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The Empyrean #3
Onyx Storm
After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.
Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.
Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.
527 pages, Hardcover
First published January 21, 2025
About the author
Rebecca Yarros
52 books141k followersRebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and coffee addict. She is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing, The Last Letter and The Things We Leave Unfinished. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence for Eyes Turned Skyward. Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years. A mother of six, she is currently surviving the teenage years with all four of her hockey-playing sons.
Want to know about Rebecca’s next release? Check her out online at www.rebeccayarros.com.
Want to know about Rebecca’s next release? Check her out online at www.rebeccayarros.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64,285 reviews
January 24, 2025
This was the most boring, dumbest fucking shit that I have ever read in my life. It actually made Iron Flame look decent.
Let's start.
Onyx Storm felt like a kid lost in a supermarket trying to find their mother.
This book was so disappointing!! Like, I don’t understand the need to drag this series for 5 books!! Especially when it was supposed to be a trilogy, but apparently after the success of the first book, it suddenly became "a five-book series" in other words, the perfect cash cow. To be honest, I really enjoyed Fourth Wing and it was such a refreshing read. I was frustrated a lot with Iron Flame and had problems, but the enjoyment was still there, and I could see it being a trilogy. This book really proves why it should not be 5 books, because this was honestly a filler novel. 544 pages of filler is too much; there was so much plot filler in this one, and the pacing was so slow. I got a copy early, so I started this book on the 18th and finished it on the 21st, only because I was forcing myself, as I had ARCs to read. But this made it so hard because the writing style was surprisingly boring?? I know Rebecca doesn’t have a perfect writing style, but at least make the book enjoyable, lol. The writing style here felt so foreign to read, it was almost as if she didn’t write it. This book will certainly not help with her AI allegations, and for the love of God, Goodreads and RY, don’t take this review down. You still have your paid 5-star reviews, so leave mine alone.
It was so bad that it made me feel bad for rating Iron Flame low, because Iron Flame, when it came to the plot, actually somewhat delivered... this, on the other hand, didn’t. Despite the slow pacing, there were some things that were so rushed. At times literally nothing happened, but information was also being dumped at us, and at the same time, I had so many questions that were there from the start, unanswered consistently. Like, Savannah, slow down. The writing not hitting also just made the whole vibe go off. There were so many new plotlines opened without actually closing the previous ones, and instead of doing that, they were dragged along. There was a lot of traveling in this book, and some of the scenes could have been chopped up; there was no substance provided by them. There were scenes that were just wayyyyy too drawn out. There was literally no consistency, and it was so messy to read, not to mention how boring it was. Like, you know when the writing's good, you don’t mind the fillers that much because at least you’re enjoying some stuff, but yeah, that was absent. It would honestly be better if RY took a long break to think through and deliver because it’s going in a downward spiral and she needs to prove us wrong.
The ending... Yes, it’s a massive cliffhanger, but executed poorly. The writing during that was just terrible. I was so confused when I first read that I had to reread it to understand what was actually happening, but honestly, I was so disconnected from the characters that I actually felt nothing at the ending. But I know people who are still attached to the characters may find the ending more likable. I just feel like the execution was so poor, and it’s actually embarrassing because you have potential but end up bottling it by messy writing. A long break is way overdue. Also, for a filler, this book was awfully long. I don’t know if it was because the greater the length = more money or just her drifting off, but when I saw that she was going to take a year off to write this, yeah, a book worse than Iron Flame was definitely not what I expected. Get a new editor, for the love of God!!
In terms of writing, this book was a big miss.
The Characters
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
Violet, I just don’t like how her character has been going on a downward spiral since the last book. Like, I loved her in the first book, she was amazing, and in Iron Flame, despite trying to understand her actions, I was still annoyed by her a lot. Here, I still felt the same feeling I did when I was reading Iron Flame; her character was giving me war flashbacks to that one traumatizing disastrous conclusion whenever she called Xaden "mine." Like, it’s okay, move on, please. I liked her in that one island scene; that was badass, but besides that, where did her badassery go?? Her monologue got so tiring, and I honestly can’t read her POV only for the next two books. We need multi-POV, PLEASE. I feel she spent most of her time worrying over Xaden in this book and calling him "mine" rather than doing actual stuff. And tbh, the whole island stuff felt so pointless at one point; there was just not enough substance in it for it to be drawn out this much. Like, edit, edit, edit, please, for the love of God, EDIT!! Another thing about Violet is that with this book, every ounce of love that I had for her vanished. I don’t hate her. I dislike her, yes, but it’s because I no longer feel connected to her, and it just made everything revolving around her boring. Also, the Irids created so much hype around her signet, which is apparently dreamwalking... this could be interesting to see.
Also, we finally got to know about Violet's dad and who he was, and tbh, most of the information we got from him didn’t really help them that much, lol. I was expecting it to make things easier for them, but it barely did anything.
Xaden, What was going on with him? I actually liked Xaden in books 1 and 2, and I like the jealousy trope, but him being over-the-top possessive in front of his friends made me roll my eyes so hard. Also, what happened to Xaden in this book?? He just didn’t have the same charm. It felt like Rebecca was trying to recycle the things that he did in the first books here to make him more likable, but it failed :( He was charming though, ngl, but it just didn’t hit right. Also, how is Violet stronger than him when they were fighting on the island? Like, girl was doing everything, and man was doing barely anything. Xaden has a lot of potential, and he sometimes delivers, but other times not so much, and most of those "not so much" moments were in this book. Also, his Venin part at the start was confusing because I thought he turned into a full Venin, so I didn’t think he could control and resist it. I actually liked seeing his restraint, but I wanted more of them finding a cure or at least leading up to it, because Yaros just put a wall everywhere, saying "dead end."
The Romance I have no idea how they are trying to make it work. Like, if it was a trilogy, it would’ve made sense, but Yaros cannot write 5 mega-sized books with them as a couple and not make it boring. They already got boring for me in this one. I loved the romance in the first book, not the part where they... you know... at 80%, because I wanted the slow burn to burn, and them to do it in the next books, but then even in Iron Flame, since it was new, it was fun until it got so messy. I felt so disconnected from the characters here that I just totally lost all my love for the romance. They had a lot of domestic moments in here, but I just didn’t care because the writing was already getting on my nerves, nothing was happening, and everything was being dumped on us at the same time. I couldn’t be bothered to give two fucking shits about the romance, which btw got so annoying because the throne room scene had to be mentioned since it was so iconic, and I just couldn’t with how gross both of them felt and how they were still so horny. I even skipped all the smut scenes, like, come on! I have no idea what she’s going to do with the romance in books 4 and 5, because it’s dragging and repeating.
Side Characters
Aaric – Deserves more screen time because he had good moments.
Sloane – Was missing from this book a lot. And her and Dainn?? Um, when and why and how? I don’t understand how suddenly Dainn is so nice. Like, hello?? Didn’t we hate him still, or at least dislike him? Why are we on good terms?
Cat – Could be a good character, but her storyline was being butchered. I knew Rebecca Yarros wouldn’t kill anyone from the main crew, and it was disappointing because I was building up to that, only for the least interesting people to die. Like, yay, go ahead, girl, take away the only opportunity where I would feel something in this book besides boredom.
Garrick and Ridoc – Were actually so good. Like, they should have been the main characters! I would at least get enjoyable POVs! Ridoc and his dragon were such cutie patooties; I loved them!!
Bodhi as a Venin?!? Damn, wasn’t expecting that. And Garrick going after them with everyone splitting could serve us a good reunion, but knowing Yarros, I know she would bottle that. We would go in expecting an Aelin/Rowan reunion and would be hit with a mediocre slap.
The New Characters
Halden – Boring and only used to make Xaden jealous, sooo skip.
Xaden's Mom – Interesting, tbh. I wouldn’t mind knowing more about her and Xaden's brothers.
Theophaine – Her character was certainly very strange. I have no clue why she was not in the previous two books but suddenly popped up in this one, and I only say this because she was crazy after Violet. Like, people praise Yarros for foreshadowing, but is the foreshadowing in the room with us?? There was no foreshadowing; she just randomly popped up. There were so many things and opportunities she had which made zero sense, and her character just fell really flat. I think her character could have been way better.
Brennan and Mira – Brennan was fine; Mira was on my nerves as well. Like, when her throat slit, I didn’t know whether to be worried or relieved!! Putting Imogen here as well because she was barely in it, and I forgot; she made the ending even more trippy by removing Violet’s memory.
Rhiannon – Oops, I almost forgot about her. I liked her in the previous book, but not so much in this one. I feel like the banter was missing, or that it just didn’t serve up to be as good. But I liked the banter between Ridoc, Sawyer, and Vi.
The plot was the worst part of this book. If things moved well and consistently, this book would have been much stronger, and I would have been much more invested. But when it would move at a snail's pace with boring ass writing and two dimensional characters, I sure as hell won’t have any good words. Like, instead of taking vacations on islands, Rebecca could have shortened it and made the book progress, but oh wait, that way there might be one less book, and one less book would mean less money, and I don’t think without that missing book rent would be affordable. LIKE UGHH. You're getting millions; you could write one more and call it quits. There's no need for 5. If the plot progressed here, we could have gotten something. I have no clue how she does nothing the whole book, writes a cliffhanger that she knows will lure the readers into the next book, and drags it again. Because you're telling me the next book would be Xaden finding the cure and Violet finding Xaden while fighting her amnesia? I already know the length is going to be 600 something, and you can already feel how boring it would be. But if everything wraps up quickly and the cure is found and something of substance happens within the next book, then there is hope for books 4 and 5. Otherwise, book 4 would be on track for the same fate as book 5.
Overall, this book was a disgrace to this series!
___
Look who got the book before the release date 😝 I'm either gonna love this or hate this 🤭 let's seee 🤸🏻
Let's start.
Onyx Storm felt like a kid lost in a supermarket trying to find their mother.
This book was so disappointing!! Like, I don’t understand the need to drag this series for 5 books!! Especially when it was supposed to be a trilogy, but apparently after the success of the first book, it suddenly became "a five-book series" in other words, the perfect cash cow. To be honest, I really enjoyed Fourth Wing and it was such a refreshing read. I was frustrated a lot with Iron Flame and had problems, but the enjoyment was still there, and I could see it being a trilogy. This book really proves why it should not be 5 books, because this was honestly a filler novel. 544 pages of filler is too much; there was so much plot filler in this one, and the pacing was so slow. I got a copy early, so I started this book on the 18th and finished it on the 21st, only because I was forcing myself, as I had ARCs to read. But this made it so hard because the writing style was surprisingly boring?? I know Rebecca doesn’t have a perfect writing style, but at least make the book enjoyable, lol. The writing style here felt so foreign to read, it was almost as if she didn’t write it. This book will certainly not help with her AI allegations, and for the love of God, Goodreads and RY, don’t take this review down. You still have your paid 5-star reviews, so leave mine alone.
It was so bad that it made me feel bad for rating Iron Flame low, because Iron Flame, when it came to the plot, actually somewhat delivered... this, on the other hand, didn’t. Despite the slow pacing, there were some things that were so rushed. At times literally nothing happened, but information was also being dumped at us, and at the same time, I had so many questions that were there from the start, unanswered consistently. Like, Savannah, slow down. The writing not hitting also just made the whole vibe go off. There were so many new plotlines opened without actually closing the previous ones, and instead of doing that, they were dragged along. There was a lot of traveling in this book, and some of the scenes could have been chopped up; there was no substance provided by them. There were scenes that were just wayyyyy too drawn out. There was literally no consistency, and it was so messy to read, not to mention how boring it was. Like, you know when the writing's good, you don’t mind the fillers that much because at least you’re enjoying some stuff, but yeah, that was absent. It would honestly be better if RY took a long break to think through and deliver because it’s going in a downward spiral and she needs to prove us wrong.
The ending... Yes, it’s a massive cliffhanger, but executed poorly. The writing during that was just terrible. I was so confused when I first read that I had to reread it to understand what was actually happening, but honestly, I was so disconnected from the characters that I actually felt nothing at the ending. But I know people who are still attached to the characters may find the ending more likable. I just feel like the execution was so poor, and it’s actually embarrassing because you have potential but end up bottling it by messy writing. A long break is way overdue. Also, for a filler, this book was awfully long. I don’t know if it was because the greater the length = more money or just her drifting off, but when I saw that she was going to take a year off to write this, yeah, a book worse than Iron Flame was definitely not what I expected. Get a new editor, for the love of God!!
In terms of writing, this book was a big miss.
The Characters
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
(this might get spoilery, only warning!)
Violet, I just don’t like how her character has been going on a downward spiral since the last book. Like, I loved her in the first book, she was amazing, and in Iron Flame, despite trying to understand her actions, I was still annoyed by her a lot. Here, I still felt the same feeling I did when I was reading Iron Flame; her character was giving me war flashbacks to that one traumatizing disastrous conclusion whenever she called Xaden "mine." Like, it’s okay, move on, please. I liked her in that one island scene; that was badass, but besides that, where did her badassery go?? Her monologue got so tiring, and I honestly can’t read her POV only for the next two books. We need multi-POV, PLEASE. I feel she spent most of her time worrying over Xaden in this book and calling him "mine" rather than doing actual stuff. And tbh, the whole island stuff felt so pointless at one point; there was just not enough substance in it for it to be drawn out this much. Like, edit, edit, edit, please, for the love of God, EDIT!! Another thing about Violet is that with this book, every ounce of love that I had for her vanished. I don’t hate her. I dislike her, yes, but it’s because I no longer feel connected to her, and it just made everything revolving around her boring. Also, the Irids created so much hype around her signet, which is apparently dreamwalking... this could be interesting to see.
Also, we finally got to know about Violet's dad and who he was, and tbh, most of the information we got from him didn’t really help them that much, lol. I was expecting it to make things easier for them, but it barely did anything.
Xaden, What was going on with him? I actually liked Xaden in books 1 and 2, and I like the jealousy trope, but him being over-the-top possessive in front of his friends made me roll my eyes so hard. Also, what happened to Xaden in this book?? He just didn’t have the same charm. It felt like Rebecca was trying to recycle the things that he did in the first books here to make him more likable, but it failed :( He was charming though, ngl, but it just didn’t hit right. Also, how is Violet stronger than him when they were fighting on the island? Like, girl was doing everything, and man was doing barely anything. Xaden has a lot of potential, and he sometimes delivers, but other times not so much, and most of those "not so much" moments were in this book. Also, his Venin part at the start was confusing because I thought he turned into a full Venin, so I didn’t think he could control and resist it. I actually liked seeing his restraint, but I wanted more of them finding a cure or at least leading up to it, because Yaros just put a wall everywhere, saying "dead end."
The Romance I have no idea how they are trying to make it work. Like, if it was a trilogy, it would’ve made sense, but Yaros cannot write 5 mega-sized books with them as a couple and not make it boring. They already got boring for me in this one. I loved the romance in the first book, not the part where they... you know... at 80%, because I wanted the slow burn to burn, and them to do it in the next books, but then even in Iron Flame, since it was new, it was fun until it got so messy. I felt so disconnected from the characters here that I just totally lost all my love for the romance. They had a lot of domestic moments in here, but I just didn’t care because the writing was already getting on my nerves, nothing was happening, and everything was being dumped on us at the same time. I couldn’t be bothered to give two fucking shits about the romance, which btw got so annoying because the throne room scene had to be mentioned since it was so iconic, and I just couldn’t with how gross both of them felt and how they were still so horny. I even skipped all the smut scenes, like, come on! I have no idea what she’s going to do with the romance in books 4 and 5, because it’s dragging and repeating.
Side Characters
Aaric – Deserves more screen time because he had good moments.
Sloane – Was missing from this book a lot. And her and Dainn?? Um, when and why and how? I don’t understand how suddenly Dainn is so nice. Like, hello?? Didn’t we hate him still, or at least dislike him? Why are we on good terms?
Cat – Could be a good character, but her storyline was being butchered. I knew Rebecca Yarros wouldn’t kill anyone from the main crew, and it was disappointing because I was building up to that, only for the least interesting people to die. Like, yay, go ahead, girl, take away the only opportunity where I would feel something in this book besides boredom.
Garrick and Ridoc – Were actually so good. Like, they should have been the main characters! I would at least get enjoyable POVs! Ridoc and his dragon were such cutie patooties; I loved them!!
Bodhi as a Venin?!? Damn, wasn’t expecting that. And Garrick going after them with everyone splitting could serve us a good reunion, but knowing Yarros, I know she would bottle that. We would go in expecting an Aelin/Rowan reunion and would be hit with a mediocre slap.
The New Characters
Halden – Boring and only used to make Xaden jealous, sooo skip.
