Iron Flame – THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING SEQUEL TO THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON, FOURTH WING
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THE THRILLING SEQUEL TO THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL PHENOMENON, FOURTH WING!
The deadly second year at Basgiath awaits. Don’t miss out on the series that the world can’t stop talking about:
‘This book contains an addictive, drug like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn’t warn you’ – Glamour
‘I didn’t sleep, I didn’t eat, and when I finished, I had the overwhelming urge to just start it all over again’ – Reader Review
‘The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, need I say more?’- Stylist
‘You know when you finish a book, and it leaves an ache in your chest because it was so good, and now it’s over? That’s exactly how I feel after finishing Fourth Wing’ – Reader Review
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She survived her first year at Basgiath War College . . . but the danger is only beginning.
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.
__________________________________________
⭐ Reviews for Fourth Wing⭐
‘This book is probably the best fantasy book I have ever read’ ***** READER REVIEW
‘A MILLION STARS!!!!!!!!! Everything about this book was incredible’ ***** READER REVIEW
‘The ending of the book had me sitting, staring at my Kindle hoping that if I just keep swiping to go to the next page for long enough the next book would just magically appear there.’ ***** READER REVIEW
‘FIVE. FREAKING. STARS. There is no universe where I could give this book any less of a rating’ ***** READER REVIEW
‘There are some stories you read and enjoy but every so often you come across one that just obliterates everything and takes over your entire being within a few pages and becomes your world and personality. Well, this is the one’ ***** READER REVIEW
‘The world building in this was phenomenal. I lived, breathed and became a part of the college.’ ***** READER REVIEW
‘Fourth Wing hooked me on the first page and did not let go’ DANIELLE L. JENSEN, author of THE BRIDGE KINGDOM
‘Fourth Wing is dazzling’ NALINI SINGH
‘A wild, sexy, rollercoaster of a ride’ MARY E. PEARSON
‘Utterly immersive, fiercely romantic, and unforgivably addictive’ LYNETTE NONI
OTHER BOOKS IN THE EMPYREAN SERIES
– FOURTH WING
– IRON FLAME
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Piatkus (7 Nov. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 640 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0349437025 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0349437026 |
| Dimensions | 16.2 x 5.4 x 23.6 cm |
by TrA.C
OMFG this is incredible. I’m dying RIP me. How do I survive till the next book. I thought SJM CC2 was bad, this is just a bad if not worse. I literally cannot speak. Cannot function. When is the next book out? Is it tomorrow? How do I survive 6-12 months? That’s my estimate. This book is incredible. I love love love it. The characters, the plot development, I just love it. But what a way to end it. I’m screaming NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO! I’ve cried in this book, got so angry and on edge in certain sections. But the ending. Oh it’s hell. Wish I hadn’t started this series until all books were written. It’s a testament to how good it is that the internet is blowing up and everyone is screaming for the next book. Because IT IS A KILLER. it’s an incredible book, the best I’ve read this year and I read several books a week, including SJM, if this is your genre. But it’s destroyed me because I cannot get more until the next book is out. The end of the last book was bad, but bearable because this one was coming out in 6 months. Damn better be only 6 months for the next PLEASE. I love it but it is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, continuous action. Literally no slow sections, full speed 90 miles an hour until …..the end. I’m shell shocked, shaking my head wondering what happened. I knew something bad was coming… but not this. I haven’t included any spoilers. You need to just know this book will grab you by the throat and throw you around whilst dragging you screaming to the very last page. Literally the last page. I’m utterly exhausted and I did not want to finish it because I knew the hangover would begin. Well too late, I tried to delay myself but was too gripped. Read it its amazing you will love it. I can’t give it 10 stars but it deserves it
by Erin | erinsreadingroom
— 4.25 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️????
❝The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.❝
???? | 623 pages
???? | author Rebecca Yarros
???? | publisher Piatkus, Little Brown
???? | release date 7 November 2023
What you can expect:
— New Adult Fantasy Romance
— Book two in a series
— First-person POV
— The stakes are higher than ever
— Dragons (each with their own distinctive personalities and voice)
— Unique magical system based on dragon bonds
— Some OWD (other women drama)
— Miscommunication
— Disability rep
— Found family
Trigger and content warnings include: elements regarding war, psychological and physical torture, imprisonment, intense violence, brutal injuries, perilous situations, blood, dismemberment, burning, murder, death, animal death, adult language/profanity, loss of family, grief and sexually explicit content.
