Iron Flame

• Author: Rebecca Yarros
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: November 7, 2023
• Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
• Series: The Empyrean #2

CONTENT WARNING: war, imprisonment, psychological and physical torture, violence, gore, death, animal death, grief

“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.

After finishing a buddy read of Fourth Wing, Julie @ One Book More and I obviously had to jump into this one immediately. I had already decided to binge read the series, and I’m so glad that she’s along for the ride because this is such a great buddy read.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton. I love how Soler narrates, and while I am not as big of a fan of Hamilton’s narration style, both of them did a fantastic job with the story and kept me hooked. At this point, I now associate their voices with Violet and Xaden, and it wouldn’t sound right with any other narrators.

Obviously, with the cliffhanger ending and stunning reveals in book 1, I jumped into this book desperate to find out what happens next, while also trying to savor the reading process as much as possible. Fortunately, Julie and I are on the same page, and have settled on a pretty fast pace, because we’re just too invested in the story to savor this one.

One of my favorite aspects of any good book is watching how the characters react to the events and show growth and development as a result. In this book, we get to know Violet a lot more, although I was so frustrated with the conflict between Violet and Xaden in the first quarter of the book. I could understand what she was upset about, but at the same time, she wasn’t willing to hear Xaden’s side of it. However, she stopped before reaching ‘completely unreasonable’ and got her act together, making it much more of an interesting read. Despite all the changes that happen to Violet, and the situations that she finds herself in, she eventually did grow up and see a different side of things.

Even the side characters were well-rounded and all of them played an important role in the story. A new group of characters were introduced slowly enough that I was able to keep track of them, and they play an important role in the story that unfolds. Some of them become part of the found family group that has developed within Fourth Wing, and I really liked seeing how all members of the wing have to learn to work together to achieve a goal, even in a place as cutthroat as Basgiath War College. And for the characters that I thought that I had pegged? I was consistently surprised. Imogen was really growing on me and Garrick and Ridoc reminded me of what it would be like if Fight Club featured dragons and jock bros. However, some of the characters surprised me in ways that were disappointing. 

The dragons are another one of my favorite aspects of the series. Each one has a personality and a certain way about them, and so many of them stole my heart, although Andarna is a favorite. Tairn is such a grumpy old man, and I love that tiny little Violet is the only one who isn’t afraid to sass back to him.

Much like in the first book, the disability representation is absolutely incredible. There is a character who relies on sign language to communicate, and I loved every time I saw a character just casually sign to her, but especially how one of the found family members is specifically learning sign language to be able to communicate with her. The epigraph devoted to Zebras is another nod to people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a chronic illness that affects joint stability and often leads to injuries and partial dislocations. We see this in Violet’s experiences, where combat situations lead to frequent injuries, and she has to wrap her more problematic joints before heading out. Although Dain was rather ableist in the last book, trying to protect Violet from getting hurt and over-sheltering her, in this book, the people that Violet chooses to surround herself with don’t make her feel less than or as though she needs special accommodations, but rather take steps to make her life easier without making it obvious.

Overall, this was another fantastic book in a series that I’m quickly becoming obsessed with. I love the romance between Violence and Shadow Daddy, not just with the spice, but also as they navigate challenges as a couple, and demonstrate trust and understanding on a consistent basis. There are a couple of characters who get a promotion in this book from ‘someone I don’t like’ to ‘supervillain,’ and there’s something so fulfilling about watching one of them being taken down a peg, so I spent a good portion of time waiting for them to get what they deserved. There is a lot of action, the book is fast-paced and completely engrossing, and I was glued to the pages from start to finish. But there is a huge cliffhanger ending in this book, and let me tell you: If you’re planning to start reading this series, be prepared to binge read it.

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