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Iron Flame Live Reactions: Chapter 11
We're back.
Chapter opens three days later, with Violet swooning over Xaden's letter, which she's already memorized from rereading. The letter contains personal details about Xaden, which she is happy to have. Violet is with Imogen, who complains Violet should just take him back already. Violet starts to explain her logic to Imogen, who immediately shuts her down.
I'm torn about this. On one hand, this is kind of a subversion of a common trope in romances -- the best friend who only exists to be a sounding board for the protagonist's love life problems. I like that Imogen shuts that down immediately. On the other hand...why'd she say anything at all if she didn't want to know?
Also, I think it's a misstep to start the chapter here, with a timeskip and a paragraph or two about Violet's reaction to the letter. If it's such a huge deal, it'd be nice to get it from Violet's POV in the moment, not later.
Violet sees Jesinia, her scribe friend, and goes over to talk to her despite Imogen's protests. Imogen leaves once Violet's assured her that her life isn't in danger from Jesinia. Jesinia has a gift for Violet, a book about the first riders, as well as a request: she needs Violet to translate something for her because it's in a language she doesn't speak.
Have we ever had demonstration of Violet's language skills before? Seems like something that could and should have come up earlier. Regardless, Violet is willing to help and to keep it a secret, since adept scribes aren't supposed to ask for help. Which is silly. You don't want your scribes who are keeping the entire history of the nation a secret keeping secrets from you.
As they stand there, this happens.
Interesting.
Next scene. Violet and her squadmates are at the Gauntlet, which I believe is the silly obstacle course from the last book, in line to climb to the flight field. They banter a bit about homework, which is actually fun, and we learn that Ridoc is so good at land navigation that Violet asked him for help. It's a nice change of pace to see other characters have skills besides Violet. Rhiannon has the mail, and Violet has a letter -- not from Xaden, to her disappointment.
Rhiannon interrogates Violet about her relationship with Xaden. Violet's been avoiding all her friends to protect them and herself, and gives Rhiannon an edited version of the story. I do enjoy this struggle Violet is having in this scene. She's in a hard place, and you can feel it.
(Side note: this is actually a decent set up for a fake dating plot where Xaden and Violet would pretend to still be together to avoid awkward questions.)
Violet reads through Mira's letter and finds it's been redacted. We find out Andarna is black now and that she's been spotted by the dragon expert professor, who is thrilled because black dragons are rare as hell. So far this chapter is a lot of set up for what I hope are going to be future plot points, and I'm enjoying it.
And now...Major Varrish, an extremely subtle villain.
This guy is a cartoon character. All the villains in this book are, to be fair, but still. Tairn postures at Varrish, who counters by informing Violet she is ordered to bring Andarna next week to fly.
You know, Violet knew nothing about baby dragons and didn't have an option about bonding, so I don't hold this against her. But surely Tairn must have realized this would be a problem at some point? If the dragons can't be commanded by humans, it feels like Tairn can and should be able to marshal the other dragons against Varrish on this. Curious to see how it'll be handled.
More foreshadowing. Interesting.
We then get to watch Dain do some cool shit where his dragon dives and he slides down their shoulder and jumps off their claw to land. This is apparently the best way to dismount for ground combat. You know what? That sounds cool as hell, so I'm not going to complain about it being unrealistic. This is an acceptable break from reality, because it's fun.
Violet, upon hearing she's expected to learn to do this:
Violet thinks that the whole maneuver is pointless against the venin. And she's right, it seems like it would be, though her fight with the venin did involve some pretty knarly combat on top of a dragon so there's probably some utility to some of it.
Next scene.
Violet is on her way to fly to Xaden, but first Bodhi (one of the rebel kids) stops to ask her to pass him a vague message. Violet is the best messenger, since she'll see Xaden regularly, but she also can't have any real info, since she can't shield consistently.
Bodhi also has thoughts about Xaden and Violet's relationship, and accidentally drops the name of what I assume is a former love interest of Xaden's. Violet tells him to fuck off about her love life, though she does display concern for him almost being assassinated recently. This is growth. Tairn arrives, and we learn he's been insufferable due to the pain of separation. This is another thing that would be effective if we got it in real time on the page instead of having it backfilled in exposition. Tairn was in the last scene! You could have mentioned it then!
Violet is about to go when Varrish rolls up to inspect her luggage, which he's allowed to do according to the Codex. Shout out to Yarros for writing in some rules that make perfect sense. Nothing is in Violet's bag that shouldn't be there, so in the end Varrish is forced to retreat...