Xaden's Mom – Interesting, tbh. I wouldn’t mind knowing more about her and Xaden's brothers.
Theophaine – Her character was certainly very strange. I have no clue why she was not in the previous two books but suddenly popped up in this one, and I only say this because she was crazy after Violet. Like, people praise Yarros for foreshadowing, but is the foreshadowing in the room with us?? There was no foreshadowing; she just randomly popped up. There were so many things and opportunities she had which made zero sense, and her character just fell really flat. I think her character could have been way better.
Brennan and Mira – Brennan was fine; Mira was on my nerves as well. Like, when her throat slit, I didn’t know whether to be worried or relieved!! Putting Imogen here as well because she was barely in it, and I forgot; she made the ending even more trippy by removing Violet’s memory.
Rhiannon – Oops, I almost forgot about her. I liked her in the previous book, but not so much in this one. I feel like the banter was missing, or that it just didn’t serve up to be as good. But I liked the banter between Ridoc, Sawyer, and Vi.
The plot was the worst part of this book. If things moved well and consistently, this book would have been much stronger, and I would have been much more invested. But when it would move at a snail's pace with boring ass writing and two dimensional characters, I sure as hell won’t have any good words. Like, instead of taking vacations on islands, Rebecca could have shortened it and made the book progress, but oh wait, that way there might be one less book, and one less book would mean less money, and I don’t think without that missing book rent would be affordable. LIKE UGHH. You're getting millions; you could write one more and call it quits. There's no need for 5. If the plot progressed here, we could have gotten something. I have no clue how she does nothing the whole book, writes a cliffhanger that she knows will lure the readers into the next book, and drags it again. Because you're telling me the next book would be Xaden finding the cure and Violet finding Xaden while fighting her amnesia? I already know the length is going to be 600 something, and you can already feel how boring it would be. But if everything wraps up quickly and the cure is found and something of substance happens within the next book, then there is hope for books 4 and 5. Otherwise, book 4 would be on track for the same fate as book 5.
Overall, this book was a disgrace to this series!
___
Look who got the book before the release date 😝 I'm either gonna love this or hate this 🤭 let's seee 🤸🏻
February 1, 2025
|| 2.5 stars ||
Okay, I have a LOT to say, so buckle up, because this is going to be a long one. I’ll promise to be completely honest, though: no hate for the sake of hate, and no praise where it doesn’t deserve any. Just pure and total honesty.
➛ Writing
First of all, the incessant name-dropping of characters and places I am sure I have never heard of before was genuinely making MY HEAD SPIN. Why was every single page filled with like four names (at least) that nobody knows or cares about and that hold no relevance whatsoever? Was the author purposefully trying to make us rage quit this book? Because honestly, this would have been a great way to make that happen.
Especially since the author never even bothered to explain any of her million names or info-dumpings; it’s like she assumed we would all remember every vague detail or name she mentioned a thousand pages earlier, and thus, that we would all be able to pick up her ramblings from where she left off ages ago. Realistically, though, this is just not going to be the case for most readers unless they’re die-hard fans who have memorized every minor, insignificant detail, which I’m assuming most casual readers have not. And really, it’s just not fun to constantly have to try and figure out what the author is even talking about or what she is trying to say.
Moreover, was it just me or did some of these sentences literally not make sense? Like, some of the grammatical, structural and vocabulary choices seemed really off, and there were multiple instances (especially at the beginning) where I felt really confused about what I was even reading. I was trying to chalk it up to me maybe being a bit out of the loop when it comes to the lingo of this world (since it’s been a while since I read Iron Flame), but I quickly realised that was not it. I genuinely think some of these sentences just did not make sense.
➛ Plot
I think the reason the author got stuck in this confusing and meaningless type of writing, though, is because she genuinely doesn’t have much of a story to tell anymore. Book one thrived because the author still had a romance to develop and because she could show how Voilet earns her place as a dragon rider, but now what does she have? Both these things are established and done at this point: There is no real plot left for her to develop properly, because she isn’t a strong enough writer to go further than those basics. Which I think might be due to the fact that she usually writes contemporary romance books, and so she doesn’t know what to do with a story that doesn’t end after book one or with a world that actually needs explaining or expanding. Instead, it just kind of drags on without a purpose or without real intrigue.
And, of course, that doesn’t mean that there’s literally nothing going on here, because obviously it does have some semblance of a plot. I’d even go as far as to say some of the dialogue could be quite entertaining or funny. The problem, however, was that none of the things that happened were actually relevant. I could have simply read the first few and last few chapters of this book and not have missed anything important for the rest of the series: It’s all filler.
➛ Venin storyline
Immediately, here’s a little warning to anyone who was planning to read this only because they were curious after the cliffhanger from Iron Flame: Don’t bother. From the very first chapter until the almost-end, Xaden is basically still fine and we��re constantly just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was really just a whole lot of melodramatics that was dragged out for the entirety of the book instead of the actually impactful plottwist in which Xaden would truly turn dark or evil, which is definitely what the ending of the previous book made us believe would happen. But nope, during the whole book he was honestly just the same dude he’s always been, only now whining about control a whole lot more while also being obsessively protective and possessive. Honestly, though, I should have known from the start not to expect something real, because who would Violet be left to hump if Xaden turned into an ugly, hissing monster?
You know what the most ridiculous part about the anticlimactic pay-off from the previous cliffhanger is, though? (warning: spoiler) This book literally ended with the same exact Venin cliffhanger where Xaden drains power to save someone he loves! This means we basically had to sit through this whole entire book where nothing happens, only for us to get to the same exact ending for him once again. I mean, how lazy is that? And honestly, this time I’m not even buying it anymore. I know this cliffhanger will never pay off, because the author is simply incapable of it.
➛ Romance
Sadly, I have to admit this romance is still a little bit tiring in general, even though I do think it was far less annoying than it was in Iron Flame. They definitely had less drama and less immaturity, and they also had more faith and confidence in each other. There were even some moments of somewhat healthy and genuine communication between them as well, which is an improvement.
Yet, it was still far from great as it seemed they had simply gone from “i love you, but i don’t trust you” to “i love you, but i can’t control myself around you” as the reasons for why these two couldn’t just be together in a normal way.
Honestly, though, I don’t think this romance ever really stood a true chance at remaining interesting after the couple already got together so soon in the series, especially since there’s never any real conflict or something that could threaten their relationship for longer than a second. It just becomes boring and bland at that point. I mean, (warning: spoiler) they literally just got married. How much more undeniably permanent can it get?
Not to mention, they were still constantly horny around each other, which is never really a sign of a romance filled with depth. I mean, literally, most of the interactions here were about how they DESPERATELY want to have sex, but they can’t because Xaden doesn’t trust himself enough for that anymore. How interesting, right? How meaningful. How romantic. How emotional. *sigh*
Like, are they even aware that they have more serious problems going on right now than whether or not they can have sex!? There’s a war going on. People are dying. Xaden could supposedly turn Venin. You guys have real issues you should be focusing on! Get a GRIP!
And somehow these two are supposed to be the heroes of the story?? With those priorities? Hmm…
Really, Xaden, a word of simple advice: If you don’t trust yourself to be around Violet at this stage, then MAYBE just take your goddamn distance for a little bit, find a cure, and have your goddamn sex after that!!
➛ Side characters
Unfortunately, I have to say that most (if not all) of the side characters still have minimal personality or depth. They’re all interchangable; I don’t feel like I really know them and so I don’t actually care about them.
I feel like some of them do have potential, though, but that potential is never really reached, because the author never bothers to properly develop their character arcs. Which is such a shame, because I remember how much I cared about and loved Liam, which led to me having my heart completely broken in the first book when he died. I just know I would never feel that way about any of these others. And that sucks, because I really do want to care. I mean: (warning spoiler) Who the hell even was Quinn, really? Or Trager? Why on earth should I care about either of them or their deaths? This series has given me absolutely no reason to.
That said, Tairn has definitely weaseled his way back into my heart and a lot of his lines managed to put a smile on my face. He’s fully back to his grumpy, sassy, peacock self and I can’t deny loving him for it. He’s definitely giving ‘reluctant dad’ vibes and it really warms my heart while also cracking me up. He’s the only one I actually care about.
Although, I also have to say I often enjoyed Ridoc’s banter and Mira’s take-no-shit attitude; they are certainly the ones with the most personality out of all the riders. Not that there is much competition there, but oh well. Out of the two, Ridoc is by far my favourite, though. I kind of like Aaric and Dain or even Cat as well, but they just do not get the attention they need in order for them to have a real personality. I mean, I feel like I could potentionally care about them if only the author gave me the chance to actually get to know them.
Now, when it comes to Andarna, I have to say I was warming up to her again after being so annoyed by her being such a brat in Iron Flame, but then she (warning: spoiler) literally just straight-up abandoned Violet, and now I can’t imagine liking her again. Loyalty is supposed to be a dragon’s strongest characteristic, but with that single choice to break their bond for her own gain, she has proven to have none whatsoever, which felt so disappointing coming from a dragon. Therefore, she lost all her redeeming qualities for me: now she’s just an ungrateful brat in my eyes.
➛ Final thoughts
All in all, it should be obvious that I have a lot of complaints, but… I can’t say I actually hate it. It’s not necessarily boring, it’s just… not very good either. It’s a repetitive, not-that-well-thought-out read that’s unmistakeably written by someone who doesn’t know how to write a strong, well-developed plot or world. And thus, the result is a rather superficial book that won’t ever be what it wants to be.
Still, it could be worse. It’s not entirely without its merrits and there are still moments of entertainment to be found here. I especially feel like the book got better the further along we got. The beginning was truly the most confusing, boring mess I’ve read in quite some time, but it does pick up quite a bit. I’d even say there were a few times I genuinely did enjoy myself later on.
In conclusion, I guess it’s just up to each reader to decide for themselves whether those couple of moments of fun are enough to make up for the messy rest…
'The Empyrean' series:
1. Fourth Wing - 4.5 stars
2. Iron Flame - 2.0 stars
3. Onyx Storm - 2.5 stars
Okay, I have a LOT to say, so buckle up, because this is going to be a long one. I’ll promise to be completely honest, though: no hate for the sake of hate, and no praise where it doesn’t deserve any. Just pure and total honesty.
➛ Writing
First of all, the incessant name-dropping of characters and places I am sure I have never heard of before was genuinely making MY HEAD SPIN. Why was every single page filled with like four names (at least) that nobody knows or cares about and that hold no relevance whatsoever? Was the author purposefully trying to make us rage quit this book? Because honestly, this would have been a great way to make that happen.
Especially since the author never even bothered to explain any of her million names or info-dumpings; it’s like she assumed we would all remember every vague detail or name she mentioned a thousand pages earlier, and thus, that we would all be able to pick up her ramblings from where she left off ages ago. Realistically, though, this is just not going to be the case for most readers unless they’re die-hard fans who have memorized every minor, insignificant detail, which I’m assuming most casual readers have not. And really, it’s just not fun to constantly have to try and figure out what the author is even talking about or what she is trying to say.
Moreover, was it just me or did some of these sentences literally not make sense? Like, some of the grammatical, structural and vocabulary choices seemed really off, and there were multiple instances (especially at the beginning) where I felt really confused about what I was even reading. I was trying to chalk it up to me maybe being a bit out of the loop when it comes to the lingo of this world (since it’s been a while since I read Iron Flame), but I quickly realised that was not it. I genuinely think some of these sentences just did not make sense.
➛ Plot
I think the reason the author got stuck in this confusing and meaningless type of writing, though, is because she genuinely doesn’t have much of a story to tell anymore. Book one thrived because the author still had a romance to develop and because she could show how Voilet earns her place as a dragon rider, but now what does she have? Both these things are established and done at this point: There is no real plot left for her to develop properly, because she isn’t a strong enough writer to go further than those basics. Which I think might be due to the fact that she usually writes contemporary romance books, and so she doesn’t know what to do with a story that doesn’t end after book one or with a world that actually needs explaining or expanding. Instead, it just kind of drags on without a purpose or without real intrigue.
And, of course, that doesn’t mean that there’s literally nothing going on here, because obviously it does have some semblance of a plot. I’d even go as far as to say some of the dialogue could be quite entertaining or funny. The problem, however, was that none of the things that happened were actually relevant. I could have simply read the first few and last few chapters of this book and not have missed anything important for the rest of the series: It’s all filler.
➛ Venin storyline
Immediately, here’s a little warning to anyone who was planning to read this only because they were curious after the cliffhanger from Iron Flame: Don’t bother. From the very first chapter until the almost-end, Xaden is basically still fine and we��re constantly just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was really just a whole lot of melodramatics that was dragged out for the entirety of the book instead of the actually impactful plottwist in which Xaden would truly turn dark or evil, which is definitely what the ending of the previous book made us believe would happen. But nope, during the whole book he was honestly just the same dude he’s always been, only now whining about control a whole lot more while also being obsessively protective and possessive. Honestly, though, I should have known from the start not to expect something real, because who would Violet be left to hump if Xaden turned into an ugly, hissing monster?
You know what the most ridiculous part about the anticlimactic pay-off from the previous cliffhanger is, though? (warning: spoiler) This book literally ended with the same exact Venin cliffhanger where Xaden drains power to save someone he loves! This means we basically had to sit through this whole entire book where nothing happens, only for us to get to the same exact ending for him once again. I mean, how lazy is that? And honestly, this time I’m not even buying it anymore. I know this cliffhanger will never pay off, because the author is simply incapable of it.
➛ Romance
Sadly, I have to admit this romance is still a little bit tiring in general, even though I do think it was far less annoying than it was in Iron Flame. They definitely had less drama and less immaturity, and they also had more faith and confidence in each other. There were even some moments of somewhat healthy and genuine communication between them as well, which is an improvement.
Yet, it was still far from great as it seemed they had simply gone from “i love you, but i don’t trust you” to “i love you, but i can’t control myself around you” as the reasons for why these two couldn’t just be together in a normal way.
Honestly, though, I don’t think this romance ever really stood a true chance at remaining interesting after the couple already got together so soon in the series, especially since there’s never any real conflict or something that could threaten their relationship for longer than a second. It just becomes boring and bland at that point. I mean, (warning: spoiler) they literally just got married. How much more undeniably permanent can it get?
Not to mention, they were still constantly horny around each other, which is never really a sign of a romance filled with depth. I mean, literally, most of the interactions here were about how they DESPERATELY want to have sex, but they can’t because Xaden doesn’t trust himself enough for that anymore. How interesting, right? How meaningful. How romantic. How emotional. *sigh*
”A kiss isn’t enough between us. It never is. You want me the same way I want you. Wholly. Completely. With nothing but skin between us. Heart, mind, and body.” He brushes his mouth against mine, sturrering my breath. “All I want is to lose myself in you, and I can’t. You are the only person in the world with the power to strip me of every ounce of my control, and the only person I can’t fathom losing that control with.” He lift his head. “And yet here I am, unable to keep three fucking feet away from you.”
Like, are they even aware that they have more serious problems going on right now than whether or not they can have sex!? There’s a war going on. People are dying. Xaden could supposedly turn Venin. You guys have real issues you should be focusing on! Get a GRIP!
And somehow these two are supposed to be the heroes of the story?? With those priorities? Hmm…
Really, Xaden, a word of simple advice: If you don’t trust yourself to be around Violet at this stage, then MAYBE just take your goddamn distance for a little bit, find a cure, and have your goddamn sex after that!!
➛ Side characters
Unfortunately, I have to say that most (if not all) of the side characters still have minimal personality or depth. They’re all interchangable; I don’t feel like I really know them and so I don’t actually care about them.
I feel like some of them do have potential, though, but that potential is never really reached, because the author never bothers to properly develop their character arcs. Which is such a shame, because I remember how much I cared about and loved Liam, which led to me having my heart completely broken in the first book when he died. I just know I would never feel that way about any of these others. And that sucks, because I really do want to care. I mean: (warning spoiler) Who the hell even was Quinn, really? Or Trager? Why on earth should I care about either of them or their deaths? This series has given me absolutely no reason to.
That said, Tairn has definitely weaseled his way back into my heart and a lot of his lines managed to put a smile on my face. He’s fully back to his grumpy, sassy, peacock self and I can’t deny loving him for it. He’s definitely giving ‘reluctant dad’ vibes and it really warms my heart while also cracking me up. He’s the only one I actually care about.
Although, I also have to say I often enjoyed Ridoc’s banter and Mira’s take-no-shit attitude; they are certainly the ones with the most personality out of all the riders. Not that there is much competition there, but oh well. Out of the two, Ridoc is by far my favourite, though. I kind of like Aaric and Dain or even Cat as well, but they just do not get the attention they need in order for them to have a real personality. I mean, I feel like I could potentionally care about them if only the author gave me the chance to actually get to know them.
