The hotly anticipated second novel in The Empyrean series is here – Iron Flame – by Rebecca Yarros.
Following the viral success of Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros is back with the second novel in The Empyrean franchise, and the second in the five book series – Iron Flame. Fans have been awaiting the book since the final pages of Fourth Wing, to see where Violet Sorrengail’s journey takes her next.
This was by no means a perfectly written novel, but it is a perfectly plotted novel. The story takes many breathless twists and turns and is a mighty ‘bingable’ read, one that is so action-packed as to leave you turning the pages at a fast click. The novel builds on the foundations laid out in Fourth Wing, but is not predictable, beginning where the events of Fourth Wing finished off, with Violet and Xaden returning to Basgiath to begin her second year. Basgiath does not notice their departure, but several figures do, including the hateful Varrish (think of Umbridge in Harry Potter). He is painted so vividly as to make him immensely hateable. As the threat of the venin forces grows outside the walls, Violet attempts to find the solution from within Basgiath’s walls – namely, the knowledge of how to activate the protections from the ward stones.
Xaden and Violet’s love story, with all its complications, is beautifully composed. Xaden grovels back into her good graces, and the patience of their love story, returning to her good graces, is what gives the relationship the slow burn and tension that was gripping in Fourth Wing.
Without spoiling the story, the reveals that Yarros lays out in the novel, lay the path for the following three novels and the two reveals near the end of the story for Andarna and Xaden are simply stunning. This is a breathless and tastefully laid out addition to what began in Fourth Wing. A delight.
