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ka_ke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Confinement, Sexual content, Cursing, Blood, Death of parent, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Medical content
Minor: Toxic relationship
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
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
vivarax'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: Cursing, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, War, Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Murder
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.
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- 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
aytac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, War, and Violence
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
vaguely_pink'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
(It's worth noting at the beginning here that this book needs a heavy trigger warning for torture, so if that's the only part of this review you read ((as if anyone reads my reviews )), I'll be okay.)
A lot of the issues I had with Fourth Wing were nonexistent here. Violet is no longer info dumping all the time. The world has been built in book one (no matter how lazily), so the lore we get here is well crafted and executed. It sort of felt like Fourth Wing was just the book she had to write so Iron Flame made sense.
The character writing is also much improved in book two. Particularly when it comes to Violet and Xaden's relationship. (Although I will never forgive Ms. Yarros for naming him Xaden.) This genre has so many male love interests that are too perfect and exist only to teach the FMC something about herself (Manic Pixie Dream Bat Boys™), but Xaden is flawed as hell. They fight and I can't take anyone's side because they're both wrong and toxic as hell sometimes. They both have major character growth throughout the book, and we love to see it.
The more minor characters are much more enjoyable too. In Fourth Wing I could barely keep everyone straight in my head, so it was hard to appreciate the found family banter. In Iron Flame, it's all there and wonderful. Would die for Ridoc.
And of course we love to see this kind of disability representation. And not only EDS, but some great PTSD portrayals in there too. As a neurodivergent disabled girlie, there was lots to warm my cold heart. And all the great family drama in there too. Juicy.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. While I could predict every single twist to Fourth Wing, I had no idea what was coming next in Iron Flame. I still maintain that the Empyrean series so far is nothing revolutionary. Despite what the blurb on the cover says, this is exactly like every fantasy you've ever read. But damn if this Divergent/Eragon/wizard-books-that-shall-not-be-named mash up isn't fucking fun. Very excited for the next installment.
Graphic: Death, Torture, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual content, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Grief, Ableism, Body horror, Violence, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Kidnapping, and Xenophobia
Minor: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Animal death
lexim's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content, War, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Chronic illness, and Confinement
Minor: Bullying, Classism, Medical trauma, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders