Iron Flame

I expected more resolution in this book but it was just filled with more loose ends.

The late nights Violet spent researching solutions were tedious and really slowed the overall pace of the story. Apparently, we couldn't find this information out any other way, even with a mind reader on the home team. (More on that later.) Despite all that time together, Dain and Violet's relationship remained unresolved.

Aretia and the warding component was an interesting world-building addition. The dragons and gryphons coming together was also interesting enough. Cat and Violet spent a while trying to kill each other with some brutal emotional manipulation, so their beef was resolved way too easily.

Then, Xaden disappeared for huge sections at a time and the reasoning seemed weak. Maybe his character was inconvenient to the plot with his ability to read minds? Once a character becomes too powerful, some plot twists don't hold water. Extra note: Violet has two signet because she has two dragons, but why does Xaden have two signets if he only has one dragon? Violet spent so much time wondering about Xaden that I almost put the book down.

Finally, the change in POV in the end was so jarring left on a terrible cliffhanger. All I wanted was some modicum of closure for something, anything.

Despite the all the unresolved things, I enjoyed seeing Violet and her siblings come together, charging totems, and every scene with Andarna.

This book was entertaining enough but I won't be reading the next one.