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skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
spoilers ahead.
idk, y'all. i was so excited for this but i think i have just lost patience for violet, xaden, and their relationship. the side characters, specifically iron squad, were more fun and i enjoyed their scenes more than most of the violet + xaden ones. rhiannon and ridoc are my favorites. i wish sloane and jesinia got more time being present, but at the same time this book was long enough to begin with. other things took priority that i don't think needed to.
the longer the book went on the more annoying violet and xaden became. if you cut out all of the unnecessary drama and secrets the book would be like two hundred pages shorter. like there's miscommunication trope and then there's whatever the fuck that mess was. every time they spoke to each other it was "i don't trust you" and then "you're not asking the right questions" like holy fuck dude you can't know what you don't know so just be honest if you want her to trust you ffs. don't be such a spiteful pissbaby about her not trusting you if you're not giving her reasons to believe anything you say. good god.
Also, what's the deal with their relationship being almost entirely physical???? either one of them walks in a room and they're both immediately drooling. violet only ever thinks about getting to know xaden when she realizes he's hiding things. i don't remember xaden literally ever, maybe even in fourth wing, asking violet a single thing about her. they're just being horny, but also still willing to risk the entire world for each other, to an irritating degree.
and what's up with violet being so dumb, for someone who is supposedly the smartest person at the whole school?? she sees the symbols in warrick's journal and is like "ah yes, the six and the one" but doesn't think about what that means at all and only does the initial wards with six dragons. and then when jesinia is like "yo, that's just a seven, you clown" she's completely mind blown and "how could i have missed this?" like yeah that's actually an excellent question. it's almost like she needed to not figure it out for like 200 pages so the solution at the end was more impactful. not only this but all of the logical, analytical traits she was originally written with are just gone. she doesn't think anything through, she takes unnecessary risks that don't fit her character, and she can't find any control with her magic until the very end. it's one of those things where the MC struggles so badly until the very end and then they almost never miss, but if they do, it's by inches bc the enemy moved so through no fault of their own.
the MCs feel like yarros forgot who they are and rewrote them for the sake of finding ways to keep tension between them. and cat? jesus christ don't even get me started. i did NOT like that. that was so fucking ick. good god.
idk. there's a lot of other logic flaws that just didn't need to be included. this book felt too long and some of the pacing was kind of weird. things would be brought up and then forgotten for actual months of the story, despite seeming urgent when it first happens. i had moments where i was fist pumping, cheering, laughing, or crying, and then some moments where i didn't understand why we needed to know about what was happening, or what happened to the earlier stuff that seemed so important.
It also feels like yarros just took from the most popular romantasies and kinda plopped in a lot of those stereotypes. this book feels like it was written more to sell to market instead of to tell a story, if that makes sense. idk. a lot of hype for something that feels like it ended up falling flat in more ways than one. my score is the way it is ONLY for the moments i loved that were enough to bring it up. if it weren't for the rest of iron squad, i'd have probably only given it 3 stars.
i'll probably keep reading the series but i'm not as impressed as i was the first time i read fourth wing. (and i did a reread before the iron flame drop and i think i'll be changing my review)
idk, y'all. i was so excited for this but i think i have just lost patience for violet, xaden, and their relationship. the side characters, specifically iron squad, were more fun and i enjoyed their scenes more than most of the violet + xaden ones. rhiannon and ridoc are my favorites. i wish sloane and jesinia got more time being present, but at the same time this book was long enough to begin with. other things took priority that i don't think needed to.
the longer the book went on the more annoying violet and xaden became. if you cut out all of the unnecessary drama and secrets the book would be like two hundred pages shorter.
