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spootilious's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Title: Iron Flame
Rating: 1.5 / 5
Review:
1. The story concept is a good one. And if another author (a skilled one) had written this story I’m sure I would have LOVED it.
Onto the list of things I didn’t like:
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, War, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit
vivivi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's one thing after another! People are dropping like flies!
Really hard to put down.
Finally able to catch my breath at the halfway mark.
And somehow we manage to come back to a school setting, which I love.
Things are looking bleak. I'm in the final 2 hours of the audiobook. Anything can happen. Anyone might die. Ahhh
Holy cow that ending. Two cliff hangers in a row!! Amazing. Love it. Also, I need the next book.
Are reviews supposed to make sense? I can't make any sense at the moment.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, War, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Vomit, Violence, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Kidnapping
katvou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Gore, Medical content, War, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Body horror, Drug use, and Bullying
Minor: Suicide attempt, Excrement, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Self harm
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, War, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Classism
Minor: Ableism and Alcohol
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
pros:
- the writing is just addictive, even though 600+ pages of small text, I didnt want to put it down.
- overall, i enjoyed this more than the first i think, there were less tropes i didnt like and the writing felt better.
- xaden does finally tell violet his secrets which was character growth.
- the twists and turns were fun to read and I didnt predict many, if any, of them.
- while impulsive, violet does show her intellect in figuring shit out and I liked
- I like the reveal about
- I liked the bits of humor, with ridoc and tairn's sarcastic sass, as well as Andarna's.
- the angst overall was excellent, there was all different types and all of the characters went through the wringer in one way or another!
- I also liked the team dynamics a lot, with ridoc, imogen, rhiannon and the rest banding round violet and teasing her.
cons:
- biggest issue was just how many names there were. i just lost track. needed a list of characters and their roles desperately. I couldnt remember who garrick was, was still learning dragon names at the end, and thought Tairn was the biggest dragon. i did read it fast, but it did suffer from the fantasy book disease of an overstuffed cast (imo).
- the argument between xaden and violet was repetitive, which was noted but still a bit frustrating. like, the growth in xaden finally revealing his big secret(s) seems to just be that violet wore him down and he was worried they'd die. so.
-
- Cat was an annoying development and I didny really enjoy any of her sections. I think women managing to work together and get on dispite history involving a man is far more interesting than being petty. I know its brought up that Cat just wants xaden's crown, but it still felt like the catty (hah) ex trope.
- also, just personally, I skipped some of the sex. i thought the sexual tension between them was written great, but I would have been happy with a fade to black. but that's just how the book is.
all in all, this was highly addictive and I loved a lot of the ideas and the bits of humour. despite some significant flaws, definitely want to read the next!
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, War, Violence, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Death
natashareadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4⭐ out of 5⭐.
Tropes:
→ fantasy romance /romantasy
→ enemies to lovers
→ forced Proximity
→ academy (war college)
→ New Adult romance
→ chronic illness (h) representation
→ morally gray H
→found family
→ slow burn
→ overcoming adversity/underdog
→ dysfunctional family
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Cursing, Animal death, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Torture, and War
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Murder, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Kidnapping
bookish_kirst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Was it better than Fourth Wing? - Nope.
Will I be reading book 3? - 100% 🙃
Literally stared into space for about 20 minutes after finishing it bc wtf was that ending. I didn't see that coming at all. I expected something like Violet to be left seriously injured or kidnapped or something.
Things I liked:
- Soooo many action/fight scenes. We got to see the characters really use their signets and their training.
- Tairn and Andarna. I swear the banter and sass from these 2 was top notch. I love teen-Andarna so much.
- Xaden, enough said. I swear, the things I would let that man do to me🥵 we also got to see the sweeter side of him which I loved.
- The world building is still so good! We got a bit more history of the world and even though there's still alot of unanswered questions I feel like I understand what's going on a bit better now.
Things I didn't:
- It did not need to be 623 pages. Honestly there were a few scenes that could have cut completely and it wouldn't have affected the story. The pacing was just a little off and it threw me off a few times.
- Cat. She could have been a great character but she was reduced to being a jealous ex-gf who caused drama for the sake of it, waste of potential.
- Soooo many new characters that didn't get fully fleshed out so I'm still unsure if they're going to be important in future books or if they're just side characters.
TW: death, injury, torture, physical trauma, murder, grief, emotional trauma
Overall I really enjoyed Iron Flame just not as much as Fourth Wing🔥
Graphic: Death, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Self harm, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Body shaming, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Animal death, Death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and War
lemonwrlds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Vomit, Bullying, Drug use, Genocide, Torture, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Medical trauma