Now, when it comes to Andarna, I have to say I was warming up to her again after being so annoyed by her being such a brat in Iron Flame, but then she (warning: spoiler) literally just straight-up abandoned Violet, and now I can’t imagine liking her again. Loyalty is supposed to be a dragon’s strongest characteristic, but with that single choice to break their bond for her own gain, she has proven to have none whatsoever, which felt so disappointing coming from a dragon. Therefore, she lost all her redeeming qualities for me: now she’s just an ungrateful brat in my eyes.
➛ Final thoughts
All in all, it should be obvious that I have a lot of complaints, but… I can’t say I actually hate it. It’s not necessarily boring, it’s just… not very good either. It’s a repetitive, not-that-well-thought-out read that’s unmistakeably written by someone who doesn’t know how to write a strong, well-developed plot or world. And thus, the result is a rather superficial book that won’t ever be what it wants to be.
Still, it could be worse. It’s not entirely without its merrits and there are still moments of entertainment to be found here. I especially feel like the book got better the further along we got. The beginning was truly the most confusing, boring mess I’ve read in quite some time, but it does pick up quite a bit. I’d even say there were a few times I genuinely did enjoy myself later on.
In conclusion, I guess it’s just up to each reader to decide for themselves whether those couple of moments of fun are enough to make up for the messy rest…
'The Empyrean' series:
1. Fourth Wing - 4.5 stars
2. Iron Flame - 2.0 stars
3. Onyx Storm - 2.5 stars
January 31, 2025
the potential is chasing Rebecca Yarros… but she’s faster!!
we don’t know where the series is headed and giving this mess neither does Rebecca. i wish I can say that I wasn’t surprised, but actually i am - I am very, very surprised by onyx storm.
➸ to start there will be spoilers in my review.
if you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you already know I do not like Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. And yet, because these books are fast-paced, action-packed, and addictive, I consume them like a guilty pleasure. Will I continue to devour them? Of course. Do I think they’re actually good? Absolutely not. unlike sjm where she write purely horrible fantasy, Rebecca writes fun horrible fantasy. Surprisingly I enjoy consuming the latter.
fourth wing was flawed, but it’s still the best book in the series so far. probably because it didn’t have high expectations because of brutal cliffhangers to deliver on. It was the first book, the groundwork. Now, after this shenanigans it remains the most stable book between the three so far. when Iron flame released, I saw it coming that it’s going to be bad—a dumpster fire of nonsensical plotlines, atrocious grammar, and punctuation so misplaced it felt like a first-grader’s homework. The editing was a crime scene. But what I did NOT see coming was that onyx storm will be worst. but guess what? Somehow Rebecca managed to sink even lower with this. Yes, this book is worse than Iron Flame.
at this point, we all know the series is a blatant cash grab. Red Tower saw the overnight success of Fourth Wing and slapped a ton of pressure on an author who clearly wasn’t equipped to deliver. news flash: fantasy isn’t for everyone. Deal with it. when I heard back in 2023 that Rebecca had originally planned the series as a trilogy but expanded it to five books after Red Tower swooped in, I laughed. Hard. Because this is what happens when writing stops being an art and starts being a business. The result? Overstretched plots, filler scenes galore, and an author doing the literary equivalent of cramming for a test they didn’t study for.
➸ the recycled events formula: The events in this book? Stretched out beyond recognition. You can practically feel the filler. it’s clear as day that it wasn’t supposed to be like that, but Rebecca have to put a filler because she signed five books and miss author have to keep her end of the bargain. so many scenes and things that didn’t add anything to the actual story but was there just there to make the book longer. professor xaden kink everyone? - care to tell me what or when did he even teach the poor cadets lol? or the so many thrown information and surface lever lore about the new characters and places that are being freshly introduced that was very horrible written with so many blows and fast scene that you gonna have to stop, reread and sit back staring at a wall to process how many things are happening at once. it was utter chaotic whiplash that leave you so so lost afterwards.
Scenes repeat like a bad broken record: characters go on a mission, everything’s fine, and then—BOOM!—a random plot twist to keep things “exciting.” Rinse and repeat. It’s lazy. It’s predictable. And relying on emotional gut punches instead of actual stakes? That’s cheap. Fantasy requires depth, world-building, and strategy. This is why romance readers dominate the audience for this series—it’s all about the ✨feels✨ now me personally I felt nauseous but I don’t know about y’all.. she make you feel so much things in each chapter it fester brain rot. honestly, reading this book is like scrolling through tiktok. there’s an actual psychological study (I’m not bringing it from my ass) about how tiktok rots your brain by bombarding you with rapid-fire emotions. That’s exactly what this book does. Each chapter ends with some over-the-top cliffhanger, leaving readers clawing for the next chapter without stopping to realize that what just happened was complete and utter fuckery. Characters die and then get resurrected within seconds, contributing absolutely nothing to the plot. It’s all emotional manipulation to keep readers hooked.
➸ the disastrous writing: so speaking of hooks, can we talk about how this book feels like it was written by gen z? no shade to my own generation—but some of the language in this book made me laugh out loud. Not in a good way. again I get that theses books are written to be easily accessible nearly mainly to the romance readers entering the fantasy genre. they are written to have a much lighter, and more easy flowing style to them but she took it too far. It was bizarre. you choose to write fantasy then respect the genre and give it even a little bit of justice. But for your descriptions, to be something like that:
excuse me?! Who write like this? even ao3 and wattpad will be ashamed to write that. and if you’re wondering, it’s written like this because xaden have a fever, NO! he was giving her the cold shoulder, and this is how she described it.
I blurted out laughing so hard like a Lunatic when I read this line.. “Cooked”? as in “let him cook” meme?? Who in the sigma wrote this gen alpha bullshit!! Rebecca put tiktok down and take a writing classes or two. PHONE ON THE TABLE!
and don’t tell me “it’s about the dragon fire” it’s still shit
let’s not forget that the “same!” Overuse. pls who leaked my chat with my friends? this called badass riders be having conversations like this:
It was beyond irritating how Violet couldn’t go two paragraphs without reminding us how ridiculously attractive Xaden is or how deeply in love she is with him. like, we get it. Loud and clear. What made it even worse was the timing—she didn’t just keep it to the fluffier, low-stakes chapters. oh no. She’d drop these comments in the middle of an intense battle scene, completely killing the vibe. It’s like she couldn’t let the moment breathe without inserting how “hot” he is. there was a scene where xaden suddenly appeared and saved her from nearly dying with his shadows and she told him ”oh.. show me how you can wrap these shadows around while you…” I tried to be supportive for Violet. I really did, but I wanted to kill myself. the endless bad banter and flirting in practically every page. It wasn’t even charming—just painfully cheesy, like watching two awkward, overly hormonal teenagers try way too hard to impress each other. and again, the timing! Violet would start flirting with Xaden in the middle of the most brutal, high-tension scenes. girl, read the room. We’re trying to process the stakes here, and you’re out here making me cringe.
now, I know these books are romance-heavy, and I expected that going in. But let’s not ignore the fact that there’s some solid political intrigue woven into the story—badly written, sure, but it’s there. So when a scene finally builds up some real tension and stakes, only to be shattered by a string of cringe-worthy one-liners, it feels like such a waste. It’s like the book couldn’t decide if it wanted to be serious or just lean fully into the campy romance. either way, it completely ruined the pacing and pulled me out of the story every time. such an ick.
➸ despite the bizarre language, the writing style itself was one of my least favorite type which is the “push forward” type of writing. In my humble opinion, fantasy does not align with this type of writing. It’s fine in romance, where you’re just here to turn your brain off and vibe. But in fantasy? (personal preference) I want to think. I want subtext, symbolism, and monologues that make me go, “Oh, so that’s what that meant!” Here, everything is spelled out. If a character, location, or weapon is mentioned, Violet immediately launches into a monologue explaining exactly what it is. Girl, I fucking know. Care to nip it now? let me use my brain for two seconds! It’s the third book in the series, and Rebecca is still spoon-feeding readers like we’re clueless toddlers. That’s not immersive world-building; that’s lazy writing. it feels info dumpy because if you’re still explaining everything to me in the third book that means your world building since book one is shit. if you did it right from the start, now you would’ve been treating me like I’m familiar with the world, But no! the author’s whole building is shaky constructed so she still relays on this type of writing.
the issue with grammars and punctuation marks being misspelled was in here too! no I’m not joking. this happened in iron flame and now in onyx storm. i don’t know if it’s bc I read a pitrated version of the book or even the ones in kindle and paperback are like this but just wanted to let y’all know because I found it really disturbing.
➸ let’s talk about the plot—if you can call it that. Every twist was so predictable it hurt. I texted my friend with theories while reading, and guess what? Every single one was right. everything was not shocking at all to me.
saw it coming that andarna will find her kind, and we all knew that her dad left her his research (which were very not that smart giving how he’s portrayed as a genius) lol.
I discovered Aaric’s signet when I was 16% into the book.
I discovered that Violet’s second signet have something to do with the dreams when I was 40% into the book.
I saw it coming since iron flame at 2023 that xaden’s mom will appear - Nothing shocked me. Nothing felt earned. It was all bland, predictable, and delivered in the most anticlimactic way possible. oh, and can we discuss how Violet’s parents basically put her through some death ritual that might’ve turned her Venin? Like, do they even love her? Or does Rebecca just not know what she’s writing anymore? It seems to me that she’s adding things for the pure shock value, and not for what it’s worth, not caring that they are ridiculous. asher teaching violet everything.. lilith died defending her kids.. just to discover that they actually put their child on a ritual?
and Xaden—man, I was rooting for you. But you resisted Venin power for the entire book just to give in at the last second because…what? Your dragon got snared? Bro, get a grip. it’s a dragon not cat.
He rage and use the venin power to defend her which lead to Fuckery (something that happened a lot in this book) he is forced to finally give in and his dragon Sgaeyl is being held captive by the Venin leader. who’s gonna tell him that his rage made things worst?
*JOJO! HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING!!*
then we have that departure scene with andarna. She was absent for just a week and came back? why?!
I had a little hope when Rebecca made the decision of her going to her family. I said - “great! She’ll go and grow stronger and maybe find a way to heal her wings and make a badass comeback in book 4” - but no! Rebecca had to remind me that she’s not fit for fantasy and bringing andarna back after less than a week. stop this madness!! What do you want from me?! I’m trying to take this seriously but rebecca is making it hard.
Violet spent the whole book arguing how she miss xaden and how she needs to find andarna’s kind but so.. when did they actually search for a cure in this book? I’m being very for real when did Violet searched for a cure? - It’s either I’m right and she didn’t, or it might seem that imogen wiped MY memory at the end instead of Violet’s. Which I’ll be grateful for since I want to forget about this whole book. and what about the broken compass… I really thought it’s gonna lead violet to the cure.
➸ now for our MCs themselves Violet and xaden: violet is very overpowered and oversmarted in the whole series which is again .. shaky constructed. a dire situation will happen and—boom! she solve it and remembers the cure of the problem in seconds. I don’t know if am secretly a Masochist but when it comes to fantasy I love when my main characters suffer with failure, because it will make them want to grow harder, and makes their victory earned. but Violet? she had leverage in every situation ever. She always wins and get them out with just little trouble but that’s unrealistic! Even young adult fantasy Isn’t this simplistic, I saw someone compared this series to Harry Potter and nearly screamed !!! How dare you compare that genius masterpiece to this reddit post??
➷ So yes it annoyed me so much how she was portrayed as “know it all” and should I add that she didn’t even train? You’re not a god even if you’re trying to be one - you’re facing war, you should be training to get stronger not reminding xaden that you love him in every single paragraph. I can’t even count how many times tairn snapped at her to focus. she had these not-so-sassy-moments that made her very annoying and get on my nerves, her wit and sarcasm don’t go great with me. Or maybe it’s just the writing… I can’t even make up my mind with this book. But yeah her “baddie” comebacks fell flat. Where’s the aura? Where’s the respect and honor she should command? Nonexistent. the way she handled the allies was cringeworthy. Every political exchange felt flat, and her attempts at sarcasm during these scenes were painfully dull. Instead of giving sharp, strategic comebacks, she seemed weak and uninspired. you can go and read it yourself, nearly none of them took her seriously. I found myself wishing she would rise to the occasion, assert her authority, and navigate the negotiations with strength and finesse in a serious way. Instead, her bland responses only highlighted how out of her depth she truly was in those crucial moments.
now after I criticized her, I’ll give the author one thing is that she didn’t make Violet a doormat, i can critique violet until tomorrow but i got to admit that she was xaden’s equal if not superior in nearly all situations, so I truly love that part in their dynamic even though she did lots of stupid decisions that should’ve been avoided if she was less stubborn, listened to people around her and quit repeating that xaden is “her number one everything” gurl… I’m not stopping you to give him your soul if you want, just stop reminding me because it’s annoying.
➷ as for xaden: This might be hypocritical since I’m bashing everything but I don’t really have that much complains about him. imo he’s from the top 10 romanatasy book men. Him over Rhysand I said what I said. He literally turned venin for Violet. He’s so smitten and in awe of her, he’s one of the most powerful riders in the continent yet he so proudly state in front of everyone that Violet could kill him if she want bc he will simply let her. He’s so on his knees for her. He always say the most perfect things for her and do the most perfect things.
we heart Xaden Riorson in this account.
that was how I felt in the previous books but now the author ruined him. his actions in here made me dislike him, when it comes to his political choices and decisions I am not sure I’m with him at all. I know he’s fighting the venin part and entered his emo era where he lost hope on himself, but at the same time… Man get up! You rule a providence now. I don’t know why but he didn’t have that fearful, respect-demanding aura that was around him in the first two books which made him a very bland to me in here. It hurts to say that. He nearly didn’t do anything in here or is it just me? He Kept being mad at the world and issuing people around to make decisions while he kept saying he’ll give it all for violet. we like that but NOT THAT MUCH! Can you start acting like a real leader without mentioning violet? and also he kept saying “this will make my dad proud” no its NOT! That man is rolling in his grave bc of your decisions. hate to be the one who break it down to you.
it seems that at the end of the day my favorite wingleader remains to be mother manon blackbeak.
so you can say that in this book our main couple turned very dull. it actually hurts. I know I say that Rebecca is a bad author but I swear these two had kind of a strong potential but she turned them empty in here. I’m not even joking I’m gonna cry, how can she keep fucking up these books?
➸ Their relationship together is significantly better than the bullshit in iron flame, and it Seems like it’s the only time where Rebecca listened to the criticism. they actually had a tiny bit of healthy communication and didn’t fight that much. Can you believe it? yeah she did that. but no don’t worry, she messed up with other things because God forbid Rebecca does something right all the way through - what was those endless fights about sex? This is not the fucking priority! Can you start talking about how getting wet is not the issue here but the venin that’s killing people left and right? It was so frustrating.
they argued over and over about wanting to touch each other and have sex and I kept slammed my phone shut so many times at how stupid it was.
and now I want to sit back and relax and enjoy my evening. When all of a sudden… I hear this agitating grating voice of violet saying “mine” and “I love you” to xaden a billion times 😧
yeah we gonna have to mention how violet kept saying “I love you” and “mine” to xaden a goddamn billion times in each paragraph, in each page! in . each . chapter!! every time I read it I wanted to scream until my vocals scratch out. I have had fucking enough with this bullshit. getting dicked down is not the matter at hands, how about you actually go search for a cure so y’all can properly fuck without annoying me?? tell me why I nearly vomited during every sex scene?? I didn’t know why but I was very cringed by them. it was painful to read. Specially the fact that they had sex almost three chapters in when it wasn’t time for it. also their flirting was bad in here and they looked like how high schoolers who will flirt on snap. But if you put all that aside xaden and Violet didn’t have that much miscommunication in here.
The real trouble in paradise was actually reversed to mommy and daddy dragon “Tairn & Sgaeyl” lmaoo. I need all the tea pls the dragons are my favorite part, I’m literally continuing the series ONLY for the dragons and now broccoli the cat.
➸ I’m not gonna speak on any of the side characters because unfortunately I don’t give a shit about any of them. she explored them so poorly I can’t bring myself to even care what happens to them because I don’t love them to being with. they needed to be include to the scheme of things but violet was the one doing everything. lots of them deserved more screen time tbh.
