Tempestade de ônix

The Empyrean #3

by Rebecca Yarros

Depois de quase dezoito meses no Instituto Militar Basgiath, Violet Sorrengail sabe que não há mais tempo para lições. Não há mais espaço para incertezas. Porque a guerra começou de verdade, e, com inimigos tão poderosos – tanto de fora das muralhas de Basgiath quanto dentro de suas fileiras –, é impossível saber em quem confiar.

Agora, Violet precisa viajar para além das enfraquecidas defesas de Aretia, a fim de buscar em terras desconhecidas aliados dispostos a lutar ao lado de Navarre. Essa jornada testará os limites de sua inteligência, bem como de sua sorte e de seu poder, mas Violet estará disposta a tudo o que for preciso para salvar o que mais ama: seus dragões, sua família, sua casa e ele .

Mesmo que isso signifique guardar um segredo grande o bastante para destruir tudo.

Eles precisam de um exército. Eles precisam de poder. Eles precisam de magia. E precisam de algo que só Violet pode encontrar: a verdade. Mas uma tempestade está se formando... e nem todos sobreviverão a sua fúria.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Audiobook, Dragons, Fiction, Fantasy Romance

608 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2025

About the author

Rebecca 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.

Reviews

[Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

|| 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

[Clace · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 🤸🏻

[Yun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can you really fill 500 pages with nothing but posturing and dithering, and call it a book? Apparently you can.

What the heck happened here? Was Rebecca Yarros kidnapped and an imposter wrote this book? Did she crack under the pressure and had to ChatGPT it? Because this doesn't resemble at all the series I've come to know and love, and I'm left pretty speechless (well, not so speechless that I can't rant).

Let's start by asking the most crucial question of all: did anything of consequence actually happen in this book? And the answer is unfortunately no. No plot was furthered, no stakes were raised. In fact, the end of the book is where I thought it would begin, so you can imagine my bewilderment at all the pages in between.

So what were these hundreds of pages filled with? Endless scenes of Violet and Xaden declaring how much they love each other (yeah, we get it) while throwing a fit at anyone who dare disagree (wah wah), interspersed with political intrigue that didn't amount to anything (who are these randos?) and quests that didn't amount to anything either (who even cares).

Where is the tension of the first book? Where are the jaw-dropping reveals of the second? But what the third book lacks from the first two, it amply made up by being inexplicably confusing. There were so many needless characters and locations mentioned, none of which really mattered. I kept flipping back and forth to the map, trying and failing to discern what it is I'm meant to take away from those moments.

Every scene in the first book felt essential and memorable, and the same could be said for the second book (minus the ones related to Violet and Xaden's mind-numbing conflicts). And yet, I come to a close on the third book and can hardly point to even one thing in here that stood out. Honestly, I barely remember what happened because nothing actually did.

And in place of real developments, we get non-reveals disguised under intentionally obscure writing. Instead of calling something or someone by its name, we get treated to vague pronouns like "it", "he", and "she", only for the subject to be divulged many pages later once the reader is good and befuddled. And each time this happened, it was treated like a reveal, as if we readers are too dumb to notice we've been had.

Violet and Xaden's interactions border on insufferable in here. What made their relationship compelling in the first book was the intrigue of enemies-to-lovers. That quickly started wearing thin in the second book, and by the time we get to this one, all the shine had fallen off. The trope is over and done with two books ago, so why is Yarros still harping on it? After all, there's a reason why lovers-who-can't-stand-to-be-apart isn't a trope, and it's because no one wants to read that whiny crap.

Just to cement how far this has deviated from the series I love, we only need to look at the end of this book. What I expected was to be wowed by a supremely shocking development on the fantasy side, something to tide me over for the next however many years it will take Yarros to write the next book. Instead, we get a trivial update on Violet and Xaden's relationship, presented as if it's the sort of epiphany that will keep me coming back for book 4. No, thanks.

At one point while trudging through this, I started to doubt myself and my love for the series, wondering if I'd imagined the whole thing and was just caught up in the hype. Then in a moment of confusion, I went to look something up in the first book and was immediately and thoroughly sucked in, only managing to tear myself away two hours later. Reading them side by side, the difference in the quality and immersiveness of the two books is stark and dispiriting. And when I would rather reread a book I'd already read in the series than the shiny new installment, you know something is terribly wrong.

