Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth. But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

Hardcover, 527 pages

Published January 21, 2025

by Red Tower Books

4/5 stars

I went into Onyx Storm with an open mind and low expectations, social media has been up and down.  But I did do a reread of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame so that I was prepared when this book was released. And to be honest, I wasn’t really a fan of Iron Flame until I did a reread and now question where my brain was during that initial read because there was so much that I forgot or didn’t pay attention to, I quite enjoyed it 2nd time around.

Onyx Storm continues where Iron Flame left off, approximately 18 months after Violet walked to the parapet. Even though this book comes in at 527 pages in hardcover, it’s tiny print so it might as well have been 800. I can honestly say that I enjoyed my time reading. There was lots of action, dragons, conflict as well as twists and family secrets. And of course it leaves us hanging with a cliffhanger and no estimated delivery time for book 4, but that’s fine because I’d rather have a well written book than one that is rushed.

Other than the tiny font size the only issues I had with Onyx Storm were the amount of characters. I got to the point where I didn’t even bother trying to remember who and what they were except for the ones that I see most often. I enjoyed the maps that came with the book which made their travels easier to keep track of.

As for the storyline, my usual non-fantasy brain was able to follow even though it might have dragged a bit and could have been a few dozen pages shorter.  I loved that Andarna got more pages and Tairn was his grumpy self, well most of the time.  All in all  I found Onyx Storm to be an entertaining read and look forward to what comes next

This book was part of my 2025 reading off my shelf challenge and this book #12