“Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride.”
The Empyrean series blew up TikTok with Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Book 3, Onyx Storm, had to level up on every front—higher stakes, hotter romance, fiercer battles. Spoiler-free verdict? Mission accomplished—and then some.
Quick-Look Stats
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Series | Empyrean #3 |
| Publication | January 2025, Red Tower Books |
| Length | 720 pages (HC) |
| Genre | New-Adult Romantasy / Epic Fantasy |
| Tropes | Enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity quest, found family |
| Heat | ★★★★☆ (open-door scenes) |
| Content Flags | War violence, gore, explicit sex, grief, dragon peril |
| My Rating | 5 / 5 flaming wyverns |
Why You’ll Care (Even Without Spoilers)
1. Stakes That Actually Hurt
The prologue yanks Violet into the tunnels beneath Basgiath, chasing a masked Xaden while “fear holds me with an icy fist.” Yarros wastes zero pages raising the cost of failure—both political (crumbling wardstones) and deeply personal.
2. Battles That Leave Scars
From the jaw-dropping wyvern dog-fight—“Lightning flashes… the beast screams as it falls.” —to Violet’s ten-bolt lightning barrage that literally fries her conduits , the action choreography is blockbuster-level and relentlessly cinematic.
3. Romance on a Knife-Edge
Violet × Xaden fans get the payoff they’ve begged for—but not without heart-stopping complications. A single whispered mantra—“Every possible path.” —becomes the couple’s emotional lynchpin.
4. Found-Family Banter
Quippy sidekicks Ridoc, Rhi & Co. still steal pages (“The four of you are a fucking nuisance.” ), delivering laugh-out-loud beats that offset the carnage.
What Might Trip You Up
- A mid-book dual-POV shift could jar single-narrator purists.
- Cliff-hanger alert: stock up on emotional-support chocolate—this ending hurts.
Is Onyx Storm for You?
- Absolutely Yes if you crave darker stakes.
- Yes if you devour dragon-rider epics but need on-page romance.
- Maybe if graphic battle gore or explicit intimacy is a hard pass (see content flags).
Pros & Cons
| 👍 Pros | 👎 Cons |
|---|---|
| Relentless pacing—zero sag | POV switch may jar |
| Chemistry that crackles | Brutal cliff-hanger |
| Sky-high production value (sprayed edges, fold-out map) | Graphic violence won’t suit everyone |
- Pick Your Format
- Hardcover (sprayed edges, map)
- Kindle (drops at midnight)
- Audible (dual narrators)
- Fastest Checkout 🛒 Ready to enter the storm? Grab Onyx Storm on Amazon
About the Author
Rebecca Yarros is a #1 New York Times bestseller and military-family advocate with six kids and more than fifteen novels to her name. Her passion for foster-care reform bleeds into the series’ found-family themes.
Onyx Storm torches every expectation, scatters the ashes and dares you to fly through the smoke. If epic stakes, morally-gray dragon riders and searing romance are your jam, don’t wait.
🐉 Secure your copy now ➜ Amazon Hardcover • Kindle • Audiobook
Happy reading, and may your wards hold.
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