Which brings us to the question of why does this book even exist in the first place. Did Yarros think this was an essential tale that needed to be told, but it somehow went off the rails during the writing process? Did she take inspiration from Peter Jackson and The Hobbit and try to squeeze as many books as possible out of the smallest amount of content? Or did she get talked into a five-parter by her publishing team against her better judgement? Whatever the reason, I can't help but think this book is such a poor showing, surely many of her readers will not continue from here.

It isn't just that this book is filler. It's that it's such trite, garbled, confused filler as to make me lose confidence in the author and her ability to deliver the rest of the series. This book not only reeks of confusion for the reader, but it also seems like Yarros herself is confused too, as if even she doesn't know where her series is going. And that is disheartening indeed.

When I first started this series, I went in with some trepidation. Rebecca Yarros comes from a romance background, so I thought there was a chance she wouldn't be able to balance fantasy and romance in the same story. I was afraid that she would prioritize the romance to the detriment of the fantasy, and three books in, my worst fears are realized. Maybe her original fanbase is thrilled by this book, but as a reader who got hooked on Fourth Wing primarily because of its fantasy badassery—dragons, signets, heroes and heroines, you name it—this book doesn't deliver any of what I wanted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
#1. Fourth Wing
#2. Iron Flame
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✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧

[manas (suffering) · Rating 1 out of 5]

➳ 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.

⌞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 she milks for all the cash.

arrant tomfoolery on crack cocaine.

[ess ⚡︎ (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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. dafuqq. 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 leave 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 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 underwhelming and 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

i was out here zone-out-reading that last 10% and the fight scenes. the hell was that ending…?? wack. don’t feel like continuing rn since it just seems to go 📉 with every release

[✩ Yaz ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Ali L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part One: Prologue - Chapter 20
It’s been five minutes since the end of book 2 and Violet “I Can Fix Him” Sorrengail is brain-arguing with her ancient teenage dragon. Andarna laments that she doesn’t know where she comes from, not dissimilarly to Gonzo’s plot in Muppets From Space. A bunch of stuff is discussed and despite having reread Iron Flame mere days before this book, I have absolutely no idea what the hell anyone is talking about. At one point Xaden is referred to as “His Grace” and my eyeballs melted out of my head. There is an Important Venin named Theophanie, a name so appallingly bad that I can’t even think of anything snarky to write that would be funnier than trying to say it out loud. Violet, who is stupid, insists that Xaden, who has Power Sucking Cooties, wouldn’t hurt a fly (Xaden disagrees). Then Xaden becomes a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and honestly y’all at this point I almost gave up, I really did. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if the fate of the world is in the hands of people in their early twenties, I’d rather just die.
 
Part Two: Chapter 21 - Chapter 38
If Xaden possesses a personality trait besides being hot and infected by Colin Robinson, I have yet to see it. The gang flies to somewhere, who cares, to find something, who knows. Everyone is impervious to any attack because of plot armor. Violet gets her dad’s books if she answers these riddles three and Mira is all “omg you can’t keep something specifically written for someone from that person especially if the writer died how could you” YEAH VIOLET CAN YOU IMAGINE DOING THAT TO SOMEONE? There is a sex scene that I straight up skipped because I couldn’t care less if these idiots bang. There is also an insane king who feeds guards to his cats and to be honest, I’m on his side. I guess Violet dated a prince at one point, which is a weird thing to leave out of a book written in first person, but whatever. It was at this point I looked up how many times the word “chest” is used and it’s 187. Violet does her best Aelin cosplay by threatening to kill Xaden’s siblings but it falls pretty flat because Violet is many things but she is not a fire-breathing bitch-queen.
 