Also, what's the deal with their relationship being almost entirely physical???? either one of them walks in a room and they're both immediately drooling. violet only ever thinks about getting to know xaden when she realizes he's hiding things. i don't remember xaden literally ever, maybe even in fourth wing, asking violet a single thing about her. they're just being horny, but also still willing to risk the entire world for each other, to an irritating degree.
and what's up with violet being so dumb, for someone who is supposedly the smartest person at the whole school??
the MCs feel like yarros forgot who they are and rewrote them for the sake of finding ways to keep tension between them. and cat? jesus christ don't even get me started. i did NOT like that. that was so fucking ick. good god.
idk. there's a lot of other logic flaws that just didn't need to be included. this book felt too long and some of the pacing was kind of weird. things would be brought up and then forgotten for actual months of the story, despite seeming urgent when it first happens. i had moments where i was fist pumping, cheering, laughing, or crying, and then some moments where i didn't understand why we needed to know about what was happening, or what happened to the earlier stuff that seemed so important.
It also feels like yarros just took from the most popular romantasies and kinda plopped in a lot of those stereotypes. this book feels like it was written more to sell to market instead of to tell a story, if that makes sense. idk. a lot of hype for something that feels like it ended up falling flat in more ways than one. my score is the way it is ONLY for the moments i loved that were enough to bring it up. if it weren't for the rest of iron squad, i'd have probably only given it 3 stars.
i'll probably keep reading the series but i'm not as impressed as i was the first time i read fourth wing. (and i did a reread before the iron flame drop and i think i'll be changing my review)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, War, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Violence
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
I picked this up after loving "Fourth Wing" earlier this year.
"Iron Flame" is the much-anticipated sequel to "Fourth Wing". Violet and Xaden are being driven apart by their vindictive leaders, but they refuse to let some distance seperate them. Violet's second year at her college is going to be an even bigger challenge than her first, and she does not know how she is going to survive. Violet is determined to prove everyone wrong, and she is going to remind everyone that it is the dragon riders that make the rules.
I could not believe how invested I was in this story. Xaden's love for Violet is beautiful, and I love that Violet is holding her own. She is hurt by Xaden's refusal to share important details with her, and despite how much she wants to cave and be with him, she is holding firm.
Xaden's and Violet's scenes were spicy and really well done. I was so lost in their moments together that I completely lost track of what was going on around me.
After the huge cliffhanger at the end of "Fourth Wing" I was so excited to see what would happen next. Finding out that Violet's brother was still alive was incredible, and I was dying to get the whole story.
"Iron Flame" also ends in a cliffhanger, and I am so curious to see how this will play out for our characters.
I will definitely be anxiously waiting for the next book!
"Iron Flame" is the much-anticipated sequel to "Fourth Wing". Violet and Xaden are being driven apart by their vindictive leaders, but they refuse to let some distance seperate them. Violet's second year at her college is going to be an even bigger challenge than her first, and she does not know how she is going to survive. Violet is determined to prove everyone wrong, and she is going to remind everyone that it is the dragon riders that make the rules.
I could not believe how invested I was in this story. Xaden's love for Violet is beautiful, and I love that Violet is holding her own. She is hurt by Xaden's refusal to share important details with her, and despite how much she wants to cave and be with him, she is holding firm.
Xaden's and Violet's scenes were spicy and really well done. I was so lost in their moments together that I completely lost track of what was going on around me.
After the huge cliffhanger at the end of "Fourth Wing" I was so excited to see what would happen next. Finding out that Violet's brother was still alive was incredible, and I was dying to get the whole story.
"Iron Flame" also ends in a cliffhanger, and I am so curious to see how this will play out for our characters.
I will definitely be anxiously waiting for the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Bullying, War, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Hate crime, Grief, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual content, and Animal cruelty
texashippie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gaslighting, Confinement, Body horror, Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Torture
keelirae113's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Ableism, Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Grief, Medical content, War, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Body horror, Classism, Child death, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Confinement, and Vomit
Minor: Bullying and Kidnapping
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Since I really don’t want to tackle any of the problems within this book (mainly the fantasy with a ton of plot-holes and the destroying of the romance of Violet and Xaden/spoiler> ), I’m instead going to make my case for a different couple: Dain and Sloane
Dain basically got a redemption arc. Once I found out that he didn’t know that he had been sending Violet off to her death in FW, I was able to get on board for a morally grey redemption arc. However, I will still never want him with Violet, no matter how toxic Rebecca Yarros made her and Xaden. So, I propose Sloane./spoiler>
Dain and Sloane really only interact on page in chapter 43, but her snapping at him was enough for me to sense enough tension for a great enemies to lovers arc. Also, their potential relationship would perfectly mirror the relationship between Violet and Xaden, all toxicity aside./spoiler>
- The age difference when they meet. Violet & Sloane: first-years; Xaden & Dain: third-years
- The chain of command forbiddeness. Both Xaden and Dain were/are the Wing Leaders of Violet/Sloane, and specifically in Fourth Wing.
