Iron Flame (The Empyrean, 2)

📖 Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros ★★★★★ In the hollow aftermath of turning the final page, I sit with the beautiful wreckage of what Rebecca Yarros has done to my soul. Iron Flame doesn't merely continue a story—it carves itself into your bones, leaving echoes that reverberate long after you've set the book down. The evolution of Violet Sorrengail haunts me still. No longer just surviving, she now chooses her path with a fierce intentionality that transforms her fragility into something formidable. Her journey isn't just about physical strength but emotional fortitude—the kind that blooms in darkness, that knows pain intimately and chooses to stand anyway. Through her eyes, we witness the cost of becoming, and it is gloriously, devastatingly human. And Xaden. Oh, Xaden. His complexity deepens like a shadow at dusk, revealing layers that both terrify and captivate. When he says, "I'm not sweet or soft or kind, and you fell anyway. This is what you get, Violet—me. The good, the bad, the unforgivable. All of it. I am yours," it resonates not as romantic fantasy but as raw confession. Their relationship breathes with authenticity—messy, magnetic, maddening in its truth. What makes Iron Flame transcendent is how it refuses simple morality. The lines between right and wrong blur into watercolors of gray, asking us not who is good or evil, but what price we're willing to pay for what we believe. Every character stands at this precipice, making choices that ripple through the narrative like stones cast into still water. Andarna emerges as a brilliant counterpoint to the darkness, her cleverness and heart providing moments of light when the shadows threaten to consume. She isn't just Violet's dragon but a character coming into her own power, reminding us that strength wears many faces. If there's a flaw in this diamond, it's that the relentless pace occasionally steals moments that deserve more breath, more space to fully absorb their weight. Some revelations come so quickly that their emotional impact doesn't fully land before we're swept into the next storm. Yet even this feels intentional—a mirror of Violet's world, where pause means vulnerability, where reflection is a luxury rarely afforded. The book demands you keep up or be left behind, much like Basgiath itself. Iron Flame doesn't just continue a story, it elevates it. It transforms what could have been simply entertainment into something that feels necessary, vital. It leaves you hollow not from emptiness but from having been filled to breaking with something too vast to contain. 📦 What to Expect ✨ Epic Fantasy 💖 Slow Burn Romance 🔥 Grumpy/Sunshine Dynamic 🤯 Complex Politics & Power Struggles 💔 Deep Emotional Growth 🦴 Magical Beasts or Sentient Magic ⚔️ A Lead Who Fights for More Than Survival 📚 Book Tags Keywords: Dark Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Political Intrigue, Found Family, Survival, War Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Enemies to Reluctant Allies, Found Family, Mentor/Protegé, Slow Burn, Power Couple Triggers: Slavery, Violence, War Themes, Grooming (discussed), Sexual Assault (mentioned, not shown), Emotional Abuse, PTSD 🎯 Final Thoughts Some books entertain. Some books transport. Iron Flame transforms. It asks not just what you would die for, but what you would live for—broken, scarred, and still standing. This isn't just fantasy; it's poetry written in fire and blood.

I still haven't reviewed Fourth Wing, but decided to go ahead and write this one while the story was still fresh on my mind. I was already late to the game with this series, but I put myself on the waiting list for an audiobook at my library as soon as I was able to after falling in love with these characters during Fourth Wing. Additionally, Rebecca Soler is one of my absolute favorite narrators and she does an amazing job with this series. Yarros not only makes me fall in love with Violet and Xaden, but every secondary character is beloved as well. Losing any of them would be devasting to my heart, so that final battle in Iron Flame had my pulse racing right along with Violet's. I was already worried about finishing the book since everyone said they literally stared at a wall for 20 minutes afterwards, but I still wasn't expecting the cliffhanger we're left with. Haven't we been through enough by now? I will say that I didn't like how long it took Violent and Xaden to work through their issues. A lack of communication between characters is a huge turn off for me in books, especially when they're romantically involved. Violet knew who he was before she fell in love with him, yet she made demands and put expectations on him that were a bit unfair. She didn't completely trust him because he wouldn't tell her everything, but everyone in this series has secrets, including her. She kept demanding total honesty and full disclosure despite other lives being at risk if she knew. Yarros managed to address these issues in a way that wasn't cringeworthy, so at least that aspect of the book was tolerable and didn't ruin everything else for me. The dragons are still my favorite part of these books. I love their sarcasm and menacing attitudes, especially when directed towards their own riders. Their personalities are perfection. Adolescent Adarna is an absolute delight to read about, and her getting on Tairn's nerves never fails to make me smile. I'm really happy we learned more about them in Iron Flame because so much is still a mystery. Love, betrayal, unexpected plot twists, new friends and frenemies, dragons and gryphons, riders and flyers, war, loss - Iron Flame has all that and more. I highly recommend this series if you enjoy fantasy and fast-paced adventure stories. (★★★★★)

