A review by bribreez
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5⭐️/ 3🌶️

WE’RE BACK IN BASIGATH PEOPLE! WOO! A highly, sought after, anticipated read of the year for me, and I could not be more excited! I flew head over heels in love with the world and characters in the first book, and I was more than ready to jump back into this magical, death defying adventure with my favorite characters! Violet wasn’t done learning from the new secrets kept from her in the past year, to revelations that turned her world upside down, and still dealing with the losses she and her fellow rides suffered from the first book. So much more was bound to happen especially now that Violet was officially in her second year in the riders quadrant. There was no telling exactly what would happen, but I was fairly confident in Violet, Xaden, and the rest of the characters to push through, and come out strong with all the obstacles they faced. As they say, “A Dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without its Dragon is dead.” Welcome back, to the Fourth Wing. 

Violet was definitely not the same woman she was last year when she crossed the Parapet into the riders quadrant. This story obviously is a continuation of the first book, “Fourth Wing”, and with that, Violet’s story wasn’t over. Violet was once a first year, literally trying to survive at every stage of trying to become a rider, and now that she finally was one, she was faced with a whole new set of challenges she never imagined herself involved in. Right away, I could see that Violet’s strength was even more impressive with the way she took down her opponents and ahem, basically those who YET AGAIN WERE TRYING TO UNALIVE HER! Thankfully, my girl Violet is deadly with her signature daggers, and intelligence! I could also see that with everything Violet had endured within the past year, she experienced trauma, loss, and being confronted with the reality of what was actually going on beyond the borders and within Basigath. Violet’s journey so far has been a mix of adventure, challenges, and her ability to constantly overcome anything that comes her way continued to amaze me, and admired her strength! All in all, VIOLET WAS A TOTAL BADDIE AND AS HER NICKNAME, VIOLENCE SHE LIVED UP TO IT AND MORE! 

I had a feeling things were going to be more complicated if not even more difficult for Violet and Xaden, but dang I didn’t see it happening in some instances. With some old and new characters brought into the story, they made things harder for Violet and Xaden from trying to see one another (since their dragons are mates and can’t go long without being with one another), to the….surprise surprise the many assassination attempts on Violet! Ugh can’t catch a break, I swear! Meanwhile, I was trying to hold onto any moment Xaden and Violet had together, despite Violet still feeling like she couldn’t trust Xaden after what went down in the previous book. (Sigh) I just wanted my faves to be back in a loving embrace and not be at odds with one another. 

VIOLET AND XADEN FOREVER! Gosh I love those two with my whole heart! Even in the midst of chaos and death defying obstacles, Violet and Xaden managed to steal whatever moments they had together! This story definitely also showed that there was still some distrust and issues that needed to be addressed between Violet and Xaden. I expected the distance between Violet and Xaden from graduation and dealing with their new “normal”, but as the story progressed a lot of things were brought to light that really made Violet and Xaden work on their communication skills and overall working towards bettering their relationship. Even the most powerful couples deal with problems and Violet and Xaden gradually opened themselves up to the honest raw true. Aside from all that, I OBVIOUSLY GOBBLED UP ANY AND EVERY SWOON WORTHY MOMENT BETWEEN MY FAVES! The declarations of adoration and love from Xaden absolutely had me smiling and swooning to the max!

I'm just as reckless for you as you are for me."

XADEN YASSSSS! TELL VIOLET EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL! BECAUSE I SURE I FELT THAT IN MY HEART! Xaden, shadow wielding sexy god of a man continued to steal my heart, and more importantly continued to FIGHT FOR HIS WOMAN, VIOLET! WOOOOOO! 

I lowkey forgot that the story was structured in parts so when I finished part one, I was a bit shocked at what went down! From all that had happened so far, things were finally getting out into the open, and more of the truth of what was happening beyond the borders was revealed which, was not only shocking to most people, but completely changed their perspective. Once again, Violet not only tried her hardest to find solutions to help, but she also physically and mentally endured so much that I’m positive I wouldn’t have suffered. The things that Violet had faced so far in her life spoke to the level of determination, courage, and all around strength she possessed that I haven’t seen in a character in quite some time. My heart broke seeing Violet suffer the way she was tortured by Varrish, but luckily Xaden and the others came to the rescue. 

This book, much like the first one was as much of a wild adventure going from excitement, danger, emotional twists, and turns that had me second guessing where the story was going. Nothing was as it seemed, and Violet and Xaden were on a crazy journey from dealing with the imminent threat of the venin and more. PHEW! I cannot stress how much goes on in this story like, I knew stuff was going to go down, but yet again this story caught me off guard multiple times. As much as there was a lot of info dumping in a good portion of the story, it was all necessary in order to push forward the plot line, as well as set up the stage for the grand overarching journey that Violet was on. 

OMG OMG OMG!!!!! I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW INSANE THINGS GOT IN THIS BOOK! From the plot twists and especially towards the ending?! AHHHHHH! WHAT THE *BLEEP*!!!!! The way this book legitimately had me in a chokehold is no joke! I’m seriously in awe in the way that Rebecca raised the stakes even higher to a level I GENUINELY WAS NOT EXPECTING! I honestly can’t imagine anyone guessing the outcome of this story it’s just entirely unique and such a rollercoaster that went up, down, sideways! Violent and Xaden were up against so many obstacles, and their relationship was really put through the wringer. While there was still those moments of romance between Violet and Xaden, the bigger picture remained focused on the dangers and challenges they and their friends were faced against with the venin and wyverns. I absolutely adored getting to see more of the found family in this story, Rhiannon, Ridoc, and Sawyer, and even Imogen continued to make me laugh and love the close friendship they had with Violet. There’s so much that happened that I’m still reeling in the aftermath! Without spoiling the story just know that if you read, “Fourth Wing”, you’ll definitely find more to love from Violet, Xaden, and the rest of the characters, and of course, YOU CANT FORGET ABOUT THE FANTASTIC, POWERFUL, AND ALL AROUND MAGICAL DRAGONS THAT REMAINED PHENOMENAL THROUGHOUT THE STORY! I’m honestly rambling at this point because, I’m still in utter shock and absolute devastation after reading this book, (sigh) it’s just so freaking phenomenal! I CAN’T GET OVER IT! And now to wait for the next book. Until then, I shall PATIENTLY wait for Violet, Xaden, the dragons, and others in the next book!