Part Three: Chapter 39 – Chapter 66
Someone finally dies but it’s a character with 0 importance so who gives a shit. Andarna finds her family and they are understandably pissed at Violet for taking advantage of a literal child. Xaden is busy accepting that he will eventually give in and suck up all the magic and then kill everyone or whatever Venin do I don’t know I keep getting different information about what they are and how they work. Theophanie keeps being referred to as a silver-haired wyvern rider but we all know she ain’t the real one, the real one is off at the Wastes rebuilding her kingdom and having phantom-hand babies with a sexy rizz king. The Sorrengail orphans figure out that Daddy Sorrengail tried to dedicate Violet; no idea what “dedicating” means? You’re in good company! It’s never once been mentioned in either of the previous books. Mira gets not-Manon-napped and then dies and comes back because that’s how books work now. Violet kills the Maven with a piece of rock that her ex-boyfriend’s brother gave her. Xaden goes full Venin and marries Violet, who then doesn’t remember anything. In conclusion, I hated everything about this except — sorry everyone — Dain.

unedited review is on Patreon ⬇️
https://www.patreon.com/AliLearnstoRe...

[✨Julie✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

✩ 2.4 stars ✩

What to Expect:
➼ Found Family
➼ Looking for a Cure
➼ Forbidden Love
➼ War/Combat
➼ Touch Her & Die
➼ Repetitive/Full of Filler
➼ Dragons, Wyverns, & Gryphons
➼ Cliffhanger Ending
➼ Third Person POV

I’m sick to death of this book, so let’s just get this over with. I will never understand how so many people are rating this 5 stars. If I hadn’t read Iron Flame, I might have bumped this up to 3 stars, but at this point Rebecca has written an unbelievable amount of filler and so much of this book felt completely unnecessary.

Fourth Wing was a good book. It definitely wasn’t my favorite book, but it was a promising start to a new series. I thought the intimate scenes were too mature for how immature their relationship felt and I would have preferred a little more slow burn, but if it had been a trilogy, I would have been totally on board. Sadly though, that was not to be. Rebecca chose the money over the integrity of her writing and I honestly can’t hate her for that, but it has definitely had a negative impact on the story.

She’s had to contrive multiple reasons for Xaden & Violet not to be together and as a result, I’ve completely lost interest in their relationship. In Iron Flame it was a ridiculous amount of miscommunication and repetitive arguments. In Onyx Storm it was his Venin status and his role as a Professor at her school. 🙄 All of it was made up BS to make up for the fact that they got together WAY too early on for this to be a 5 book series.

Then we have the incredibly repetitive 527 page plot of Onyx Storm that resulted in almost NOTHING. Violet is so adamant that she be in charge and demands that they take a specific course of action that amounts to nothing more than a COMPLETE waste of time. Just a big dragonback road trip with her pals that convinced literally no one to support their cause and got people killed along the way.

The beginning was SO info dumpy and there were WAY too many places and characters. I’m seeing tons of people talking about Ridoc being so dreamy and funny but I couldn’t tell you a single thing he did or said the entire book. The writing was so bogged down by extraneous details that I think my brain just kind of shut off some of the time. Of course Rebecca had to end on a cliffhanger with a bunch of vague details she’s gonna tell us amount to answers we “already know.” I’m tired of her trying to peddle her poor writing as Easter Eggs.

Not even the dragons held any interest for me in Onyx Storm and they were the stars of the previous books in my opinion. Andarna acted like a sullen teenager and Tairn didn’t have nearly enough grumpy lines (or enough lines in general). The craziest thing about all these 5 star reviews is that almost everyone I know in real life has had a difficult time finishing this book or has said that they feel they need to reread it to fully understand the plot. If this is you, I just want to say that it’s NOT you, it’s the book.

If you loved this book, I’m happy for you, but I do not understand. xx

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Pre-read: There’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. 😅

[Emily May · Rating 2 out of 5]

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?

“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.

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 3 out of 5]

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! 🤯✨

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

[SK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not prepared for the storm that was this book. I get that every book works differently for others and saw a lot of negative reviews. So here's just me going on about how much I LOVED it.

I thought Iron Flame was good? This was even better. It's fast paced, it's full of action. Like it did not let me catch a breath throughout. There was so much happening and it had me stressing, screaming, crying, giggling. The angst, the romance, the dragons and the plot were all on the mark for me.

