Ever since the ending of Fourth Wing, fans have been anxiously awaiting the release of Iron Flame (book #2 in the Empyrean Series). I pre-ordered my copy, and let me tell you I was feeling blessed. My pre-order showed up on pub day, and my copy had none of the printing errors I was seeing all over TikTok. The buzz around this book has been so much fun: anticipating the book and then being part of everyone reading it at the same time.
But how does the second book fare compared to the first? Read on for my full thoughts. You can also see my review of Fourth Wing here. And while this review doesn’t contain any spoilers for Iron Flame it does contain Fourth Wing spoilers!
Synopsis
Violet returns for her second year at Basgiath War College. But this year isn’t going as planned. After her experience in Resson, she knows the secrets that leadership is hiding. In order keep these secrets, Violet begins to distance herself from her squadmates. And if keeping classified information secret wasn’t enough of a challenge, Basgiath continues to put the riders through intense, often life-threatening training. Furthermore, Xaden has graduated, and Violet and Xaden only get to see each other once a week. Surviving as a first year was tough, but surviving her second year just might kill her.
Details/Review
- If you liked Fourth Wing, you will probably like Iron Flame, but it definitely not as good as Fourth Wing (IMO).
- I enjoyed the world building and seeing things get more flushed out. We get to see more beyond the walls of Basgiath and meet more characters from different regions of their world.
- SO many things happen in this book, but we are only given sparse details. I’m assuming these will be addressed in later books, but it left me with A LOT of questions.
- The chemistry between Xaden & Violet is still top notch, but Violet came across as really immature in how she handled everything between them, which was disappointing to me.
- The writing was not great. I had to reread several passages to make sure I understood what was happening, especially scenes with a lot of action.
- Tairn is still his grumpy self, and I continue to be obsessed with Adarna and need more of her in book #3.
- I enjoyed it, I’m still processing it, I want to go back and reread from the start of Fourth Wing now that I know what I know, and I’m dying for the third book to come out.
Overall, I liked Iron Flame, and it seems physically impossible to not read it after you read Fourth Wing. I think Yarros was setting up a lot of things that will play out in future books. But alas, we will have to wait at least a year for the next book. But in all honesty, I’d rather wait a little longer for a more polished book than a rushed one.
You can get a copy of Iron Flame here or by visiting your local bookstore. ☻
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