I am late getting into this series; for some reason I never picked it up before. Then I thought why not see what everyone is talking about; and to be honest I started out not understanding what all the hype was about, especially the first chapter. But by the time I was a quarter of the way through, hot darn, could I see it. Violet and Xaden’s bickering and subsequent whatever-you’d-define-it-as is my trope weakness (hello shades of Jude and Cardan or Toby and Tybalt!) Violet probably has the strongest middle fingers in the College based on how often she’s flipping someone off, and I love that she and Xaden have the whole “looks like a cinnamon roll/would actually kill you” and looks like would kill you/is actually the cinnamon roll (with certain people)” down pat .
I appreciate that like Leigh Bardugo with Kaz, Rebecca Yarros imbibes her main character with something she herself is dealing with; I appreciate when authors make their characters not cookie-cutter hero ideal; they’re more relatable and show that there are places for everyone. I think Violet shows how small you are and what medical problems you have don’t determine your life; that in the Trousers of Time, she decided to go down the leg of trying for a dragon, and that is where she belongs, not as a scribe. Spoiler: Liam dying absolutely broke my heart; I was desperately hoping that he would make it out because he was just adorable. Anyone who has read the next two books do not tell me, but I am praying that Rhiannon and Sawyer don’t join him. I will however say that while may not wish Dain and/or Mira dead, I would read their obituaries with great pleasure. Actually, that’s a lie; I want Dain dead. For someone who claims to care for Violet he is certainly hell-bent on condescendingly infantilizing her. I also hope Violet’s mother gets it in the neck; I have not been able to stand her since Chapter One, and I doubt she’ll improve with continued exposure. The dragons are fascinating, though the different weapon tails are a little much, as original of a concept it may be. I want more Tairn, Sgaeyl, and Andarna in the following books; they have a very great “snarky parents looking after fluffy child” vibes that is fun to read.
(I could definitely see them in this.)
The sex scenes are not overly cringe-worthy, and props to her for casually covering contraception (though I am up to the stratosphere with reading the word “core”; this is why I am not big on “spicy” novels, the word taxes.) Editing could use a little tightening up, as there are a few extraneous words here and there, though I am starting to realize I could say that of a lot of books published recently. I think I’ve read too much honestly, because neither “big reveal” (either the last chapter re-appearance of a character, nor the big conspiracy) were that much of a surprise to me.
I can not wait to read Iron Flame and Onyx Storm; I just have to pick them up and then get over my bad habit of putting off books I really want to read so as to savor them.