Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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.

Review:

This series is brutal, heavily lacking in the warm fuzzy feelings department.  It doesn't shy away from the brutality of war; the physical and emotional costs. At the same time, however, it shows the power of hope despite the odds being stacked against you. The will to keep fighting, no matter what it costs, to make that hope a reality is the foundation of Iron Flame. The hope for survival. The hope for a better world. The hope for love and acceptance. It's all here in these blood soaked pages.

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.

Violet Sorrengail has the weight of the continent's survival on her shoulders. No pressure. Does she cave under that pressure? No way. She's a genuinely awesome badass who rises to any and every challenge presented to her. She goes through SO much in this book and yet she doesn't allow it to corrupt her or darken her soul. She is selfless to a fault, the willing martyr for her friends. She’ll do anything to protect them even if it means carrying so many burdens alone if it means keeping them safe.

Iron Flame picks up where Fourth Wing ended, jumping right back in with the aftermath of that ending. From then on there are so many betrayals and lies exposed, Violet's world is turned entirely upside down. She is forced to hold SO many secrets, it's unreal! But she HAS to hold onto them because it's not just her life on the line. It's her friends, her family, innocent civilians she's never even met, entire kingdoms. The fact that she doesn't crack under THAT much pressure is a testament to her strength and character.

“With all we’ve sacrificed for this kingdom, we’d better be able to defend it.”

I adored the first book in this series, Fourth Wing, but I hate to say that Iron Flame did not quite reach my expectations as a follow-up to that phenomenal beginning, not to say that I didn't enjoy this one. It just had some niggling issues for me, mainly the overuse of the "miscommunication" trope. It felt like SO much of Iron Flame is spent with Xaden and Violet arguing over secrets that sneak out from each other's pasts and shattered trust. And while it definitely had justification somewhat for being in this story, I just felt like we could have had a lot less arguing and more focus on actually moving the plot forward. It just felt like it made the book drag on far longer than necessary.

And because of that it definitely had some essence of the “middle book syndrome” with all the romantic angst for filler material, but it luckily did provide a decent amount of action and drama that lent itself to propelling the storyline along despite the heavy groundwork. This is proposed to be a 4-5 book long series so I’m not surprised this one feels so much like a foundational piece for those later books, which should prove to be epic if the plotline is anything to go by ^_^

“Maybe you should let us decide what risks we’re willing to take.” 

My only other true gripe is that we don't get enough time with Violet's friends and fellow cadets. In Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros gave us one of the best friendship groups with amazing dynamics between them all, and I was saddened we didn't get much time with them in Iron Flame. They are the reason for much of the comic relief in otherwise dark books. I mean there's still a fair bit of witty banter between Xaden and Violet themselves, but her friends are the literal best at putting a smile on your face while reading. I NEED more from them in Onyx Storm.

Dragons do not answer to the whims of men.

There's some villains in this that you love to hate (Yarros can write some pretty evil ones let me tell you), and then there's some characters that feel like villains but you just KNOW she's going to rip the rug out from under you with some significant event that changes your mind about them. And Yarros did exactly that on not one, but TWO characters. I still can't believe she managed to make me actually LIKE this one character after how much that one drove me crazy from the very first page they showed up on! It definitely shows the power of her writing to change my opinion like that when I was so determined this character was the nemesis endgame. I can say I am happily proven wrong and I look forward to seeing where this alliance can lead in the future books.

If you're a fan of Sarah J Maas or Jennifer L Armentrout amounts of steam in your books, then you'll enjoy Iron Flame. This book has enough steam to be hurricane season in the tropics! If that's not your jam then I'm sure there are plenty of other dragon books out there that will suit your fancy. I just have to say though that