Onyx Storm is the third installment of Rebecca Yarros’ Tiktok and New York Times acclaimed fantasy series The Empyrean, a series that follows Violet Sorrengail and her journey of just trying to survive another day. Warning spoilers ahead for the entire series.
When starting Onyx Storm I was worried that we would see Xaden runoff thinking he was protecting everyone and then the entire book would be Violet chasing him down. I was pleasantly surprised when Xaden not only stayed but also was a key character in the aftermath of the Battle of Basgaith and throughout the novel’s journey. I liked that Violet and Xaden no longer had toxic petty squabbles but instead communicated with each other like a real couple. This growth from them, and them learning to lean on each other and trust each other made the book so much more enjoyable than Iron Flame. Where they would be like…
‘I love you, but you kept everything a secret from me and for that I no longer love you. You betrayed me./ But my darling Violence I had to because of everything else at risk, sorry for misleading you./ You still betrayed me. Enjoy the silent treatment. (Insert shielding and eye roll from readers).’
With Xaden turning Venin their relationship has seen growth, which brough readers like me comfort and made the book enjoyable to read. Since the book was about them growing together rather than Xaden running away from Violet, it definitely reminds me more of the first book. Where the story was about Violet becoming who she needs to be and finding love along the way; rather than her hurt about her romance and trying to find her way back to it first and then everything else.
One surprising thing revealed was that Jack Barlowe gave insight into Venin kind. What makes them tick and interesting facts for the reader to know about. His appearance however brief and his quick cameo in the battle of Draithus sets up a larger part for his character to play. It will be very interesting to see what Yarros has in store for him. Speaking of Venin meeting Theopine was definitely an added bonus. It was cool learning that the Venin are much more intelligent and powerful than they were thought to be. Her comment towards the end that every century they have the opportunity to tip the balance of nature in their scales was interesting. It made me question how many times the fliers have been able to push the Venin back over the centuries since the great war.
The majority of the book follows up on the discovery that Andarna was the seventh breed of dragon kind and her desire to try and find her family. Taking our main characters to the mysterious and previously irrelevant Isle Kingdoms. I definitely enjoyed each trial the different Isles brough to Quest Squad, and how they survived each one. It was also fascinating to see how each Isle dedicated to a patron god had different styles and values and how it each reflected deeply in their cultures. No two Isle were the same and I think that was something Yarros did right. She could have had all the Isle kingdoms be uniform in some way and then each have little differences. But instead she made each Isle its own country that has its own cultures and trails. With their way of life being centered around their patron god, and going about worshipping each in plentiful ways. It was also nice to see Violet reminding everyone of her intelligence. As I felt the lron Flame dumped her down a bit in order to advance the plot between her and Xaden. But seeing her using her intelligence to win each trail helped to remind readers of why we fell in love with her and her story in the first place.
Getting to meet the Irids was anticlimactic. Their arrival was super awesome but their lack of accountability and high standards for not only Andarna but Violet was not needed. They blamed Andarna for not following their ways, while refusing to acknowledge that the reason she had chosen to bond and fight in the war was because she was raised in the environment they left her in. They then went on to renounce Andarna as an Irid and refused to help the greater good. They then blamed Violet for failing their test, as they were hoping Andarna would come back to them saying that the other dragons had changed and the world was peaceful, without telling Andarna of not only her mission but expectations for Violet to follow. While failure in convincing the Irids was necessary for the character growth of Quest Squad, I believe that it was just unnecessary hurt for Andarna. She did not deserve being renounced and thinking that she was a failure and broken for things out of her control.
With the failure to convince the Irids of coming back to the continent and helping Aretia raise and stabilize their wards, the characters were in a state of ‘welp we’re gonna die but we’re gonna try everything to survive the war’. But it was nice to see that the gravity of the situation reflected in the daily lives of the characters rather than just mentioned and forgotten.
One of the saddest parts of the book has to be when Andarna left Violet to go be with the Irids. After facing off against Theopine at Dunne’s Temple, one of the Irids from the Isles appears and realizes that he and the others were being rude and too hard on Andarna, and invites her to come back with him and to learn their ways. Andarna wanted so badly to be a part of her family but she was hesitant to leave the one she had made with Violet, Sgaeyl, and Tairn. Then the Irid reminded me of why I was annoyed with them as a species, because when Violet gave the okay, Leothan broke the bond between Violet and Andarna. (While it was not explicitly stated that it was Leothan, Andarna was saying how she didn’t know how to do it when she was suddenly cut off. Also Leothan was the one who knew that Violet would still live even if the bond was broken.) I feel as if that was a breach of privacy because while Andarana did make the decision to leave she didn’t want to be unbonded from Violet.
Then Violet went a little Bella Swan, and was in a catatonic state just trying to breathe, after Andarnda left. Just as Violet was coming out of her grief thanks to Mira, the Sorrengail siblings had to ruin it with their fighting. Mira’s attitude shift towards Violet after seeing their grandmother, leads to the revelation that Violet’s hair is half silver because she was originally supposed to be a priestess dedicated to Dunne, and because the priestess couldn’t see where her future was leading they didn’t go through with the ritual. Also their grandmother reveals that there was a chance Violet turned Venin, which is what led to Mira’s attitude towards Violet changing. Then Xaden, unwilling to see Violet lose her family, revealed himself to be the one that turned, which led to a huge blow out fight between Violet and Mira. Honestly Mira’s attitude was a problem because instead of coming to her sister with the information and letting them learn and sort it out together, Mira was being secretive and making judgements based on what she knew as a soldier and not as a sister.
The end of the book was so good. I absolutely loved reading Rhiannon and Imogen’s POV’s during the final battle. I enjoyed reading about the relationships between them and their dragons. Imogen’s POV absolutely destroyed me, reading about her and Quinn. I was wrecked. Also ending with Violet coming too after being considered missing for 12 hours was definitely a shock, it was nice to see that the book had a great ending but left room for the rest of the story to grow.
This entire book was amazing from cover to cover, which I was honestly not expecting. This series is confirmed to be five books long, and with that being said, I was worried that this book would be a lot of filler and setting up for the next two books. But I was pleasantly proven wrong when this book had its own journey and own adventure that is enjoyable and exciting to the reader. While still setting up the plot for the grand finale. But I will be anxiously awaiting the fourth installment of the series.
