Rebecca Yarros’ new fantasy series Fourth Wing is gaining a lot of hype and rightfully so. The first book in the series, Fourth Wing, left readers thirsty for more and completely enamored with the storyline that focuses on college students attending a dragon war college. Iron Flame, the series’ second book, gained even more traction as it dived into more complex battles, strategies, and relationships among the fan-favorite characters. In my opinion, Iron Flame wins the title of best book in the series so far, even more so than Onyx Storm, Yarros’ newest addition to the fantasy series. Truthfully, I thought I would enjoy Onyx more than I did, and here’s why. There are major spoilers ahead, so read with caution.
Onyx Storm had plot points that were seemingly unconnected and weren’t executed the right way. By comparison, Onyx Storm had fewer pages than both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, which, for the third book in the series, is unexpected. Fourth Wing sits at 528 pages, Iron Flame has 640, and Onyx has 527. Most authors, when it gets to the third book in the series, tend to have a higher page count the farther into the story they get. Onyx having 527 pgs might cause concern for some, as that tends to mean that there isn’t as much going on, or that plot points are rushed. In this case, I think some points were rushed. Others were drawn out for too long and the book as a whole just doesn’t fit into the series the way the other two do.Â
A second thing that irritates me with this book is the relationship between Violet and Xaden, the two main characters. It is apparent to readers that these two are “endgame”, or what readers like to call two people that are probably going to end up together at the end of the series. This has been established in the first book, so for Violet and Xaden to interact as little as they do in Onyx Storm, just seems off. They’re having the same fights they did in the first book and to me, it just seems like there isn’t much growth where their relationship is concerned. It appears to be stagnating in a way that’s incredibly boring to read about. Xaden is gone for weeks on end in Onyx, called away to a different border to mediate between different groups of people, and between turning Venin (the enemy), Violet and Xaden struggle to connect both physically and emotionally. Even when he returns, he’s brooding and moody and a lot of the time; we see Violet dismissing him and telling him to get over it (I’m paraphrasing here) and stop worrying so much about how he’s turning evil and just be with her romantically. Xaden is the new tall, dark, and handsome love interest, but frankly, he’s boring in this book. Their relationship feels dull and though Violet is apparently married to him by the end of the book, to both her and the readers’ surprise, it doesn’t do much to progress the relationship, because they still haven’t worked through prior issues that were foreboding in the beginning of the book. That being said, I’m disappointed with how little their relationship has progressed.Â
The vast area of land they cover isn’t really timed well. For the majority of this book, Violet and her squad mates are traveling vast distances over the continent (and to other parts that aren’t shown on the map) a lot. They switch between Basgiath, the war college, to Aretia, where Xaden lives, to Draithus, a city located on the southern part of the continent, and some islands not located on the map in search of the missing dragon species. They are gone for either too long or too short stretches of time and much of the time, there is either no discovery or some big discovery at the end that is then revealed to be just a letdown. There is a lot of switching back and forth and sometimes it’s hard to keep track of where they are, who is where, what they’re going for, what they discovered, etc.Â
Onyx was a fun read, simply because I’m invested in the story, but many parts of it didn’t make sense. I think execution was the biggest issue. Most of the plot points that have a “big reveal” are incredibly predictable, and though I like being right, I was disappointed at how easily I was able to predict certain twists in the book, like Violet being able to see people’s dreams, Aaric being able to “see the future”, and Garrick being a distance wielder. I understand that it isn’t a mystery novel, but can I just say, that Sarah J Maas would never make it that easy. Rebecca, Fourth Wing has a special place in my heart, because I love the disability representation with Violet Sorrengail, but your series is going downhill. I think it has the potential to skyrocket and be great again, but Onyx was not your best work.Â