Picking up from last week, let’s talk about Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros.

Before we get to the official review, a disclaimer. All the opinions shared in this post are my own, are honest, and I’m not compensated in any way for expressing them.

This post contains major spoilers.

As I mentioned in the last post, my levels of hyperfixation with this series are so intense I haven’t been able to let go for a second.

I started listening to the audiobook for Iron Flame, also by the fabulous Rebecca Soler, right after I finished with Fourth Wing. Which was a good thing, as my little obsessed neurodivergent brain might’ve popped otherwise.

Content Warnings

From the book:

Iron Flame is a nonstop-thrilling adventure fantasy set in the brutal and competitive world of a military college for dragon riders, which includes elements regarding war, battle, hand-to-hand combat, perilous situations, blood, intense violence, brutal injuries, death, poisoning, graphic language, and sexual activities that are shown on the page. Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note, and prepare to enter Basgiath War College…

My two cents:

Still only f-bombs and instances of s**t, as well as derogatory terms around the same intensity level, though there might be more swearing than in Fourth Wing.

As I said in my review of FW, the language is stronger than in books like A Court of Mist and Fury, but not as heavy as in Game of Thrones.

The book features sexual encounters and conversations/banter about sex. The encounters are steamy, and though there are more sexual encounters in Iron Flame, it’s still not as often as in the Court books.

The violence is a bit more intense in Iron Flame, as Violet is…interrogated with vigour (AKA tortured), but it’s still about what you might expect from any fantasy novel. Major character death is still a thing in this series—characters will die, so be ready.

The Blurb

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Characters

We’re down one Liam, but up one Brennan, so the ‘brother’ character remains in play. I will say, though, that as much as I love Brennan, he’s no Liam.

Early on, the cast remains mostly the same, except for the members of the Assembly, Vice Commandant Varrish, and the new additions to Fourth Wing (although we don’t know most of their names since Violet goes out of her way to avoid the dragon fodder). Then, about halfway through, we’re introduced to a plethora of new characters including Catriona, Maren, and the other fliers.

It’s obvious from the get-go that Varrish and his one-eyed dragon, Solas, are going to be a problem, but at least Colonel Aetos is out of the picture. For now.

Jack Barlowe makes a reappearance. Though I’m totally fine with faked deaths in fiction, I’m not a big fan of resurrection tropes. However, since the main cast didn’t see his actual corpse, I’m okay with it in this instance. Barlowe has evolved from the black-and-white villain he started as in FW, and I’m interested to see where his story arc is headed in Onyx Storm.

I also really enjoyed learning more about Violet’s mother and her motivations. Even if she featured only in small scenes, I enjoyed getting to know her.

We meet Liam’s baby sister, Sloane, at parapet. Though she looks a bit like him, she doesn’t share his sunny disposition and blames Violet for Liam’s death—a staple trope that was kind of predictable. But while I don’t have an issue with Violet having to win Sloane’s trust, it does tie into my greatest peeve surrounding this book.

The female characters introduced in Iron Flame either love Violet from the first moment or hate her with the fire of a thousand suns. There’s no in-between. And I get that these are characters in an established world with established histories/prejudices, but damn. It’s possible to be indifferent about someone, even when we’re privy to all the history.

This love-hate thing was a niggle that turned into flat-out annoyance when Catriona came into the picture. Xaden’s former betrothed and 3rd in line to the Poromish throne is a weak character, IMO, without any quality that rounds her into someone with believable dimension. She doesn’t seem to have any real motivation or purpose, other than ‘this character will be mean to the protagonist’.

Do we need to see twenty-one-year-old women literally brawling over the affections of a man? For realsies? In a series that otherwise promotes women’s stories, rights, and issues, this story arch diminishes everything the Bechdel test tries to achieve.

The rivalry between Cat and Violet not only felt unnecessary, without adding anything of value to the plot, but made an otherwise lovable Violet seem slightly unstable.

As someone who struggles with anxiety and is often uncertain about how loved ones truly feel about me, I get it. But to diminish what Xaden had already proven time and time again AND knock down Violet’s character growth, only because Cat is pretty? Eh. Not a fan.

Thankfully, Rhiannon, Sawyer, Ridoc, and Imogen are still my favourite little tribe. This found fam continued to straighten crowns throughout the book and grew tighter with each scene they featured. The banter between these characters and their incredible loyalty took off the worst edge of my annoyance.

Five stars to Rhiannon for her level head, sweetness, and general brilliance. We all need a best friend like her. Also, can we please have more characters like her? Ones who don’t feel threatened over a guy and are helpful without any of the mean tropes so many female characters are saddled with?

But, as always, the main stars of the show are Tairn and Andarna. Seriously. Teenage Andarna is a hoot. Her sass and Tairn’s consequent ‘WTF have I gotten myself into’ vibe is pure gold, and kept me rooted so deeply that everything else faded away.

I smile whenever the two of them feature in a scene, and some of the best one-liners come from their interactions. We need more. MORE. I’ll say it again—write me a series from Tairn’s perspective, and I’ll die happy.

Plot

The story starts right where FW left off. Violet is understandably dazed about Brennan being alive, and we instantly learn more about the politics of the world.

From there, it’s back to Basgiath and navigating the second year, with some added twists. A survival class the gang didn’t know about, loads of intrigue, and new leadership that hates the protagonists.

Despite Xaden having promised Violet a buffet of truth, he tells her she has to ask the right questions. And sure, he’s made of secrets, so leaving the responsibility of finding those ‘right’ questions with her allows him to keep his secrets and blame her when he isn’t open. But, I mean, this is also the man who, in that final chapter of FW, had a massive epiphany about being transparent with her, so it feels like he just tosses his shiny resolutions in the trash the moment they no longer suit him.

Things progress fairly fast until Varrish finally captures and tortures Violet half to death, after which the pace slows, and then halts. I’ll admit, it might just feel that way to me because of the nastiness with Cat, so other readers might not feel the same about the pace.

Then, a massive bomb drops—Xaden has a second signet—and the plot progresses at a sprint. The last 25% of this book is seriously wild, with loads of action and new concerns. But what I really appreciated was the actual COMMUNICATION between the characters.

I sincerely hope they continue to talk in Onyx Storm.

The end of Iron Flame might be the most devastating thing ever, and my little fangirl heart’s aflutter considering the ramifications for Onyx Storm. So. Freaking. Excited!!! 🥳

The bottom line of this review: Tairn and Andarna almost singlehandedly earned 3 of the 4 stars I’d give Iron Flame. Even with the slower pace, it would’ve been 5 stars if not for Cat VS Violet.

What are your thoughts? Let’s chat in the comments.

Yolandie