Iron Flame Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, the second book in the Empyrean series. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this romance fantasy novel and if you should read it too!

Iron Flame Summary

The second picks up right after Fourth Wing after Violet’s battle with the wyvern which left her unconscious for days. She learns of a world that has been kept a secret from her and wants to do her part to save everyone. But she learns that secrets come at a price.

As she returns to the Basgiath War College, Violet and her friends are targeted for their knowledge of wyverns. She has to keep this secret or everyone she loves will pay the price. On top of that, Violet has to work on her relationship with Xaden. She doesn’t like that he keeps secrets from her and can’t trust him but can’t stop her feeling for him.

 Another important plot is the secret to warding Navarre and how she can get the ward up in other places. If she doesn’t learn the secrets to warding, all of Navarre will fall.

Comments and Controversies

Upon the first week of its release, Iron Flame sold over half a million copies. The novel also became the fasting selling fantasy novel of all time. But there were problems as many copies had typos such as having the wrong title and the author’s name upside down.

The hype for this novel led to midnight parties at various Barnes & Noble stores. Yarros even attended one event in New York City at a Barnes & Noble.

Iron Flame was released only seven months after Fourth Wing was released due to the popularity of Fourth Wing. And as we saw from the sales, that was the right call. But that has led to accusations of using A.I. to complete the novel.

Some people claim that the dialogue is not as good as it was in Fourth Wing and some plot lines felt cheesy and generic. And others have pointed out to common tropes such as the typical ex-girlfriend tropes and Xaden being a lot more dramatic and would rather let the whole world be destroyed than let Violet die.

How Does the Fourth Wing Sequel Hold Up?

The question that many readers and fans of Fourth Wing have is how does the sequel compare to the first book? When I was reading Fourth Wing, I could not stop myself from reading continuously. I ended up devouring the book in less then 36 hours. That feeling was not there for Iron Flame.

I think the biggest difference was the character development in both books. In Fourth Wing, Violet has to become stronger or she will die. That doesn’t feel like to be the case in Iron Flame. Instead, the stakes are raised and remove Violet and her growth that is necessary for survival.

Instead, there are constant arguments with Xaden about trust that show up repeatedly. And before they can ever settle them, something always happens until the next argument.

Iron Flame raises the stakes and it feels like the characters suffer as a result. We don’t see any true growth from most of the characters. The focus is on the history of the world that encompasses the Empyrean Empire. We get to visit different locations but we never truly get to meet the people that define these places.

Definitely Worth Reading Iron Flame

With that said, I still enjoyed the novel a lot. The battles are epic as always and Yarros always keeps you on the edge of your seat. There is always another disaster lurking around the corner and death is never far away.

And while I didn’t feel the same magic of the first novel, I did like the world building and the new elements that Yarros incorporates in this book. I do recommend this book to anyone who read the first book in the series. The world building is still great and while the characters end up taking a back seat, the battles are even bigger and better than ever before!

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