Blog #22: Iron Flame

Potentiel Spoilers

     So, overall I did not like Iron Flame. It didn’t hold up to Fourth Wing, and I’m hoping when Onyx Storm comes out it will read better than Iron Flames.

     Before we get into the reasons I did not like Iron Flame, I wanted to talk about things I did enjoy about the novel. I really enjoyed the consistency the relationship with Sairn and Adarna has with Violet. He has snarky remarks, but also seems to care and is always there for Violet. Adarna, Violet’s second dragon, is still portrayed as an adolescent, and keeps growing through the books. In fact the dragons are probably some of the best characters in the book. Let’s move on from the dragons though! 

     I think what frustrated me about Iron Flame is the back and forth between Violet and Xaden. One minute they love each other, and the next minute Violet keeps saying, “I can’t trust you!” and they go back and forth and back and forth. And Xaden’s whole shtick of, “Well you didn’t ask the right questions.” is utter bullshit. Who would think to ask these types of questions? 

     Plus, Xaden keeps proclaiming his love for Violet, where in Fourth Wing he showed he cared for her but didn’t get all sappy. And he kept saying it everytime Violet would talk about trust, he just kept talking about love love love.

     Speaking of Xaden and Violet, I will admit the spicy scenes were well worth the wait. I enjoyed them very much, Xaden is a giver and takes care of Violet. Even though these scenes were few and far between, they made up for a lot of the book and the negatives there.

     Torture was typically used in groups of the wing to learn what torture is like, and be able to withstand what would potentially be done to you in battle. Violet was tortured, not just with her Wing but by herself because she pissed off Varrish. She stays strong, and doesn’t give in to the pain. Now, it’s not the torture that I have a problem with, because this is a War College, but how Violet never seems to have any effects of what was done to her. She gets rescued, and has no reaction to what she’s endured those days in there with Varrish. They get her out and get her to be healed, but she just seems fine. No reactions to being hurt, just goes on like nothing has happened to her. I just wanted more, no one goes through that and isn’t messed up.

     Violet comes from a family of dragon riders, and her mother is General Sorrengail. Sorrengail is stiff, uptight, and has a stone face. Until halfway through book two at least, and she SUDDENLY has a change of heart, lets Violet and Dain be set free from where Varrish was, DEAD, and lets Dain take her to be healed. She also says she’ll let all the cadets make their decision on if they wanted to stay with the war college, or if they wanted to go with the revolution. This is so outside of her character, it just leaves one suspicious of her true intent.

     I’m not sure what General Sorrengail’s motives are, but I don’t believe they are pure and true. No one lives their life to rigidity and suddenly breaks the rules, I think we’ll see more of her in Onyx Storm. But on to Violet! 

     I do really like Violet’s power to strike lightning, and how it makes her one of the most powerful cadets at the College. But I feel like they could’ve ended her “super special self” there, but they didn’t. So aside from being ultra powerful, she also gets a second dragon, but that’s not all! Her second dragon is a first of its kind, none like her have been around. So now Violet is super important with her powers and her special dragons. But no one but her knows how Adarna is the first of her kind, she doesn’t belong to any other group of dragons, and is covering herself to look black like Sairn.

     So, overall this wasn’t one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. I feel like the book could have been 300 pages instead of 600-ish. It just didn’t need to be that long, it felt like a whole lot of nothing being stretched out to the 600 mark. It was a lot of talking, and a lot of stretching out what was going on to happen as it happened when it didn’t need 

     So I wouldn’t say I recommend this book, even with its good moments it’s just not worth the struggle to read it. 

     Signing Off,

     Fenisha Estes