Violet realizes that Bodhi knew this would happen.
Violet lays into Bodhi for not warning her in advance and treating her like a game piece, and not to use her inability to shield as an excuse.
It turns out all the contraband was on Tairn already -- they didn't search him. Which is actually smart! Tairn would probably object to that, with violence!
And they're off.
Next chapter. Violet flies to Xaden's outpost. Tairn warns her there's a drift about a mile away, and she needs to get to safety ASAP. Violet does, though not before she notes that she won't be calling him for help because she wants to block him out while he and his mate fuck. Which, fair.
Violet is a little freaked out because all outposts have the same layout, including the one where the ambush in the last book happened. This is a nice detail. Anyways, Violet goes to Xaden's room, doesn't find him there, and eventually finds him downstairs. Turns out all the riders in this outpost are in the basement watching Xaden and another rider fight! Seems like a very productive use of time during an active war when the enemy is literally a mile away!
Also:
Turns out at this outpost if you want, say, a weekend pass, you have to fight for it. Which is dumb as fuck, but whatever. I would believe that this is an informal thing the higher ups turn a blind eye to, but not that it's sanctioned as a normal way of scheduling. We know that Xaden has to have that time off so his dragon is functional. So either he should be having to fight under the table to get it because the military is trying to kill him, or he should just get the time off automatically to keep him in fighting condition.
Violet brags about Xaden's fighting prowess to the person next to her, who has a scar from Violet's sister's Mira's left hook.
We then go to Violet Thirst Hour. I thought we'd left this shit back in book 1!
At least she's now naming personality traits and not just muscle groups.
Violet continues to be horny for the next three pages as she and Xaden start making out. I know people complain about these portions of the book but I honestly am not mad about them. They're a little overwrought, yeah, but I don't really mind them. That's a pretty normal thing in a romance novel, and the romance bits of these books are where Yarros shines. But they stop, because they really want to fuck and Xaden decides that's a bad idea. Hilariously, Violet tries to suggest they have emotionless sex, despite thinking about being in love with Xaden like two pages ago. But Xaden refuses, because he wants them to rekindle their relationship fully.
This is...is actually kinda good? It's the most interesting take on this conflict they've had so far.
Fastforward a bit. Turns out all the riders with relics are being searched (though not their dragons) so the army must know they've been smuggling. We learn a little bit about the venin-killing daggers, including the tidbit that you need a dragon to fire the crucibles the metal is processed with. Hmm.
Chapter end.
Honestly, these two chapters aren't bad. But we're only 20% into the book! It just feels like nothing has happened except set up. We'll see if the next 80% justifies the length, but I doubt it.
Chapter opens three days later, with Violet swooning over Xaden's letter, which she's already memorized from rereading. The letter contains personal details about Xaden, which she is happy to have. Violet is with Imogen, who complains Violet should just take him back already. Violet starts to explain her logic to Imogen, who immediately shuts her down.
“Oh, no.” She shakes her head, then tucks a strand of pink hair behind her ear. “I was finishing a conversation. Not starting one. I’m down for running and weight training with you, but you have friends to talk about your sex life with. Remember? The ones I’m watching you actively avoid at every opportunity?”
Not going there.
“And we aren’t friends?” I question.
“We’re…” Her face scrunches. “Coconspirators with a vested interest in keeping each other alive.”
I'm torn about this. On one hand, this is kind of a subversion of a common trope in romances -- the best friend who only exists to be a sounding board for the protagonist's love life problems. I like that Imogen shuts that down immediately. On the other hand...why'd she say anything at all if she didn't want to know?
Also, I think it's a misstep to start the chapter here, with a timeskip and a paragraph or two about Violet's reaction to the letter. If it's such a huge deal, it'd be nice to get it from Violet's POV in the moment, not later.
Violet sees Jesinia, her scribe friend, and goes over to talk to her despite Imogen's protests. Imogen leaves once Violet's assured her that her life isn't in danger from Jesinia. Jesinia has a gift for Violet, a book about the first riders, as well as a request: she needs Violet to translate something for her because it's in a language she doesn't speak.
Have we ever had demonstration of Violet's language skills before? Seems like something that could and should have come up earlier. Regardless, Violet is willing to help and to keep it a secret, since adept scribes aren't supposed to ask for help. Which is silly. You don't want your scribes who are keeping the entire history of the nation a secret keeping secrets from you.