The action sequences along with the world building expanding was chef's kiss. The political navigation and intrigue was skillfully done and never lost my interest. The mind this woman has to write this is brilliant. I personally didn't have any issues with the writing. I ate it up 🤌

🖤 Xaden, my man, oh how I love him. I swear he gets better by the book. I didn't think he could get better. But he did that promotes him to book husband category. I loved how morally grey he is and he's all about her while still being his dominant self. ⚡ Violet was also fine. She had her badass, witty moments but she also had her moments of humbling and that made her more real. The chemistry between the two, the tension between them had me swooning. I honestly don't even blame her for fangirling and swooning over Xaden like us.

🐉 The characters and dragons in this world really makes the story. The complexities that came in with Tairn, Andarna and Sgaeyl was brilliantly written and so underrated. Apart from that, Dain, Aaric, Ridoc, Mira, Cat and Garrick really made it special. But Sawyer's and Sloane's struggles really caught my eye in ways that make them stand out.

The last few pages.... OH MY GOSH LEAVE ME HERE TO ROT BECAUSE I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK AND NOT A DAY WILL GO BY WHEN I WON'T THINK OF IT. I NEED MOREEEEEEEE

*insert screaming and crying here*

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to need a year to recover from whatever the fuck that was. 😃 Rebecca put her whole Yarrussy into this book🥲

Onyx Storm wrecked me in the best way. RY really said, “Oh, you thought you were emotionally stable? That’s cute.” The tension? Unmatched. The twists? Had me on the edge of my seat. The grip this entire series has on me? Absolutely suffocating.

Xaden and Violet’s relationship just gets deeper, messier, and somehow even more freaking addictive and heart wrenching. The emotional devastation? Let’s just say I’ll be unpacking that for a while. Xaden was unreal in this book, the jealousy!!!!!! SCREAMING. Dain “eyes on me” Aetos?? RAW, NEXT QUESTION. BYE. 😩

I could break down every single word of this book and show my love for it, but you’ll just have to understand that this was perfection, and I just don’t have the time for that shit 😆

I laughed, I cried, I threw my Kindle. My heart was pounding, my soul was screaming, and my brain is still trying to process everything that happened. I will 100% be rereading this with the graphic audio when it comes out. ITS GONNA HIT SO GOOD 😭 (this is your sign to stop acting like you don’t like audiobooks, the graphic audios… I’m TELLING YOU. Your soul NEEDS it.)

This book consumed me y’all. I was fighting for my life to finish it so I didn’t have to see spoilers that would make me go Jack Barlowe on random ass people. anyways, if you need me, I’ll be curled up in the fetal position & rereading the best moments of this masterpiece. (the whole book bffr)

Let’s all brace ourselves for whatever comes next.🫡

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

[Dez the Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok….well……..

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?? This 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!

[Marianna Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Brooke Averick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars is very generous. Being kept in the dark about each one of Violet’s “plans” made this book impossible to follow, and I lost interest fast. How am I supposed to care about anything she does when I genuinely have no idea what she’s doing or why she’s doing it. Everything about this book was confusing, especially all of the foreshadowing that never came to fruition. I can’t even imagine how brutal that’ll make the next book (if I even read it.) And Xaden… what happened to you (besides the obvious)? Where’s the revolutionary I fell for? The man who would have done anything to protect his home? Him not giving a shit about anything besides Violet really ruined his character for me. In fact, I found myself pining after Dain more than once. And him calling Violet “love” gave me the ick. And the end… what even. I’m mad.

[Ali Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIVE FREAKING STARS! sooo gooood!!! If you told me I would've given this book 5 stars at the beginning, I wouldn't have believed you bc I was so confused the first few chapters😅😅. But then the confusion cleared and this book gave me all the feels fourth wing gave me.

THE ROMANCE! THE WAY XADEN WOULD DIE FOR VIOLET! I will never get enough of this man.

The way Violet would do ANYTHING for the people she cares about🥹 I love her w my whole heart.

And the fantasy!! We get to go alllll over the map in this book which was so cool to really explore the world. & There were so many twists and turns (especially at the end!!).

I wish I could read book 4 asap but alas I will be sitting and waiting not so patiently for the next book.

[Yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Emmy Rosam · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[monica ✨ romantasyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the actual fuck

[emi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m begging you please stop writing ❤️🤍💚

[chelle (serial downvoter) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sending hate from Ohio 🩷

[Teo-(school hiatus) · Rating 2 out of 5]

My toxic trait is being unable to dnf series.

[౨ৎ · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don't have words for how bad that was.

[ana ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

she is so brave for publishing this💜

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Destiny Sidwell]

need to think on this, took my time with this and still disappointed 😀

[Rachel Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll be processing this one for the next 2-3 business days xx

[kazzle dazzle · Rating 1 out of 5]

not another 500 page wattpad fic

[ageless · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5 ⭐️ stars ☺️✨ an unfortunate (though not unexpected) affront to the craft of writing

Call me naïve, but I honestly hoped after the train wreck that was Iron Flame, Yarros would take her year and work out the kinks in her storytelling and world building and at least deliver something on par with Fourth Wing. At my most optimistic, I hoped she might work a miracle and make something decent enough for me to give her two or even three stars, but in a concerning continuation of her downward trend, Onyx Storm is somehow worse than both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame.

I thought Fourth Wing was a one star book that had potential, though perhaps in the hands of a different writer that actually had a decent understanding of fantasy and an ounce of writerly ability.

Iron Flame nearly redefined my criteria for one star books with its nonsensical plot lines, abysmal writing, and nonexistent editing; and with no spark of the potential Fourth Wing had once possessed.

Onyx Storm, frankly, was embarrassing. I find it to be insulting to the craft of writing, dismissive to art of storytelling, a crime to the profession of editing, and even embarrassing as the shitty military romance wearing a fantasy trench coat that it is. And worst of all, it has committed one of the most heinous crimes any “just for fun” book is capable of: Onyx Storm was incredibly boring.

This “book” would have been more engaging as an email. It wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on—it wasn’t even worth the time Yarros spent thinking up the plot (which mind you, certainly wasn’t long).








⚠️⚠️Spoilers for the first three books of the Empyrean series is you care about this dogshit for some reason. (My personal advice? Don’t read it.) ⚠️⚠️









I’d give you a recap of everything that occurs in this plot, but it’s quite clear to me that Yarros was just throwing shit at the wall in hopes something would stick. A lot of things technically “happened” but nearly nothing really matters to the plot.

The book begins a week or two after Iron Flame ended, with our beloved Xaden (🤢) freshly turned Venin and Violet’s mother dead. The Wards are up and working in the Murder Dragon College, but they’re only partially working in Xaden’s super special province (which is the only one we actually care about of course because it’s ✨Xaden’s✨).

I’ll continue with the plot in a moment, but first I want to talk about an issue in this book that has reached a breaking point for me. This book is bloated with “characters”.
Now let me preface, I’m no stranger to incredibly large, sprawling, and complex fantasy books. I’ve read everything from ASOIAF, the Stormlight Archive (and most of the Cosmere), LOTR, Temeraire, the Realm of the Elderlings, and I’ve even picked up the Wheel of Time. Point is, I’m accustomed to a long series with a lot of characters.
But this book?
It has so many unmemorable, uninteresting “characters” that don’t have any semblance of a character trait between them. And not only that but Yarros expects you to remember their first names, their last names, their dragon/gryphon’s names, their military rank or school year, and their magical abilities (many of which have multiple), and don’t forget the random locations, provinces, islands, countries, cities, outposts, etc. that you have to know.
Not to mention she refers to the Dukes or ruling body of a province just as the name of the province. Llewelyn is both a person and a place and you really just have to hope and pray you can figure out which one Yarros is trying to refer to. It’s confusing. But more importantly it’s insulting to call this “accessible fantasy”. This issue alone (and it is far from the only issue) would (understandably) turn so many people off of a really wonderful genre.
AND on top of this the rabid part of the fandom has been running around on BookTok telling anyone that has expressed confusion over this, that they lack reading comprehension or aren’t Real Fantasy Fans. Now if I’ve ever seen a pot calling the kettle black…🫵

Anyway, Venin boy Xaden proceeds to be exceedingly annoying and broody because he’s tortured⛓️ and edgy🥀 and he’s always two seconds away from giving into the temptation of ultimate Venin power (and does SEVERAL times). And Violet doesn’t ever really think about her dead mother, save for when she wants to be angsty and pretend Yarros’ farce of a war has cost her something.

