “Onyx Storm”.
The fact that Violet’s brother Brennan is alive after faking his death for SIX YEARS, *chef’s kiss* (I cried when reading this part), well done. The involvement of Liam’s little sister after one of the most heartbreaking death scenes I have ever read, soul crushing (I cried here too), but I can’t help but to love it.
“Iron Flame” is a bit slow to start. Although it does give a lot of important information and story building to the reader, and it does pick up more about a fifth through the book. Towards the beginning, the storyline is building but definitely drops some jaws.
Yarros dives deeper into the dark and dangerous side of the academy, including torture and a lot of death as the incoming first years cross the parapet and prepare for the threshing – that is if they manage to make it through the gauntlet.
Ridoc and Sawyer, and Tarin and Andarna, are ever the comedians throughout the story, managing to keep the slower scenes lighthearted and interesting with their quippy remarks, especially “teenage” Andarna toward Tarin.
Andarna asks Tarin “Can you carry a luminary?” Tarin’s response being: “That question insults me” and the beautiful quickness of Andarna rephrasing her question,“Can you carry a luminary while insulted?” is a fan favorite scene that brings some light to a rather serious scene.
Violet attempts to tutor and assist Liam’s little sister, Sloane, so she doesn’t die during her training as a first year, but throughout the book Sloane has it out for Violet. As if the death of Sloane’s older brother, Liam, in “Fourth Wing” wasn’t enough, the readers get an absolutely heart-rending final goodbye from Liam in “Iron Flame” when Violet is being tortured.
The torture scene is hard to read if you aren’t really acquainted with books that are quite this graphic. There aren’t any trigger warnings and the scene isn’t necessarily traumatic, but a “graphic” warning should be placed at the beginning of the book or chapter.
General Sorrengail and Dain Aetos, receive a little bit of character development in “Iron Flame” as well (so keep an eye out for that), but they still have some work to do to regain the readers trust. The readers see it in Aetos when he learns out what is actually going on with the wyvern, and the readers see some emotional development in the General when she sees her daughter almost die.
Andarna enters what the dragon’s call “dreamless sleep,” which is used so the dragons can put all of their energy into growing, and wakes up approximately halfway through the book, although things don’t look too good for her and her underdeveloped wing.
Characters presumed dead continue to manifest back to life, including Jack Barlowe, whom Violet dropped a mountain on top of in the first book. Loyal characters attempt to assassinate Violet, Xaden, Imogen, Bodhi, and anyone else who battled the wyvern in Resson, trying to condemn their souls to Malek before their time.
In the final moments of the book, Rebecca Yarros drops yet another, final, absolutely soul crushing plot twist. Ever desperate to become the hero of the story and to save his found family, Xaden becomes a venin.