Iron Flame

When I read Fourth Wing I was very disappointed. It felt like a cheap and poorly written copy cat of all the most famous romantasies, with dragon lore from some good fantasies. It also read very YA, which bothered me as it was marketed for adults.

I entered Iron Flame in the opposite mood of Fourth Wing: low expectations and fully aware of its potential flaws - unoriginal, modern language, Mary Sue, lack of plot, easily guessable twists.

The flaws are still there, but you know what? I ate this up and loved it.

The book has significantly more plot and action than the first. I still abhorred the language, but I was never bored, and this time I was actually surprised by some of the twists.

While on the first book I didn't really feel Violet struggling with her illness, and saw her only as the classical overpowered female lead, here I was able to see her dealing with the pain and working to improve her flaws. I was also finally able to believe her strength was her brain.
I liked that some stupid problems of the world were mentioned and criticized (e.g letting cadets die in the school when there's a war going on), but most of all, I loved that Xaden kept being a strong character, not deferring to every Violet whim, while still fighting for her love and trust.

The second half of the book was much better than the first. I hated the ridiculous school setting and I was glad to see it behind. It was time to see other locations and learn about the rest of the nation. Are we still lacking details i consider important about the world? Yes, many! But it was fine, really.

There are still many bits there are absolute nonsense and some bits poorly executed. I still don't understand the war, which, at this point, I find a bit concerning