Iron Flame

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, 623 pages

**Spoilers for Fourth Wing below**

In this highly anticipated sequel to the buzzy Fourth Wing, Violet Sorrengail is grappling with the many revelations of the past few months: that dark wizard venin actually exist, and that the government her mother is so intrinsically tied to is actively denying that fact while leaving civilians as defenseless fodder; that her long-dead brother Brennan is actually alive and a leader in the secret rebellion against the government; and that Xaden, the man who she finally learned to trust as much as she loves, knew about all of this and didn't tell her. And while she comes to term with all of it, she has to keep moving and learning, because the threats from both the venin and the government aren't stopping anytime soon, leaving Violet with little notion of who to trust, how much, and with what information.

A lot of times, there's a bit of a sophomore slump in these series, but Yarros does an excellent job of keeping up the pace and the interest in this book without making the twists seem contrived. Of course it had to end on a cliffhanger, so I know I'm not the only one who's looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, 517 pages

Violet Sorrengail has spent her whole life preparing to train as a scribe, but her  mother has very different ideas, and Violet is instead pushed into the deadly rider school, where she must learn to ride dragons in the neverending war effort. If the death-defying feats and vicious ambition of the riding school aren't bad enough, Violet is the youngest of "those Sorrengails," — meaning her mother (the military's highest general), her sister (a decorated rider in the military), and her late brother (who was a powerful mender, one who can magically fix even the worst injuries) — which puts a giant flashing target on her back, especially when it comes to Xaden Riorson, whose father led the rebellion that started the war to begin with.

There is something very "young adult" about this whole book — the exceptional newcomer with a target on their back, the daring feats that are required to succeed in the school, the quick pacing, even the love triangle between the main character, the drop dead gorgeous bad guy, and the main character's protective longtime best friend (and yes, as in most of those, I kinda want to smack the bestie upside the head). But these characters are a bit older, and there's more sex and violence than you find in the average YA fantasy. It was a bit predictable, but it was also intriguing enough that I'll definitely read the second book, which comes out in November.