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A review by savage_book_review
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW
I'm currently feeling ALL the emotions, and processing the fact that there's now a looooong wait to find out what happens next! That was one hell of a rollercoaster; if you choose to read this, prepare for your flabbers to be gasted and your thunders(or lightening 😉) to be struck; prepare for your heart to sink, to jump into your throat, to break and to leap; prepare for questions to be answered and more to take their place; prepare for... oh, who am I kidding? There is no possible way to prepare for this. Just mount your dragon and enjoy the ride!
Even with my reread to jog my memory of characters and plot, it wasn't quite enough to get me situated immediately, so I would recommend doing a proper deep dive into Fourth Wing and Iron Flame before heading into this one. But, what was clear from very early on is the amount of time and energy expended by the author in getting all of the elements of this story to coalesce. The narrative feels so much more 'put together' than Iron Flame, and even with the sheer volume of people, dragons, places and plot devices in here, everything flows really well and builds beautifully, layer by layer. I don't think there's a single wasted chapter in here. And while I am definitely a 'passenger princess' when it comes to reading, there is PLENTY to speculate about until book 4!
I listened to the audio version, and while I can't say I was the biggest fan of the narrator, I still have to give her points for her enthusiasm and nuanced delivery. I think the Graphic Audio version that's coming in a couple of months will probably help with the separation of characters (the different actors made it so much easier for me to follow FW and IF), but for the time being it was definitely worth investing in the audio. However, overall I suspect I would probably get more out of a physical/ebook read as I'd get through it far quicker and thus be able to follow each character more closely. I did find that, in places, it was hard to differentiate when characters would switch between speaking aloud and mind-speaking through a bond, for example.
Some random spoiler-free exclamations that came out of my mouth while reading:-
- "Well that didn't take long..."
- "Slow burn, now? Really?!"
- "Rebecca Yarros, that was MEAN!!!"
- "For such a smart girl, that took you WAY too long to figure out!"
- *in the style of Admiral Ackbar* "IT'S A TRAP!!!"
I'm going to let this digest for a while; let my grain ruminate on the possibilities and the bits I'm still a bit confused over while I wait for the graphic audio version, then after that wait for the paperback version of the book to come out to read, and only THEN will I be able to pass final judgement. But immediate impressions; this book deserves the hype, deserves the midnight openings and the billboard in Times Square, and deserves every accolade that can be thrown at it.
I'm currently feeling ALL the emotions, and processing the fact that there's now a looooong wait to find out what happens next! That was one hell of a rollercoaster; if you choose to read this, prepare for your flabbers to be gasted and your thunders(or lightening 😉) to be struck; prepare for your heart to sink, to jump into your throat, to break and to leap; prepare for questions to be answered and more to take their place; prepare for... oh, who am I kidding? There is no possible way to prepare for this. Just mount your dragon and enjoy the ride!
Even with my reread to jog my memory of characters and plot, it wasn't quite enough to get me situated immediately, so I would recommend doing a proper deep dive into Fourth Wing and Iron Flame before heading into this one. But, what was clear from very early on is the amount of time and energy expended by the author in getting all of the elements of this story to coalesce. The narrative feels so much more 'put together' than Iron Flame, and even with the sheer volume of people, dragons, places and plot devices in here, everything flows really well and builds beautifully, layer by layer. I don't think there's a single wasted chapter in here. And while I am definitely a 'passenger princess' when it comes to reading, there is PLENTY to speculate about until book 4!
I listened to the audio version, and while I can't say I was the biggest fan of the narrator, I still have to give her points for her enthusiasm and nuanced delivery. I think the Graphic Audio version that's coming in a couple of months will probably help with the separation of characters (the different actors made it so much easier for me to follow FW and IF), but for the time being it was definitely worth investing in the audio. However, overall I suspect I would probably get more out of a physical/ebook read as I'd get through it far quicker and thus be able to follow each character more closely. I did find that, in places, it was hard to differentiate when characters would switch between speaking aloud and mind-speaking through a bond, for example.
Some random spoiler-free exclamations that came out of my mouth while reading:-
- "Well that didn't take long..."
- "Slow burn, now? Really?!"
- "Rebecca Yarros, that was MEAN!!!"
- "For such a smart girl, that took you WAY too long to figure out!"
- *in the style of Admiral Ackbar* "IT'S A TRAP!!!"
I'm going to let this digest for a while; let my grain ruminate on the possibilities and the bits I'm still a bit confused over while I wait for the graphic audio version, then after that wait for the paperback version of the book to come out to read, and only THEN will I be able to pass final judgement. But immediate impressions; this book deserves the hype, deserves the midnight openings and the billboard in Times Square, and deserves every accolade that can be thrown at it.