Category: New Adult

Title: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2)
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Red Tower Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 7, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Review:

Violet and her fellow classmates are still reeling from the discovery at the end of Fourth Wing. She comes up against the new vice commandant, who doesn’t like her or her two dragons. Violet starts doing some research of her own and discovers a secret that was hidden at Basgaith for centuries. She’s the only one who could potentially save them all. 

This was a great sequel to Fourth Wing! It was super long and detailed but I loved being in this world again. Violet’s second dragon, Andarna, is now one of my favourite characters. She’s so adorable! The ending of Iron Flame was surprising but not as shocking as the ending of Fourth Wing. I’m not sure where the story will be heading next, so I’m excited for the next book!

Iron Flame is a thrilling sequel!

Content warnings: death, abuse, death of parent, death of sibling, torture

Other books in the series:

• Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1)

Have you read Iron Flame? What did you think of it?

Title: Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1)
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: RB Media
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Audiobook
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

Review:

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, the daughter of the commanding general, was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet and safe life. Her mother orders her to join the Riders Quadrant, which has a high death rate, especially for someone like Violet who hasn’t had any training for it. Not only does Violet’s small, brittle body make her unlikely to bond with a dragon, with her famous last name, she’s the target of other students in her quadrant. Xaden Riorson is the wingleader of her quadrant, and he has a reason to not like Violet. However, Violet defies all the odds when it comes to training and bonding with a dragon. She must do anything she can to survive. 

This book definitely lived up to the hype! There was a great slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance which I loved! I listened to the audiobook and read a physical copy. I found it a little difficult to follow the audiobook, mostly because it was such a complex world to enter. I enjoyed the physical book much more. There were shocking twists at the end, including a huge cliffhanger ending. I’m so glad that I only have to wait a few months for the next book in the series!

Fourth Wing is an amazing new dragon-filled fantasy!

Thank you RB Media for providing an audio arc of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent, broken bones, murder

Have you read Fourth Wing? What did you think of it?

Title: The Awakening (Zodiac Academy #1)
Author: Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, New Adult
Publisher: Independently published
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 13, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny. 

If you’re one of the Fae, elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently it’s in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we’re a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.

Changelings were outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn’t get the memo. Which means we’re totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae.

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

No one has ever harnessed all four of them, until we arrived. And it hasn’t made us any friends so far.

As the rarest Elementals ever known, we’re already a threat to the four celestial heirs; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we’ve ever seen. It doesn’t help that they’re the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.

Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They’ve only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they’ll stop at nothing to succeed.

We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.

We can’t expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampiresfancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we’ve been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.

Today’s horoscope: totally screwed.

Review:

Darcy and Tory are eighteen-year-old twins from Chicago. Their parents died when they were babies so they went through many foster families who didn’t treat them well. Soon after their eighteenth birthday, a man shows up in their lives to take them to their home world. They are actually fae, and the true heirs to the throne. Darcy and Tory are taken to the Zodiac Academy, and they must pass their Awakening to earn their places as heirs. However, they don’t know anything about this world or their extraordinary magical powers. The sisters have to face bullies, hazing, and potential romances, while also learning about their powers.

I’ve been seeing this book everywhere so I had to read it. I’ve seen it described as Hogwarts as a university, with some spicy romance. It had Hogwarts vibes, since Darcy and Tory had to go to a magical school and learn about the world, like Harry Potter. However, these girls didn’t seem to have any allies in the other students, so it was more difficult for them to navigate this world.

This was my first time reading “bully romance.” I didn’t even know what that was before reading this. The men in this book were very toxic. They treated the women terribly. Yet they were physically attractive and from powerful families, so people were drawn to them. There were some moments that I thought the guys were going to redeem themselves, but it didn’t last very long.

The Awakening is a great start to this series!

What to read next:

Ruthless Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Have you read The Awakening? What did you think of it?