➸ y’all should TRULY skip this series. you’re not messing out on anything, it’s literally like all the other booktok romantasy series where it’s [enemies to lusters] who lust and have sex with no deep love stories - human teenage girl being overpowered and an mmc being a shadow daddy. that’s literally all the Romantasy nowadays. and this was even worst because the writing was garbage and the plot is driving off the highway. But you know what’s funny? Rebecca is fearless. She ended the book in a way that makes you think she got her shit figured it out (which she don’t and the prove is the books) but yeah. xaden went far away? the marriage?? and the memory wipe?? I’m telling you she’s fearless, She embodied the fake it till you make it method. I’m giving 2 stars and not 1 just because I adore the dragons.
lastly what the fuck is going between Dain and Sloan? Is he targeting first year girls? Man, he don’t deserve her.
we don’t know where the series is headed and giving this mess neither does Rebecca. i wish I can say that I wasn’t surprised, but actually i am - I am very, very surprised by onyx storm.
➸ to start there will be spoilers in my review.
if you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you already know I do not like Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. And yet, because these books are fast-paced, action-packed, and addictive, I consume them like a guilty pleasure. Will I continue to devour them? Of course. Do I think they’re actually good? Absolutely not. unlike sjm where she write purely horrible fantasy, Rebecca writes fun horrible fantasy. Surprisingly I enjoy consuming the latter.
fourth wing was flawed, but it’s still the best book in the series so far. probably because it didn’t have high expectations because of brutal cliffhangers to deliver on. It was the first book, the groundwork. Now, after this shenanigans it remains the most stable book between the three so far. when Iron flame released, I saw it coming that it’s going to be bad—a dumpster fire of nonsensical plotlines, atrocious grammar, and punctuation so misplaced it felt like a first-grader’s homework. The editing was a crime scene. But what I did NOT see coming was that onyx storm will be worst. but guess what? Somehow Rebecca managed to sink even lower with this. Yes, this book is worse than Iron Flame.
at this point, we all know the series is a blatant cash grab. Red Tower saw the overnight success of Fourth Wing and slapped a ton of pressure on an author who clearly wasn’t equipped to deliver. news flash: fantasy isn’t for everyone. Deal with it. when I heard back in 2023 that Rebecca had originally planned the series as a trilogy but expanded it to five books after Red Tower swooped in, I laughed. Hard. Because this is what happens when writing stops being an art and starts being a business. The result? Overstretched plots, filler scenes galore, and an author doing the literary equivalent of cramming for a test they didn’t study for.
➸ the recycled events formula: The events in this book? Stretched out beyond recognition. You can practically feel the filler. it’s clear as day that it wasn’t supposed to be like that, but Rebecca have to put a filler because she signed five books and miss author have to keep her end of the bargain. so many scenes and things that didn’t add anything to the actual story but was there just there to make the book longer. professor xaden kink everyone? - care to tell me what or when did he even teach the poor cadets lol? or the so many thrown information and surface lever lore about the new characters and places that are being freshly introduced that was very horrible written with so many blows and fast scene that you gonna have to stop, reread and sit back staring at a wall to process how many things are happening at once. it was utter chaotic whiplash that leave you so so lost afterwards.
Scenes repeat like a bad broken record: characters go on a mission, everything’s fine, and then—BOOM!—a random plot twist to keep things “exciting.” Rinse and repeat. It’s lazy. It’s predictable. And relying on emotional gut punches instead of actual stakes? That’s cheap. Fantasy requires depth, world-building, and strategy. This is why romance readers dominate the audience for this series—it’s all about the ✨feels✨ now me personally I felt nauseous but I don’t know about y’all.. she make you feel so much things in each chapter it fester brain rot. honestly, reading this book is like scrolling through tiktok. there’s an actual psychological study (I’m not bringing it from my ass) about how tiktok rots your brain by bombarding you with rapid-fire emotions. That’s exactly what this book does. Each chapter ends with some over-the-top cliffhanger, leaving readers clawing for the next chapter without stopping to realize that what just happened was complete and utter fuckery. Characters die and then get resurrected within seconds, contributing absolutely nothing to the plot. It’s all emotional manipulation to keep readers hooked.
➸ the disastrous writing: so speaking of hooks, can we talk about how this book feels like it was written by gen z? no shade to my own generation—but some of the language in this book made me laugh out loud. Not in a good way. again I get that theses books are written to be easily accessible nearly mainly to the romance readers entering the fantasy genre. they are written to have a much lighter, and more easy flowing style to them but she took it too far. It was bizarre. you choose to write fantasy then respect the genre and give it even a little bit of justice. But for your descriptions, to be something like that:
“He’s so cold I half expect the temperature around us to plummet”
excuse me?! Who write like this? even ao3 and wattpad will be ashamed to write that. and if you’re wondering, it’s written like this because xaden have a fever, NO! he was giving her the cold shoulder, and this is how she described it.
“we’re all about to be cooked”
I blurted out laughing so hard like a Lunatic when I read this line.. “Cooked”? as in “let him cook” meme?? Who in the sigma wrote this gen alpha bullshit!! Rebecca put tiktok down and take a writing classes or two. PHONE ON THE TABLE!
and don’t tell me “it’s about the dragon fire” it’s still shit
let’s not forget that the “same!” Overuse. pls who leaked my chat with my friends? this called badass riders be having conversations like this:
"I've missed you." - "Same."
"You're all that matters to me." - "Same."
"I love having every part of you” - "Same."
It was beyond irritating how Violet couldn’t go two paragraphs without reminding us how ridiculously attractive Xaden is or how deeply in love she is with him. like, we get it. Loud and clear. What made it even worse was the timing—she didn’t just keep it to the fluffier, low-stakes chapters. oh no. She’d drop these comments in the middle of an intense battle scene, completely killing the vibe. It’s like she couldn’t let the moment breathe without inserting how “hot” he is. there was a scene where xaden suddenly appeared and saved her from nearly dying with his shadows and she told him ”oh.. show me how you can wrap these shadows around while you…” I tried to be supportive for Violet. I really did, but I wanted to kill myself. the endless bad banter and flirting in practically every page. It wasn’t even charming—just painfully cheesy, like watching two awkward, overly hormonal teenagers try way too hard to impress each other. and again, the timing! Violet would start flirting with Xaden in the middle of the most brutal, high-tension scenes. girl, read the room. We’re trying to process the stakes here, and you’re out here making me cringe.
now, I know these books are romance-heavy, and I expected that going in. But let’s not ignore the fact that there’s some solid political intrigue woven into the story—badly written, sure, but it’s there. So when a scene finally builds up some real tension and stakes, only to be shattered by a string of cringe-worthy one-liners, it feels like such a waste. It’s like the book couldn’t decide if it wanted to be serious or just lean fully into the campy romance. either way, it completely ruined the pacing and pulled me out of the story every time. such an ick.
➸ despite the bizarre language, the writing style itself was one of my least favorite type which is the “push forward” type of writing. In my humble opinion, fantasy does not align with this type of writing. It’s fine in romance, where you’re just here to turn your brain off and vibe. But in fantasy? (personal preference) I want to think. I want subtext, symbolism, and monologues that make me go, “Oh, so that’s what that meant!” Here, everything is spelled out. If a character, location, or weapon is mentioned, Violet immediately launches into a monologue explaining exactly what it is. Girl, I fucking know. Care to nip it now? let me use my brain for two seconds! It’s the third book in the series, and Rebecca is still spoon-feeding readers like we’re clueless toddlers. That’s not immersive world-building; that’s lazy writing. it feels info dumpy because if you’re still explaining everything to me in the third book that means your world building since book one is shit. if you did it right from the start, now you would’ve been treating me like I’m familiar with the world, But no! the author’s whole building is shaky constructed so she still relays on this type of writing.
the issue with grammars and punctuation marks being misspelled was in here too! no I’m not joking. this happened in iron flame and now in onyx storm. i don’t know if it’s bc I read a pitrated version of the book or even the ones in kindle and paperback are like this but just wanted to let y’all know because I found it really disturbing.
➸ let’s talk about the plot—if you can call it that. Every twist was so predictable it hurt. I texted my friend with theories while reading, and guess what? Every single one was right. everything was not shocking at all to me.
saw it coming that andarna will find her kind, and we all knew that her dad left her his research (which were very not that smart giving how he’s portrayed as a genius) lol.
I discovered Aaric’s signet when I was 16% into the book.
I discovered that Violet’s second signet have something to do with the dreams when I was 40% into the book.
I saw it coming since iron flame at 2023 that xaden’s mom will appear - Nothing shocked me. Nothing felt earned. It was all bland, predictable, and delivered in the most anticlimactic way possible. oh, and can we discuss how Violet’s parents basically put her through some death ritual that might’ve turned her Venin? Like, do they even love her? Or does Rebecca just not know what she’s writing anymore? It seems to me that she’s adding things for the pure shock value, and not for what it’s worth, not caring that they are ridiculous. asher teaching violet everything.. lilith died defending her kids.. just to discover that they actually put their child on a ritual?
and Xaden—man, I was rooting for you. But you resisted Venin power for the entire book just to give in at the last second because…what? Your dragon got snared? Bro, get a grip. it’s a dragon not cat.
“How fucking dare they pull my dragon from the sky, snare and hurt the one who anchors my existence”
He rage and use the venin power to defend her which lead to Fuckery (something that happened a lot in this book) he is forced to finally give in and his dragon Sgaeyl is being held captive by the Venin leader. who’s gonna tell him that his rage made things worst?
*JOJO! HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING!!*
then we have that departure scene with andarna. She was absent for just a week and came back? why?!
I had a little hope when Rebecca made the decision of her going to her family. I said - “great! She’ll go and grow stronger and maybe find a way to heal her wings and make a badass comeback in book 4” - but no! Rebecca had to remind me that she’s not fit for fantasy and bringing andarna back after less than a week. stop this madness!! What do you want from me?! I’m trying to take this seriously but rebecca is making it hard.
Violet spent the whole book arguing how she miss xaden and how she needs to find andarna’s kind but so.. when did they actually search for a cure in this book? I’m being very for real when did Violet searched for a cure? - It’s either I’m right and she didn’t, or it might seem that imogen wiped MY memory at the end instead of Violet’s. Which I’ll be grateful for since I want to forget about this whole book. and what about the broken compass… I really thought it’s gonna lead violet to the cure.
➸ now for our MCs themselves Violet and xaden: violet is very overpowered and oversmarted in the whole series which is again .. shaky constructed. a dire situation will happen and—boom! she solve it and remembers the cure of the problem in seconds. I don’t know if am secretly a Masochist but when it comes to fantasy I love when my main characters suffer with failure, because it will make them want to grow harder, and makes their victory earned. but Violet? she had leverage in every situation ever. She always wins and get them out with just little trouble but that’s unrealistic! Even young adult fantasy Isn’t this simplistic, I saw someone compared this series to Harry Potter and nearly screamed !!! How dare you compare that genius masterpiece to this reddit post??
➷ So yes it annoyed me so much how she was portrayed as “know it all” and should I add that she didn’t even train? You’re not a god even if you’re trying to be one - you’re facing war, you should be training to get stronger not reminding xaden that you love him in every single paragraph. I can’t even count how many times tairn snapped at her to focus. she had these not-so-sassy-moments that made her very annoying and get on my nerves, her wit and sarcasm don’t go great with me. Or maybe it’s just the writing… I can’t even make up my mind with this book. But yeah her “baddie” comebacks fell flat. Where’s the aura? Where’s the respect and honor she should command? Nonexistent. the way she handled the allies was cringeworthy. Every political exchange felt flat, and her attempts at sarcasm during these scenes were painfully dull. Instead of giving sharp, strategic comebacks, she seemed weak and uninspired. you can go and read it yourself, nearly none of them took her seriously. I found myself wishing she would rise to the occasion, assert her authority, and navigate the negotiations with strength and finesse in a serious way. Instead, her bland responses only highlighted how out of her depth she truly was in those crucial moments.
now after I criticized her, I’ll give the author one thing is that she didn’t make Violet a doormat, i can critique violet until tomorrow but i got to admit that she was xaden’s equal if not superior in nearly all situations, so I truly love that part in their dynamic even though she did lots of stupid decisions that should’ve been avoided if she was less stubborn, listened to people around her and quit repeating that xaden is “her number one everything” gurl… I’m not stopping you to give him your soul if you want, just stop reminding me because it’s annoying.
➷ as for xaden: This might be hypocritical since I’m bashing everything but I don’t really have that much complains about him. imo he’s from the top 10 romanatasy book men. Him over Rhysand I said what I said. He literally turned venin for Violet. He’s so smitten and in awe of her, he’s one of the most powerful riders in the continent yet he so proudly state in front of everyone that Violet could kill him if she want bc he will simply let her. He’s so on his knees for her. He always say the most perfect things for her and do the most perfect things.
we heart Xaden Riorson in this account.
that was how I felt in the previous books but now the author ruined him. his actions in here made me dislike him, when it comes to his political choices and decisions I am not sure I’m with him at all. I know he’s fighting the venin part and entered his emo era where he lost hope on himself, but at the same time… Man get up! You rule a providence now. I don’t know why but he didn’t have that fearful, respect-demanding aura that was around him in the first two books which made him a very bland to me in here. It hurts to say that. He nearly didn’t do anything in here or is it just me? He Kept being mad at the world and issuing people around to make decisions while he kept saying he’ll give it all for violet. we like that but NOT THAT MUCH! Can you start acting like a real leader without mentioning violet? and also he kept saying “this will make my dad proud” no its NOT! That man is rolling in his grave bc of your decisions. hate to be the one who break it down to you.
it seems that at the end of the day my favorite wingleader remains to be mother manon blackbeak.
so you can say that in this book our main couple turned very dull. it actually hurts. I know I say that Rebecca is a bad author but I swear these two had kind of a strong potential but she turned them empty in here. I’m not even joking I’m gonna cry, how can she keep fucking up these books?
➸ Their relationship together is significantly better than the bullshit in iron flame, and it Seems like it’s the only time where Rebecca listened to the criticism. they actually had a tiny bit of healthy communication and didn’t fight that much. Can you believe it? yeah she did that. but no don’t worry, she messed up with other things because God forbid Rebecca does something right all the way through - what was those endless fights about sex? This is not the fucking priority! Can you start talking about how getting wet is not the issue here but the venin that’s killing people left and right? It was so frustrating.
they argued over and over about wanting to touch each other and have sex and I kept slammed my phone shut so many times at how stupid it was.
and now I want to sit back and relax and enjoy my evening. When all of a sudden… I hear this agitating grating voice of violet saying “mine” and “I love you” to xaden a billion times 😧
yeah we gonna have to mention how violet kept saying “I love you” and “mine” to xaden a goddamn billion times in each paragraph, in each page! in . each . chapter!! every time I read it I wanted to scream until my vocals scratch out. I have had fucking enough with this bullshit. getting dicked down is not the matter at hands, how about you actually go search for a cure so y’all can properly fuck without annoying me?? tell me why I nearly vomited during every sex scene?? I didn’t know why but I was very cringed by them. it was painful to read. Specially the fact that they had sex almost three chapters in when it wasn’t time for it. also their flirting was bad in here and they looked like how high schoolers who will flirt on snap. But if you put all that aside xaden and Violet didn’t have that much miscommunication in here.
The real trouble in paradise was actually reversed to mommy and daddy dragon “Tairn & Sgaeyl” lmaoo. I need all the tea pls the dragons are my favorite part, I’m literally continuing the series ONLY for the dragons and now broccoli the cat.
➸ I’m not gonna speak on any of the side characters because unfortunately I don’t give a shit about any of them. she explored them so poorly I can’t bring myself to even care what happens to them because I don’t love them to being with. they needed to be include to the scheme of things but violet was the one doing everything. lots of them deserved more screen time tbh.
➸ y’all should TRULY skip this series. you’re not messing out on anything, it’s literally like all the other booktok romantasy series where it’s [enemies to lusters] who lust and have sex with no deep love stories - human teenage girl being overpowered and an mmc being a shadow daddy. that’s literally all the Romantasy nowadays. and this was even worst because the writing was garbage and the plot is driving off the highway. But you know what’s funny? Rebecca is fearless. She ended the book in a way that makes you think she got her shit figured it out (which she don’t and the prove is the books) but yeah. xaden went far away? the marriage?? and the memory wipe?? I’m telling you she’s fearless, She embodied the fake it till you make it method. I’m giving 2 stars and not 1 just because I adore the dragons.
lastly what the fuck is going between Dain and Sloan? Is he targeting first year girls? Man, he don’t deserve her.
