Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros: A Spoiler Free Review

Working Title: This book wrecked me!

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PLEASE NOTE: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two books in the series, Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. If you have not read those volumes, please bookmark or restack this post and come back to it at a later date.

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Where do I even begin? My head and heart are still reeling from another cliff-hanger of an ending. Since I’ve been off social media for an entire week to avoid spoilers, I’m not sure how the rest of the fandom feels about the third installment of The Empyrean series, but I believe the writing in this book was fire. Dragon fire, to be exact.

I laughed out loud, because when Ridoc isn’t cracking jokes, Andarna is being sassy AF.

I held my breath during the battle scenes, fearing that some of the characters weren’t going to make it. And because Yarros is true to the stakes of war and its horrors, not everyone does.

I swooned every. single. time. Xaden called Violet “my love”.

I cheered for the positive disability representation.

I walked around my house with my earbuds in and phone in a death-grip, tears streaming down my face.

The ending??? Even more shocking than that of Iron Flame. How the hell is that even possible??? No one should be able to write a hook that is that masterful.

Readers went into Onyx Storm with about a million questions. My most pressing questions were:

• Why is Violet’s hair so weird?

• What is Violet’s second signet going to be?

• How the hell is Xaden going overcome being venin?

• Do all the marked ones have a second signet?

• Why was Andarna left behind as the sole member of her species?

• Why hasn’t Violet’s dad been mentioned by name? Is there a reason behind that?

• Who besides Jack Barlow and Xaden are venin within the wards?

• Why doesn’t Tairn ever speak about his former rider? Is that taboo, or is there a more sinister reason?

• Is the rune tattoo on Brennan’s hand sus?

Yarros provides some, but not ALL, of the answers to my personal list of questions over the course of the 23 hours of listening time. While there may be times when you wonder if Yarros needed to expand beyond Navarre as much as she did, the answer is YES. Remember folks, this is the middle book of a quintet. Foreshadowing for the next two books is likely woven within these pages just as magic is woven into a ward stone.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

Romance: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3 out of 5 hot peppers.

☠Touch her and die

👿 Shadow Xaddy

⚡ Yep, that’s still a thing in battle and in bed 😂

🗡I want to murder your ex

👨‍🏫 Hot for the prof

Worldbuilding/Fantasy Elements:

🐲 Dragons

🦅/🦁 Gryphons

✨ Magic

🧛‍♀️ Soulless, magic/life draining, powerful AF evil antagonists called Venin

🏛 Extensive pantheon of Gods and Goddesses

Trigger Warnings: Death, dismemberment

The Romance: Fresh despite it being book three

In a romance plot that spans over five books, the author has the difficult task of keeping the relationship fresh for the readers. In this series, book one focused on the enemies-to-love trope. Even though the readers knew Violet was going to fall for Xaden (especially after that weak-sauce kiss with Dain), the romance focused on the will they or won’t they?

The book two romance was heavily tied to Violet’s arc of change and her irrational emotions concerning Xaden’s secrets. While some readers grew annoyed with how she kept pushing him away, Yarros did an excellent job depicting a young woman who has discovered most of her worldview was based on lies. If Violet had been rational in that situation, or easily able to forgive and trust Xaden despite the mounting evidence he’s been leading a rebellion beneath her nose, that would have come across as unrealistic and truly toxic. The Violet in Iron Flame is rightfully afraid to put her trust into anyone or anything—even what that anyone is clearly the love of her life.

Violet’s response to the devastating reveal at the end of book two—that Xaden has become Venin—is the frame around which the romance revolves in book three. Will Violet stay, or will she go? Will Xaden stay, or will he go? Violet has made promises to her squad in the prior books about not keeping secrets—but what if telling the secret means the man you love will be put to death? And finally, can you truly love the enemy?

Is this going to be enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies, or will they figure out a way to remain together? Can’t say…cuz that would be a spoiler.

The Fantasy: The existing worldbuilding could have been strenghened in favor of expanding so far outside of Navarre

There are three main plot points explored in Onyx Storm. One: Navarre needs allies to help fight the venin. Two: Andarna wants to find the lost, seventh tribe of dragons. Three: Violet wants to find a cure for Xaden. With all three plots running in between battle sequences, some readers could be left confused. Some of the reviews leaning towards the negative underscored this point, saying they felt that plot veered too far away from the Continent and introduced too many new characters while failing to expand on those we already love.

It is true that there are a ton of new characters. I was only able to listen to the audio, and there were times when I wanted to refer to printed pages to recall who was bonded to which dragon or griffin, or what professor teaches what class. Some of the characters become important, others not so much.

Unfortunately, some of the characters I love were not on page as much as I wished. Rhiannon—looking at you.

The magic is expanded upon as well, in part because some of the first years begin to manifest their signets, because the use of runes is explored, and of course there is now an expand new breed of dragon that are slightly different from the other six known species.

My favorite worldbuilidng element by far was the introduction into the religious beliefs practiced in all the places Violet and the squad visit. While different deities have been mentioned (We commend their souls to Malak), there are hints that perhaps the gods have more power than Violet, Xaden, and the crew have been raised to believe. THAT would be a real boon to the fantasy aspects of the series in the final two volumes.

My Favorite Swoony Quote

“I live by you. When have I ever given a fuck about the Codex or the Code of Conduct?” He cradles my face and leans down, resting his forehead against mine. “I am yours and you are mine, and there’s no law or rule in this world or the next that will change that.”

Final Thoughts:

Because I love this series and these characters, I truly enjoyed listening to this book. The scope of the story has gotten immense, though it’s fair to say Yarros could have considered stripping down a few of the plot points, especially since some of the events were similar to those in the final chapters of Iron Flame.

I really think folks that love this world will find much to love in these pages (or in their earbuds). Readers who were either on the fence about the first two books, or readers who don’t normally gravitate towards romantasy, will be less enthused. But I really thought the writing here was some of the best in the series, especially in the scenes with Violet, Andarna, and Tairn.

I’m looking forward to getting my FairyLoot edition some time this summer, though I likely won’t read it until a week or two prior to the publication of book four.

LET ME KNOW what you thought of Onyx Storm in the comments!

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