The sequel to Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, takes Violet into battle with her dragons between unspeakable odds and steamy romance.

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I admit I got swept up in the Fourth Wing mania. I loved that book and devoured it within 6 hours. I was Violet for Halloween and dressed up for the Iron Flame midnight release.

And then I read Iron Flame….and was underwhelmed and disappointed.

Characterization

My biggest gripe with this novel is that Violet seemed to take a step back in her character development.

I loved the first book, how she used her knowledge to her strength, how she was the poison queen, and how she stopped letting her illness define her as a person.

She grew throughout Fourth Wing. But here, with Xaden, she pretty much became unbearable.

It was repetitive; her constant whining about Xaden and his secrets was getting so annoying, hurting her character and her relationship with Xaden.

Personally, I found that it diminished their relationship. In the first novel, Xaden worked to lift her up. He didn’t treat her like she was weaker than him. Instead, he lifted her up and treated her as an equal. It made them a good couple.

But now, their relationship had become so codependent it bordered on toxic. I honestly hated the back and forth between them, and the fact that the book’s first part is just them going back and forth repeatedly made for an exhausting read.

Storytelling

Now, as for the story…it was lackluster.

On top of the failing characterization, the story drags. I’m unsure how the story will be stretched out into five books.

Iron Flame could have easily been two separate books. Yarros could have flushed out the character dynamics in the first part of the novel, delving into everything going on.

In fact, the world has been the perfect opportunity to give Xaden his own POV and let the reader into his head.

Instead, it felt rushed; it felt like half-completed thoughts and sentences. I was reading the novel wondering, “Where are we going with this?” or “Are we going somewhere with this?” only to be left unfulfilled.

Final Thoughts

Iron Flame wasn’t terrible, but it was a disappointing follow-up. It could have easily been two separate books and used another editing round.