Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros Series: The Empyrean #3
Published by Red Tower Books (Entangled Publishing) on January 21, 2025
Pages: 542
Format: Audiobook
Source: Libby, Library
Brave the dark.
Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from the no. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros.
Returning to the richly imagined world of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, the third instalment of Rebecca Yarros' scintillating romantasy series finds Violet in deadlier peril than ever before.
"Rebecca Yarros has created some awesome dragons! Proud, beautiful, and full of unique magics." Christopher Paolini, #1 NYT bestselling author of the Inheritance Cycle.
Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifteen novels, with multiple starred Publishers Weekly reviews and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year.
My Review
Rebecca Yarros knows how to end a book on a massive cliffhanger. DANG GIRL. Yes, Reader, I enjoyed this book, and yes, it ended on a huge cliffhanger. I want to say that if you decide to pick these books up, you MUST PLEASE start with book one, Fourth Wing because this series builds upon itself. If you have not read the previous two books be warned that I am sure I will include spoilers for them in this review well blurb really because I do not want to spoil Oynx Storm.
This book picks right up where Iron Flame ended with Xaden taking power from the earth, much like the Venin. The story also begins with the characters recovering from the previous battle, and some of those characters carry secrets with the power to destroy lives. The heartbreak from Violet’s mom sacrificing herself to enact the wards from Iron Flame is very fresh in this story, and the grief is yet another thing that Violet has to carry. I mean, seriously, Rebecca just pile it on the poor girl. No big deal.
“Every possible path may require breaking a few laws.”
“Dragons do not answer to the laws of humans.”
I enjoyed the adventure aspect of this book very much, especially since it had to do with dragons. I mean come on in my opinion they still remain the best characters in the books for me. I loved getting to see a new type of dragon and learning more about the dragon’s stories. Granted it isn’t much but it was still enough to peek my interest. I will say that there is a moment when I fear for a certain dragon, and I am heartbroken over another.
The side characters were enjoyable still and we got some of their points of view in this story which was nice (similar with the previous books but more). There were a lot of side characters introduced that were there for only a moment and then gone the next. One in particular that plays a role in Xaden’s life I would have liked to have seen more from them. I wish I had gotten more of their story and how they plan to move forward with their life.
“I want a patch for this shit, Violet. A quest squad patch. Understand?”
There is more to learn about some of these characters due to the second signets that they have and that others develop. One of the characters, interestingly enough, is VIolet, and the second signet that she wields well is one I do not think I would enjoy. There was a particularly powerful scene here involving Sloan and Dain using their powers. Thank goodness they were there, or things would have been very different and not in a good way. Also, could this be the start of something between those two? I am not sure, but wouldn’t that be interesting?
CONTAINS SPOILER: The Venin in here still suck, and now there is one that has hair like Violet and is incredibly powerful. She wants Violet and knows of Violet’s mother. As for Xaden and his Venin situation, well, it is a whole thing. He struggles throughout the book to maintain control, but inevitably, he slips a few times, and some of those times end up leaving plenty of people dead. The struggle is also there for him when it comes to maintaining control with Violet and not taking power or losing control when they are intimate. Do not worry. There is still steam in the story, but maybe it isn’t as much as the previous stories, so if that is why you want to read it, then heads up.
“I could reach the rank of Maven, lead armies of dark wielders against everyone we care for, and watch every vein in my body turn red as I channel all the power in the Continent, and I would still love you. What I did doesn’t change that. I’m not sure anything can.”
Reader, if you are curious whether book three is worth the read, well, in my opinion, it is because of the dragon aspect. Some reviews say that this is just a filler book, and maybe that is true, but I still very much enjoyed it. I enjoyed the adventures that were taken in search of dragons and cures. I enjoyed meeting some of the characters along the way, even if I wish one in particular had more of an in-depth story to them. Some of the staff at the college are infuriating, while another is a shocking addition. I also have a feeling, after seeing what happens with Dain, that he is more powerful than I first suspected with his mind-reading abilities. If you are hoping to see Xaden lose it early on in the book, then I am letting you know that it is not going to happen, but he does struggle throughout. With all that being said, I think it is fair to say that if you enjoyed the first two books, then give this third installment a go because I think you may enjoy it. Please let me know what you thought of the previous two because, as always, I am interested in knowing. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Mentions of Parental Death (past)
- Violence
- Blood
- Animal Death
- Gore
- Hand-to-Hand Combat
- War
- Murder
- Death
- Brutal Injuries
- Death of Friends
** Please check trigger warnings for yourself if you are particularly bothered by certain things. I have tried to include all the ones that come to mind for me, but I may very well have forgotten some, so please check for yourself. **