Iron Flame is the second instalment in The Empyrean series by bestselling author Rebecca Yarros. Everybody at Basgiath War College expected Violet Sorrengail to die within her first year, including Violet herself. After the events at the end of Fourth Wing leave Violet and co. reeling and in recovery whilst battling the grief for those they lost, the stakes are higher than ever before. Violet is now in the midst of the revolution alongside her lover and her betrayer, Xaden Riorson, as we follow her on her journey filled with discovery and revelations. Violet’s return to Basgiath finds her with a bigger target on her back than before from the new vice commandant who has made it his personal mission to show Violet just how breakable she really is. But the deeper Violet becomes into the revolution, the more alone she begins to feel. Harbouring secrets she cannot share and feeling unable to trust the man that she loves, Violet continues to question all that she has been led to believe to be true. The severity of training in her second-year finds Violet questioning if she’ll make it through she relies on her wit and will of iron to prove her superiors wrong, 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.
❝Violence, remember it’s only the body that’s fragile. You are unbreakable.❞
I was really nervous going into Iron Flame as it can be difficult for a sequel to measure up to the strength of its first instalment. What I immediately enjoyed about this book was how it managed to stand out and set itself apart from Fourth Wing. I often find that sequels often relay back into the events of book one to support the progression of the storyline being set in its predecessor. However, we pick up Iron Flame almost immediately where Fourth Wing left with that jaw-dropping cliff-hanger and I was relieved to see the storyline progress immediately. I appreciated the extension to the world-building and lore that was pre-established in book one, along with the continued development of our main and side-characters. This book delivers in every way that Fourth Wing did with it’s plot-twists and quick-pace. There was definitely moments throughout this story that left me jaw-dropped and reeling from what I had just read. I understand that the extension of this world is vital to progress into future instalments, however, I must admit that I’m nervous about the planned length of this series. I found most of the new information provided to beneficially support the development of the story, however there was definitely small moments of filler that had this book dragging longer than it had to. By the 50% mark I still had well-over 8 hours of reading time ahead, so I genuinely hope that The Empyrean series won’t lose its momentum from the over-use of filler in a planned five-book series.
❝Because love, at its root, is hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for what could be. Hope that someone you’ve entrusted your everything do will cradle and protect it. And hope? That is harder to kill than a dragon.”
Unsurprisingly I’ve continued to love Violet as a main-character. Faced with more responsibility than she was ever prepared to handle, we get to explore a new side of Violet as she acts under pressure and begins to ultimately make the wrong decisions with well-meaning motives. I understood why Violet made the decisions that she did. After the traumatic event that she endured at the end of Fourth Wing, Violet is a changed person that is going to do whatever it takes to not lose anybody else. Violet is head-strong and a natural leader amongst her friends and squad, but we really get an opportunity to delve deeper into Violet as a character when faced under pressure. This poor angel suffered so much throughout Iron Flame, and at some points I found myself begging for it to be the end. Violet didn’t deserve any of what she endured during this book, but I’m still so proud of her for staying true and loyal to the people that matter. I particular enjoyed seeing Violet embrace her more violent-side as I, as a reader, love nothing more than to read about feminine rage. I was constantly rooting and cheering for her, and I’m glad to see that Violet was able to maintain her close-knit group for love and support. The side-characters were more present within this book in comparison to book one and I loved it. Rihannon, Imogen, Bodhi, Riddoc and Sawyer. The dynamics within this group are effortless and engaging, and it was a lot of fun to read as they battled friend and foe alike.