February 1, 2025
➳ i need imogen to use her powers and wipe ALL of my memories from this shit ☆
i am giving one, only ONE disclaimer. if you are going to be a smartass in my comments... blocked + reported. i am so done with all of these stans coming in and harassing and borderline abusing me and my friends for not liking this book. if you like it, good for you. this is a reflection of the author and her craft, not other readers. read whatever you want and leave the rest of us ALONE.
the politics of this world, or lack thereof is SO jarring. there is not one consistent plot device that yarros uses in any of the three books. as an author who primarily focuses on military propaganda romance smut, i was not expecting anything profound and intricate. however, if you are going to have this world full of dragons, wyverns, signets, and powers you NEED to explain this. there is not one fucking thing explained or kept consistent. every book thus far has the most flimsy story and plot with no competent characteristics that are relevant to this story. all of the cracks were showing with book one with the hopes that concepts and aspects of the story are explained in the latter books. this is such a lazy world with over info dumping that is superfluous and blaring to read about.
brother eugh. HORRENDOUS. everybody is a LIAR. the romance between xaden and violet is the most elementary level love story i have ever read. these two have no chemistry with each other besides physical lust and attraction. their kink is fucking in the middle of wars and whining to everybody about how in love they are. where the fuck is their personality??? this is one of the only fictional couples that are stupid both separately and together. the other one is poppy and her stupid ten thousand year old liar. yarros shoving up our ass about how much they LOVE EACH OTHER was the goofiest shit i have ever read. while i actually found xaden pleasant initially, he was giving me peak circus clown core with this book. rebecca RUINED his character. your relationship has fallen apart when you cannot name more than three things about each others temperament. they are not enemies, they are not lovers, they are both just fucking stupid. pack it up with this tom & jerry ass tension, because that’s all it is. fuck this, fuck you, fuck off.
who the fuck are these bitches??? why are they here and where did they come from??? there is an INSANE level of info dumping of ZILCH with the most useless characters that have no purpose being here. this is a pure example of authors not knowing what the fuck to write. you cannot tell me that she wrote this novel. not only does it read like AI, there is no correlation between the first book, to the second book, to now this third book. there are some random people that suffer, sacrifice, and ultimately die... but like WHO CARES!!! i did not shed a single tear for these hoes. the only relevant character is violet. ONLY her. no one else has a purpose being here after book one. the “found family” was easily the most forced aspect of this dragged out plotless book. the family is LOST.
this is a comedy act. PURE comedy. tell me why this ending was the most theatrical, melodramatic soap opera worthy finale. this is worse than ACOTAR with the feysand bullshit sjm pulled in ACOWAR. this cannot be THE ending everyone is shaking over??? please, i was laughing the whole time. i was not crying, screaming, begging for the next book because this was SO stupid. i have never read a more rushed, messy, first draft as i have with this bullshit. there was NO reason this book needed to be almost 600 pages. read the first three chapters and the last three and you are not missing ANYTHING. the biggest snooze-fest, dumpster fire shit since FBAA. a WHOLE MESS with no payoff. risk and reward? no. risk and brainrot at its finest.
lastly, i am petty and i DO infact hate this series more because people are acting too brave and sending RANDOM READERS death threats over this bullshit. if you are going to insult me, i'm gonna need you to be original for once in your life. this was the equivalent of fast fashion with the same recycled covers that sell for 30+ dollars everywhere. the milking of all milkers. pack it up.
arrant tomfoolery on crack cocaine.
i am giving one, only ONE disclaimer. if you are going to be a smartass in my comments... blocked + reported. i am so done with all of these stans coming in and harassing and borderline abusing me and my friends for not liking this book. if you like it, good for you. this is a reflection of the author and her craft, not other readers. read whatever you want and leave the rest of us ALONE.
⌞world building + magic system⌝
the politics of this world, or lack thereof is SO jarring. there is not one consistent plot device that yarros uses in any of the three books. as an author who primarily focuses on military propaganda romance smut, i was not expecting anything profound and intricate. however, if you are going to have this world full of dragons, wyverns, signets, and powers you NEED to explain this. there is not one fucking thing explained or kept consistent. every book thus far has the most flimsy story and plot with no competent characteristics that are relevant to this story. all of the cracks were showing with book one with the hopes that concepts and aspects of the story are explained in the latter books. this is such a lazy world with over info dumping that is superfluous and blaring to read about.
⌞the romance + relationship⌝
brother eugh. HORRENDOUS. everybody is a LIAR. the romance between xaden and violet is the most elementary level love story i have ever read. these two have no chemistry with each other besides physical lust and attraction. their kink is fucking in the middle of wars and whining to everybody about how in love they are. where the fuck is their personality??? this is one of the only fictional couples that are stupid both separately and together. the other one is poppy and her stupid ten thousand year old liar. yarros shoving up our ass about how much they LOVE EACH OTHER was the goofiest shit i have ever read. while i actually found xaden pleasant initially, he was giving me peak circus clown core with this book. rebecca RUINED his character. your relationship has fallen apart when you cannot name more than three things about each others temperament. they are not enemies, they are not lovers, they are both just fucking stupid. pack it up with this tom & jerry ass tension, because that’s all it is. fuck this, fuck you, fuck off.
⌞the NPCs???⌝
who the fuck are these bitches??? why are they here and where did they come from??? there is an INSANE level of info dumping of ZILCH with the most useless characters that have no purpose being here. this is a pure example of authors not knowing what the fuck to write. you cannot tell me that she wrote this novel. not only does it read like AI, there is no correlation between the first book, to the second book, to now this third book. there are some random people that suffer, sacrifice, and ultimately die... but like WHO CARES!!! i did not shed a single tear for these hoes. the only relevant character is violet. ONLY her. no one else has a purpose being here after book one. the “found family” was easily the most forced aspect of this dragged out plotless book. the family is LOST.
⌞the ending⌝
this is a comedy act. PURE comedy. tell me why this ending was the most theatrical, melodramatic soap opera worthy finale. this is worse than ACOTAR with the feysand bullshit sjm pulled in ACOWAR. this cannot be THE ending everyone is shaking over??? please, i was laughing the whole time. i was not crying, screaming, begging for the next book because this was SO stupid. i have never read a more rushed, messy, first draft as i have with this bullshit. there was NO reason this book needed to be almost 600 pages. read the first three chapters and the last three and you are not missing ANYTHING. the biggest snooze-fest, dumpster fire shit since FBAA. a WHOLE MESS with no payoff. risk and reward? no. risk and brainrot at its finest.
lastly, i am petty and i DO infact hate this series more because people are acting too brave and sending RANDOM READERS death threats over this bullshit. if you are going to insult me, i'm gonna need you to be original for once in your life. this was the equivalent of fast fashion with the same recycled covers that sell for 30+ dollars everywhere. the milking of all milkers. pack it up.
arrant tomfoolery on crack cocaine.
January 31, 2025
2.75 ☆
onyx storm ❌ name storm ✅
i’m about dizzy from the overstuffed, constant bombardment of characters that are practically strangers + territory names that get added into the mix outta nowhere. cause honestly who dafuq. where dafuq. dafuqqqq. at times u couldn’t even tell if it was a place, person or somebody dragon, gryphon or rat mama pick me up
what happend to hello. how are you. my name is. PROPER introductions, explanations, descriptions, context??? there is barely if any characterization in not all but majority of the side characters
gun to ur head without research or rereading back tell me who or where exactly half of these NPC’s spawned from rn
Baylor, Maren, Zina, Hendrick, Lynx, Avalynn, Kai, Kaveh, Hedley, Erwan, Lindel, Captain Grady(?) and much more
ON YUH MUDDA AND MOMMAS the gun would go right off
in the clerb even xaden himself is confused. swear first mans says he is talking to a lewellen next he says he’s going to the place???? homie is u coo.🧎🏽♀️🏌️♀️ (aware that it could be both but confusing all the same)
the writing is all around sloppy. there is little to no explanation or follow ups for so much. it makes the story feel disjointed, overwhelming and underwhelmingly underdeveloped at the same time.
the pacing is uneven, slow yet crammed with abrupt events and poorly explained political stakes/dynamics that leaves you feeling distoriënted and detached.
found myself skimming over words and having to look back to fathom what was really goin awn or being said. tweakin if i turned dyslexic
i noticed, criticized and felt most of this in iron flame aswell. so no surprise but it’s gotten worse and really off the rails here.
moving on… you know i’ll always welcome xaden back with open arms open legs and an open mouth 🤸🏿♀️
have bent my big back ova for some of the hot shyt he be doin and spewing but he fell flat with that overly whipped loverboy behavior. don’t get me wronggg, he can still get it, but like much less
while i was piped that we got him jealous.. it only lasted for.. 2 seconds. wish halden stirred for more
romance also developed into a shallow recycle bin and
plain oatmeal sex. still like both of em but they lost that spark and tension that made their connection compelling earlier in the series 🚮
not that i really thought that it ever stood a true chance at remaining interesting or exciting when the couple got together soon for a five book series.
******SPOILERS AHEAD*******
i only held out hope there if xaden got into a serious villan venin arc. well that didn’t happen, instead it was boringly dragged out throughout the whole book just for it to be used as a cliffhanger AGAIN… BRUH piss awf
however this does have it’s moments of intrigue and did pick up for me again when the rest of her adarna’s kind showed up.
when adarna broke that bond and left? MY SHAYLAAAAHH i felt that loss, great turning point… up until she boomeranged herself back in zero explanation few pages later. tiktok ban ahh moment 🧍🏾🧍🏾🧍🏾
yk these lazy gutpunches are just starting to feel like melodramatics. atp just let them leave and decease
violet’s second signet was also lame just like how a lot seemed to turn out to be.
cat being present still is useless?? why she here. what is this ex on the empyrean beach
anyways i did appreciate being back into this world even if it’s building collapsed horrendously. while this installment is disappointing i still vibed and enjoyed it in places. i might be a bit biased because it helped with my horrid slump
now i LOVED ridoc’s screentime in this, him adarna and tairn, xaden didn’t fail to get a few chuckles out of me. i was really digging aaric and dain in this too.
also liked that it delved a little into the relationship of the others with their dragons. didn’t really care for rhiannon’s and imogen’s pov though just gimme ridoc and aetrom
the way i was zone-out-reading that last 10% and the fight scenes. the ending was erhm what… wack? don’t feel like continuing it seems to go 📉 with every release
i’m about dizzy from the overstuffed, constant bombardment of characters that are practically strangers + territory names that get added into the mix outta nowhere. cause honestly who dafuq. where dafuq. dafuqqqq. at times u couldn’t even tell if it was a place, person or somebody dragon, gryphon or rat mama pick me up
what happend to hello. how are you. my name is. PROPER introductions, explanations, descriptions, context??? there is barely if any characterization in not all but majority of the side characters
gun to ur head without research or rereading back tell me who or where exactly half of these NPC’s spawned from rn
Baylor, Maren, Zina, Hendrick, Lynx, Avalynn, Kai, Kaveh, Hedley, Erwan, Lindel, Captain Grady(?) and much more
ON YUH MUDDA AND MOMMAS the gun would go right off
in the clerb even xaden himself is confused. swear first mans says he is talking to a lewellen next he says he’s going to the place???? homie is u coo.🧎🏽♀️🏌️♀️ (aware that it could be both but confusing all the same)
the writing is all around sloppy. there is little to no explanation or follow ups for so much. it makes the story feel disjointed, overwhelming and underwhelmingly underdeveloped at the same time.
the pacing is uneven, slow yet crammed with abrupt events and poorly explained political stakes/dynamics that leaves you feeling distoriënted and detached.
found myself skimming over words and having to look back to fathom what was really goin awn or being said. tweakin if i turned dyslexic
i noticed, criticized and felt most of this in iron flame aswell. so no surprise but it’s gotten worse and really off the rails here.
moving on… you know i’ll always welcome xaden back with open arms open legs and an open mouth 🤸🏿♀️
have bent my big back ova for some of the hot shyt he be doin and spewing but he fell flat with that overly whipped loverboy behavior. don’t get me wronggg, he can still get it, but like much less
while i was piped that we got him jealous.. it only lasted for.. 2 seconds. wish halden stirred for more
romance also developed into a shallow recycle bin and
plain oatmeal sex. still like both of em but they lost that spark and tension that made their connection compelling earlier in the series 🚮
not that i really thought that it ever stood a true chance at remaining interesting or exciting when the couple got together soon for a five book series.
******SPOILERS AHEAD*******
i only held out hope there if xaden got into a serious villan venin arc. well that didn’t happen, instead it was boringly dragged out throughout the whole book just for it to be used as a cliffhanger AGAIN… BRUH piss awf
however this does have it’s moments of intrigue and did pick up for me again when the rest of her adarna’s kind showed up.
when adarna broke that bond and left? MY SHAYLAAAAHH i felt that loss, great turning point… up until she boomeranged herself back in zero explanation few pages later. tiktok ban ahh moment 🧍🏾🧍🏾🧍🏾
yk these lazy gutpunches are just starting to feel like melodramatics. atp just let them leave and decease
violet’s second signet was also lame just like how a lot seemed to turn out to be.
cat being present still is useless?? why she here. what is this ex on the empyrean beach
anyways i did appreciate being back into this world even if it’s building collapsed horrendously. while this installment is disappointing i still vibed and enjoyed it in places. i might be a bit biased because it helped with my horrid slump
now i LOVED ridoc’s screentime in this, him adarna and tairn, xaden didn’t fail to get a few chuckles out of me. i was really digging aaric and dain in this too.
also liked that it delved a little into the relationship of the others with their dragons. didn’t really care for rhiannon’s and imogen’s pov though just gimme ridoc and aetrom
the way i was zone-out-reading that last 10% and the fight scenes. the ending was erhm what… wack? don’t feel like continuing it seems to go 📉 with every release
January 21, 2025
4.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Remember when I said if Onyx Storm doesn't win me over (since I had mixed feelings about Iron Flame) that I would quit the series?
Guess what? Your girl is not quitting!
I can tell Rebecca Yarros really put her her heart and soul into this installment to show us the true potential of this series and where's it's heading—and I'll be eagerly waiting for book 4.
I finished this book in less than 24 hours on it's release day, so that tells you much about how engrossed I was. I was hooked from start to finish.
This installment expands the world-building and the lore, I was delighted that we got to explore new places and meet new characters whether they're friends or foes.
And damn, Rebecca can be a sadist. I won't even explain, experience that yourselves.
When I say this book was a fun ride, it's not just rainbows and butterflies, this book does take some dark turns and I expect the upcoming books to get even darker and my heart just hurts for all these characters for what happened and what's to come.
The humor and banter is top-notch, there were several lines and interactions that had got me laughing my ass off! Yarros upped her game with this one.
The theorists are going to eat this book up, there is more lore and answered/un-answered questions to ponder over.
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[General impressions and points with minor spoilers]
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We get a confirmation on what Violet's second signet is! I knew it wouldn't be something mind blowing but I'm intrigued. RY was right in saying FW and IF had enough hints for us to guess.
Yes people die.
I adore all of the secondary characters and their friendship with Violet and Xaden, they all get their moments and there's one particular secondary character I'm glad we got to see more of.
Tairn is hot as ever (hear me out). Andarna as cranky as one would expect of a teenager.
If you were turned off by the melodrama in Iron Flame, I'm happy to say that you won't be plagued by any exes drama.
Miscommunication trope? Much less thankfully.
To me, the core of this installment is for the characters to learn more about the Venin, to forge political alliances with other Kingdoms, to prepare for War.
We get some new lore on dragons as well for *reasons*.
There is so much at stake that blood had to be spilled and the characters needed to make hard choices or sacrifices.
I'm pleased with Violet and Xaden's growth, both as individual characters and as a couple. The miscommunication and the drama in Iron Flame felt like it stifled their growth but this time round they're secure enough in their relationship that everything else seemed insignificant (though they do face challenges so they aren't just living in romantic bliss and you know why).
I'm very glad I did not give up after Iron Flame, I did not have a list of things I wanted to see in this book but I am satisfied with what I got from Onyx Storm.
I deducted half a star just for teeny tiny reasons.
Now I feel like I'm really invested in the series and I'll marinate in the lore when I reread.
Note: dear reader, keep in mind that Rebecca Yarros said she will take a break after the release of this book so she can relax and recharge. It's not true that she won't continue the series (which is a rumor started by someone). Do not pressure her about the next book, she'll definitely give us an update once she is ready. Congratulations to Rebecca Yarros and happy release day to Onyx Storm, I hope readers who have been anticipating it enjoy it as much as I did!
Remember when I said if Onyx Storm doesn't win me over (since I had mixed feelings about Iron Flame) that I would quit the series?
Guess what? Your girl is not quitting!
I can tell Rebecca Yarros really put her her heart and soul into this installment to show us the true potential of this series and where's it's heading—and I'll be eagerly waiting for book 4.