- Each pairing has a child of a Tyrrish officer and a child of a Navarrean officer.
- Each pairing is equal in parent’s rank. Violet and Xaden are each the child of the military leader and Sloane and Dain are each the child of the military leader’s right-hand. Xaden even made that comparison, though with Liam instead of Sloane.
- Dain and Violet each thought they wanted their best friend. Xaden (and likely Sloane) didn’t really care about romance, but did care about revenge/the rebellion.
This kind of all hinges on if Sloane knows about Dain’s involvement in her brother’s death, but Sloane and Dain have similar reasons to be enemies as Violet and Xaden did. Violet disliked Xaden for his father having “killed” her brother. And Xaden didn’t like her because he hated her mom for killing his dad. Dain’s father definitely got Liam killed and there’s definitely an argument for still blaming Dain even after learning that he didn’t know about the ambush./spoiler> Violet and Xaden’s signets are both powerful and complimentary, with light vs dark. Sloane and Dain’s signets are also both powerful, and while not exactly complimentary, they are similar, with both being able to take from another rider and could easily be used as a weapon, which is demonstrated with Dain during Violet’s torture and Sloane with Violet’s mom./spoiler>
So yeah, I think that the next book should just ignore Violet and Xaden and whatever mess they’re in and focus on this new enemies to lovers story! And if Rebecca Yarros does ever see this, I’d love a shoutout in the acknowledgments!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, Grief, Medical content, Torture, War, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, and Gore
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Classism, and Toxic relationship
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
This book starts at 100 and maintains that streak with no breaks Jesus.
So many questions were answered and so many more arose. I liked watching Violet deal with the fallout of the first book and have to reframe everything she knows. So many sassy dragon moments I loved it. There’s so much to unpack and I loved it. I can’t wait for the next book
So many questions were answered and so many more arose. I liked watching Violet deal with the fallout of the first book and have to reframe everything she knows. So many sassy dragon moments I loved it. There’s so much to unpack and I loved it. I can’t wait for the next book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, War, and Torture
Moderate: Bullying and Chronic illness
Minor: Animal death, Gaslighting, and Murder
amschelly153's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
It feels sometimes tropey or traditional YA, and also, I appreciate the representation the author presents in the book and the character development.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Death of parent, War, Murder, Violence, Grief, and Torture
eabecker05's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
Oh. Boy.
This was a ride and I have book hangover.
I wrote down theories and questions as I was reading and I might as well throw all those away now. They don’t work with the way the story has turned.
Poor baby girl Violet. The past year had been rough to say the least but the past 7-8 months has been cruel. First you find out your country has been lying for centuries. Then you fight in a battle that you are not trained properly for. Lose one of your best friends. Almost die. Find out your dead brother is in fact not dead. Go back to school and you are now suspect number one. Nonstop hounding by a cruel high ranking official. Torture by said official. Becoming a “traitor”. Researching ancient texts. Activating an ancient wardstone—incorrectly. Going to an even bigger worse battle. Losing your mother to correctly active a wardstone. And then your boyfriend becomes the very creature you’re trying to destroy.
I thought I was having a bad year.
I loved that part one was at Basgiath. I loved seeing how the structure of the lie the Navarrian government was crumbling now that Violet knew what to look for. We can all agree that Varrish was the worst. He shouldn’t have been allowed to work with students. That man should’ve been on desk duty. But hey, how do you successfully hide information from a whole nation? Threats and torture. Varrish did his job well but he was a bad, bad guy.
