Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Iron Flame (Empyrean, #2)

by Rebecca Yarros

“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.

Reviewed by Terri M. LeBlanc on

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This might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but this follow up to Fourth Wing fell short for me. There were pieces of the plot that need more explanation. I can't be the ONLY one who was completely lost when it cam to wyverns and how all that worked. The pacing was also off kilter compared to Fourth Wing which I raced through. I seemed to stuck at so many different points of Iron Flame that I honestly considered not finishing it.

The whole thing seems rushed to print and now we are left waiting who knows HOW long for book 3. I would have rather waited a few more months or even a year if it would have meant a stronger plot that wasn't so fraught and confusing.

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Reading updates

  • 8 November, 2023: Started reading
  • 8 November, 2023: on page 0 out of 640 0%
  • 21 November, 2023: Finished reading
  • 31 December, 2023: Reviewed