Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ I would be remiss if I don't do a review on arguably the most highly-anticipated Fantasy/Romantasy book of 2025. I have a lot of good things to say about Rebecca Yarros' Empyrean series, but this third book in the projected five-book series has my heart. The range of emotions I experienced reading this book spanned the full human spectrum and I wouldn't change a thing. For everyone else out there who is still emotionally recovering- take heart, we are in this together. ❤
I spent some time thinking about what makes this series so sensational. Rebecca Yarros was asked the same question in an interview and she emphatically responded, "I don't know!" Here's what I could come up with: it has nearly everything you could want in a fantasy series.
Yarros has woven a tapestry of badass dragons, fascinating magic, intricate lore, fully-developed characters you truly go on emotional journeys with, rewarding romance, detestable foes, delicate kingdom politics, family drama, gallant quests, hidden histories, humor, growth, and to top it all off, you learn more about all of these aspects in each new book. To you, Rebecca, I tip my hat.
Spoilers! (but I won't ruin everything)
Dear Reader, there will be spoilers for Iron Flame, do be careful.
I'm going to admit my bias here and tell you that I do love these books. They are extremely popular for a reason (or several!). I also will not be going through a full breakdown review because there is way too much to catch up on in this blog. So, I will stick to what made this book awesome and unique in it's own way.
Overview:
Onyx Storm picked up right where the second book, Iron Flame, ended which was necessary because the heart-wrenching cliff-hanger that we were left with was almost too much to bear. I needed answered and the quest must continue. Ugh, what a twist.
The book was fast-paced and moved right along from the start. We aren't bogged down in the details because we have a dragon quest, dammit! Answers must be found, the war must be won, long-buried secrets revealed, and the ultimate question in Violet's personal quest (iykyk) needs to be resolved for all our anxiety's sakes. The book takes us out of the known world and into unknown isles in the search for Andarna's fellow dragon-kind...and the cure...and support for the war effort. Whew! It was really refreshing to see an entirely new area explored, complete with new characters, customs, and its own sets of problems I'm sure we will see again.
We're still dealing with the ongoing war against the Venin (emotionless humans who have traded their souls for dark power). This, and the secret quest for a cure are the main goals for Onyx Storm. Overall, I think there's a lot of good in this third installment that I'm excited to share with you.
Characters:
Violet:
This was undoubtedly Violet's book. We see her character arc filling out after three books where she really starts to come into her own throughout this story. Gone is the frail, scared girl of Fourth Wing who just wants to survive the day. I loved seeing Violet be a leader, learning to stand up to the political forces, (because honestly, what are they going to do to their most powerful lightning-wielder?) and garnering support to save her country and the man she loves. She has learned, fought, lost, failed, triumphed, and failed again, yet she refuses to give up and I think all that is very admirable in a believable character. We are told again and again that "her path isn't set" which leaves a lot of room for her to change even further. I'm excited to see where this leads.
Xaden:
This was a heartbreaking book to read when looking at Xaden. We're constantly flipping back and forth from hope to dismay when it comes to him. It was really emotional to watch him slowly give up on himself, knowing his choice to turn venin was done for good reasons, but the damage is irrevocable and it's going to change him. I do like how we're seeing an untethered version of the perpetually-collected shadow-wielder and I think it was a good character arc decision for him to slowly lose his prized self-control. Yarros did a fantastic job of creating a male love interest we all fell for who has an interesting downfall that readers can't be sure he'll survive.
"Quest Squad!":
I couldn't possibly spend the time to analyze every character in these books, but I will say it was really nice to see the rest of the squad be fleshed out a little more with backstories, feelings, goals, and struggles. I hope we continue this track because there were some characters I knew next to nothing about and had me almost crying by the end...again, iykyk, but I don't want to ruin it.
Dragons:
Again, I can't possibly break down all the dragons in this series, but I truly enjoyed glimpsing more about who each dragon is. We are familiar with Tairn's eternally grumpy personality and Andarna's rebellious teenage-dragon personality, but we really get to see more of other riders' dragons in this book. I loved being able to see the bonds between other riders and their dragons.
