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A review by betweentheshelves
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
emotional
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
3.0
I am hovering between 2.5 and 3 stars for this one, so I'll give it 3 to be generous.
This book has me convinced: there are not five books worth of story here. Much of this book felt like filler, and honestly, it’s filler that doesn’t feel like it’s furthering the story. We get introduced to a lot (and I mean a lot) of new characters that make it difficult to follow. We’re also introduced to all these new places as Violet and Xaden are looking for a cure/looking for Andarna’s family. Not to mention all the other subplots happening with the side characters. Most of the writing here was a mess, and I’m not sure Yarros herself knows where the story is going.
I know that Yarros wasn’t a fantasy writer before this series, and quite honestly, it shows. If you’re going to write a five book fantasy series, there needs to be some sort of plan of where the story is going, and you can’t convince me there is one. For that reason, the world building feels a bit all over the place in this book as Yarros tries to expand the world, but none of the rules she already established feel consistent. Consistency is key when you’re building an elaborate magical world!
Also, I have never been a fan of the sudden change to different POVs at the ends of books. Either commit to it or don’t. Multiple POVs might actually help with some of the world building stuff, so I wouldn’t mind if that was changed in future books.
Maybe not as badly as Iron Flame, but once again this book needed editing. Not just for repetitive writing, but for the overarching story as well. Maybe an editor could help Yarros figure out where the story is going from here lol.
Once again, I’m mostly here for the dragons. I’d keep reading for Andarna and Tairn only, and I would have loved more time with them in this book. There feels like there’s so much potential with the dragons that Yarros isn’t necessarily utilizing in the story, which is also a bit disappointing.
Let’s be honest, I’ve invested my time in three books, I’ll probably finish out the series just out of pure curiosity.
This book has me convinced: there are not five books worth of story here. Much of this book felt like filler, and honestly, it’s filler that doesn’t feel like it’s furthering the story. We get introduced to a lot (and I mean a lot) of new characters that make it difficult to follow. We’re also introduced to all these new places as Violet and Xaden are looking for a cure/looking for Andarna’s family. Not to mention all the other subplots happening with the side characters. Most of the writing here was a mess, and I’m not sure Yarros herself knows where the story is going.
I know that Yarros wasn’t a fantasy writer before this series, and quite honestly, it shows. If you’re going to write a five book fantasy series, there needs to be some sort of plan of where the story is going, and you can’t convince me there is one. For that reason, the world building feels a bit all over the place in this book as Yarros tries to expand the world, but none of the rules she already established feel consistent. Consistency is key when you’re building an elaborate magical world!
Also, I have never been a fan of the sudden change to different POVs at the ends of books. Either commit to it or don’t. Multiple POVs might actually help with some of the world building stuff, so I wouldn’t mind if that was changed in future books.
Maybe not as badly as Iron Flame, but once again this book needed editing. Not just for repetitive writing, but for the overarching story as well. Maybe an editor could help Yarros figure out where the story is going from here lol.
Once again, I’m mostly here for the dragons. I’d keep reading for Andarna and Tairn only, and I would have loved more time with them in this book. There feels like there’s so much potential with the dragons that Yarros isn’t necessarily utilizing in the story, which is also a bit disappointing.
Let’s be honest, I’ve invested my time in three books, I’ll probably finish out the series just out of pure curiosity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Blood, and Vomit