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Rate: 3/5

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Medium: Audiobook

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Overview (No Spoilers):

Considering the hype surrounding Fourth Wing, I feel like I’ve heard surprisingly little about its much anticipated sequel. In between reading Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, I’ve been reading The Court of Thorns and Roses. When finally picking up Iron Flame, I kept getting major deja vu. I could have swore I’d recently read this storyline. And then it hit me. So much of the key twists and even the characters from Iron Flame align so very closely with A Court of Thorns and Roses. Secret city. Yes. Bonded lovers. Yes. Speaking through a bond. Yes. Male love interest who wields shadows and acts like a scary badass to everyone except their friends. Yes. Flying. Yes. At this point I can’t help but view the Empyrean series as fan fiction of Maas’ series. Honestly, I am surprised I haven’t seen more people draw this correlation before. Yes they’re both entertaining, but I would prefer Rhys and Feyre any day to the toxicity and immaturity of Violet and Xaden. 

There is so much blatant hypocrisy throughout Iron Flame that took away from the intriguing foundation established in the Fourth Wing. For example, Violet is so very angry at Xaden for keeping secrets, but decides she’s justified in her own secrets. There is a very predictable pattern of quarreling, sex, and ridiculous petty squabbling that repeats throughout this sequel. Another baffling aspect is that despite war looming it’s school like normal. With Basgiath War College not changing any of their philosophy regarding killing students on mass. Actually the body count and pointless death is on an amplified scale compared to the Fourth Wing. 

Iron Flame is a lengthy tome that is brimming full of drama. Every revelation is life changing, chock full of yet to be explored implications, but then a few chapters later the issue magically will resolve itself, as another issue takes center stage. The repeated pattern of panic being resolved with little fanfare served to increasingly lessen the level of concern surrounding the new emerging emergencies from the perspective of the reader. 

Overall, Iron Flame is a long read that is full of young people consumed in their own immediate needs with petty squabbling, toxic relationships, and spicy sex scenes. 

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Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):  

• Violet going behind Xaden‘s back to try to get the luminary drove me crazy. So hypocritical. She demands full transparency even though her liability with Dane is a reasonable reason to keep her in the know only. Violet also demands no secrets when she was ok keeping her own
• Violet was seriously so immature throughout. I couldn’t believe she wouldn’t encourage everyone to mold together with the fliers when it is needed to defeat the bigger evil. I think her quote was at one point “Fourth Wing doesn’t mold”
• Did Violet give away Andarna’s time stopping secret. At one point one of the professors was casually talking about it.
• Setting up a new war college in Aretia in the middle of a war was so mind boggling to me. Sure its great to merge the dragons and griffins but why randomly kill bodies you need for war. 
• The scene with Viscount Tecarus was so strange. The story built to this crazy exchange with a locked up venin, before he completely folds to give them the luminary. Sure his griffin fliers are being trained but the ends did not meet the hype of Xaden trying to keep Violet away. 
• So Tairn’s former riser, Naolin gave his life to save Brennan?
• Andarna being a teenager was a rare bright spot. 
• So ridiculous. Jack Barlow back from the dead. How long was he a venin. Who else is? How could Nolan think he could save him? Why did they let him back in class?
• Why was Varrish allowed to be in command? Why was he not reprimanded for his dragon killing off so many of the regular students?
• Will Jesinia and Sawyer end up together? What about his leg? Will he fight again? What about his dragon?
• I’m glad Dain came over to the good guys!
• Why would Xaden ever tell Violet secrets when she reacts so poorly? So he can read minds. It’s amazing he was able to hide it.
• Sloane was so immature. I’m glad she grew but I missed Liam.
• Command making it very hard for Sgaeyl and Tairn to see each other grew so tiresome. Why would they be making this so hard for their two most powerful weapons? 
• Who was behind the assassination attempts?
• I hope Aaric gets more print time next book. What does his father say?
• Catriona was another tiresome character. Sure she grew, but so immature.
• If you become venin are you automatically evil? What if you just don’t pull magic from living things anymore? What was the evil venin saying to Xaden? Is he actually dead? Will he keep haunting Violet?
• Where did Xaden’s mom disappear to?
• How could Nolan betray Violet? It was an interesting twist that General Sorrengail was actually looking out for her children. It doesn’t make any sense though. Violet could have died over and over again. And how was there not another way instead of sacrificing herself? 
• Is there another dragon somewhere that is a seventh type?
• How could Brennan actual heal a rock?

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