I finished this book in less than 24 hours on it's release day, so that tells you much about how engrossed I was. I was hooked from start to finish.
This installment expands the world-building and the lore, I was delighted that we got to explore new places and meet new characters whether they're friends or foes.
And damn, Rebecca can be a sadist. I won't even explain, experience that yourselves.
When I say this book was a fun ride, it's not just rainbows and butterflies, this book does take some dark turns and I expect the upcoming books to get even darker and my heart just hurts for all these characters for what happened and what's to come.
The humor and banter is top-notch, there were several lines and interactions that had got me laughing my ass off! Yarros upped her game with this one.
The theorists are going to eat this book up, there is more lore and answered/un-answered questions to ponder over.
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[General impressions and points with minor spoilers]
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We get a confirmation on what Violet's second signet is! I knew it wouldn't be something mind blowing but I'm intrigued. RY was right in saying FW and IF had enough hints for us to guess.
Yes people die.
I adore all of the secondary characters and their friendship with Violet and Xaden, they all get their moments and there's one particular secondary character I'm glad we got to see more of.
Tairn is hot as ever (hear me out). Andarna as cranky as one would expect of a teenager.
If you were turned off by the melodrama in Iron Flame, I'm happy to say that you won't be plagued by any exes drama.
Miscommunication trope? Much less thankfully.
To me, the core of this installment is for the characters to learn more about the Venin, to forge political alliances with other Kingdoms, to prepare for War.
We get some new lore on dragons as well for *reasons*.
There is so much at stake that blood had to be spilled and the characters needed to make hard choices or sacrifices.
I'm pleased with Violet and Xaden's growth, both as individual characters and as a couple. The miscommunication and the drama in Iron Flame felt like it stifled their growth but this time round they're secure enough in their relationship that everything else seemed insignificant (though they do face challenges so they aren't just living in romantic bliss and you know why).
I'm very glad I did not give up after Iron Flame, I did not have a list of things I wanted to see in this book but I am satisfied with what I got from Onyx Storm.
I deducted half a star just for teeny tiny reasons.
Now I feel like I'm really invested in the series and I'll marinate in the lore when I reread.
Note: dear reader, keep in mind that Rebecca Yarros said she will take a break after the release of this book so she can relax and recharge. It's not true that she won't continue the series (which is a rumor started by someone). Do not pressure her about the next book, she'll definitely give us an update once she is ready. Congratulations to Rebecca Yarros and happy release day to Onyx Storm, I hope readers who have been anticipating it enjoy it as much as I did!
January 23, 2025
What a repetitive drag. I called it after Iron Flame-- there is just not five books worth of story here.
I'm pretty certain this is where I part ways with this series. It's a shame because I am somewhat invested in these characters after spending 1,700 pages together, but I don't want another Throne of Glass situation where I keep coming back, hoping for something better when our chemistry has already fizzled out.
Part of the problem is with me: I’m trying to make this series something it isn’t in my head. I’m trying to hold on to the non-romantic aspects of the story, which I so enjoyed in the first book. The school and its challenges, the rivalries and villains, the dragons and the politics of the world. I don’t mind a romantic subplot, but the truth is I’m not into straight-up romantasy. And this is definitely romantasy.
This book feels something like 80-90% filler that consists of us constantly being reminded how hot and sexy Xaden is every single time he appears on page. He cannot enter the room without Violet reiterating his physical description.
And almost everything that happens feels... pointless. Lots of dawdling. Lots of moving from one place to another. So many things feel unnecessary to the main story and, after more than 500 pages, we seem to have taken very few steps towards answering the questions posed by the first two books. I'm serious. It's like "oh, we need to find a cure for the venin" but let me spend the next two hundred pages throwing in some random action scenes and faux love angst.
It's annoying at this point to have the book try to prolong the romantic angst (which, if you ask me, is no longer there anyway) with Xaden suddenly becoming a professor precisely because the code of conduct forbids relationships with students— oh no, what does this mean for them?! (nothing, of course 🙄).
Certain action/battle scenes seem to exist only so that Violet can be hurt and Xaden can turn up in a cloud of horny shadow.
Also, who talks like this?
This is actual speech. How does this not give people the ick?
Then we get to the end and I honestly felt a bit pissed off by the cliffhanger this time. It did not make me want to read another 500+ page book of filler to get delivered a WTF ending.
Two stars only because I like a bunch of the characters and their dialogue.
I'm pretty certain this is where I part ways with this series. It's a shame because I am somewhat invested in these characters after spending 1,700 pages together, but I don't want another Throne of Glass situation where I keep coming back, hoping for something better when our chemistry has already fizzled out.
Part of the problem is with me: I’m trying to make this series something it isn’t in my head. I’m trying to hold on to the non-romantic aspects of the story, which I so enjoyed in the first book. The school and its challenges, the rivalries and villains, the dragons and the politics of the world. I don’t mind a romantic subplot, but the truth is I’m not into straight-up romantasy. And this is definitely romantasy.
This book feels something like 80-90% filler that consists of us constantly being reminded how hot and sexy Xaden is every single time he appears on page. He cannot enter the room without Violet reiterating his physical description.
And almost everything that happens feels... pointless. Lots of dawdling. Lots of moving from one place to another. So many things feel unnecessary to the main story and, after more than 500 pages, we seem to have taken very few steps towards answering the questions posed by the first two books. I'm serious. It's like "oh, we need to find a cure for the venin" but let me spend the next two hundred pages throwing in some random action scenes and faux love angst.
It's annoying at this point to have the book try to prolong the romantic angst (which, if you ask me, is no longer there anyway) with Xaden suddenly becoming a professor precisely because the code of conduct forbids relationships with students— oh no, what does this mean for them?! (nothing, of course 🙄).
Certain action/battle scenes seem to exist only so that Violet can be hurt and Xaden can turn up in a cloud of horny shadow.
Also, who talks like this?
“I’m jealous of the armour that holds you when I can’t, the sheets on your bed that caress your skin every night, and the blades that feel your hands.”
“It was hotter than rage, and sharper than fear, and cut deeper than helplessness, all because I couldn’t get to you.”
This is actual speech. How does this not give people the ick?
Then we get to the end and I honestly felt a bit pissed off by the cliffhanger this time. It did not make me want to read another 500+ page book of filler to get delivered a WTF ending.
Two stars only because I like a bunch of the characters and their dialogue.
January 31, 2025
7⭐️ because 6 stars simply isn’t enough. I actually am crawling into my grave and never coming out. I am sick. I am disgusted BY HOW COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY OBSESSED I AM WITH THIS SERIES!!!!!!! I actually can’t stop crying. All I know is pain and tears. I cannot form coherent thoughts. I cannot form a concise review because I don’t know how to speak. I don’t know how to exist? How do I keep living? I can’t. Guys this is my new favorite book ever…. Like how?! How?!!!!!!!!
Xaden and violet are everything to me. No fictional couple will ever compare. It’s them or nothing.
VIOLET YOU ARE THAT BITCH AND I WILL DEFEND YOU WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE!!!!!!
Xaden. No don’t even start with me. No other fictional man will ever come close. Number 1 forever and always. HOW DID HE GET BETTER IN THIS BOOK?!!!!!! Every time he opened his mouth I folded. Gone. Soul left my body. I cannot think about anything else.
Uhm….. I have so many questions WHAT JUST HAPPENED???????? That ending??? Jail. Jail. Foul. I want to wipe it from my brain. HOW AM I GONNA WAIT YEARS FOR ANSWERS???? I’m not.
I’m never reading again because all I know is this book.
Xaden and violet are everything to me. No fictional couple will ever compare. It’s them or nothing.
VIOLET YOU ARE THAT BITCH AND I WILL DEFEND YOU WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE!!!!!!
Xaden. No don’t even start with me. No other fictional man will ever come close. Number 1 forever and always. HOW DID HE GET BETTER IN THIS BOOK?!!!!!! Every time he opened his mouth I folded. Gone. Soul left my body. I cannot think about anything else.
Uhm….. I have so many questions WHAT JUST HAPPENED???????? That ending??? Jail. Jail. Foul. I want to wipe it from my brain. HOW AM I GONNA WAIT YEARS FOR ANSWERS???? I’m not.
I’m never reading again because all I know is this book.
January 23, 2025
7 STARS ⭐️ listen when I tell you this bc I am so fucking serious. THIS IS HANDS DOWN NOT ONLY THE BEST BOOK IN THE SERIES BY FAR, BUT THE BEST BOOK THAT I HAVE EVER READ. Rebecca DELIVERED with this one. The banter, the plot, the character development 100/10. I read this all day, in one sitting and under 24 hours and I literally might never read a book that can be on the same level as this.
January 23, 2025
I can’t even lie this was so much better than iron flame. It’s been 24 hours and I haven’t stopped thinking about this!!!!!!! This book single handedly made me fall back in love with the series. I honestly really enjoyed the pace and could have read 500+ more pages easily
Read
January 25, 2025need to think on this, took my time with this and still disappointed 😀
January 23, 2025
she is so brave for publishing this💜
January 22, 2025
Every other book I read after this one will be trash because they aren’t this one.
Do with that information what you will.
I’d like Xaden Riorson tattooed on my forehead.
Do with that information what you will.
I’d like Xaden Riorson tattooed on my forehead.
January 23, 2025
First of all... lemme tell you how mf tired I am of the internet and all the mf weirdo super Yarros fans who try and bully you when your opinion differs from theirs. Respectfully, eat a 🍆.
I'm a January Aquarius bruh... we do not yield.
Moving along....
This book was all filler. No resolution in sight from the ending of Iron Flame. Can someone, anyone tell me why the dragons in this book act like they're toddlers that need help from human mommy and daddy at every turn?
It's no secret that I haven't been a fan of this series since the beginning. Look, I'm truly not trying to be a hater, but the romance in this has always been cringe - now it's gotten worse. The dragons have always come across equivalent to a child's dragon cartoon character to me, and they have gotten worse.
The first half of this book - who even were half of these people?
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Bruh we get it.
The writing is lazy and repetitive, dare I say sounds AI generated?
If she wouldn't have sold out for a cash grab and kept this a trilogy, I could have (possibly) respected the series more.
I'm a January Aquarius bruh... we do not yield.
Moving along....
This book was all filler. No resolution in sight from the ending of Iron Flame. Can someone, anyone tell me why the dragons in this book act like they're toddlers that need help from human mommy and daddy at every turn?
It's no secret that I haven't been a fan of this series since the beginning. Look, I'm truly not trying to be a hater, but the romance in this has always been cringe - now it's gotten worse. The dragons have always come across equivalent to a child's dragon cartoon character to me, and they have gotten worse.
The first half of this book - who even were half of these people?
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
Bruh we get it.
The writing is lazy and repetitive, dare I say sounds AI generated?
If she wouldn't have sold out for a cash grab and kept this a trilogy, I could have (possibly) respected the series more.
Currently reading
January 26, 2025There’s a really twisted part of me that wants Violet to end up with Dain just to watch the whole internet implode.
Muahaha 😜🤣
Finally diving in! I hope it’s not as confusing as people are saying it is because I definitely did NOT do a reread. I’d need to be paid to reread Iron Flame. 😅
Muahaha 😜🤣
Finally diving in! I hope it’s not as confusing as people are saying it is because I definitely did NOT do a reread. I’d need to be paid to reread Iron Flame. 😅
Want to read
July 8, 2024 THE COVER JUST DROPPED AND IT'S STUNNING Y'ALL 😍😍
~.~.~
SCREAMINGGGGG!!! We have the title and release date (Jan 21, 2025) !! The wait is going to be hard but I know it's going to be worth it. I miss the dragons and Xaden ahhhhh.
~.~.~
SCREAMINGGGGG!!! We have the title and release date (Jan 21, 2025) !! The wait is going to be hard but I know it's going to be worth it. I miss the dragons and Xaden ahhhhh.
January 23, 2025
I’m going to need a year to recover from whatever the fuck that was. 😃 Rebecca put her whole Yarrussy into this book
March 28, 2024
I’m begging you please stop writing ❤️🤍💚
March 28, 2024
Sending hate from Ohio 🩷
February 1, 2025
OH. MY. GOD. Y’all, I am fuming. Rebecca, girl, WHAT WAS THIS?! 🤦♀️ I waited MONTHS, camped out like a feral dragon lover for this release, and THIS is what I get? Three days to read this, people—THREE DAYS! Do you know how fast I read?! A slump was breathing down my neck, and honestly, Onyx Storm almost succeeded in pulling me under. 😤
Okay, okay, let’s get into it:
The first half? Boring. Straight-up snoozefest. I was flipping pages, hoping SOMETHING would happen, but nope, it was just filler after filler. The pacing? Tragic. One second, they’re fighting for their lives; the next, it’s like, “Let’s casually take a two-hour dragon flight.” Ma’am, where is the tension? The stakes? The world-building? This felt more like a travel log than a romantasy. 🐉
Speaking of romantasy… Xaden and Violet? My loves? My OTP? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? 🫠 The magic they had in Fourth Wing? GONE. Their chemistry felt forced, and honestly, the romance leaned more smutty than emotional. Like, I’m here for spice, but give me some feels, please! Where’s the angst? The swoon-worthy moments? The “touch her and die” energy only happened once, and that’s NOT enough for me. 🫣🔥
The reveals? Meh. Nothing mind-blowing, nothing that made me gasp or scream into my pillow. And THAT ENDING??? Rebecca, why did you think this was okay? It felt like you slapped “To Be Continued” on a draft and called it a day. I was left blinking at my phone like, that’s it? No resolution, no answers, no satisfying payoff. Just vibes and confusion. 🤷♀️
Listen, I loved Fourth Wing. I really liked Iron Flame. But Onyx Storm? It felt unnecessary, like a placeholder to stretch the series into five books when it really should’ve been a trilogy. If you’re gonna give me filler, at least make it good filler. I’m giving this 3 stars because, yes, the last half picked up. But otherwise? I’m sad. I’m mad. I’m disappointed. 😭
Tropes:
✧ Enemies to lovers turned lovers 💘
✧ Found family (kinda?) 💕
✧ Touch her and die (barely) ✋
✧ Strong heroine (ehhh, debatable this time) 🗡️
✧ Magical bond with dragons (always a win) 🐉
Rebecca, FIX THIS. Please. I’m begging you. I need Book 4 to redeem this series because my heart can’t take another letdown. 😩
─────────────୨ৎ─────────────
Currently screaming because I got an early copy of Onyx Storm before release day!!! 😭📖 I have no clue if it’s gonna wreck me in the best way or leave me disappointed, but here I am, nervously turning pages like my life depends on it! 🤯✨
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Okay, okay, let’s get into it:
The first half? Boring. Straight-up snoozefest. I was flipping pages, hoping SOMETHING would happen, but nope, it was just filler after filler. The pacing? Tragic. One second, they’re fighting for their lives; the next, it’s like, “Let’s casually take a two-hour dragon flight.” Ma’am, where is the tension? The stakes? The world-building? This felt more like a travel log than a romantasy. 🐉
Speaking of romantasy… Xaden and Violet? My loves? My OTP? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? 🫠 The magic they had in Fourth Wing? GONE. Their chemistry felt forced, and honestly, the romance leaned more smutty than emotional. Like, I’m here for spice, but give me some feels, please! Where’s the angst? The swoon-worthy moments? The “touch her and die” energy only happened once, and that’s NOT enough for me. 🫣🔥
The reveals? Meh. Nothing mind-blowing, nothing that made me gasp or scream into my pillow. And THAT ENDING??? Rebecca, why did you think this was okay? It felt like you slapped “To Be Continued” on a draft and called it a day. I was left blinking at my phone like, that’s it? No resolution, no answers, no satisfying payoff. Just vibes and confusion. 🤷♀️
Listen, I loved Fourth Wing. I really liked Iron Flame. But Onyx Storm? It felt unnecessary, like a placeholder to stretch the series into five books when it really should’ve been a trilogy. If you’re gonna give me filler, at least make it good filler. I’m giving this 3 stars because, yes, the last half picked up. But otherwise? I’m sad. I’m mad. I’m disappointed. 😭
Tropes:
✧ Enemies to lovers turned lovers 💘
✧ Found family (kinda?) 💕
✧ Touch her and die (barely) ✋
✧ Strong heroine (ehhh, debatable this time) 🗡️
✧ Magical bond with dragons (always a win) 🐉
Rebecca, FIX THIS. Please. I’m begging you. I need Book 4 to redeem this series because my heart can’t take another letdown. 😩
─────────────୨ৎ─────────────
Currently screaming because I got an early copy of Onyx Storm before release day!!! 😭📖 I have no clue if it’s gonna wreck me in the best way or leave me disappointed, but here I am, nervously turning pages like my life depends on it! 🤯✨
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
January 22, 2025
i don't have words for how bad that was.
