Empyrean Series -- Thoughts?

[Raquelle]

Just finished Onyx Storm 2 days ago, what did you think of it? I'm going to post my review of the book under this. (sorry it's so long, just had a lot to say haha)

[Raquelle]

Okay let’s do a deep dive.

Usually books take at least 1-3 days for me to finish but this one took me 12 days and I can’t confirm or deny it took me this long because I was forcing myself to or dreading it to end.

I’m not going to hold back my opinion on this book but know that it is my opinion and you don’t need to agree with me.

Contains spoilers (this is your warning) ⚠
Contains spoilers (this is your warning) ⚠

Let’s start.

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Story line:
The beginning of this book was rough, I was able to get through 3 chapters and then I had to call it a day because it was kinda not what I thought it would start as.
I tried to re-read Iron Flame for the 2 days before Onyx Storm came into my possession but as everyone can probably share my opinion with, that was very difficult so I was really confused with the ending of IF and all I knew was that Xaden was venin.
The prologue of this book felt very unnecessary because it made me think that Xaden was fully venin when he wasn’t? It really made no sense to me and then it immediately did a two weeks later and just jumped straight into the book where we still questioned if Xaden was even okay or if he was Jack Barlowe 2.0
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Something that I did want to note was that this book is SO different for Violet and Xaden’s relationship. Like. In this book they had healthy communication???? WHAT??? Like I know it’s not healthy by comparison to actual healthy relationships but for Violet and Xaden this was pure gold. They didn’t really lie to each other, they talked about everything, they shared their FEELINGS?? When did this even happen? I’m not complaining but someone please tell me when they stopped fighting like children over the smallest things.
Please send no hate but if it took Xaden turning into a venin for this to happen then I am glad because if it was this easy to achieve then why didn't they do any of that for the 623 pages of Iron Flame that we had to endure.
Like in Iron Flame they couldn’t even share what they had for breakfast that morning without it turning into a fight and someone accusing (usually Violet) that they were hiding everything from the other.
This may not be important to anyone else but from someone studying social psychology this is the best thing Rebecca Yarros could have given me.
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When the book gained some substance it started to get better but it was still very difficult to get through. I honestly had to re-read pages because I didn’t know what the hell was even happening most of the time but that was kind of the same for the first two books.
Something that really confuses me and this happened in the last book is that didn’t Violet and all the other riders leave Basgiath?? Like why are they still going to class? I honestly thought everyone left and some teachers even left but then somehow they characters are still going to school? If anyone can please explain that to me as to why they are going that would be amazing.
They quest thing that RY built was also unnecessary because they just rebelled anyway and then bragged about it when they got back? I don’t really want to look back at that part to see if that's right but whatever. I did enjoy their traveling to get allies and stuff even though their goal still makes no sense to me. The only problems with those scenes are that it was extremely unnecessary for some of them to go on so long, like for example when Hardin-- sorry I meant Halden got kidnapped by the king guy and Vi and Xaden had to go get him lasted so much longer than necessary. Like the entire scene wasn’t even necessary because like 5 chapters later they don’t even need the guy anymore cause Aaric replaces him. It’s honestly one of the most stupidest things this book does.
There are a few ambush scenes where venin just randomly come in and are able to get past wards and stuff and then there are just zero casualties and zero point for that to even be occurring. Literally all the scenes did nothing to the characters but set them back and annoy them or make Violet worry about Xaden channeling. I just don’t think any of them were necessary because it barely moves the plot forward.
One more plot point I thought would be good to note is the last battle scene. I thought this scene was pretty good, a little dragged out but I really enjoyed it. I usually don’t like battle scenes in this series because it either ends in someone I love dying (rip liam) or just being unreadable but this one was able to be read even though there were casualties :(. It was very unexpected to me when Mira was used as bait but as long as she didn’t die I was all for it. It gave Violet a very good motive to play a hero in this because her last words with her sister were in malice. Kudos Rebecca, you wrote something that will get your character farther in life. When Theophanie slit her throat was crazy because the betrayal was probably expected but I've been reading so many romance and YA books lately that this twist took me by surprise. Thankfully Brennan saved her though thanks to Sloane and *gasp* Dain???????? (I will dive more into that in the character section of this review)
You’ll have to read the last battle scene cause I don’t really want to go into depth but some plot points I enjoyed was when it was just Violet vs Theophanie without Tarin or Xaden and anyone else was really great because it made Violet realize that she did not have the upper hand and had to use her brain ✨. I didn’t really understand the logistics of this like Violet also being venin because of her father? That’s probably wrong but honestly I don’t really care.
Also Andarna coming back was not as fulfilling as i thought but I’m glad she returned.
Okay last last battle scene thing to note is the dual POV’s towards the end. Now this was a little confusing because we were in Violet’s head this entire time and we have never ever been near Rhiannon and Imogen and their dragons so it kinda felt like new characters that we were learning about but hopefully we get more of that in the future books.
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Characters:
Violet: Where do I start? Violet has always been the same to me, like I don’t think her character has gotten better besides her now having a healthy relationship with Xaden. Don’t get me wrong, she is a great main character but there are so many things that RY could have done to really give her that main character appeal. Like some real challenges that somewhat affected just her throughout the book, I know it was kinda keeping Xaden = venin a secret from everyone but that was a burden on nearly half of the characters by the end of the book. Overall, I never flat out said I hated her this time like I did in Iron Flame so I will give Violet a 7.5/10 rating.

Xaden: hmm. He felt very different in this book which I guess was RY’s goal since his character had the feeling of being turned into a “monster” as he so often put it. I feel like if he actually did turn into venin for some time then the story would have progressed as he slowly turned back and then did that 73 day thing with Violet but whatever. I do think he did turn into venin at the end but like I said before, I didn’t really understand the logistics of the important parts of that scene 😭. Overall, he was giving Rhysand in this book a little bit without actually giving Rhysand.. actually that’s a lie. He was super kind to Violet this book, no fighting, always apologizing and threatening to kill anyone who looked at her wrong. Ladies and gentlemen Rhysand 2.0 gets an overall rating of 4.5/10. That may be an unpopular opinion but I’m going to need some backstory as to why he is so different and what the heck he was doing in order to change his mind on Violet a billion times. Suprise suprise, Xaden is the toxic one in this book.

Andarna: She was kind of the main focus of this book wasn’t she? She didn’t really change much besides her feelings toward being abandoned and stuff by the other Irid dragons. It was very mean on how they literally called her trash and left but then later came back and kidnapped her? That was so sad though, I cried a total of 3 times in this book and this was the first. Thankfully she came back but we did not get any context for that. She literally just returned. Overall she was the best dragon in this book, as always and I am glad she’s back but hopefully we can get the reasoning as to why she is back? 8/10.

Tarin: I always love Tarin, he is literally Grandpa and I am always here for it. One thing that was so fricking confusing was how he was so mad at Xaden for the entire book. Like he only referred to him as “dark one” and “him.” Like before he said like “wingleader” or something like that but it was never with malice. I know that no one likes venin but besides the physical features Xaden showed after channeling those few times, he never was actually evil. Like ever. So Tarin is a tad bit out of pocket for that one but he was literally the best when Violet was being sad after Andarna left. Live Laugh Love Tarin. 8/10.

Sgaeyl: I don’t know if I spelled that right but whatever, bite me. We don’t get much about her in the book besides that she won’t speak to Xaden and that she will unalive Violet in Tarin so much as get a scratch like it would be Violet’s fault. Like I know she is his mate and stuff but still Violet is like 4 '11 compared to a 17’ dragon. (that is a very loose estimate). She also has the same reasons as Tarin for hating Xaden right now but I have the same conclusion as I did for Tarin, Xaden is literally fine the entire book. There are barely any mistakes and when there are, Violet brings him back in seconds. Puhlease get over yourself Sgaeyl and try to find a cure (cause there probably is one somewhere) and stop being mad at your rider. 4/10.

Asher Sorengail: He’s going to come back as a venin or something, like honestly he was brought up way too much in this book for him to be dead.

