Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Iron Flame

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Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

457 reviews

literarymary95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Just like Fourth Wing, this book swallowed me whole and I struggled to get out of it. I've heard some people didn't like Iron Flame as much as Fourth Wing, but I think Iron Flame is my favorite so far of the 2 books already written. While the Fourth Wing was more about developing the main characters, Iron Flame picks up with more world building, which I really appreciated. However, it did not take away from the progression of the character development but added onto it. I learned more about each character, especially Xaden's since his was pretty mysterious (for good reason) in. Violet's character continues to stay true as she battles through learning how to deal with her world that constantly changes while also learning how to use her strengths (bonds with dragons and Xaden, lightning wielding, loyalty, wit, and vast knowledge from studying to be a scribe) while being the physically weakest person in her current circle.

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rowstream's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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mattgregz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I binged this right on the heels of book one and I have many of the same feelings: the plot is sleek and momentous, the dialogue is cringy at best, and the sex scenes are unnecessary.

I found the world-building in the first story more compelling and accessible, but the twists and turns and ultimate payoff way more satisfying in this installment. the ending is major, even though it’s infuriating.

will be holding my breath til book 3 drops and praying for less sex. not because I’m a prude but because all it does (when poorly written) is take the wind out of the sails of an otherwise exhilarating fantasy.

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amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book was such a slog to get through. It was like a third-act breakup stretched across hundreds of pages because Violet and Xaden spent most of the book fighting. They were hardly ever together and when they were, they were having the same argument over and over. It was extremely tiresome, and I felt this romance novel was missing the romance. A lot of their issues seemed very contrived, like Violet was just looking for things to be mad or insecure about. She makes a whole issue about Xaden not saying he loves her, only that he's fallen for her. What does she think "fallen for" means exactly? I understand she was still upset with him for not telling her some big secrets in the first book, but I think it was way overblown and drawn out. It was also a bit hypocritical of her to be upset at Xaden for not telling her all the super-secret mission details while she was also not telling everything to her loved ones and was going behind Xaden's back on her own mission. All of the internal conflict was exhausting, and I kind of just wanted them to break up already so I wouldn't have to read about it anymore.

I also really didn't like that they had Violet and Xaden's ex fighting over him. It was childish, and I'm just done with books pitting women against each other because of some guy.

Xaden was just kind of there, without much personality. All of the side characters were also lacking development. I couldn't remember much about the friends and professors from the first book despite reading it only 4 months ago and was always mixing the characters up in my mind, but it didn't matter much as they weren't very present in this book.

I did like the non-relationship parts of the book, for the most part. I thought learning about the wards and more about Andarna were both interesting, as was the final part of the book. Even during the really exciting plot stuff happening, I was still easily able to put the book down and not feel the need to pick it up again for another day or two.

Just when I thought I was ready to give up on this series, that cliffhanger ending happened. I might give the next book a chance, but I'm really not interested in reading 3 more long books if they're like this one.

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skyfluff's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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cassidy_99's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Throw me off the parapet and call me dead if she does this. HOW could she do this to Xaden?? He better not die or my world will be destroyed. This book had a lot more fluff and filler chapters than the last, but I understand it was necessary for story and world building. I just hope the next book keeps our boy and love story ALIVE.

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sicemsinger's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow what a ride! Fast-paced, action packed, thrilling bits of new information all the way through, and just enough steamy sex.

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ko_rax's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Iron Flame is the sequel of Rebecca Yarros' romantasy, preceeded by Fourth Wing, featuring further development of the revolution and conflicts arising in Violet's interpersonal relationships.

First things first: I cannot stand the protagonist, Violet. I have not liked her in Fourth Wing, either. Violet portrays toxicity for me, something I can do well without. Even so, I was hoping for her to have some character development (that proves good character building) and am troubled to find that I cannot discern much of it here.
Her conflicts dragged to a point that I feel like her slow-paced inner work does not match the high-strung tension of a fast-paced plot

that only ever took a breather during smut scenes

. That is not to say that inner work should be quick: Her disagreements felt repetitive -

a point that Violet herself acknowledges

- and it took away from the quality of the rushed plot, instead adding value by pushing lacklustre character development. Also, I wish

Xaden took back saying that Violet is a rational being - she is not.

For a novel focused on romance, I dare say that it was lacking heavily in the romance department. I can only hope for The Empyrean series to improve from now on.

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legally_bree's review against another edition

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sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A good read. Will definitely read the next book in the series. Did not expect the ending!

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ckozik1017's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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