Currently reading
January 24, 2025as someone who rated the first book ∞ stars and then rated the second book 1 star…reading this one should be interesting.
January 28, 2025
My toxic trait is being unable to dnf series.
January 31, 2025
3 ⭐️ This is basically Iron Flame 2.0. The definition of a filler book.
"That's why we'll fail. Because you will choose everyone over yourself, and he will choose you over everyone."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult romantasy
✨ book 3 of the Empyrean Series
✨ established romance but becomes forbidden (student x teacher)
✨ "if I touch you I might hurt you"
✨ lots of sexual tension
✨ 3/5 🌶️ (4 explicit spicy scenes, shadow play)
✨ war college setting
✨ dragon riders
✨ magic
✨ quest
✨ expanded world-building
✨ complex politics
✨ found family
✨ chronic illness rep
✨ action-packed
✨ high stakes
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: grief, slight ex/OM drama, perilous situations, brutal injuries, blood, death
‼️‼️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS‼️‼️
My Thoughts:
Not sure how to rate this, so I'll keep it at 3-stars for now.
Things I liked:
RIDOC. Actually he’s such a stupid character but I love him and the comedic relief he provides. Honestly, if Rebecca pulls a f*cking Liam with him, I will never forgive her.
The fact Violet wasn’t annoyingly insecure like she was in Iron Flame. She actually served cunt more than a few times too 👏 and not just to Xaden. 😉
Xaden and his absolute devotion to Violet. He’s the definition of a simp, and I love me a man obsessed with his woman. And the things he says to her. SWOON! But, with everything that happened at the end, I'm looking forward to how or if this might change in the next book.
The isle quest storyline. Even though they were exploring places we’ve never been (hello new names and characters we’ve never met), this quest allowed readers to connect with a specific group of characters, making the story more dynamic and enjoyable. There also was a purpose to this quest, so there was a goal the characters were working towards vs them being put in random situations that didn’t really matter (which happens a lot in the first 50% of the book).
The smut was pretty good. Finally Xaden put his shadow to good use! Officially a shadow daddy. I know this is unhinged, but I’m hoping in book 4 we get some hot venin sex. 🙈
BUT most importantly, where is Broccoli??? Is she okay??? You can't just introduce a freaking kitten to this story and never mention it again!
I think this book was better than Iron Flame. Probably because it’s shorter. There were a lot of moments that I found entertaining and fun; especially the isle quest which starts around 50%. It’s almost like Rebecca used the first half of the book to manage the messiness created by Iron Flame and then got to hone in on the plot and have fun with the second part of this story.
Things I didn’t like:
The amount of name dropping was disorienting and annoying. Who the f*ck is Cragh? Taccarus? Lewellen? Drake? Quinn? Trager? If you aren't Xaden or Violet or their close friends and family, I have no clue who you are. Even then, I needed to jog my memory with some of the people in their squad, like Bhodi and Garreck. I swear they were the same person. 😂 But then, Rebecca decided to introduce or reintroduce a bunch of other random places, gods, and people (including giving us last names) . . . it was too much! Seriously felt like my brain was assaulted.
I think Rebecca might have bit off more than she can chew. While this world is so interesting, the way it’s being presented doesn’t quite stick which is why so many people have complained about not being able to keep track of people, places, and things. When that many readers are confused, it’s apparent it’s a writing problem vs a reader comprehension problem.
To dive into this more, authors like J.R.R. Tolkein, Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas, and Stephanie Garber all have similar or more complex world-building in their popular fantasy stories, but despite the complexities, the world-building is extremely clear and digestible. These authors weave complexity into the narrative in a way that feels immersive without overwhelming the reader, by layering information naturally through character experiences, dialogue, and context, making sure each detail has a clear purpose. The biggest difference between good writing and bad writing is how authors develop world-building and present new characters, places, or story elements. When authors rely too heavily on info dumps or abruptly introduce important elements without proper buildup or development throughout the story, it leaves readers scrambling to make sense of what's happening. Well-crafted world-building should unfold gradually, with each new detail fitting naturally into the larger picture, keeping the reader engaged and grounded in the world without feeling lost or overwhelmed.
I raw dogged this book, and I found it difficult trying to remember who was who and what the f*ck was going on. I’ve honestly never had this much trouble before. And I’m only more nervous for the next book because Rebecca said on tour that the gods will start to play a bigger role. So on top of having a confusing mortal world, we’re about to potentially be introduced to deities who have their own world and political dynamics. Ugh, this is bringing up my PTSD from the From Blood And Ash series. 😣
The plot and specific conflicts were basically variants of everything that happened in Iron flame. While it continued the story, it seemed familiar because we’ve gone through similar plot points before. The OM drama, training sessions, Dain and Sloan's budding romance (hello, Violet and Xaden 2.0), fights with the venin, and Xaden turning is rehashed. The only difference is that now Xaden is fully venin. 🙄 I didn't even get that emotional about it because we already went through the shock in Iron Flame. This just felt inevitable, so no surprise there.
I also gave zero f*cks about the classroom, training, and battle scenes. The stakes are high in this book but the classroom scenes were so slow and boring - I just didn’t care about what was happening. The training sessions felt like a rinse-and-repeat of what we’ve already seen in the first two books, so they just didn’t hold my attention. There were so many new names and characters thrown in that I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of them, especially since they weren’t developed enough to make me invested. As for the battles, I zoned out during most of them and only really paid attention when someone actually died. But even though I was momentarily surprised by the deaths, I didn’t feel any real impact because I wasn’t emotionally attached to the characters.
The pacing wasn't as frantic as Iron Flame, but the plot still felt a bit chaotic. I said this about Iron Flame too, but once again, the pacing reminded me of a TV show where each episode builds up to a mini dramatic moment, gets somewhat resolved, and then moves on to the next. There were a lot of these small subplots that felt more like filler scenes than meaningful story progression. Honestly, I really wish romantasy authors would stop stretching what should clearly be a trilogy into a 5 book series, because books 2-4 often end up packed with unnecessary bullshit filler material that could easily have been cut down to make the story clearer, more concise, and just better overall. But unfortunately, when something is a hit, it gets milked for all it's worth, and the price paid is the quality of the story.
There were quite a few moments where Violet was intentionally obtuse.
For example:
- When Violet and Xaden go to the isles. These two have been horny for each other since page one, but they can't fully be together because Xaden doesn't trust himself to pull from the earth. But then, they mention that there's no magic on the isles. As soon as I read that, I thought, "Oh, they're finally going to get together!" But it takes Violet forever to even connect the dots. It just didn’t make sense when she’s been practically salivating over Xaden the entire book.
- The fact that Violet never talked to Xaden about her nightmares for months is ridiculous. If my husband and I have weird dreams, we’re talking about them the next morning. Violet even knows Xaden has nightmares too, but doesn’t ask about his or share that hers happen the same nights. Wouldn’t you want emotional support from your partner after waking up from a nightmare? It just felt like Violet was purposefully not addressing the nightmare so that it could be brought up later and the 'right' time in the story.
- When Violet is on one of the isles and sees white haired attendants, and then a high priestess makes weird comments about Violet not completing her dedication at the temple. Instead of thinking, "Wait, what’s going on here? Why do these people have silver hair like me (when it’s supposedly rare), and this lady is saying some odd things", Violet just brushes it all off with a, "Well, that was weird," and moves on. And of course, it turns out to be really important later. It just felt like she was being unnecessarily dense in a way that pulled me out of the story.
While I do like Violet and Xaden, and I'm glad there was minimal miscommunication in this book (unlike Iron Flame), their relationship is so lust heavy that it overshadowed any real connection. I know they LOVE each other and would die for each other, but it's like, every page they're eye fucking each other. I think since their relationship is established, there isn't much else romance wise to be done unless another love interest appears or someone's feelings change (which may happen in the next book since Xaden is venin but he did spend the entire book saying no matter what he will always love her sooooo I sort of doubt it). The actual relationship was stagnant with the focus shifting more toward their sexual chemistry than any meaningful evolution of their bond.
The ex drama. 🙄 It didn't irk me the same way the Cat drama did, but it just felt like a weak plot device used to create tension between Violet and Xaden. And honestly, Xaden being jealous is just absurd. The man is the epitome of confidence and would never feel threatened by anyone—not even a crown prince.
PS: If Cat died I wouldn't care. She wasn't a problem in this book but her making comments about Xaden still gave me the ick.
I may get a lot of shit for this one, but I feel that Violet’s disability, which is supposed to significantly affect her physical capabilities, doesn’t seem to have much of an impact in practice. Homegirl is taking down skilled fighters, jumping off dragons, and other crazy shit. While I understand that she trains diligently and wraps her knees, it still feels unrealistic for someone with physical limitations to be able to perform so many physically demanding tasks without significant consequences. The idea that she can always "fight smarter, not harder" works to an extent, but it feels a bit hard to believe that her opponents, who are often experienced and skilled, always fall for her strategies. Especially when she’s only been training in combat for 1-2 years. Even characters like Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, who was physically capable and highly skilled, struggled against opponents of equal or greater strength. Violet, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to face many of the same physical or magical limitations. And even when she does find herself in difficult situations, there’s often a rescue or intervention (typically from Xaden or Tairn). I get that there are explanations for everything, but it’s frustrating because, even though her disability is presented as a major challenge, it doesn't seem to truly affect her in the way it realistically should.
There were a lot of side characters / plots that were pointless.
- Dain going on the isle quest. He goes because everyone thinks he’s the only translator, but then Aaric steps up and is fluent in every language they come across. So then Dain just shuts the f*ck upm, sits back, and offers absolutely nothing to the story. I feel like Rebecca only included him in the quest because if she didn’t, he wouldn’t even have been featured in his story besides stealing the journal from his dad’s office in the beginning.
- Grady leading Violet and a squad of randos. This was supposedly a big deal but they go on one mission and he, along with others I don't even care about, die. That was it. The end.
- The entire storyline of Theophanie. She was supposed to be a venin who had all the answers for Violet. But she dies at the end without ever sharing anything with Violet. Sooo she was just this book's villain, there to create conflict/drama but doesn't serve any real purpose in the long run. Which makes me annoyed. It just once again furthers my belief that this was a filler book. People might say, "Oh, Rebecca is setting the groundwork for the next book", but no. I firmly believe you can do this in a way that still keeps the storyline strong and engages the reader.
- The old lady at the bookshop asking Violet, "What made you leave the prince?" What the fuck does it matter? She really wouldn't have given Violet her father's journal if she refused to answer a stupid, personal question. The questions she asked were supposed to test intelligence and understanding so she could properly comprehend the journals. And her answer was basically "he didn't love me in the way I deserved to be loved," so the old woman replies, "You know your value. Your father would be proud."🙄 Sooo glad she has self worth, now can we please have these journals that will possibly save the entire realm from destruction? Kay, bye! Honestly, this moment just felt like a blatant attempt at empowerment that missed the mark. I’m all for strong characters, but this felt so forced and cringey, and honestly, it detracts from the story. This is exactly why this series is not on par with classic fantasy books.
Also, what would happen if venin won and took over the world and sucked magic from every single thing? What would they do then? Like, what's their goal? I get this is probably a question we're supposed to have but that feels like a massive plot hole. If they suck the world dry of magic, they'll have nothing. . . And it took Jack almost a week to die because he couldn't replenish his magic so if they took over the world, would they all just die after a week?
-
The Empyrean Series:
1. Fourth Wing: 5 ⭐️
2. Iron Flame: 3 ⭐️
3. Onyx Storm: 3 ⭐️
4. Book 4
5. Book 5
-
Favorite Quotes:
Xaden is mine. My heart, my soul, my everything.
_______
"Every possible path may require breaking a few laws."
"Dragons do not answer to the laws of humans."
_______
I will not die today. I will save him.
_______
"Why is it always you?"
_______
"I could reach the rank of Maven, lead armies of dark wielders against everyone we care for, and watch every vein in my body turn red as I channel all the power in the Continent, and I would still love you. What I did doesn't change that. I'm not sure anything can."
_______
"Telling me you're capable of horrible things while still loving me is pretty much your idea of foreplay."
_______
I'm afraid our daughter has atrocious taste in men.
_______
Everyone wants wisdom but needs luck.
_______
You might be angry when you realize I didn't wake you to say goodbye, But it's only because I no longer fully trust my ability to walk away.
_______
"Xaden, I need you."
"No, I need you."
_______
"You want me the same way that I want you. Wholly. Completely. With nothing but skin between us. Heart, mind, and body."
_______
"You are the only person in the world with the power to strip me of every ounce of my control, and the only person I can't fathom losing that control with.
_______
"I won't lose you, not even to yourself."
_______
"We live by the Codex-"
"I live by you."
_______
"I am yours and you are mine, and there's no law or rule in this world or the next that will change that."
_______
"He's not my boyfriend."
Rhi snorts and Ridoc offers me a sarcastic thumbs-up.
"Agreed," Xaden says. "That's far too casual a term for what we are."
_______
"You're the only one capable of killing me."
_______
"Oh gods, just stop flirting and f*ck already." (Ridoc)
_______
"She really, honestly hasn't thought about you. At least not since the second she set eyes on me."
_______
"I'm jealous of the armor that holds you when I can't, the sheets on your bed that caress your skin every night, and the blades that feel your hands."
_______
He is the craving I'll never sate, the rush I'll never get enough of. Only him.
_______
"Bad things happen when we aren't together."
_______
"My the Continent does have some fine-looking men."
_______
"Everyone assumes she'll wind up with you, but it's my last name she ends up wearing on her flight jacket in formation."
_______
"My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else. Then Tyrrendor. Then Navarre in the moments it's worthy - usually when Violet is in residence."
_______
"You already hold my soul and now you want my pain? Getting greedy, Violence."
_______
"There is no cure for me." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "That's why you have to become better than me. There's only you."
_______
"Oh, and just so we're clear, that strike up there wasn't" - Ridoc gestures between us - "you know. Us." He flinches.
"Well aware," Xaden replies. "First because I trust Violet, and second" - he glances at Ridoc in a dismissive once-over- "it wasn't a big enough strike."
_______
"I want a patch for this shit, Violet. A quest squad patch. Understand?" (Ridoc)
_______
"My control when it comes to you is an illusion. You are the temple where I worship. I live for the clench of your thighs, your breathy little cries, the feel of you coming around my cock, and above all else, the sound of my favorite three words from this mouth."
_______
"Is it toxic? Maybe. Is it us? Absolutely.
_______
"You are every fantasy I'll ever have."
_______
I was infinite yet moored, and now I'm hollow and adrift in waters too vast to comprehend.
_______
I exist for Tairn, but I live for Xaden.
_______
"Harder. Rougher. I can do that." I nod.
"I'm sure you can, considering who you're sleeping with," Ridoc teases.
_______
What even am I? Hers.
_______
"That's why we'll fail. Because you will choose everyone over yourself, and he will choose you over everyone."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult romantasy
✨ book 3 of the Empyrean Series
✨ established romance but becomes forbidden (student x teacher)
✨ "if I touch you I might hurt you"
✨ lots of sexual tension
✨ 3/5 🌶️ (4 explicit spicy scenes, shadow play)
✨ war college setting
✨ dragon riders
✨ magic
✨ quest
✨ expanded world-building
✨ complex politics
✨ found family
✨ chronic illness rep
✨ action-packed
✨ high stakes
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: grief, slight ex/OM drama, perilous situations, brutal injuries, blood, death
‼️‼️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS‼️‼️
My Thoughts:
Not sure how to rate this, so I'll keep it at 3-stars for now.
Things I liked:
RIDOC. Actually he’s such a stupid character but I love him and the comedic relief he provides. Honestly, if Rebecca pulls a f*cking Liam with him, I will never forgive her.
The fact Violet wasn’t annoyingly insecure like she was in Iron Flame. She actually served cunt more than a few times too 👏 and not just to Xaden. 😉
Xaden and his absolute devotion to Violet. He’s the definition of a simp, and I love me a man obsessed with his woman. And the things he says to her. SWOON! But, with everything that happened at the end, I'm looking forward to how or if this might change in the next book.
The isle quest storyline. Even though they were exploring places we’ve never been (hello new names and characters we’ve never met), this quest allowed readers to connect with a specific group of characters, making the story more dynamic and enjoyable. There also was a purpose to this quest, so there was a goal the characters were working towards vs them being put in random situations that didn’t really matter (which happens a lot in the first 50% of the book).