Jack Barlowe. He came back!? I guess he never actually died since apparently he was VENIN!? Since last year!? WTF!? Obviously we wouldn’t have seen the signs when we didn’t know it but we also missed it on rereads? Damn him. F* him. But also brilliant.
Lilith died. General Sorrengail sacrificed herself for the wardstone to save the dragons, Navarre, and, most importantly, her children. I can’t scream redemption louder for this woman. She did want she was told. She did what she thought would protect her family. She failed but that’s human nature. Her sacrifice cut me. When she said she’d get to see him, her husband, I cried. I’ll tear up in books occasionally but not cry.
I loved seeing more of the world. Going to different parts of the continent was very interesting. War torn and warded Navarre seems to keep everything bland and basic. What’s the point of making it pretty when you’ve been at war for four hundred years? Provinces in Poromiel do not think the same despite the proximity to the venin. Cordyn was beautiful and majestic and colorful.
This book was such a wild ride and I had the best time.
The emergence of the First Six did bother me a bit. To my knowledge they were not referenced at all in the first book but were very pertinent to the plot of the second. Maybe they’ll be more important here out. I’d very much like to learn more about the others and their ideas of closing Navarre.
The fact that both Violet and Xaden were tempted by the earth magic is very intriguing. Desperate to live Xaden fell for the pull but Violet also felt it. She nearly gave in but her mother and brother stopped her. At first I thought it was poetic that Violet, the weak and fragile of the two, was able to resist the pull, while Xaden, the sterotyoical strong one, fell for it. But it makes sense. Violet has always known how to adjust and accommodate for her faults. Xaden has always needed power and strength and when he was waning he did what he needed to do to stay strong.
All in all I throughly enjoyed this book. I couldn’t stay still at parts. I yelled at the audiobook. I cried.
All in all I throughly enjoyed this book. I couldn’t stay still at parts. I yelled at the audiobook. I cried.
I’m still numb.
I’m scared but so, so ready for book three.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Torture, and Gaslighting
booking_along's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Grief, Animal cruelty, Torture, War, and Confinement
booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition
1.75
There were some good lines and some sassy dragons, and some bad ass women side characters. But overall this books wasn’t what it could be. Fourth wing had potential, but reading this book…. I will say this without spoiling. Because I STRUGGLED through this book.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
don’t read if this next part of you don’t want to know, but I don’t personally think it is a spoiler
Yarros seems to (from my knowledge of other books I have read) pulled heavy “inspiration” from books that came out in the 200’s & 2010’s. From HP, Twilight, Divergent, City of Bones and even Vampire Academy, then yeeted dragons and a few spice scenes to call it something new. Yes most fantasy isn’t whole heartedly original, but the way she portrays each of these plot points in Iron Flame is a little too close to the original idea from the other series (imo).
Even the ending is wayyyy too close to a major plot point in one of the series I listed above and it was blatantly obvious if you had read that series.
At this point I feel, with 3 more books ahead, that this won’t be a great. I hope Yarros and Red Tower going forward go through a few more edits and if ideas from other series are used, that it isn’t so similar to the original content.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
don’t read if this next part of you don’t want to know, but I don’t personally think it is a spoiler
Yarros seems to (from my knowledge of other books I have read) pulled heavy “inspiration” from books that came out in the 200’s & 2010’s. From HP, Twilight, Divergent, City of Bones and even Vampire Academy, then yeeted dragons and a few spice scenes to call it something new. Yes most fantasy isn’t whole heartedly original, but the way she portrays each of these plot points in Iron Flame is a little too close to the original idea from the other series (imo).
Even the ending is wayyyy too close to a major plot point in one of the series I listed above and it was blatantly obvious if you had read that series.
At this point I feel, with 3 more books ahead, that this won’t be a great. I hope Yarros and Red Tower going forward go through a few more edits and if ideas from other series are used, that it isn’t so similar to the original content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, War, Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness
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