🎧 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros @RebeccaYarros @rebeccayarros.bsky.social @rsolervo @recordedbooks @recordedbooks.bsky.social #LoveAudiobooks

Posted January 31, 2025 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 20 Comments

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


🎧 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros  @RebeccaYarros @rebeccayarros.bsky.social @rsolervo @recordedbooks @recordedbooks.bsky.social #LoveAudiobooksOnyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Narrator: Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton, Justis Bolding, Jasmin Walker
Series: The Empyrean #3
Published by Recorded Books on January 21, 2025
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Length: 23 hours, 52 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon,  Audible,  Libro.fm,  Barnes & Noble,  Apple
three-flames
One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty. Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything. They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.
But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

The Empyrean series continues and I’m not even going to try to avoid spoilers for previous books.  The story and characters are highly entertaining and provide a dramatic, emotional tale.   Violet and Xaden are special snowflakes but they have some admirable qualities and aren’t all about themselves.  They are frantically about each other, however. Rather than this emotional drama that goes nowhere, I’d rather have had better building of the supporting characters and the magic and the new worlds.

Violet is focused on finding the seventh type of dragon, Irids, and a cure for the venin.  She wants to help the war effort since the Irid helped defeat the venin a few centuries ago.  She works to find her father’s books, searches for the Irid, and develop her own skills. She does this while dealing with grief of losing her mother,  fear over losing Xaden and numerous severe physical injuries.  The mental and physical strain are intense.

Xaden is focused on keeping control and protecting Violet.  He is able to use his role as Duke and a graduate of the War College to help them work on their priorities.  But they are losing the war.  Those directing the war effort and the college seem far away and very ineffective in Onyx Storm. The cadets who haven’t graduated are involved more often now.

I love the dragons.  I was excited to learn more about the Irid and Andarna but we get so little.  In general, we could have had so much better world-building which would make things more interesting.  There could have been much more learned from Vi’s fathers’ journals, some things which helped them a bit more.  The meetings with all the other groups on the different island could have had more depth and insight into the world.  I’d especially have enjoyed more from Xaden’s mother and that past and present.

The battle strategy and battles were a bit of a mess.  We don’t get the complete picture of the plan and then things don’t go according to plan.  We do seeing our team getting injured or dying.  I’d have appreciated more strategic strategies and battles.  I don’t feel like there was a great description of the weapons and powers either.

The ending is shocking and leaves us with more questions than answers which is like the whole book. Onyx Storm is somewhat entertaining as an emotional drama but I’d prefer the strength of well-built characters and worlds.

Narration:

Rebecca Soler is the voice of this series for me.  I had not known this narrator previously.  In Onyx Storm, Xaden’s voice felt muted compared to the deep gravel and rasp I remember from the earlier books.  I was into the story and not sure I can tell you about the other two narrators. Soler, and Violet, were my primary focus. I enjoyed the performance overall but was deep into the story more than doing an evaluation of any sort of the narration. I listened comfortably at my usual 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip:  HERE 

About Rebecca Yarros

Rebecca is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over fifteen novels, including FOURTH WING, and is always ready to bring on the emotions. She’s also the recipient of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence in New Adult for Eyes Turned Skyward from her Flight and Glory series.

She loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for twenty-one years. She’s the mother of six children and lives in Colorado with her family, their stubborn English bulldog, feisty chinchillas, and Maine Coon cat who rules them all. Having fostered then adopted their youngest daughter, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October.

 

Rating Breakdown
Plot
One StarOne StarOne Star
Writing
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Characters
One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 25-Audio
  • 25-COYER

Posted January 31, 2025 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 20 Comments


20 responses to “🎧 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

  1. Mikky

    Great review! I’m currently halfway through and the narrator is driving me up a wall. I started this series listening to the Graphic Audio and the regular audiobook just doesn’t compare. But at the same time I don’t want to be spoiled so it is what it is :/

  2. While I had a lot of fun with the first book, I didn’t love the second one. I’ve bought this, but I’m not jumping in to read it, yet. And based on your review, I will probably keep it lower on the priority list. Sounds like I’ll have issues with the same things you did. Thanks!

  3. Great review. I’m about halfway through and still enjoying it. The one thing that I generally don’t like in these kinds of stories are the willingness of the characters to sacrifice themselves, instead of fighting to do better. Their death or disappearance, usually, are only going to be a temporary solution, and not very helpful to the people they leave behind.

    Rolé @ Hooked By That Book recently posted: Review: Kiss the Duke Goodbye – by Tracy Sumner

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