Alexis:
Was I the first person to put Iron Flame on hold at my library? Yes, yes I was.
Hi, everyone! It’s been a while again. Work and life have been busy, but I’ve been reading as much as ever.
I recently read Iron Flame, the much anticipated sequel to the dragon fantasy/romantasy book Fourth Wing. I had heard some mixed reviews from other reviewers, so I was interested to see what I thought.
Well, I liked it! It’s hard to review a sequel without giving away anything, but I’ll go over some key points.
Things I Liked:
- I enjoyed the worldbuilding. Fourth Wing was definitely more of an all vibes, no worldbuilding kind of book, so I’m glad that Yarros delves deeper into the world in Iron Flame.
- Dragons! There are a lot more dragons in this book, and more facts and lore about dragons are revealed. There’s also a good dragon-related plot twist.
- The ending. Yarros is clearly good at writing a good cliffhanger, which can be a plus or minus for readers. For me, I think she actually does a good job of making you anticipate the next book in the series without making the cliffhanger itself super frustrating. There is also, yet again, another good plot twist at the end.
Things I Didn’t Like As Much:
- The romance. To be fair, the romance wasn’t my favorite part of Fourth Wing, either. But Xaden somehow manages to feel more toxic in Iron Flame, and a large aspect of this book centers on a point of contention—which feels like it purely exists just to add tension to their relationship.
Overall, I definitely don’t think this was a bad sequel, and I also don’t think it felt rushed or unedited. It just wasn’t as fast-paced or romance heavy as the first book. I think this series is worth a read if you’re looking for a fun, action-y series that doesn’t take itself seriously, and if you don’t mind modern dialogue in fantasy books. Plus, dragons!
takes two to book review 