The smut was pretty good. Finally Xaden put his shadow to good use! Officially a shadow daddy. I know this is unhinged, but I’m hoping in book 4 we get some hot venin sex. 🙈
BUT most importantly, where is Broccoli??? Is she okay??? You can't just introduce a freaking kitten to this story and never mention it again!
I think this book was better than Iron Flame. Probably because it’s shorter. There were a lot of moments that I found entertaining and fun; especially the isle quest which starts around 50%. It’s almost like Rebecca used the first half of the book to manage the messiness created by Iron Flame and then got to hone in on the plot and have fun with the second part of this story.
Things I didn’t like:
The amount of name dropping was disorienting and annoying. Who the f*ck is Cragh? Taccarus? Lewellen? Drake? Quinn? Trager? If you aren't Xaden or Violet or their close friends and family, I have no clue who you are. Even then, I needed to jog my memory with some of the people in their squad, like Bhodi and Garreck. I swear they were the same person. 😂 But then, Rebecca decided to introduce or reintroduce a bunch of other random places, gods, and people (including giving us last names) . . . it was too much! Seriously felt like my brain was assaulted.
I think Rebecca might have bit off more than she can chew. While this world is so interesting, the way it’s being presented doesn’t quite stick which is why so many people have complained about not being able to keep track of people, places, and things. When that many readers are confused, it’s apparent it’s a writing problem vs a reader comprehension problem.
To dive into this more, authors like J.R.R. Tolkein, Brandon Sanderson, Sarah J. Maas, and Stephanie Garber all have similar or more complex world-building in their popular fantasy stories, but despite the complexities, the world-building is extremely clear and digestible. These authors weave complexity into the narrative in a way that feels immersive without overwhelming the reader, by layering information naturally through character experiences, dialogue, and context, making sure each detail has a clear purpose. The biggest difference between good writing and bad writing is how authors develop world-building and present new characters, places, or story elements. When authors rely too heavily on info dumps or abruptly introduce important elements without proper buildup or development throughout the story, it leaves readers scrambling to make sense of what's happening. Well-crafted world-building should unfold gradually, with each new detail fitting naturally into the larger picture, keeping the reader engaged and grounded in the world without feeling lost or overwhelmed.
I raw dogged this book, and I found it difficult trying to remember who was who and what the f*ck was going on. I’ve honestly never had this much trouble before. And I’m only more nervous for the next book because Rebecca said on tour that the gods will start to play a bigger role. So on top of having a confusing mortal world, we’re about to potentially be introduced to deities who have their own world and political dynamics. Ugh, this is bringing up my PTSD from the From Blood And Ash series. 😣
The plot and specific conflicts were basically variants of everything that happened in Iron flame. While it continued the story, it seemed familiar because we’ve gone through similar plot points before. The OM drama, training sessions, Dain and Sloan's budding romance (hello, Violet and Xaden 2.0), fights with the venin, and Xaden turning is rehashed. The only difference is that now Xaden is fully venin. 🙄 I didn't even get that emotional about it because we already went through the shock in Iron Flame. This just felt inevitable, so no surprise there.
I also gave zero f*cks about the classroom, training, and battle scenes. The stakes are high in this book but the classroom scenes were so slow and boring - I just didn’t care about what was happening. The training sessions felt like a rinse-and-repeat of what we’ve already seen in the first two books, so they just didn’t hold my attention. There were so many new names and characters thrown in that I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of them, especially since they weren’t developed enough to make me invested. As for the battles, I zoned out during most of them and only really paid attention when someone actually died. But even though I was momentarily surprised by the deaths, I didn’t feel any real impact because I wasn’t emotionally attached to the characters.
The pacing wasn't as frantic as Iron Flame, but the plot still felt a bit chaotic. I said this about Iron Flame too, but once again, the pacing reminded me of a TV show where each episode builds up to a mini dramatic moment, gets somewhat resolved, and then moves on to the next. There were a lot of these small subplots that felt more like filler scenes than meaningful story progression. Honestly, I really wish romantasy authors would stop stretching what should clearly be a trilogy into a 5 book series, because books 2-4 often end up packed with unnecessary bullshit filler material that could easily have been cut down to make the story clearer, more concise, and just better overall. But unfortunately, when something is a hit, it gets milked for all it's worth, and the price paid is the quality of the story.
There were quite a few moments where Violet was intentionally obtuse.
For example:
- When Violet and Xaden go to the isles. These two have been horny for each other since page one, but they can't fully be together because Xaden doesn't trust himself to pull from the earth. But then, they mention that there's no magic on the isles. As soon as I read that, I thought, "Oh, they're finally going to get together!" But it takes Violet forever to even connect the dots. It just didn’t make sense when she’s been practically salivating over Xaden the entire book.
- The fact that Violet never talked to Xaden about her nightmares for months is ridiculous. If my husband and I have weird dreams, we’re talking about them the next morning. Violet even knows Xaden has nightmares too, but doesn’t ask about his or share that hers happen the same nights. Wouldn’t you want emotional support from your partner after waking up from a nightmare? It just felt like Violet was purposefully not addressing the nightmare so that it could be brought up later and the 'right' time in the story.
- When Violet is on one of the isles and sees white haired attendants, and then a high priestess makes weird comments about Violet not completing her dedication at the temple. Instead of thinking, "Wait, what’s going on here? Why do these people have silver hair like me (when it’s supposedly rare), and this lady is saying some odd things", Violet just brushes it all off with a, "Well, that was weird," and moves on. And of course, it turns out to be really important later. It just felt like she was being unnecessarily dense in a way that pulled me out of the story.
While I do like Violet and Xaden, and I'm glad there was minimal miscommunication in this book (unlike Iron Flame), their relationship is so lust heavy that it overshadowed any real connection. I know they LOVE each other and would die for each other, but it's like, every page they're eye fucking each other. I think since their relationship is established, there isn't much else romance wise to be done unless another love interest appears or someone's feelings change (which may happen in the next book since Xaden is venin but he did spend the entire book saying no matter what he will always love her sooooo I sort of doubt it). The actual relationship was stagnant with the focus shifting more toward their sexual chemistry than any meaningful evolution of their bond.
The ex drama. 🙄 It didn't irk me the same way the Cat drama did, but it just felt like a weak plot device used to create tension between Violet and Xaden. And honestly, Xaden being jealous is just absurd. The man is the epitome of confidence and would never feel threatened by anyone—not even a crown prince.
PS: If Cat died I wouldn't care. She wasn't a problem in this book but her making comments about Xaden still gave me the ick.
I may get a lot of shit for this one, but I feel that Violet’s disability, which is supposed to significantly affect her physical capabilities, doesn’t seem to have much of an impact in practice. Homegirl is taking down skilled fighters, jumping off dragons, and other crazy shit. While I understand that she trains diligently and wraps her knees, it still feels unrealistic for someone with physical limitations to be able to perform so many physically demanding tasks without significant consequences. The idea that she can always "fight smarter, not harder" works to an extent, but it feels a bit hard to believe that her opponents, who are often experienced and skilled, always fall for her strategies. Especially when she’s only been training in combat for 1-2 years. Even characters like Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, who was physically capable and highly skilled, struggled against opponents of equal or greater strength. Violet, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to face many of the same physical or magical limitations. And even when she does find herself in difficult situations, there’s often a rescue or intervention (typically from Xaden or Tairn). I get that there are explanations for everything, but it’s frustrating because, even though her disability is presented as a major challenge, it doesn't seem to truly affect her in the way it realistically should.
There were a lot of side characters / plots that were pointless.
- Dain going on the isle quest. He goes because everyone thinks he’s the only translator, but then Aaric steps up and is fluent in every language they come across. So then Dain just shuts the f*ck upm, sits back, and offers absolutely nothing to the story. I feel like Rebecca only included him in the quest because if she didn’t, he wouldn’t even have been featured in his story besides stealing the journal from his dad’s office in the beginning.
- Grady leading Violet and a squad of randos. This was supposedly a big deal but they go on one mission and he, along with others I don't even care about, die. That was it. The end.
- The entire storyline of Theophanie. She was supposed to be a venin who had all the answers for Violet. But she dies at the end without ever sharing anything with Violet. Sooo she was just this book's villain, there to create conflict/drama but doesn't serve any real purpose in the long run. Which makes me annoyed. It just once again furthers my belief that this was a filler book. People might say, "Oh, Rebecca is setting the groundwork for the next book", but no. I firmly believe you can do this in a way that still keeps the storyline strong and engages the reader.
- The old lady at the bookshop asking Violet, "What made you leave the prince?" What the fuck does it matter? She really wouldn't have given Violet her father's journal if she refused to answer a stupid, personal question. The questions she asked were supposed to test intelligence and understanding so she could properly comprehend the journals. And her answer was basically "he didn't love me in the way I deserved to be loved," so the old woman replies, "You know your value. Your father would be proud."🙄 Sooo glad she has self worth, now can we please have these journals that will possibly save the entire realm from destruction? Kay, bye! Honestly, this moment just felt like a blatant attempt at empowerment that missed the mark. I’m all for strong characters, but this felt so forced and cringey, and honestly, it detracts from the story. This is exactly why this series is not on par with classic fantasy books.
Also, what would happen if venin won and took over the world and sucked magic from every single thing? What would they do then? Like, what's their goal? I get this is probably a question we're supposed to have but that feels like a massive plot hole. If they suck the world dry of magic, they'll have nothing. . . And it took Jack almost a week to die because he couldn't replenish his magic so if they took over the world, would they all just die after a week?
-
The Empyrean Series:
1. Fourth Wing: 5 ⭐️
2. Iron Flame: 3 ⭐️
3. Onyx Storm: 3 ⭐️
4. Book 4
5. Book 5
-
Favorite Quotes:
Xaden is mine. My heart, my soul, my everything.
_______
"Every possible path may require breaking a few laws."
"Dragons do not answer to the laws of humans."
_______
I will not die today. I will save him.
_______
"Why is it always you?"
_______
"I could reach the rank of Maven, lead armies of dark wielders against everyone we care for, and watch every vein in my body turn red as I channel all the power in the Continent, and I would still love you. What I did doesn't change that. I'm not sure anything can."
_______
"Telling me you're capable of horrible things while still loving me is pretty much your idea of foreplay."
_______
I'm afraid our daughter has atrocious taste in men.
_______
Everyone wants wisdom but needs luck.
_______
You might be angry when you realize I didn't wake you to say goodbye, But it's only because I no longer fully trust my ability to walk away.
_______
"Xaden, I need you."
"No, I need you."
_______
"You want me the same way that I want you. Wholly. Completely. With nothing but skin between us. Heart, mind, and body."
_______
"You are the only person in the world with the power to strip me of every ounce of my control, and the only person I can't fathom losing that control with.
_______
"I won't lose you, not even to yourself."
_______
"We live by the Codex-"
"I live by you."
_______
"I am yours and you are mine, and there's no law or rule in this world or the next that will change that."
_______
"He's not my boyfriend."
Rhi snorts and Ridoc offers me a sarcastic thumbs-up.
"Agreed," Xaden says. "That's far too casual a term for what we are."
_______
"You're the only one capable of killing me."
_______
"Oh gods, just stop flirting and f*ck already." (Ridoc)
_______
"She really, honestly hasn't thought about you. At least not since the second she set eyes on me."
_______
"I'm jealous of the armor that holds you when I can't, the sheets on your bed that caress your skin every night, and the blades that feel your hands."
_______
He is the craving I'll never sate, the rush I'll never get enough of. Only him.
_______
"Bad things happen when we aren't together."
_______
"My the Continent does have some fine-looking men."
_______
"Everyone assumes she'll wind up with you, but it's my last name she ends up wearing on her flight jacket in formation."
_______
"My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else. Then Tyrrendor. Then Navarre in the moments it's worthy - usually when Violet is in residence."
_______
"You already hold my soul and now you want my pain? Getting greedy, Violence."
_______
"There is no cure for me." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "That's why you have to become better than me. There's only you."
_______
"Oh, and just so we're clear, that strike up there wasn't" - Ridoc gestures between us - "you know. Us." He flinches.
"Well aware," Xaden replies. "First because I trust Violet, and second" - he glances at Ridoc in a dismissive once-over- "it wasn't a big enough strike."
_______
"I want a patch for this shit, Violet. A quest squad patch. Understand?" (Ridoc)
_______
"My control when it comes to you is an illusion. You are the temple where I worship. I live for the clench of your thighs, your breathy little cries, the feel of you coming around my cock, and above all else, the sound of my favorite three words from this mouth."
_______
"Is it toxic? Maybe. Is it us? Absolutely.
_______
"You are every fantasy I'll ever have."
_______
I was infinite yet moored, and now I'm hollow and adrift in waters too vast to comprehend.
_______
I exist for Tairn, but I live for Xaden.
_______
"Harder. Rougher. I can do that." I nod.
"I'm sure you can, considering who you're sleeping with," Ridoc teases.
_______
What even am I? Hers.
_______
January 22, 2025
What the actual fuck
January 22, 2025
Okay I’ve had time to process my thoughts.
This book was the best one yet by far. I literally could not put it down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SO much expansion on the world building and lore of the continents, so many answered questions, the banter was TOP NOTCH, as was the romance.
I love where she’s taking this series and I already have several new baby theories brewing in my brain.
Hats off to Rebecca for this series - it’s truly such a compelling, gut wrenching, emotional rollercoaster that I never want to get off of. I’ll be sitting here strapped in to my seat (not so patiently) waiting for the ride to start again with book 4 🎢
*yes it does end on another doozy of a cliffhanger, but that’s what we live for after all*
This book was the best one yet by far. I literally could not put it down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SO much expansion on the world building and lore of the continents, so many answered questions, the banter was TOP NOTCH, as was the romance.
I love where she’s taking this series and I already have several new baby theories brewing in my brain.
Hats off to Rebecca for this series - it’s truly such a compelling, gut wrenching, emotional rollercoaster that I never want to get off of. I’ll be sitting here strapped in to my seat (not so patiently) waiting for the ride to start again with book 4 🎢
*yes it does end on another doozy of a cliffhanger, but that’s what we live for after all*
January 25, 2025
this pain feels like my heart is existing outside of my body❤️🩹 six stars, no question - i am ruined for all other male main characters
February 1, 2025
Ok….well….that was disappointing…….
How does a series start out strong as hell and slowly take a steady decline until it just plummets????
I was soooooo stoked for this book. I LOVED Fourth Wing. Iron Flame lost a star for me and was hopeful Yarros figured it out and this would be equal to the first in the series. I was wrong. It was worse. Much worse.
Somehow the characters went from badass to cringy foul mouthed and immature. Maybe a teenager might dig that noise, but I prefer plot and storyline over “fu*k” like every ten minutes. And the cringe worthy dirty talk? Just annoying.
This was tons of filler and sort of disjointed to be honest. For example, on minute they are deep in the throes of a hectic and suspenseful event and in the same breath of the sentence, they are flying for two hours. And then there is no resolution to an event that resulted in a death. Like what?! Ma’am….you’ve missed some scene building and connection here. WTH?? The is happened so many times.
I thought I was getting another awesome dark romantasy….instead I got smut fantasy. What was once a book a younger pre-teen could even read, quickly became the opposite. Such a let down in general and I can’t believe this is the direction she went. Read Throne of Glass instead.
So DISAPPOINTED!
How does a series start out strong as hell and slowly take a steady decline until it just plummets????
I was soooooo stoked for this book. I LOVED Fourth Wing. Iron Flame lost a star for me and was hopeful Yarros figured it out and this would be equal to the first in the series. I was wrong. It was worse. Much worse.
Somehow the characters went from badass to cringy foul mouthed and immature. Maybe a teenager might dig that noise, but I prefer plot and storyline over “fu*k” like every ten minutes. And the cringe worthy dirty talk? Just annoying.
This was tons of filler and sort of disjointed to be honest. For example, on minute they are deep in the throes of a hectic and suspenseful event and in the same breath of the sentence, they are flying for two hours. And then there is no resolution to an event that resulted in a death. Like what?! Ma’am….you’ve missed some scene building and connection here. WTH?? The is happened so many times.
I thought I was getting another awesome dark romantasy….instead I got smut fantasy. What was once a book a younger pre-teen could even read, quickly became the opposite. Such a let down in general and I can’t believe this is the direction she went. Read Throne of Glass instead.
So DISAPPOINTED!
January 23, 2025
I am all for banning books if this is the only one. Wouldn't wish this atrocity on my worst enemy...
It genuinely makes me want to never pick up another book ever again
It genuinely makes me want to never pick up another book ever again
January 21, 2025
not another 500 page wattpad fic
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