Yarros isn’t interested in exploring grief, oh no, we, the stupid idiot audience, couldn’t handle something actually meaningful.🥰
Instead, Violet’s goals for this book are 1. Find a cure for her dumb boyfriend and 2. Find the Seventh breed of dragon (Andarna’s kind) because last book it was revealed that Violet’s super special gold dragon was actually a super special iridescent camouflage dragon.

Violet’s first goal, predictably, doesn’t happen. She doesn’t even make the slightest bit of headway in finding a cure for being Venin. That’s something that will likely be resolved in the coming books. Which would be fine if her second goal didn’t have the lamest resolution of all time.

Violet’s second goal is locked behind, I kid you not, FIVE different island hopping adventures (and btw Violet decides to skip 2 islands so it was nearly 7). 22 out of the 66 chapters in this book are devoted to visiting these islands.
Okay. Sure. Whatever. 🧍🏻‍♀️
Surely, these land masses which consume such a large portion of our time will be on the map so we can easily visualize their journey and remember the names of the “world” Yarros built, right?
⚠️🚨LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER🚨⚠️
Of course not, stupid! Yarros is on record saying she and Red Tower decided not to include these islands on the map because that would be a spoiler, obviously! 🗺️
Sorry? How is a MAP a spoiler?? Damn guys, I accidentally opened google maps and realized that Antarctica, does in fact, exist.😓 I can’t believe I’ve been spoiled.

I’d tell you the name of these islands but oh! Wait! I don’t have a map to look at, and there’s too many damn names in this book so I don’t remember them. They’re named after the forgettable pantheon of gods and that’s about as much as I can tell you. Sorry! 🥳

Oh, but guess what?
Remember the huge mass of land that Violet’s from, that for two and a half books has just been referred to as “the Continent”? Well, actually it has a name! It’s called Amaralys, apparently, but nobody on the Continent knows that for some reason.
I’m not even being facetious. Yarros simply didn’t deign to tell us plebeians why tf the people that live on the Continent don’t know its name nor why all these random island dwellers do.
Granted this is portrayed as some kind of revelation so I understand why the name of the Continent might be a spoiler and might not be on the map, but that doesn’t make any of this less stupid. 😐

The islands are supposed to be unique and showcase Yarros’ immaculate world building skills. ☺️✨
But a couple problems arise: 🤯
1. The gods that the islands’ whole cultures are based off of are ill-defined and bland.
2. The islands and their interpretation of the gods is as uncreative as you can make it.
For Example:
🍀The Luck Island = their culture is based on luck
📕Knowledge Island = they collect knowledge
💰Economy Island = they love valuable things
🗡️War Island = they love and train for war
And listen I’m not looking for much from a contemporary romance author’s poor attempt at fantasy world building, but would an OUNCE of creativity kill us? Sources are telling me yes.

3. Yarros seems to think world building is slapping names on things and sometimes describing them. Violet points out random animals such as the Dolphinum or Errisbird then doesn’t describe whatever those are, but takes up valuable time to give an in depth description of a palm tree. It’s baffling.

I’m going to mostly skip the islands because they’re so boring but here’s the 😱important 🤯 moments:

On the Knowledge Isle (aka Mommy Issues Isle) we meet Xaden’s mother. She’s alive and married to one of the leaders to the island, and Xaden has two half-brothers that he doesn’t acknowledge. Violet feels sad about her own mom for two seconds and then teams up with Ridoc to beat the shit out of the kitchen staff because the island leader attempted to poison (mostly unsuccessfully) Violet and friends. Nobody dies and they leave.

