Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The story of the fragile, bookish girl who nobody believes can survive the harshest of situations and who turns out to be the reluctant savior of, well, everybody, has been told many times. Some times in beautiful, exciting ways, sometimes not so much.
Rebecca Yarros tells that same story beautifully and powerfully. And with dragons!
There are many parallels with other awesome stories I have read in my now-longish life. Hunger Games come to mind. There are no dragons there or venin, but both Katniss and Violet share the same passion for uncovering the truth behind the lies of the few who will repress and control the rest. They both share their love for friends and family, unwavering loyalty to those they love, and willingness to do what’s right even when their own lives are at risk.
Iron Flame is a great story, wonderfully told. I can’t wait to read the third in the series (which I already purchased) and hope it keeps going strong.
On the downside, Yarros tends to be a little too wordy at times and I found myself skimming some scenes and then having to go back and reread them, afraid I might have missed something important. In some cases the details were so “detailed” it distracted me from the story.
Despite this, Iron Flame fully deserves the five stars. Highly recommend it.