Mira & Brennan: I put them in the same category because they practically had the same screen time. I love these two characters wholeheartedly and the end scene I think was the best thing that could have happened in this book. Like I don’t want Mira to die at all and she probably won’t but if she did then it would give Violet the PERFECT catalyst to take down the venin people. Brennan is amazing, he caused no problems and when Violet was sad about Andarna and he called Mira, it gave the perfect banter with the siblings and brought me some much needed joy. One thing that I would like to note with Mira that I am SO mad about is that we never got any sort of closure about the enemies to lovers romance brewing between Mira and Drake. (did you have to choose a controversial name like that Rebecca?) The second Mira made a comment about Drake and how much she hated him or whatever literally made me jump up and down. I was so happy you don’t even understand. But then nothing. Just nothing. ARGHHHHGHGHH. 7/10.

Theophanie: I have no idea who this person was. Like who did she benefit? Who was she even working for? Did she literally just want to cause problems for Violet?? What even was her goalllllllllll???? And then in the last chapter we learned Violet killed her? Like WhAtTtTtTT. 2/10.

Aaric: AHHHHHH I love him so much. I do honestly think he was a solid reason why I continued reading this book. He literally is so amazing that I don’t have anymore words to say beyond that except that I love him and I wish he got so much more screen time because that would have made this book so much better. 10/10.

Dain: This may be an unpopular opinion but I have always loved Dain. Like even

[Raquelle]

continued

Dain: This may be an unpopular opinion but I have always loved Dain. Like even though he was kinda annoying in the first book I really don’t care because compared to how annoying Violet was, Dain is a literal saint. Much love towards him. 9.5/10.

Rhiannon: I barely saw her in this book but even so I love her, she is such a girls girl and I am definitely here for it. She’s always there for Violet and it is truly amazing. 8/10.

Ridoc: He definitely had a character arc in this book and I think it was for the best. He went on the quest thing with Violet and it gave me a sense of the first book when they were all in that friend group together. His friendship with Violet really grew and I can see them having a Julliette-Kenji sort of friendship in future books. 9/10.

Sawyer & Jesinia: I put them in the same category for obvious reasons but unfortunately those reasons didn’t have much light in this book. I feel like he would be somewhat fluent by now and we would see more scenes of them slowly falling for each other. sigh. Sawyer also had a character arc but we literally saw like 2 pages of it and I can’t even remember what it was. 7/10.

Halden: You know.. this one doesn’t really need an explanation. Thanks for nearly ruining the entire goal that the main characters had. 0/10. I thought he would have a character arc and become friends with Violet but no. He just nearly killed them all and called a war against Xaden. No biggie.

Jack Barlowe: Where the heck was this guy the entire book. Like did he even talk? RY had so many opportunities to make him have substance but he was just locked up for the entire time. 0/10 because he literally wasn’t there.

Imogen: I love this girl, unfortunately we didn’t see her much but the end scene where we got her POV was so sad it made me cry. We need more praise for her cause she has given a lot for these people and has gotten nothing in return. If she and Garrick don’t get together in the next book I will throw it away, she doesn’t need a slow burn anymore just GIVE IT TO THEMMMM. 10/10. (also someone please explain what her signet is, the ending made no sense to me regarding that part)

Quinn: I never really knew who Quinn was in the first two books besides knowing that she was Imogen’s friend. I don’t think her death was necessary but it was probably a good catalyst for Imogen and how she will probably be a vial character in the next books. 10/10. (we don’t speak badly about the dead)

Garrick: Wish he got more screen time but am so glad that he practically confessed how he feels for Imogen. Also his second signet is really cool. 8/10.

Bodhi: So he was kinda being annoying with his “i don’t want to be a duke” rants but I guess it’s understandable since all he was trained for was to be a rider and Xaden is making him sit to the side in order to protect their lineage. Something that really intrigued me when I finished the book is how adamant he was to Violet about Garrick going with Xaden to keep him protected in the early parts of the book. Like when I first read it I just thought it was family worrying about family but we later see that it is kind of for selfish reasons. Also I was reading some of the reviews and a few people said that Bodhi was venin? Someone explain because I do not remember reading that. Do I sense a villain arc? We shall see! 8/10.