On Luck Isle they have the lamest white elephant gift exchange ever and some rando on Violet’s team picks the wrong gift then he gets shot, and he and his gryphon dies.
Violet demands that they send troops to Navarre and the Luck Isle agrees. For some reason?
Violet keeps requesting aid for the war from these islands but offers nothing in return, and the Luck Isle is the only island that offers any aid.
Why do they do that? Mostly so Violet doesn’t fail her mission entirely. That’s it. God forbid Violet fail at anything ever.

Violet and company then fly to a random island to burn their dead friend. They do this and then the rest of the squad leaves to fly around and look for the magical camouflage dragons.

By the way, I just want to point out that so far Violet’s method for looking for dragons that can completely blend into their surroundings with magic is to just fly around and look for them with their eyes, and ask the human island dwellers if they’ve seen any dragons. That’s it, that’s their whole strategy. I wish I was joking. 😐

Anyway. While Violet is watching the rest of her “friend’s” body burn, the magical iridescent dragons just show up on the beach. Again, I wish I was joking.

The magical dragons are pacifists and Violet calls them cowards (weird coming from the military wife author but whatever🤪). They tell Andarna that she’s too violent and not enough like them so they reject her. They also tell Violet’s friends that Xaden is Venin and then they leave (and they definitely won’t show up later when the plot needs them).

Violet’s friends don’t care that Xaden is Venin because they trust their best friend Violet, she’s our super special main character, after all, she’s never been wrong🥺

With Violet’s island adventure done, and 22 chapters wasted, it’s time to go back to school. Yep, 70% of the way through the third book in this series and in the midst of a war, and we’re STILL having Violet attend classes.

While Violet and Company were gone, the Venin killed a city of 25,000 people and killed the Gryphon Queen. Violet is horrified for like a paragraph and then all of these casualties are never mentioned again, and she doesn’t even think about killing Xaden despite telling us how catastrophic it would be if he turned Venin.

You see, a problem with this book is that despite Xaden literally becoming a member of the big irredeemable evil cult of this series, it’s never treated with any real seriousness or concern from Violet.
She’s too man obsessed and convinced that Xaden would never hurt her because he loves her so much🥺✨
Never mind the weird possessiveness Xaden has over Violet and the aggression that Xaden displays toward anyone else? Nor the many times that Xaden keeps telling Violet that he would kill everyone else just to save her?

This book (and seemingly Yarros) are too obsessed with this idea of a man caring only about their love interest that they ignore all of the disgusting implications, stakes or consequences this adds to the story.
And Violet is too fucking hypnotized by the dick that she brushes away the MANY red flags that flare all around Xaden.🚩🚩🚩
The book tries to convince you that it’s because they love each other so much but that’s so laughably unbelievable, I’m convinced Yarros thinks her audience is stupid. Xaden and Violet constantly want to fuck each other sure, but romantasy needs to learn that weird horny lust is not love.
And having Violet’s whole motivation revolve around Xaden is disgusting.
It’s embarrassing.
It’s repulsive.
It’s not feminism.
It centers men and men only, while trying to convince its audience it’s feminist because it’s written by a woman and has “girlboss” moments.

The only province that matters is Xaden’s province, the only person that matters to Violet is Xaden with only an occasional exception for her siblings or friends, every chapter mentions Xaden over and over, Violet is sad when Xaden is sad, she’s mad when Xaden is mad, she’s constantly monitoring Xaden’s emotions and making sure he’s comfortable and happy.
It’s a ceaseless refrain of Xaden, Xaden, Xaden, Xaden, Xaden, Xaden.

And if the characters aren’t yapping about Xaden they’re dick riding Violet. Everyone defends her and coddles her, and anyone that doesn’t is literally just a villain.
“Violet’s our strongest weapon, she’s so good at everything! She’s so smart even when she blatantly ignores things that are obviously important. Of course We blindly trust her and her evil boyfriend!” 🥺🥺✨

Oh and everyone cares about Violet and Xaden’s relationship and comment on their cringey sex life! And can we talk about the sex scenes in this book? Not to be the smut critic but they’re boring, grossly and viscerally described, and WAY TOO LONG. 🤢

Do romantasy writers not see how this obsession with their main characters completely defangs their entire story, message, and world?? Please stop coddling your main characters and please stop dick riding them! It’s so weird. 🙏😭

Even the politics of this world bend to Violet and Xaden. Xaden, after committing blatant and open treason last book, gets awarded the title of duke. And he’s such a good leader even though he spends the whole book telling Violet that she’s his top priority. Sorry, but I don’t want a ruler who wants to fuck his girlfriend more than he wants to keep his people safe?? That’s such an ick. Someone usurp this bastard immediately please!☝️☺️
Violet and Xaden spend half the book disrespecting orders and royalty, and ignore the basic rules of diplomacy, and when everything goes to shit they just threaten and blunder their way through everything without a single consequence or roadblock.

