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A review by averyslibrary
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
this book had SUCH great potential!! it checks all the boxes of a great fantasy novel, but still doesn’t deliver. that’s not to say it wasn’t entertaining, because it was! it was just also a disappointment.
it gives the same vibes as divergent did in the 2010’s. hit all the boxes of what a great ya dystopian novel had, but it almost felt cheap. it’s like she used a checklist of everything people praised about sjm books and added it to her book with MINOR changes. the last book was just as formulaic as this one, but i was hoping that was due to world building.
xaden is a copycat Rhys. there is almost nothing original about him besides his name. he’s a tall shadow wielding ethnically ambiguous man with MIND POWERS??!?? it is literally like rebecca saw that Rhys was so well loved so she decided that she could make a series based on that same archetype.
THEN, our two love interests are RIDICULOUS. they forgive after minimal groveling?? even if you love someone, it’s okay to take time to forgive for lying or keeping something from you. they excuse of “well i love him so it’s okay” was used WAY too much.
this book was incredibly enjoyable, but i think that’s more due to the fact that most moments were basically copy pasted from a sjm or other major fantasy novel. there was almost zero originality to this book.
I’ll probably read the others, but only because I have chronic fomo and refuse to not know what people are talking about lol.
it gives the same vibes as divergent did in the 2010’s. hit all the boxes of what a great ya dystopian novel had, but it almost felt cheap. it’s like she used a checklist of everything people praised about sjm books and added it to her book with MINOR changes. the last book was just as formulaic as this one, but i was hoping that was due to world building.
xaden is a copycat Rhys. there is almost nothing original about him besides his name. he’s a tall shadow wielding ethnically ambiguous man
THEN, our two love interests are RIDICULOUS. they forgive after minimal groveling?? even if you love someone, it’s okay to take time to forgive for lying or keeping something from you. they excuse of “well i love him so it’s okay” was used WAY too much.
this book was incredibly enjoyable, but i think that’s more due to the fact that most moments were basically copy pasted from a sjm or other major fantasy novel. there was almost zero originality to this book.
I’ll probably read the others, but only because I have chronic fomo and refuse to not know what people are talking about lol.