Rebecca Yarros’ “Iron Flame” strived to balance multiple storylines but left some key figures in the shadows. While it was an enjoyable read, it didn’t quite capture the magic of “Fourth Wing”. Lex Croucher’s “Not for the Faint of Heart” featured entertaining dynamics, though reading it alongside “Fourth Wing” made it difficult to fully appreciate.
Erin Morgenstern’s “The Starless Sea” wove an enchanting tale, but its intricate plot proved challenging to navigate, especially as an audiobook. Dive into Abbie Wells’ full thoughts on these reads and discover how they fared this month.
‘Iron Flame’ by Rebecca Yarros
A LOT happened in this book. So much happened that it’s almost difficult to remember everything that’s happened.
I enjoyed Iron Flame though not as much as Fourth Wing and I didn’t tear through it like I did Fourth Wing.
Non Spoiler Dislikes
There were a lot of plots. And although they made sense with the over arching story, there’s was still a lot of them. Ones that didn’t seem to make too much sense.
So many characters, important characters would just dissappear when they weren’t immediately integral to the plot. So characters that had been such a pivotal piece of the puzzle like Dain and Imogen just didn’t seem to get a lot of “airtime” and fell to the wayside. The same with new characters.
*Spoiler-ish Ramblings*
I figured someone would die, but that was not who I was expecting.
The Cat plot seemed kind of irrelevant.
Andarna!!
Of course it would be Xaden. Of course.
Stab and kill that motherfucker. Don’t let that bitch break anyone again.
‘Not For the Faint of Heart’ by Lex Croucher
Robin Hood’s granddaughter and the cute healer she kidnapped have to share a bed? Love.
I enjoyed the character dynamics and friendships in this book. The plot also never felt stagnant and things were constantly happening, there was always something new happening.
I LOVED Clem’s quippy one liners and this grumpy sunshine pairing.
Reading Fourth Wing in the middle of this book didn’t really help me form a strong opinion of this book, which is unfortunate, but I still enjoyed my time reading it.
‘The Starless Sea’ by Erin Morgenstern
This book was a trip and a half. I’m still not entirely sure where that trip took me. But I know I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you’ve read The Night Circus, you’ll understand. This book is just as beautiful, with interwoven stories, fantastical plots, and characters who go on their own journeys as well the journey laid out before them.
Zachary’s intrigue was easy to fall into step with. I was always invested in trying to understand everything that Mirabel was. I rooted for Dorian until the very end. And I was so glad Kat continued to be in play. I also really enjoyed the emphasis on stories and how the stories within the story worked.
This book also made me tap into the whimsy hidden deep within me from childhood and I’ve been seeing the world with more of that child-like wonder.
All of that said, there was so much going on and I found moments hard to follow. Now, that could be because I chose to listen to the audiobook. There were so many times I wanted to look back at the story to see the connections for myself and try to make sense of them. But as an audiobook that was difficult to do. There are still some things where I’m not sure what happened. A reread would do wonders for this story, but I doubt that I ever will.
I recommend holding the physical words in your hands to full take in the story. It’ll be worth it.
