It’s the book heard ’round the world. If you haven’t heard about Fourth Wing or Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, I want to know what rock you’re hiding under. Fourth Wing [buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] made such a splash that we broke out the midnight release parties for the first time in dang near a decade for the sequel.

Don’t mind me, cosplaying as Violet for those midnight release parties. 😀

The hype was insane.

That being said, if you have not finished Fourth Wing, this review will probably spoil some things for you. Ok, it most definitely will because we can’t talk about book two without talking about the cliffhanger from book one. It’s just the way it is. So this is your warning to turn back now.

Spoilers from here on out are not my problem.

Fourth Wing ended with some pretty major cliffhangers, so we are definitely feeling the effects of those moments at the start of Iron Flame [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM]. Violet is processing all the emotions of finding out that her brother isn’t really dead, and making matters worse, Xaden knew the truth. Plus, there’s the whole thing about everything she knew about Navarre isn’t exactly true. Our girl is *Going through it* at the start of Iron Flame.

Violet is starting her second year at Basgaith, which means Xaden has graduated and is getting stationed. But their dragons are mates, so that throws some complications into the mix for them. She loves him but doesn’t know if she can trust him. Meanwhile, Xaden is determined to win her trust and love without revealing all his secrets. There’s a whole lot of tension between them. The poor communication is a bit annoying after a while, but it does result in some delightful spicy scenes.

The group that survived the attack at the end of book one is dealing with a major problem as well. They are trying to keep the secrets of what they now know to be true, but someone knows the unit knows too much. They are being hunted by assassins and have to dodge attacks on their life while trying to figure out who is behind a lot of crap… and how much Violet’s mother really knows.

That’s about as non-spoilery as I can be for Iron Flame.

This book… big oof. The ending is brutal and leaves even more questions than the rest of the daggum book did. Lots of F-bombs being thrown around in reference to it. So brace yourselves if you haven’t started this one yet. It’s a captivating and intensely emotional ride.

I feel like the writing is pretty on par for what we saw in book one. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the writing style, going so far as to claim she used Ai and ghost writers. I’m not buying into it because it feels true to the first book in that it’s not perfectly written, but it is engaging. There are still some overused phrases and info-dumping galore which were a bit annoying and took me out of the story. The spicy scenes are still a whole daggum delight (“My house. My chair. My woman.” anyone?!)

Overall, it is fast-paced and intense and a mostly-good time.

I’m not sure my shell-shocked state when my husband and friend greeted me at the airport would count as a good time to them. I was like, “I’m going to wait for my bag by myself” and wandered off alone because those last few chapters are DOOZIES.

Now, catch me down all the Fourth Wing / Iron Flame theory rabbit holes on TikTok until we get book three… WHICH BETTER BE SOON, REBECCA. Send me all your best theories!