Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

What. A. Cliffhanger! As if I wasn’t eagerly awaiting the third book already, now I’m just impatient.

I loved the constant theme of teamwork and sacrifice in the second installment of this series. When I started this book, I anticipated some conflict and war, but this book went so much deeper and darker than I thought.

I loved the layers added to Xaden’s and Violet’s relationship as well. Their love was already complex (and what I thought as volatile on occasion) but war, trust issues and the influence of others around them just added so much. Knowing how the book ended, I am eager to see what will happen next. I have so many questions about Xaden now too, and what happened to get him to where he is.

Another theme I really enjoyed, which goes hand-in-hand with sacrifice, is the deepening and reinstated friendships. Violet finally decides to trust her friends with some of the deepest and most meaningful secrets she holds. While Xaden was initially unhappy about Violet sharing them, it resulted in bonds of friendship that would ultimately mean so much more by the end of the book.

With so much sacrifice in this book, I’m also curious as to what else Rebecca is going to pack in to the rest of the series, which at this point I’ve heard will be 5 books total. I hope we get the third installment sooner rather than later, and then quickly followed by the other two. I’ll be eagerly awaiting! This was a 5 ⭐️ read for sure!