As they stand there, this happens.
A scream rends the air, and my head shoots up. Across the courtyard, a second-year from Third Wing is dragged from the academic building, between two older riders, followed by Professor Markham.
What in Amari’s name?
Jesinia pales and sinks farther into the shadows of the alcove as he’s hauled into the dormitory building, where the tunnels beneath lead across the canyon and into the main campus of Basgiath. “I think,” she signs, starting to breathe raggedly. “I think that’s my fault.”
“What?” I turn to face her fully.
“That rider requested a book yesterday, and I recorded the request.” She leans toward me, panic growing in her eyes. “I have to record the requests. It’s—”
“Regulation,” we both finish signing at the same time. I nod. “You didn’t do anything wrong. What was the book?”
She glances toward the doors where the rider disappeared. “I should go. Thank you.”
Interesting.
Next scene. Violet and her squadmates are at the Gauntlet, which I believe is the silly obstacle course from the last book, in line to climb to the flight field. They banter a bit about homework, which is actually fun, and we learn that Ridoc is so good at land navigation that Violet asked him for help. It's a nice change of pace to see other characters have skills besides Violet. Rhiannon has the mail, and Violet has a letter -- not from Xaden, to her disappointment.
Rhiannon interrogates Violet about her relationship with Xaden. Violet's been avoiding all her friends to protect them and herself, and gives Rhiannon an edited version of the story. I do enjoy this struggle Violet is having in this scene. She's in a hard place, and you can feel it.
(Side note: this is actually a decent set up for a fake dating plot where Xaden and Violet would pretend to still be together to avoid awkward questions.)
Violet reads through Mira's letter and finds it's been redacted. We find out Andarna is black now and that she's been spotted by the dragon expert professor, who is thrilled because black dragons are rare as hell. So far this chapter is a lot of set up for what I hope are going to be future plot points, and I'm enjoying it.
And now...Major Varrish, an extremely subtle villain.
“Ah, that’s right. I recall hearing you were nearly done in by a first-year. Good to see that the embarrassment didn’t finish the job he started. But I guess you’re probably used to barely squeaking by alive, seeing how frail you’re rumored to be.”
This guy is a cartoon character. All the villains in this book are, to be fair, but still. Tairn postures at Varrish, who counters by informing Violet she is ordered to bring Andarna next week to fly.
You know, Violet knew nothing about baby dragons and didn't have an option about bonding, so I don't hold this against her. But surely Tairn must have realized this would be a problem at some point? If the dragons can't be commanded by humans, it feels like Tairn can and should be able to marshal the other dragons against Varrish on this. Curious to see how it'll be handled.
“It’s ironic, don’t you think?” Varrish asks, retreating one step at a time. “From what Colonel Aetos told me, your father was writing a book on feathertails— dragons which hadn’t been seen in hundreds of years—and then you ended up bonded to one.”
“Coincidental,” I correct him. “The word you meant to say is ‘coincidental.’”
“Is it?” He seems to ponder, backing away and passing by Bodhi.
My stomach turns. “Is it?”
“I know nothing of your father’s research,” Tairn promises.
But Andarna has gone silent.
More foreshadowing. Interesting.
We then get to watch Dain do some cool shit where his dragon dives and he slides down their shoulder and jumps off their claw to land. This is apparently the best way to dismount for ground combat. You know what? That sounds cool as hell, so I'm not going to complain about it being unrealistic. This is an acceptable break from reality, because it's fun.
Violet, upon hearing she's expected to learn to do this:
The fuck I will.
Violet thinks that the whole maneuver is pointless against the venin. And she's right, it seems like it would be, though her fight with the venin did involve some pretty knarly combat on top of a dragon so there's probably some utility to some of it.
Next scene.
Violet is on her way to fly to Xaden, but first Bodhi (one of the rebel kids) stops to ask her to pass him a vague message. Violet is the best messenger, since she'll see Xaden regularly, but she also can't have any real info, since she can't shield consistently.
Bodhi also has thoughts about Xaden and Violet's relationship, and accidentally drops the name of what I assume is a former love interest of Xaden's. Violet tells him to fuck off about her love life, though she does display concern for him almost being assassinated recently. This is growth. Tairn arrives, and we learn he's been insufferable due to the pain of separation. This is another thing that would be effective if we got it in real time on the page instead of having it backfilled in exposition. Tairn was in the last scene! You could have mentioned it then!