❝But I’m begging you, Violet. Don’t offer me your body unless you’re offering me everything. I want those three little words back.❝
I really enjoy Xaden as a main character and also as a love interest. He’s complex and multi-dimensional and is unapologetic in who he is, in what he wants and what he does to achieve that. Xaden is very flawed as a character and there were times that I felt so frustrated with what he was saying and doing. I found his character to be very rigid and inflexible when it came to his conflict with Violet, and whilst I do agree he had very valid points, I believe Xaden put too much pressure on Violet to be the one to “fix” the relationship. Both were at an impasse and struggled to navigate past that, but once that development began to grow as did the tender moments. Xaden’s love for Violet is absolute and is his most redeeming quality. Throughout the drama that occurred during this story I never once questioned his love and devotion for her. Xaden is a brilliant character with a strong page-presence, so I definitely hope to see more with his development in book three.
❝I love you,❝ I whisper. ❝You could throw my entire world into upheaval, and I would still love you. You could keep my secrets, run a revolution, frustrate me, probably ruin me, and I would still love you. I can’t make it stop. I don’t want to. You’re my gravity. Nothing in my world works without you.❝
I genuinely enjoyed the vast majority of the dialogue within this book… however there one was part that had me cringing and wishing it never made it past the editing stage. Why, just why, did Xaden have to reference to Violet that they were “endgame.” I found that really one word to cringe and unnecessary, particularly within the dystopian world-setting that we are in. There are far better and eloquent ways for Xaden to proclaim to Violet that her his future is his as much as his future belongs to her. The love declarations took their time in this one and I often felt frustrated by the circle of miscommunication that Xaden and Violet found themselves in, but overall I found (and hope) that the pair have managed to push past that barrier and largely solve their issues. I can take one book in a series being used to focus on the angst and conflict of a developing relationship, but I desperately need Rebecca Yarros to not drag this on into further books. After that cliff-hanger of an ending poses a bigger problem and an even bigger threat, I desperately need Xaden and Violet to be on the same page and no longer within such a toxic relationship dynamic in book three. I genuinely love Violet and Xaden as a couple as I feel they compliment one-another well, but they’ve have difficult hurdles to overcome and I think once they better settle as a couple we will truly begin to see them thrive. Violet and Xaden’s dynamic is raw and full of passion. There is also security and gentle intimacy that can be found between the pair that acts as a perfect balance. Their relationship isn’t perfect and that adds an authenticity to their development. I’m truly rooting for Violet and Xaden to make it through to the end. Please Rebecca, don’t put us through this for them to not make it.
Overall Iron Flame was a really strong sequel after a strong beginning with Fourth Wing. I went into reading this book with nerves as I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype, however I genuinely enjoyed the reading experience and I cannot wait for what comes next. Unfortunately this book does contain tropes that I personally absolutely abhor: miscommunication and OWD. The OWD wasn’t even so bad as it’s rooted in jealousy of a past relationship rather than current events, but it made it really difficult for me to get through as I just found it overall unnecessary for the plot. In my personal opinion, there could have been better ways to establish conflict within the growing relationship between Violet and Xaden, and a better situation for Violet to acknowledge and address the insecurities she harbours. There was a couple of twists that I happily predicted to happen, however I was also happily left stunned and in-shock multiple times during events that I did not see coming. So if you liked book one then don’t hesitate to pick up its sequel.
by Abbie Toria
For me, both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame are five star reads, which get better and better as you move through the book, to become utterly gripping. The last chapter or so of each is my favourite, and explodes into the worst book hangover.
I was completely invested in the wide cast of characters in Iron Flame, and devastated by what they’re put through. I particularly loved seeing the growing bonds between Violet and the dragons, as well as amongst her squad. I continued to love experiencing life through Violet’s eyes as a disabled character with a chronic illness.
Iron Flame abounds with sizzling chemistry. I became frustrated at the main character’s relationship at times, (as did they!) especially in early parts, and at one of them in particular, (who has a few Dain worthy moments.) But I was also swept away by the realness of their relationship and the love, respect and devotion that makes them one of my favourite book couples.
I feel that both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame don’t have the strongest starts; due to the main exposition method in FW, and character reasoning in IF that moved the plot forward, but didn’t seem to make logical sense to me. However, in IF parts of this became clearer later on.
Iron Flame is split into two parts and I loved the directions of both of these. The end of Part I is a good place to pause, which of course, I didn’t…and now I really need to get back to being a fully functioning, eating, sleeping human being!
If you’re not already a fan of the series, I would highly recommend picking it up today!