Iron Flame is a solid second book in the series—but wow, it is slower than Fourth Wing. That said, the slower pace felt purposeful. The world-building was necessary and helped answer many of the lingering questions I had after the first book. I really enjoyed learning more about the larger world beyond Basgiath, especially the introduction of the griffin riders and the realization that things are not as they originally seemed. The shifting perspectives on the war added depth, and the venin continue to be fantastic, truly threatening enemies that raise the stakes in a big way. While this book leans more into politics, strategy, and emotional tension than nonstop action, it lays important groundwork for what’s to come. And just when the pacing feels the heaviest, the ending completely delivers. That twist had me on the edge of my seat and immediately desperate for the third book. I could not wait to see what would happen next. Overall, Iron Flame may be slower, but it’s a necessary and impactful bridge in the series—one that makes the anticipation for the next installment even stronger.

Epic fantasy Romantasy War college Dragons Dragon riders Magic Cutthroat Battles Secrets Touch her and die Smart FMC Gryphons FMC living with physical disorder High stakes Found family Corruption Betrayal Torture Morally gray MMC Shadow Daddy Cliffhanger Second book in a series Spice: 2.75/5 FMC: Violet Sorrengail MMC: Xaden Riorson Did I enjoy the book? Yes Would I read this book again? Yes Will I continue the series? Yes, can’t wait Will I read from this author again? Yes I am all about escapism and this story does just that. For a little while, I can escape to this beautifully crafted world full of action packed adventure, love, and fantasy. I don’t care what anyone else says, this story checks all my boxes. That being said, I loved the whole cast of characters. The deaths of some characters were shocking and some others were surprising. It felt very GOT in the fact that I didn’t want to love a character too much because I wasn’t sure if they were going to survive. Violet kind of started to annoy me with the whole tell me all your secrets and do it right now to Xaden. They just started a relationship. No one tells all their secrets right away in a new relationship. They come out gradually and over time. That’s a natural progression. Other than that, loved Vi. Xaden was amazing as always. Just loving Violet and doing everything he can to protect her and tell her what secrets he could. The letter passing back and forth was so romantic. He became overprotective at one point, but Violet put him in his place. Loved that scene. I love that she never backs down when she feels she is right and is passionate about something. I missed that he didn’t call her Violence much at all. This book had its spicy moments but wasn’t all that spicy which was fine with me. They were in the middle of so much war and action that who would have the time. When they did find the time is was Hawt. Honestly, this book is so good I could have gone spice free and still been 5 stars. The plot was action packed, constantly changing and new revelations being made. So much happened I’m still wrapping my mind around it. One plot hole that bugged me and it may be *spoiler* so stop reading here if you don’t want to know. The wards were failing in Aretia and they fell in Basgiath and Vi said she could only save one of them. Why? Why couldn’t Andarna do both with her fire? Basgiath was chosen. So what happens to Aretia? Since some dragon hatchlings chose to hatch there it has restored the magic there. What is going to happen to the hatching grounds at Aretia now that the wards will fail? This is just a huge plot hole to me and I will definitely be disappointed if it isn’t covered in the next book.

Iron Flame (The Empyrean Book 2) Kindle Edition by Rebecca Yarros (Author) I blame Anne McCaffrey for my love of dragons and their riders. Rebecca Yarros, Violet, Xaden, and their dragons had a lot to live up to, in fact, the entirety of Pern! And Ms. Yarros does live up to Ms. McCaffrey. Where, at times, the first book in the Empyrean felt like a young adult book that had spice added in to move it from the young adult shelf, Iron Flame is fully rooted in adult fantasy, with just the right amount of spice and the perfect measure of angst and pathos. The relationship between Violet and Xaden sits in the center of the story, but there is so much more. We have siblings with a reason for vengeance, a hidden royal heir, jealous love rivals, and a race for a magical solution. It's all in there. All of the feels and all of the tension. The only issue I had was that about ¼ of the book could have been shaved. In the realm of fantasy and fantasy romance, many authors seem to be in a race to see who can write the longest book. Yes, SJM, JLA, and now Ms. Yarros, I am looking at all of you. Apparently, they are all racing to take the tile of the biggest book away from the Giga Codex. That said, I am in love with the world that Ms. Yarros has created. It feels very concrete, as if I could smell the dust on the trails that the dragons and the griffins climb, the sweat under the flight leathers, and the spice of the lust that seems to be in the air. It is a real world, tangible, and fascinating. Ms. Yarros is the new queen of the Shadow Daddy (if you don't know, go look it up). Xaden is not morally grey, so much as he is morally flexible. He is willing to burn the world... heck, he'd burn the universe for Violet, but he is also full of honor and strength. Violet is not the paragon of virtue or the slightly insane fantasy heroine we are used to. She is very clearly, a fighter – not only of her very real enemies, but also the illness that she must overcome every day to be a rider. One of the stand out part of Iron Flame is the dialogue. Ms. Yarros is a master of using dialogue to move the story along and to further character development effortlessly. Unless the reader takes a step back from the story (which is as difficult as climbing Everest barefoot!), it isn't easy to see the masterful techniques she utitlizes. The plot,which at times (as I said before), is a bit overloaded, moves along as fast is possible in this height of book! To be completely honest, I received this book as a gift (the hardback) from the husband, and also borrowed it from KU when it was available, because I needed them both to finish. If Fourth Wing lived up to the hype, Iron Flame went beyond the hype into a completely different universe! Complete with a masterful use of technique, a beautifully built world, and an intricate woven plot, Iron Flame, in fact the entire Empyrean series, is a modern classic that will go down in literary history with the Lord of the Rings, the Dragon Riders of Pern, and the Witchworld stories. 4.75 stars out of 5 (a .25 deduction because some of the book could have been shaved) rounded up to 4 stars out of 5

