Book Review: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
- Maggie Christopher
- Feb 19
- 3 min read
In an effort to not have everything on this blog be about this series, that I'm sure everyone has seen a lot of recently I wasn't sure if I was going to write a blog about this book.
For those who don't know, The Empyrean series is an adult romantasy (romance/fantasy) series that follows Violet Sorrengail as she navigates Basgiath War College, with Onyx Storm taking place 18 months after the start of the first book, Fourth Wing.
Violet was never supposed to cross the Parapet and make it in the dragon rider's quadrant, and she definitely wasn't supposed to bond to two dragons, one being the biggest on their continent and other who is something else entirely.
After the events of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, Onyx Storm picks up a few days/weeks after Iron Flame wraps up, with the aftermath of the battle as Basgiath in the front of everyone's minds, especially Violet's as she deals with new secrets about her boyfriend Xaden.
Now for the part where I say 'I'm probably going to write spoilers, so if you haven't read the book, don't read more'
So I'm definitely still riding a high from the cliff hanger at the end of this book, though I'm not going to go into too much detail about that because I still need to process it. I really enjoyed this book, honestly much more than the other two. Fourth Wing was good (I rated it 3 stars) and Iron Flame (4 stars) I enjoyed the politics more but actively hated Violet the entire time. The difference for Onyx Storm, at least for me, is how the story delves into more of the history of the land around them as well as Violet falling headfirst into researching a way to save Xaden. This book also explores the 'I'm a danger to you' with the 'I will save you' from the both of them, which is a vibe I can get behind. Xaden struggles a lot of the book with what/who he is becoming overall, which I totally get even though I had to re-look up what a Venin fully was (oops).
Outside of our main disaster pair, we have their friends/relatives, who honestly make this book so much more worth it. The quest squad is a huge part of the story, and makes a big difference on how the events play out. Ridoc almost instantly became one of the my favorite people, and Cat grew on me as she learned more about herself and how she fit into the mission overall. The plot of the story held it's own really well, though obviously the series should be read in order, where they are traveling to outer islands to find more dragons like Andarna, as well as a cure for Xaden. During their travels, there are also Venin who are actively trying to find them, especially Violet.
One of my biggest things from this book was the dynamic between all of the characters, as well as what happens when that gets tested by secrets or even brief losses of magic. The dragons and their riders are put to the test a lot more within this book, as sometimes they are cut off from magic completely, which makes it harder to communicate with each other.
Overall, I thought this book has a lot of plot beats and scenes that make me excited to see where the rest of the series goes, especially with that ending. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long and I'm excited to see what some of the podcasters have to say about this book.
I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
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