Cat: Why the actual f would you kill off this girl's one source of happiness? Who are you affecting here? What did this death prove? Literally nothing. Cat is such a great character and VIolet seemed to be so happy for her when she saw her being happy with that guy (i’m sorry i forgot his name, it started with a T.) It is literally pointless and Cat is probably going to be depressed now and it’s all RY’s fault. 10/10.

Sloane: Such a silly person. Unfortunately we didn’t see much of her but it was all worth it in the end. Especially when we saw some chemistry between Dain and her. Like can we please have that in the next book. I honestly am all here for it and the storyline i’m envisioning in my head right now is *chef’s kiss* perfect. Rebecca I will beg. 9/10.

Aura: Who? 1/10.

Drake Cordella: I practically said everything I needed to about him in Mira’s character analysis but one thing I want to note is when he got the cat and named him Broccoli for the most valid reason made me laugh so much. Something I wished would happen is that he would be there when Mira got nearly slaughtered. I feel like he should have been there with her and Brennan when she was being mended. That’s just my opinion. Please let us see more of him (preferably with Mira 😉) in future books. 9/10.
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Honorable Mentions:
- The lack of actual fighting in this book between Xaden and Violet, I know I already said this but I will say it again. This was the best thing to have ever happened to them but when the hell did this even happen??

- Dain and Sloane: I already said a tid bit of this but can we please get like a novella or something for these two. Dain was training her and sparks probably flew but we will never see that. RY this is my plea for you to write a novella for these two or I will.

- Mira and Drake: Probably the same thing with the novella idea but more or less the buildup of their enemies to lovers trope and then they can get together in the actual book.

- Imogen and Garrick: Same thing but maybe go back into the first two books and show their romance brewing in order for Garrick to have that declaration in the ending scene where he was like “i can’t lose you.” AHH ♥️

- Sawyer and Jesina: novella idea too please!

- Dain and Aaric: Something that brought so much light to this book for me was when Dain was going on these quests with the rest of the squad with the SOLE purpose of being a translator and Aaric just being fluent in every language they come across making Dain’s role of being there utterly useless. He even makes a comment on it and it made me laugh for like 20 minutes.

- I know I gave Halden 0 starts but can we just take note of the audacity that he had to literally ask Violet out right in front of Xaden. That was nearly too good to be true.

- The entire Mira-Brennan-Violet-Xaden end scene where they were all fighting about the grandma and stuff. I know it ended really badly but it was so good. Like Brennan called Mira to try and help Violet and the second Mira got into Xaden and Violet’s room Violet started talking after like 4 days or whatever it was and when Brennan went in and was so flabbergasted because it barely took a second for Mira. Then when they were fighting the entire time Violet took a bath without stopping was hilarious and then Xaden helping Violet and stuff and showing that he is still not evil was very heart jerking and then when they went back out, they were still fighting and finally the end where they finally broke apart and led to the ending battle scene. One last thing with this scene was when Xaden read Mira’s intentions was out of pocket, Violet was too stressed to make more not of it but the small comment she made was enough to start a fight or something between them.

If you got this far then congratulations! If you have answers to some of the questions I asked throughout the review please reply cause I am actually curious, if you don’t want to re-read it to find then I will place the questions below. Let me know if you agree with any of the stuff I talked about, there is nothing I love more than discussing books.

QUESTIONS:
1.) Why are they still going to class? Didn’t they rebel against Basgaith and stuff?
2.) How is Violet a venin? And how did Xaden take that from her like what?
3.) Did Xaden turn into an actual venin at the end?
4.) Why do Tarin and Sgayel hate Xaden so much throughout the entire book?
5.) Theophanie?
6.) Where was Jack Barlowe?
7.) What is Imogen’s signet? Like how did she erase Violet’s memory?
8.) Is Bodhi venin?

Buckle your seatbelts because we probably have another 3 books coming our way.

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