Violet is about to go when Varrish rolls up to inspect her luggage, which he's allowed to do according to the Codex. Shout out to Yarros for writing in some rules that make perfect sense. Nothing is in Violet's bag that shouldn't be there, so in the end Varrish is forced to retreat...
“We’re done here.” He tosses the book onto the pile of clothing. “See you in forty-eight hours, Cadet Sorrengail. And don’t forget—since your feathertail decided not to join you for formation again, I will be pondering your punishment for dereliction of duty while you are gone.”
Violet realizes that Bodhi knew this would happen.
“In addition to the very real attempts on all of our lives—Imogen and Eya were attacked today, too, coming out of a briefing for third-years—we suspected they’d search you but wanted to confirm,” he admits, dropping down to help.
They could have died. My heart stutters in my chest, and I quickly fold that fear into the box where I’ve decided to hide all my feelings this year. Well, all emotions except one: anger.
“You used me as a test?” I jerk the fastener on the pack closed and shove my arms through the straps, hoisting it to my shoulders. “Without even telling me? Let me guess—it was Xaden’s idea?”
“It was an experiment.” He grimaces. “You were the control.”
“Then what the fuck was the variable?”
Violet lays into Bodhi for not warning her in advance and treating her like a game piece, and not to use her inability to shield as an excuse.
It turns out all the contraband was on Tairn already -- they didn't search him. Which is actually smart! Tairn would probably object to that, with violence!
And they're off.
Next chapter. Violet flies to Xaden's outpost. Tairn warns her there's a drift about a mile away, and she needs to get to safety ASAP. Violet does, though not before she notes that she won't be calling him for help because she wants to block him out while he and his mate fuck. Which, fair.
Violet is a little freaked out because all outposts have the same layout, including the one where the ambush in the last book happened. This is a nice detail. Anyways, Violet goes to Xaden's room, doesn't find him there, and eventually finds him downstairs. Turns out all the riders in this outpost are in the basement watching Xaden and another rider fight! Seems like a very productive use of time during an active war when the enemy is literally a mile away!
Also:
I take the empty space on the rail directly ahead of me, finding myself between a veteran rider with a grizzled beard on my left and a woman who looks a few years older than me on the right. Then I see who’s below and my heart stops.
Xaden. And he is shirtless.
So is the other rider as they circle each other, their fists raised like they’re sparring. But there’s no mat beneath them, only a packed-dirt floor decorated with suspicious spatters of crimson, both old and fresh.
Turns out at this outpost if you want, say, a weekend pass, you have to fight for it. Which is dumb as fuck, but whatever. I would believe that this is an informal thing the higher ups turn a blind eye to, but not that it's sanctioned as a normal way of scheduling. We know that Xaden has to have that time off so his dragon is functional. So either he should be having to fight under the table to get it because the military is trying to kill him, or he should just get the time off automatically to keep him in fighting condition.
Violet brags about Xaden's fighting prowess to the person next to her, who has a scar from Violet's sister's Mira's left hook.
We then go to Violet Thirst Hour. I thought we'd left this shit back in book 1!
Maybe it’s toxic as hell, but it’s pointless to deny that every single part of me is attracted to every facet of Xaden. And it’s not just his body. It’s… everything. Even the darkest parts of him, the parts I know are merciless, willing to annihilate anyone and everyone who stands between him and a goal, pull me in like a moth to a fucking flame.
At least she's now naming personality traits and not just muscle groups.
Violet continues to be horny for the next three pages as she and Xaden start making out. I know people complain about these portions of the book but I honestly am not mad about them. They're a little overwrought, yeah, but I don't really mind them. That's a pretty normal thing in a romance novel, and the romance bits of these books are where Yarros shines. But they stop, because they really want to fuck and Xaden decides that's a bad idea. Hilariously, Violet tries to suggest they have emotionless sex, despite thinking about being in love with Xaden like two pages ago. But Xaden refuses, because he wants them to rekindle their relationship fully.
This is...is actually kinda good? It's the most interesting take on this conflict they've had so far.
Fastforward a bit. Turns out all the riders with relics are being searched (though not their dragons) so the army must know they've been smuggling. We learn a little bit about the venin-killing daggers, including the tidbit that you need a dragon to fire the crucibles the metal is processed with. Hmm.
Chapter end.
Honestly, these two chapters aren't bad. But we're only 20% into the book! It just feels like nothing has happened except set up. We'll see if the next 80% justifies the length, but I doubt it.