Just published a month ago, Onyx Storm has already become the fastest-selling book in the last twenty years, with 2.7 million sales in its first week. Special editions are flying off the shelves; the series’ goods have captured the market; from crochet dragons to birthday cakes, it’s suffice to say, Rebecca Yarros is back with a bang with her bestselling Romantasy series, The Empyrean!
While romance fantasy books such as Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series, and more were already a big hit in the hearts of readers, it was Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing that gave the term “Romantasy” a highlight in the publishing world back in 2023.
In this Onyx Storm review, we go through the ways that’s hyping the story, answer the frequently asked questions, and of course, the things that work and do not.
Premise-
Onyx Storm starts two weeks after Iron Flame (Fourth Wing’s sequel) finishes. The story takes place beyond the gates of Basgiath War College, as majorly all the characters, Violet, Xaden, and the Quest Crew are making a journey to seek alliances and find a cure to fight off the Vernin.
The popularity has arisen from special covers produced by different presses for nearly every subscription book box. (Yarros shared an Onyx Storm excerpt back in October, and already the order for limited editions started to be placed.)
You can find the Onyx Storm book special effect if you watch it over a popular browser, Google. Here, we see visuals and even get audio of the lightning storms accompanied by the main lead, Violet’s dragons, Andarna and Terien!
Onyx Storm’s Pros-
Dragons- They Continue To Be Snarky
Without them, the story is nothing, so of course, I love the dragons, majorly Andarna and Tarin. I liked that they seemed to have a little better role than the predecessor.
Plot Points
A lot of moments, like asking others to join the fight or twists involving the dragons, are nice. If the book was shorter, then these could have been more interesting for me.
The Ending
I was initially not going to write this point but after going through other reviews, I did see people hating it but I think it actually makes an interesting cliffhanger, like, I can read the next book now.
Romance- The Point Between Pro and Con…
Violet and Xaden’s romance is something people keep coming on for in the Onyx Storm book. This aspect is fifty percent of the Romantasy and is actually what separates this genre from general high or epic fantasy reads.
I can’t believe I’m going to say this but… the romance seems over the top at times. I mean, I love nothing but to ship these overly popular fandom couples like Violet and Xaden.
While I enjoyed some of their scenes, the romance seems more heavily weighted on the behind-the-scenes things than the normal couple experiences. And it’s a big aspect why that may be a spoiler for those who have not read the series yet-
At basically every other interaction, especially the spicy scenes (which are many), Xaden is telling Violet off to get away from him or kill him if he becomes full Venin in the future.
Overly dramatic writing It’s nice to read about those typical famous lines that book subscription boxes use on their merchandise, but it becomes too much after some time.
[If you are skipping the smut scenes, whether you don’t like explicit reading or think it’s dragging from the last two books, or for any other reason, then I highly think you are likely to provide a lesser Onyx Storm rating because it takes a lot of pages.]
Cons-
Lack of Perspective
With over 500 pages, I think the book would’ve been enhanced with more perspectives other than Violet’s for a more diverse reading experience, especially when you have so many characters.
[Another spoiler: We do get some mysterious povs; 95% of the book is from Violet’s perspective.]
Characters
The Quest squad (Violet, Xaden, Ridoc, and five more) go to different Isles to seek alliance against Venin. This plot felt similar to another popular high fantasy series, Game of Thrones, where they ask other kingdoms to fight White Walkers.
But that’s not the point in consideration; the main thing lacking for me is the introduction of too many characters too soon. The Onyx Storm rating is the lowest out of the three books in the series and this point seems to be a common complaint of many.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do you need to read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame before Onyx Storm?
Ans. The characters stay the same and the story continues and builds on in this epic fantasy. So, yes, like most high fantasy series, you’ll need to read the previously published books to read the third part, Onyx Storm.
Tip: Many reviewers actually have made notes and annotated while reading Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. This makes it easier to keep track of the characters and the actions happening in Onyx Storm.
Is Onyx Storm the last book of the series?
Ans: Initially, The Empyrean was supposed to be a trilogy. But, due to the worldwide success of the first book, Fourth Wing, the publishers decided to convert the trilogy into a pentalogy (a 5-book series). So, no, Onyx Storm is not Rebecca Yarros’s last novel in the Empyrean series.
When will the sequel to Onyx Storm be published?
Ans- The next novel in the series will be published after two years, in 2027. (We can only hope that Yarros shares material like she did the Onyx Storm excerpt!)
Q. What is the Onyx Storm map?
The map of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame is different from the Onyx Storm book. It has some updated places that take place on the continent. Here is the map of the first two books:
And following is an image of the Onyx Storm map that can help people envision the world of the epic fantasy and clarify things.
(Precaution though: If you won’t like to see the map if you consider it a spoiler, please skip it.)
Conclusion
The success of The Empyrean series is mind-blowing; Rebecca Yarros continues to add magic in fans’s lives and fill heads with imagination through the books (and will at least continue to do so for the next two in the upcoming future.)
As for Onyx Storm specifically, I liked it better than Iron Flame but not as much as Fourth Wing. Fourth Wing was the perfect combination of fantasy and romance on just the right level. The Onyx Storm book, though? It develops the fantasy world as we visit different isles, places and read about battles, but it’s too much too soon.
Though ultimately, the mysterious ending does keep on the edge to pick the next book in the series (or wait two years for it.) I just hope for the fourth book, we get more or an emotional connection between the leads and further space is spent on the already introduced characters.
All the views written in the Onyx Storm review are my own. Books, like other entertainment mediums, are subjective, and each reader’s experience is unique.
