A review by thebalancedbookshelf
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

3.25

I went into this book with a very casual mindset. I liked the first two but didn’t do a reread before hand and while I was excited for this release I didn’t have crazy high expectations.  

This could be due to a lack of reread but my biggest issue with this book was all of the characters, government officials, and political aspects it had. The first 100-150 pages was hard to get through and felt like an information dump. I felt like a lot of this could have been spread out throughout the series but we got so much more geographical information in this one. I understand some things couldn’t have been added before this but it felt like way too much to just throw into this book. Then on top of that we got so much more historical information that just felt out of place. Because of all of this it felt like more of a middle book to me, which I guess it is if this series is going to be 5 books long. Although there was action, the focus on the structuring of a new government and all these new isles really brought the book down. 

There were definitely moments that did shine through. I liked when we finally got more of the dragons. I missed their banter and the sarcasm they have. I also really enjoyed Violets cleverness. As always she outsmarts everyone and I really enjoyed the poisoning scene. There were some good group moments but it felt like these moments were few and far between.

I just feel very indifferent about this book. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t do my rereads and I wasn’t immersed in the world or if this book just has a lackluster quality to it that the other books didn’t have. It just felt like it was missing the marks that made it stand out in the first place. A lot of the plot and even the reveal for Violets second signet was just underwhelming. I also felt like the storyline was repetitive. Bringing in Halden as an ex just like we brought in Cat…unnecessary. I feel like this book had so much going on and I find myself not really caring about what happens next.