[A Quick Note: This series has taken the world by storm. Fourth Wing released earlier in 2023 and the reading community went WILD. Even better? The second book dropped less than a year later. Hello! You want dragons? Check. You want a war college? Check. You want new adult with some spice but not too much? Also check. There’s a reason this series is so popular. I kept my review free of spoilers, but if you would rather read my Fourth Wing review instead, you can find it HERE.]
“𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕, 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏.” —Rebecca Yarros
After reading Fourth Wing, I was desperate for the sequel. Iron Flame was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it DID NOT disappoint. There was so much to love, from the intense battle scenes to the spicy moments between Violet and Xaden. The found family. The world building. The character development. And….Andarna!!!!! I gobbled it up. All of it. Every morsel.
When I picked this up, I was nervous we wouldn’t get more of Basgaith. Well, good news, folks, we do!! The war college is what made the first book so memorable. I was relieved that we got more of that. Getting to see the first years do parapet, plus more sparring matches?? I was HERE FOR IT.
As for the tension? It was top notch. I was on the edge of my seat, having near panic attacks every time something happened. Which was basically all the time. Because there was very little chill in this book. But, there were some soft moments between Violet and Rhi and the rest of their squad that meant a lot to me. I LIVE for the soft quiet moments.
Also, can we talk about the chair scene? Because WOW. That might have been my favorite scene in the whole book. If you know, you know. While I loved all the spice, that scene blew me away. HOT! HOT! HOT!
As for the dragons? Hell yes! I especially adore Andarna. Her personality was as bright as the sun, and her snarky comments were the best. Every time she was told to repeat “We don’t eat our allies,” I giggled. Talk about a total adolescent! I loved her so much. Especially her brave personality. She was the real MVP at the end of the book, and I am so glad she got her time in the spotlight.
That being said, this one didn’t hit as hard as the first?? Not quite sure why. While I loved it, it was just shy of a five star read for me. I’m struggling to put my finger on it. Was it Violet’s stubbornness throughout the whole first half of the book? When I wanted to throttle her? Because that hard core annoyed the hell out of me. Was it my struggle to pick it up each time I put it down? This one was so tense compared to the last one, that it took away from some of my enjoyment and made me afraid every time I picked it up. Whatever it was, it was still an AMAZING read.
This entire series has me in a chokehold. Seriously. I don’t know how I’m going to survive the wait for the third book.
𝑴𝒀 𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮: 𝟒.𝟓⭐️