Highly, highly recommended!!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2024 | Rating: 5/5 | Best Sellers in Audible Books & Originals
i am so in awe of both fourth wing and iron flame that i thought i would sit here staring at a blank screen for a long time while trying to find words to express my respect for rebecca yarros author of both books i just spent 3 days reading them and the only reason it took so long is that one still has to bath eat water plants feed pets and sleep though i did not do much of the latterwhat writers call voice in both books is so very perfect that i immediately want to reread both books the voice is fresh and uptodate and modern even for the dragons yet fits perfectly into whatever period of time this fantasy took place but clearly when there were dragons before proceeding however i need to hyperventilate brieflyfirst of all it is totally immature and so unnecessary for anyone to post a critical plot point in a review especially on purpose and without first posting a spoiler alert this happens not only with these books but others as well doing so is just another although minor example of how homo sapiens have free will which they unfortunately can and often do waste on trivialities so then here is how i deal with the review situationi do not read them until after i read the book then i read them to see how others felt about the book  since one needs to know what the book is about before purchase then reading the descriptive paragraphs at the listing along with reading the free chapters amazon thankfully offers at the listing itself will provide that thanks amazon reading those chapters and the description plus checking the starpurchase numbers are good steps to take to avoid learning too much in a review prior to reading the bookthe second rant has to do with plot let me assure everyone there are no new plots people have been murdering people since the beginning of time it is how the author takes a plots and makes it herhis own that matters to the reader it is doubtful anyone knows how many dragonpeoplerider fantasy books are out there so in the end it is a personal opinion as to which books one chooses to likehaving so many to choose from means some plot points will seem similar for instance how many ways are there to shove a dagger into someones ribs a plot point in a massive number of books  this author knew how to handle the plot she chose and then developed with aplomb both books kept my attention fullypage after page after pagei so love both books what is so outstanding about both is that we learn most everything we need to know about each well developed character not by telling but by showing through their actions and their sharp and sometimes witty dialogue it is beyond skillful at how on point the conversations are not only between the humans but the humans and their dragons especially tairn and violet and with andarnasuch a cutie and definitely my favorite dragon the growing relationship between violet and xaden is razor sharp and on pointviolet gets wonky with her having to know all the truth up front demands regardless of how xaden has put forth so much effort to show her he cares everyone has secrets but a book needs tension to advance so whoa and hold on the tension builds and builds between those two xaden is my favorite character out of many favorites their arguments are worth eavesdropping on and their love scenes are well done chapter 48 is mentioned by some reviewersin this book violet in spite of her fragile bones and smaller size but because of her iron will and cleverness and all those who made it through first year at the basgiath war college covered infourth wing are now second years third years like my favorite character xaden have graduated out and been assigned to outposts outside basgiath thus begins an every other week trip for violet and xaden him with her one weekend her with him the next weekend this is so their mated dragons can have time together each weekendit is also in this book that basgiath and all the outposts are put in perspective regarding the coming battle the revolution becomes a much larger focal point and violet learns about xadens connection to the estate in aretia one can already see by this point how hard it is to give this book the 10 star 100 review it deserves just read it and see what i mean it is one welldone well written heck of a book and do not forget fourth wing firstthis book covers in more detail wards the reason for them and the ins and outs of setting them up and what happens when they do not work descriptive details i liked btw details regarding the approaching battle then the battle itself are incredible i am skimming plot points here since others have covered them very well but there is a lot of stuff left hanging at the end of this book and the end itself will floor you it is like learning to fly on your own and suddenly losing that ability and plopping onto the ground and then fighting to just take a breath it is shocking promisewhen an author has done their job the reader will fantasize about what may happen next but this book leaves so much stuff hanging that there has to be another book my favorite character deserves a better endingthe last two chapters still has me plopped on the ground breathless so heres a partial list of the lefthanging questionswhat happens between violet and xaden after the battles aftermath what happens to aretia will andarnas newly acquired fire play a role in the future especially in helping to set up wards what happens to basgiath after the war what happens about the new dragon hatchlings will cats crew of riders play a future role and btw how did jack get the way he turned outso very many unanswered questions in addition to many many not covered here so then rebecca yarros listen up we readers have to have another bookplease please and thank you