Onyx Storm
Rebecca Yarros
Not read our review of Fourth Wing yet? Make sure you’re up to speed with our thoughts on the first book in this trilogy, and then hitch a ride with Andarna back here. May contain spoilers.
Rebecca Yarros’s Onyx Storm is the highly anticipated third instalment in The Empyrean series. Its narrative throws the protagonist, Violet Sorrengail, completely out of the familiar academic melting pot of Basgiath War College and into the fire of a global conflict.
After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath, Violet is forced to abandon the luxury of lessons and face the reality that the battle has well and truly begun – with enemies closing in from both outside their walls, and within their ranks…
This book takes Violet (AKA “Violence”) on a desperate quest beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands, to stand with Navarre against the Venin threat. It’s a trip that will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she is committed to doing anything to save what she loves: her dragons, her family, her home, and, of course, Xaden. Her private, desperate mission is to find a cure to save Xaden Riorson after he turned Venin in the previous book, a secret so big it could destroy everything.
“This book felt more like Frodo and Sam heading to Mordor, and sometimes their stops along the way can feel a bit rambling or pointless, but I promise there’s a purpose.”
- Ashley Whitlatch, Books Are My Third Place
We couldn’t review this book without mentioning its length and structure. We have to hand it to Yarros: Onyx Storm is immense, and delivers on the high standard of detail and world-building set out by the first two books. But does it keep pace?
Sparking spirited debate among fans, the structure of the book has proved surprisingly controversial. Many readers feel that Onyx Storm is a novel of two distinct halves, the first of which is slow and wandering; the second is intense and hard to keep up with in comparison.
The opening chapters are dominated by political manoeuvring and the challenging quest for new alliances beyond Navarre’s familiar, yet failing, wards. For many readers, this opening journey felt a tad too expansive, temporarily dialling back the relentless velocity that defined Violet’s earlier trials.
However, this foundation-laying work is worth it in the end for us, yielding a stunning payoff. If you can grin and bear the island hopping and endless descriptions of falling asleep in the saddle, the novel’s latter half is an undeniable firestorm. It escalates to an insane climax, brimming with breathtaking battle sequences, profound emotional consequence, and a signature, heart-stopping cliffhanger.
Do the ending sequences make up for the slow burn word-building for you?
“The first half of the book dragged on and felt like an information overload. The last half of the book was absolutely insane and mind-blowing.”
- Heidi Dischler
Although the structure comes under criticism, the core of the story remains strong. It offers up all the secrecy, drama, tension, and romance that drew readers into the series in the first place. The intense, complicated relationship between Violet and Xaden is alive on every page, even when Xaden’s Venin status forces distance between them. The central themes of fear, control, and power seep through each chapter too, only amping up the closer towards the end of the book you get.
“This was my most anticipated read for 2025 and now that I have finished it I feel so hollow. We don’t have an anticipated release date for the next book yet but I have a feeling we will be waiting longer than a year to receive it.”
- World of Bai Blog
Speaking of endings, Onyx Storm is the proud winner of the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers: dropping a cataclysmic revelation at the end, leaving readers empty, confused, and aghast. Exactly like a powerful book should.
The – let’s face it – brutal ending makes sure readers are left with more questions than answers, ensuring the wait for the next instalment will be an agonising one.
Other works by Rebecca Yarros
Onyx Storm wraps up the Empyrean series (for now), but Rebecca Yarros has plenty of other addictive titles to keep her mourning readers busy until a new instalment of Violet and Xaden rears its head:
- The Last Letter (2019)
- The Things We Leave Unfinished (2021)
- Variation (2025)
- In the Likely Event (2023)
- Full Measures (2014)
- Wilder (2016)
Discover new worlds with Victoria Freudenheim
If sweeping, immersive, magical realms feel like home to you, check out the titles in our Fantasy and Sci-Fi reviews. Or, if you’re struck down with a heavy case of ‘book hangover’, and are bereft after reading Onyx Storm (we’re with you), pick yourself up with a mystery, fill the void with romance, or take a stab in the dark with general fiction.
Whatever it is, get your bookish fix on our blog.
