Review by dairaglynn - Onyx Storm

dairaglynn 's review for:

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

3.75

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The majority of my rating is based on vibes because I have some THOUGHTS I need to share.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* *SPOILERS AHEAD*

I swear, stop reading this review now because there are gonna be some major spoilers here.

Okay first let me say this book was WAY better than Iron Flame. That one almost made me DNF the series and this one brought me back into it. If you take a step back and look at book 3 as a whole, it was an excellent story, however when looking into the details and everything I remember from the first two books in the series it takes more of a hit.

This book felt very fast for me, there was so much packed into it, and I dont really recall any just chill moments. And as much as the story progressed, it still felt like it jumped around, not that there were things missed and we went back to them, but rather because of how fast it read and how full it was, we missed a lot of the slowness and just “life”, so the story was constantly jumping from one plot point to the next.

Based on how book 2 ended I think we all expected Xaden in his villain era for book 3 and that didn’t really happen. This was actually one of the things that really annoyed me. We go from book 2 with the constant arguments, fighting, toxicity that is Xaden and Violet, to this book where they seem to not have any secrets, are saying “I love you” every other second, and both seem present in their relationship. Yes, love this. BUT from it to take a complete 180 from book 2, where we didn’t really see that character growth? That was frustrating. It was like like once Xaden turned and Violet stuck with him he decided to finally trust her and that was his turning point? Like if that hadn’t happened they would still fight all the time? Idk, the complete flip between the books was very strange, and I feel like I never saw their relationship develop. In book 2 it was toxic, and book 3 was full commitment. Did they go to couples therapy in between the two books and we just missed it? Because thats what it read like.

I also feel like a lot of the characters that got second signets were just random and RY was like “well I really need a fix here, so you can have a second very helpful signet”. Mostly talking about the marked ones here, but Violet’s could have gone in a lot of different directions as well. There were a lot of theories out there before this book was released, and I feel like RY almost wrote book 2 in a way that left the door open to Violet having a lot of different options for her second signet depending on how the story would go. I almost wonder if Xaden wasn’t supposed to go full venin at the end of the book and was supposed to be cured at the end of book 3 instead. BUT with him going full venin and that bond to mind speak no longer being there, the dream-walking could be a way for them to still communicate. It definitely felt like Violet and Xaden hatched a plan together in between those final two chapters and Violet had Imogen erase her memory because it would have put both of them at risk. But we all know Violet won’t stop looking for Xaden or a cure, so the dream-walking might be their best option to communicate in secret now.

This one isn’t as big for me, but there are too many “main” characters now, and with the dragons and gryphons.. its a lot to keep them all straight and actually care about them. There were a few deaths in this book and none of them hurt me emotionally because, meh I barely knew that character anyway. RY has gotta start killing off a few more and dwindle these main ones down.

Also, the one big big hurt in this book, the one time I actually cried, was when Andarna broke the bond and left. That was brutal to read, and I could really tell Violet’s pain, that was great writing. Okay but then she comes back a few chapters later? Like seriously, what was the point in all that? Yes if she had left and gone with her den and stayed gone for a whole book or the majority of one, I would understand that and I could see that impacting the plot. But her just leaving and coming back so soon? Like literally nothing really major happened when she was gone that would have changed if she were there? At least nothing major I can tell. Idk that entire twist was very strange and I really don’t see a point to it at all. I really hope we get more understanding of this in the next book, but as of this moment that entire “plot” could have been left out and the story would still read the same.

Also, what was with Violet always being dizzy? Okay yes she did move and fly A LOT in this book, and we know she is physically weak, but I swear the number of mentions about her being “dizzy”, “light headed”, “too exhausted”, “really needing to rest” throughout the entire book felt like too much of a coincidence. There is no way RY would mention it that much unless it meant something. Maybe physically weaker because of her bond with Xaden and him transitioning to venin? Maybe another reason? Idk, but I swear if there is a pregnancy trope in here and Violet is extra “dizzy” or “weak” because of that I will DNF the series. Also, the number of times that Xaden not having an heir was mentioned.. it all feels very sketchy. I really hope Im reading into that too much and there is no pregnancy trope, but Im kinda scared it might happen now.

Last, I wish we got more Xaden POV chapters. I’m assuming RY will release a few before the next book is released, and I assume we don’t get them throughout this one to keep us in the dark about some of the story plots, but it would just be nice. I can think of maybe 2-3 specific parts where I would have LOVED a Xaden POV chapter… fingers crossed RY does some random releases in the near-future.

Content Warnings