Broccoli:
I laughed out loud with this little character's introduction. That's all I'm going to say. 😊
Onyx Storm Uniqueness:
The great thing about this book is we are well-established in the lore, history, and relationships. I really loved that we got to explore new areas. It felt fresh and exciting. This is a first-person book so we only know what the main character, Violet, knows. As a result, there is wonderful potential for the map to be expanded, the history to be explained, more secrets to be revealed as it's all new for the reader too. I enjoyed getting to visit each new island, learn about the culture there that's based on what type of god they worship in this pantheon, and the new characters we meet while we're there. Did you notice how the gods and goddesses held the spotlight more? I would guess they are going to be a huge part of the fourth book given the role they held in this one. They might even hold the answers we are so desperately seeking...
This is also the first time we see Violet and Xaden long for a happy, normal life together. The reality of that in this world is so far removed but to see their gentle longing for a life together was so sweet. We see their relationship develop from "I want you," to "I love you," to "I want to spend my life happy with you" and I enjoyed seeing their relationship blossom. (Despite the whole, soulless issue at hand...yeah...) Violet will never give up on him. It's romantic to see her devotion despite all that's against her and we are fighting for them just as hard.
I think this book is really a sophomore slump for the characters and I loved that. Hear me out: they fail at a lot here and it's good for them! Almost everything Violet sets out to do comes to total failure in this book but it drives them onward in the best way. There's a tone throughout of futility and inevitability. While Yarros does a great job of making us suffer by offering little glimpses of hope here and there, I think the point of this book is to force the characters to fail so they can grow stronger.
Themes:
Yes! I would argue there are themes to this book. It's not just an awesome story!
Believing in Yourself:
This may sound cliché. In fact, I'll argue that it is. But in a really sweet way, there are lots of instances where Yarros' characters have to believe in themselves to accomplish something. Violet, all the time, for everything. Xaden, that he can keep control. Sawyer getting back on his dragon. Ridoc, that he can contribute meaningfully. Andarna, that she isn't the monster her horrible "family" accuses her of being. We see time and again a character has to decide for themselves to accomplish something despite setbacks and failure. I'd say there's value in this timeless, albeit prolific theme.
Strength of a Team:
Although you may believe in yourself, you cannot do everything by yourself. This is the message throughout the Empyrean series. We see that our heroes are only able to accomplish things by leaning on others. Whether it was the sacrifice of family, the dependability of the squad, the leadership of a trusted character, or the strength of a dragon, no one is ever able to accomplish anything by solely themselves. I think this adds an excellent check to ensuring no character ends up overpowered, but it also harkens back to the real world where we all have likely learned the hard way that we cannot get through this life alone.
THE INSANE ENDING......
SPOILERS!
Rebecca decided to drop numerous atomic bombs on the end of this book and I know we're still all mentally screaming from the fallout. The amount she packed in there concerning Andarna, the goddess Dunne, Xaden's chapter, the brother mystery, the ring, Tairn "recovering"(?), Brennan, the Sage, riders missing, dragon eggs stolen and the fact that we are ONLY left with Imogen simply stating that she wiped Violet's memory of the last 12 hours when all these things occurred....*takes a breath*....was a new level of torturous final words.
I will say, devoted readership aside, that as far as endings go this one felt abrupt. There's cliff-hanger, and then there's tornado-meets-cliffside. This felt like the latter. We are reeling with everything thrown at us in the last 10 pages and suddenly we are thrown against a dead stop with nothing to hang on to, left in a total freefall. I know she's setting up all this for book 4, but in terms of leaving the reader with a little satisfaction, I felt this was lacking more resolution.
Final Thoughts:
This book was fantastic and left me with a genre-sized hole in my chest I have no hope of filling for the next several months. I will be forced to take a hiatus from fantasy/romantasy because nothing will compare right now. The fact alone that I have to wait until 2027 to find out where we go from here is threatening to bring me to my knees.
So. I do wholeheartedly recommend this book. Just know you will be left with a hole in your heart by the end of it. And it will absolutely be worth the ride. 🐉