It’s been 10 days since I finished this book as I’m writing this. I can not focus on a single other thing. Fourth Wing had me binge reading all kinds of books after finishing it. Iron Flame? What am I supposed to do with my life now that it’s over until the next one. 🥹 If you’ve read Fourth Wing then you know where book one left off and why I have been very very highly anticipating this book. I’m always nervous going into a sequel for a book that I loved as much as I did FW because there’s always that chance it won’t live up to that first books feelings and experience, right? For me Iron Flame was just as captivating as the first book. I was hooked from page one. I was so immersed in this story it honestly felt the way reading used to when I was a teenager. I only wanted to read. I didn’t want to stop to eat, and when I was reading it was like a movie playing in my head. And when I wasn’t? All I could think about throughout the day is this book and these characters. It consumed me in the best way possible. I absolutely adore this world that the author has created. There is a lot going on in this book but for someone like me that can tend to get bored easily it was fantastic. I’ve always loved her writing and I’m so happy she decided to dive into fantasy because this series is going to go down as one of my all time favorites. I was so nervous reading this book, so on edge, angry, happy, sad, you name it and I probably felt it. And THAT is what I love. It’s not often that a book makes me the feel so deeply. This book is magical. It felt like I was transported into the pages to Basgiath while reading. And no spoilers, but can I just say that ending!? That’s going to haunt me until the next one is in my greedy little hands. Reasons to read: - Sassy dragons (teenage Andarna) - Angst - All consuming fantasy world. - Xaden. That’s it. Just Xaden. - So much action - Tension - Revelations that will have you wanting to toss this book across the room. (Read with caution if it’s an ebook 😂)

I put off reading this book because I knew that there was no set date on when book 3 would be out and I wanted to prolong this experience as long as possible. It was worth it but not because I found out some of the twists before reading them. This book and series have been epic to me. It's like a mix of Harry Potter, with ACOTAR feels and dragons and ruthlessness. There were a few things that I wish there were more of BUT I will address in a sec. This book picks up right where we left off from book 1. Violet is back at Basgiath and is supposed to act like nothing that happened as happened. Oh and Xaden is graduating. They aren't together even though he clearly wants to be and with him graduating they will only get to see each other every week MAYBE. The crew that shows up after they disappeared will all be almost interrogated to see if they will crack on where they actually were. The biggest struggle I had with this book was the lack of time with Xaden and Violet and then with that "time" that they got Violet used it terribly. They would either be arguing or she would ignore him even though she clearly missed him. The lack of spice in this one was disappointing as well. Violet was just a BIT too whiny for me :/ She was a little all over the place. Anywho back to the plot- Violet's friends are starting to put together that she isn't telling them something. Violet is on the hunt to find out more history from the original 6. She is looking into wards. Things happen. She makes decisions that end up with majority of the college now in Aretia where a temporary college is setup for the "rebels" if you will. Everyone knows there is an epic showdown on the horizon with the venin, but they don't know how to stop them. Will everyone make it? Will they learn how to do the wards? Do we learn more about the venin and their history? AHHHH the ending of this book was just epic!! I am so scared and excited to see where this goes. I don't think I have read a book yet where this happens and can't wait to see what Rebecca has in store for us. I loved how she throws in tidbits of history at the beginning of each chapter that come into fruition later in the book. I should probably pay more attention to those because they indicate where things are headed LOL. I would ask one small thing for book 3- pretty please don't make us wait forever??

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros was a solid continuation of the series. The world and overarching story remain engaging, and there is plenty here to keep readers invested. I still care deeply about the characters and the direction of the series. I did find the repeated conflict and miscommunication between Violet and Xaden tiring at times, as it pulled attention away from the larger plot. Even so, this book held my interest. I am still committed to the series, and Andarna continues to be a standout favorite.