What's to like: An enemies-to-lovers romantasy which is obviously complicated enough by itself without adding DRAGONS to it!
For everyone who has grown up waiting for their Hogwarts letter, be prepared to dream about being a part of Navarre! This series follows the story of Violet Sorrengail, who, contrary to what her name suggests, isn’t a frail flower but a force to be reckoned with. She’s the daughter of General Sorrengail, a powerful leader at the Basgiath War College. As a general, she forces Violet to join the Riders Quadrant on Conscription Day, where all of Navarre sends their adolescent kids to choose their fate. Violet has trained her whole life to be a Scribe, but now she’s thrown into the Riders Quadrant with no idea how long she’ll survive. Her Rider sister Mira has given her clear instructions: find Violet’s childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and stay far, far away from the one person who might actually help her find herself — Xaden Riorsen.
Xaden Riorsen is the son of a rebellion leader, and like many other rebel kids, he’s forced to join the Riders Quadrant on Conscription Day. Every rebel was labeled a traitor and put to death by General Sorrengail, and every traitor’s child was marked. So, Xaden has plenty of reasons to resent Violet. He’s spent two years in War College and climbed the ranks, forming a powerful bond with his dragon, Sgaeyl. He’s got his priorities straight… or does he? Something about Violet makes him question whether he should listen to his heart or his mind. (And yes, Xaden is every goody-good reader girl’s dream of a “baddie” book boyfriend - and he calls her VIOLENCE!)
The dragons? Absolutely magnificent. They form the Empyrean, answering to no one but themselves, as is clear from this line in the book: “A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.” Dragons have their own human-like needs, emotions, and fierce loyalty to those they care about, and they’ll fight with tooth, fire, and claw to protect their own. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that Sgaeyl isn’t the only powerful dragon around (*wink wink*).
Across these two books, Rebecca Yarros takes us through Violet’s intense journey of brutal training, where she faces broken bones and death threats — but she treats it like any other day because, as the General’s daughter, she’s always had a target on her back (badass!). Every rider has to survive this harsh training, bond with a dragon, and somehow stay alive while channeling powers that manifest as a "signet" in the rider. And if, by chance, you manage to avoid bonding with a dragon and still survive? You get to do it all over again! Easy, right? (NOT!)
The story dives deep into the strength of true friendships, vulnerability in human relationships, and the constant balancing act between the thirst for power and retaining one’s soul. There are moments when you’ll question: is it more important to be right or to be loyal? Every character has unique traits that make you empathize with them differently, and all this unfolds in a larger-than-life fantasy world that Yarros has created for us. She shows us that even when your principles are shaken to their foundation, you can stand and fight for what you truly believe in your gut.
Will Violet be able to save Navarre, her loved ones, her soul, and — most important of all — Xaden? We can only wait with bated breath until January 21, 2025 for "Onyx Storm", to find out!
Addition: I wrote the above review before Onyx storm was out, and all I can tell without giving any spoilers is that, even though the book feels like it is merely world building (which it also is), it also gives us an insight into what the other side is: what their powers and what we as readers are expecting our favourite characters to face and go through. We also see that however hard it is for Xaden to be himself and for him to be in control, he will always choose Violet over all else, which makes him a really strong contender for book boyfriend of the year! While Violet’s bonds with her friends are tested, we also get a taste of what it really means to lose a dragon’s bond - even if it isn’t death. Temptations to go over to the dark side and duties to uphold all culminate in a cliff hanger ending that still haunts me at night and that makes me, like a million other readers eagerly wait for the next installment of this series. Let’s hope and pray for the best!
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