When Violet might lose to the evil Venin miniboss, a random iridescent dragon from earlier shows up and lights the ward stone for Xaden’s province. And even when the plot-convenient dragon takes Andarna with her to “teach her the Irid’s ways” Andarna shows up again just FOUR chapters later. We don’t even sit with her (not very sad) loss for a second.

Violet’s sister gets kidnapped and her throat gets slit and she just gets immediately healed and Violet kills the big bad evil Venin miniboss with a plot convenient stone dagger.

A turtle has more teeth than this story.
A vegan’s fridge has more stakes.

(I know steaks/stakes are different shut up let me have a stupid pun as a treat for surviving this book)

The book ends on yet another big battle with a cliffhanger ending because why would we deserve anything more than formulaic slop?☺️✨
TLDR: Violet and Xaden get married 👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️but Violet’s memory gets erased so she doesn’t remember it, and also Xaden went full Venin so now Violet has to look over Xaden’s province. Womp womp.

And another more thing!!🗣️
The main centerpiece of this idiotic plot is the “war” between the Venin and the humans. But do you know what this war amounts to on page? A handle of nameless civilians dying, boring dragon fights on occasion when Violet gets attacked, random cities getting attacked so Violet can defend them, and dull final battles where a location gets attacked and Violet has to defend it.

Notice how the humans are always getting attacked?
The humans just patrol their borders and wait to get attacked. Never once do the humans go on the offensive or even try to figure out what the Venin even want? Do the Venin truly just want to suck all the power out of the land? I guess. That’s all Yarros has deigned to tell us. The stakes are so low, and the main conflict is so bland.
The humans just sit around until they’re attacked and then are surprised that the evil enemy is attacking them. And the dragons do even less.

Oh yes, once more the dragons are nothing more than glorified Uber rides. They have no character growth or personalities and really only chime in to insert stupid quips. That’s all. Andarna almost has a plot line but it’s entirely unexplored because Violet is self-absorbed and man-obsessed.🐲🐉

And remember how Violet has magical fantasy EDS? Well Violet doesn’t. It never comes up when it would actually adversely impact the plot. Violet routinely takes 24 hour high impact dragon flights and is just a little sore after it, that’s all. Occasionally she dislocates something but that gets mended up instantly. What’s the point of Violet even having this disability if the book is just going to ignore it so Violet can have rough sex and treat her body like shit? She doesn’t get anymore accommodations or have any real struggles. We just get heaps more internalized ableism and not much else. Yay!!🥳

I’m sorry if you like this book but I just don’t understand how. It’s altogether a generic, uncreative, unimaginative, and poorly put together book.

The modern slang is egregious. The writing is abysmal. The editor was certainly sleeping on the job. The plot is boring, formulaic, and has no substance whatsoever.

It’s not even funny bad anymore, it’s just depressing. Yarros is not a good writer and Red Tower is certainly not an ethical publishing house.

They treat their diehard supporters like trash and get away with it because their audience is primarily women that are used to being treated poorly by big corporations and it’s really, really sad.

Please demand better. And please stop giving Yarros and Red Tower money. There are a million fantasy books that are better written, with far more care put into them.

Plus there are good books that are actually accessible for new readers.


Well. I hope that was helpful or entertaining or something because this book certainly wasn’t.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading my review!! If you want more of my thoughts on and reactions to this book I’ve made my kindle notes and highlights public (there are a LOT of them).

Also if you like this book or Yarros, that’s cool. We can agree to disagree. Please don’t comment dumb shit, and keep it mostly respectful! Thanks! ☺️🙏✨