Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, # 3)
By: Rebecca Yarros
Publication: January 21, 2025 by Entangled: Red Tower Books
779 pages
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Dragons
Source: Personal Kindle Library
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Goodreads description--THE STORM IS COMING . . .Get ready to fly or die in the breathtaking follow-up to Fourth Wing and Iron Flame from #1 New York Times bestselling author 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.
Onyx Storm was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025. We all waited for over a year between Iron Flame, which had a killer cliffhanger, and Onyx Storm so there was a ton of build-up when it comes to expectations. I tried to stay away from podcasts, reels, shorts, or content that would speculate about Onyx Storm, the plot, the characters, etc. And I did fairly well with that. But all that to say, expectations were high. And unfortunately, I find when expectations are super-high, it's hard for any book to live up to the hype. Onyx Storm fell a little flat for me initially. Let me explain why.
Iron Flame ends with that mega cliffhanger that I already mentioned. If you don't know what the cliffhanger is, you probably don't want to keep reading because there will be spoilers for the prior books included in this review. Xaden has drawn from the earth which has started the process of turning him venin. Because we didn't know much about the process of someone turning, we (I) falsely assumed that one pull and he'd be straight venin. Apparently, that's not how things work. But when a book ends in a negative cliffhanger (where a major event happens that leaves the characters in a negative place), I almost dread reading the next book because I know there are going to be more bad events to come before we can get to the good. And well, that's also to be expected from the 3rd book in a 5-book series. And of course, that is true for Onyx Storm. Thankfully, things weren't as bad as I worried they would be simply because Xaden isn't immediately evil.
Onyx Storm keeps you in perpetual fear of wondering if Xaden is going to draw power again, and if he does, at what point will he have crossed the line into too far gone. I guess this is probably a good thing because Violet is in the same place. No matter how much faith she has that Xaden would never hurt her, she can't say that he wouldn't channel again. And so you remain in the same anxious place as Violet. This creates the desire to keep reading.
A large portion of Onyx Storm's plot is the "Quest Squad" traveling to various islands south of "The Continent" in hopes of discovering Andarna's kin and the 7th dragon breed. I found this whole quest a little frustrating. I wasn't excited about any of the islands they visited. Too much time was spent trying to show how each island is different from each other. And yeah. I kept reading simply from a pressing desire to know what was going to happen, but if I look back on this portion of the book, I find it boring. And if I were re-reading the series, I would dread getting to this section.
I found myself feeling like I was missing information a couple of times. Sometimes I wondered if that was because I hadn't re-read the previous two books before jumping into this one. Sometimes, I wondered if Rebecca Yarros was being mysterious intentionally. Sometimes I flat asked myself what in the world she was talking about. And sometimes I felt like I understood what was being said, but it didn't make any sense. More than anything, the more I've thought about Onyx Storm the more I've realized that Rebecca Yarros is writing much deeper than I realized, and she's one of those authors where nothing is said or done meaninglessly. So now, I need to go back and re-read all three books to see what foreshadowing I've missed*. Some authors aren't capable of making every detail mean something. I'm realizing she is one of the authors who can.
Many of the things I highlighted were only to help me write my book review. When I went back to re-read some of my highlights, I think I inadvertently highlighted some very important parts that will play into the future. I weeded through all of my highlights to find my favorite quotes:
I loved the dedication.
-To the ones who don't run with the popular crowd, the ones who get caught reading under their desks, the ones who feel like they never get invited, included, or represented. Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride.
Now for the book content:
-The only thing stronger than the power prowling within me is the resolve stiffening my spine.
-"But do not mistake my unflinching support of you, my mate, and Andarna for any form of faith in him."
-"Pain isn't a competition," I assure him. "There's always enough to go around."
-"Do not dehydrate on my account," he lectures.
-"Do you really think this is the only room where I've felt tormented? Pain isn't new to me, Jack. She's an old friend I spend most of my days with, so I don't mind if she sings to you. Honestly doesn't even look like the same chamber with how you've redecorated. It's a little monochromatic for me."
-"We live by the Codex--" I try again. "I live by you." ... "I am yours and you are mine, and there's no law or rule in this world or the next that will change that."
-"He didn't love me, not the way I deserved to be loved, and no amount of power is worth staying with someone who doesn't love you."
-"My loyalty is to Violet first above everything, everyone else," Xaden says. "Then Tyrrendor. Then Navarre in the moments it's worthy--usually when Violet is in residence."
-Do not mistake a dragon's bond for fealty. If you expect a dragon to choose their rider over the well-being of their own kind, prepare for two things: disappointment and death.
-"Don't barter it away," I beg as he stares at the sea, and the words spill out of me faster and faster as his eyes harden and he resurrects the defenses it took me a year to break past. "The pain. The mess. Give it to me. I'll hold it. I know that sounds ludicrous, but I'll find a way." I lace our fingers. "I will hold everything you don't want to feel because I love every part of you."
-"The best leaders are the ones who never want the job. This is your mission because Andarna chose you. Tairn chose you."
-"You're not a trigger. You're the only thing I can't fathom losing. Wielding to protect you has always been an instinct, but now it's...uncontrollable."
-"If he hurts me, then he's not him anymore."
-"Your inability to follow simple orders will get her killed, and I will not lose her as I did the one who came before!"
-"Am I not everything you wanted me to be? Am I not as fierce and courageous as he is? Is this not what I am supposed to do? Sharpen my claws on the scales of the enemy?
-"I love you and I want you to feel complete"...
-"I was whole and now I'm not"...
-"You've been breathing, and that's enough for me."
-"Acknowledging your fear for the lightning wielder does not compromise you." Feirge calls me out just like always. "Ignoring it does. Accept the emotion and move on."
-"You have been the gift of my life"...
I can't include any more quotes because even if I'm being vague, there's just too much to spoil.
It's been 3 days between finishing Onyx Storm and writing this review. And the more time I have to sit with the events, the more my feelings on the book have changed. I still feel like not much happened to advance the overall plot of the book until the last 100 pages. A few key pieces here and there. And I still feel like (highlight for spoiler) the cliffhanger for Iron Flame is basically the same cliffhanger as Onyx Storm but with a few missing dragon riders, dragons, and eggs. But I'm beginning to see that this story is so much more complex than I ever gave credit, and I need to apologize to Rebecca Yarros for taking three books to realize how in-depth her writing really is. My initial rating might have fallen around the 3.5 Star range, but the more I think about it, Onyx Storm gets 4 Stars. Have you read Onyx Storm? What did you think? Let me know!
*Since writing this review, I have re-read Fourth Wing and may have an Upon Further Review post coming from that in the future. I also plan to re-read Iron Flame, but first-time reads have to come before re-reads.
**Also, I've accidentally plunged head-first into the world of theories for the remainder of the series. The sheer amount of videos dedicated to fan theories are insane and on a level I've never seen before. Just the fact that there is enough space for all of these videos means this series is deep and on another level. This would not be possible for just any series.
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