The Empyrean Series Book 2

Matcha & Motifs Book Review 4/5

***INCLUDES SPOILERS!!!***

Against the odds, Violet Sorrengail has made it to her second year as a rider bonded to not one dragon, but two dragons. While enduring brutal training, dragon riding and torturous trials, Violet must keep her secrets close and her wits sharp as the protective Wards crumble threatening everyone she knows and loves. 

Love 

This one is a doozy. This is my second time writing this love section, with that being said, I felt like the romance in this book feels a bit frustrating. I’m not a fan of this whole lack of communication thing. I felt that although Xaden felt sure in his feelings for her, he needs to have open and honest communication with Violet in order to regain her trust. 

I wish Violet had a bit more spine. 

Yes, I am rooting for them. 

Yes, being in love while the world is possibly ending makes anything “good enough”. So in a way, I get it. Under the circumstances, putting their lives on the line, what’s wrong with “this is good enough” and “I will take what I can get”. And yet, I don’t like how this is an excuse to accept anything less. I do applaud Yarros for making these relationship problems still relatable. Can you fully be in a relationship without trust? Is love alone really enough? Will you still love them even if they became a monster? If you had the chance to kill your boyfriend’s crazy annoying ex, would you? 

Yes, if there weren’t any problems then the book probably wouldn’t exist because no one wants to write about happy, no problem lives. And since they have gotten together so early in the series, the rest of the series will be the obstacles and challenges they face. 

Overall, I am still rooting for them. I do find myself waiting for their next interactions and the progress they will make with their relationship. I am still giddy about their love, but I do wish we had a couple more substantial wins. 

Violet 

I liked that Violet spent time with her inner turmoil and figured herself out. Despite Xaden telling her that she should distance herself if she couldn’t lie to her friends, that wasn’t Violet’s way. I liked how she can still think for herself and stand by her own decisions. I like how she remains the main character and not just Xaden’s girl.

Additionally, this opens up conversation about who Violet is and personally, I enjoy how strong she feels with her friends and shows us she’s trustful and secure because she’s able to rely on others. I like the friendships she has made with her little crew. Especially when they went through torture trials together and none of them cracked. I enjoyed the development of friendship in this novel.

Furthermore, I like how she stood her ground with Dain. When Dain violated her privacy by digging into her memories without her consent, she ended the friendship. However, it was cool that after he learned the truth about what’s really happening beyond the Wards, he joined their side and they hatched-up their friendship. I felt like Dain is someone that Violet needs in her life. 

I love that Violet is taking on the responsibility of raising the wards, and the first step to this is to translate old diaries. This feels so true to her nature by using her knowledge and expertise to dig through historical sources and uncover the truth. Although it’s cool to see her progress as a deadly weapon, it’s nice to see a strength that isn’t common in fantasy protagonists be so vital to the plot. 

Plot

I don’t want to be too harsh with my rating because genuinely I enjoyed this book the same way I enjoyed the first. I devoured it like air. I don’t want to pin against the first book either because that’s not fair. This one was way more zoomed out and action packed compared to the first one, but second books always feel like a transition. 

The plot and writing style picks up exactly where it left off and there are no discrepancies. The pacing of this book felt slower, especially in the beginning. The section when Violet and Xaden were separated felt like it took forever because they barely got to see each other let alone fix their relationship issues. 

Additionally, this book felt equally funny. For example, when Violet admitted that she was in love with Xaden and everyone said that it wasn’t a secret, I cracked up laughing. 

I enjoyed how the plot progresses in the second half of the book. I enjoy this revolution made up of a “rag-tag” team fighting for what’s right. 

Yarros strikes me as the type to make tough decisions and let the readers experience it. If she didn’t do it, would we as the readers enjoy the plot as much? You know when you hate how something is happening but it adds an immense amount of oomph to the plot or the characters. Yes. I am preparing myself for heartbreak. Like did you see what she did at the end of book two??? I meant we like bad guys metaphorically, not literal villains. (Maybe?)

I am pretty invested in this series, and knowing that it’s going to be a five book series makes me happy but also stresses me out. I don’t know how much heartbreak I can endure. 

Overall, I’m really excited for the third book, Onyx Storm, set to be released January 21st, 2025. Please let me know your thoughts on the second book of this series. I know it has a lot of mixed reviews so I’m curious to know what you think.