I have now read Iron Flame on Kindle and listened to it on Audible. It's every bit as good as the first book, Fourth Wing, and in some ways a lot better, as the story has moved forward in interesting and unexpected directions.

First of all, Andarna! I knew she was awesome but she BLOSSOMS in this book, and she's my favorite character now. I won't spoil it, but watch out reader! Andarna will surprise you.

I feel there was less sex in this one, though I didn't count the sex scenes. Sex scenes to me are just filler between the action and intrigue, and we happily had more action and intrigue.

The writing is fabulous. It is a rare treat for me to connect with characters like this, and I can only name a few series that make me feel that way: Harry Potter, Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's series, and this one. It is both action-packed and character-driven.

The world in this series is so well put together, and we are still learning secrets about it all the time. I like how the scribes are such a big part of the story, and Violet spends a lot of time reading and researching. Libraries are a huge part of the effort to win the war, uncover secrets and corruption, and protect the people, and I love that.

There is epistolary work at the beginning of each chapter, as in book one, comprised of letters, snippets from diaries, articles, and other forms of written communication. This is very successful.

There's a cliffhanger at the end, and I don't generally like cliffhangers, but there are still three books to come, and we're going to get a lot more surprises, I'm sure.

Rebecca Soler and Teddy Hamilton do a great job with the audiobook narration. Soler narrates the bulk of it, and she is so good at relating battle scenes and communications between Violet, Xaden, and their dragons.

Anyone who enjoys fantasy, dystopian fiction, romance, and/or great characters should read this one. Highly recommend!