One of my goals for this blog is to create some “inspired” posts where I picture myself as your personal shopper and put together a list of items that I would want and you might need! With all of the Onyx Storm excitement, I thought it might be a good idea to compile some Empyrean Inspired Bookshelf Decor since you now have the third installment to add to your shelf – assuming you’ve binge read it already, of course :).

I was inspired by dragons for this one of course, but I also found some moody and magical items I thought would work well with the Empyrean or any dragon related series.

Bookshelf Decor

These dragon inserts are absolutely adorable!

I thought both of these signs were so cool! I personally really love the lamp/lit look, but the laser etched wood is beautiful too!

This Dragon Wall Decor is different and so cool. I can imagine it on the wall next to a floating or hanging shelf!

I used to love trinkets and figurines growing up, and both of these speak to me! They double as little boxes as well. So cute!

It’s so cool what people with 3D printers can do! Both of these are on Etsy. I like how you can change the colors of the eyes and dragon.

Bookends

I love bookends, and I thought this was a cool variety! The classic metal looks sleek on a shelf, but I do love the ornate look of the green statue. The little rounded ends are super cool too, but might not be big enough for your larger hardback editions.

Dragon and Decorative Lamps

If you really want to stick to the dragon theme on your shelf, each of these is unique! I personally really like the wooden carving but the two light up lamps with color changing abilities is super cool. I can imagine these on your shelf at night.

Hear me out – when I think of a ward stone, I picture this or a rock! I know these are salt lamps, BUT they really do put off a cool ombieance. And I love the color changing. I’m actually really obsessing over this Quartz Lamp with the different color stones.

Then I was thinking, if you wanted less of a “fantasy” or “dragon” look, but still wanted the darker mood with texture, this little battery powered lamp could totally do the trick!

Or you can go with the look I absolutely love, and go the flameless candle route. The fact that these all come with remotes now and you can put them on timers is incredible. I do love the black look, but I have to say the Crystal Texture ones kind of look like fire to me, just saying. And the black tapered candles are just so gothic fantasy, I love it.

Neat Nicknacks

I thought both of these were unique and would stand out on your shelf. The Fourth Wing inspired Resin Dagger is just so cool to me – you could display it vertically or horizontally across the front of your book spines.

Dust Jackets

And saving the best for last, these officially licensced Dust Jackets by bluelybooshop are absolutely breath taking. I really want these for myself now, and I’m of course hopefull we will see an Onyx Storm one soon. I love the choice betwen the light and the dark! Which one is your favorite? I need help deciding!

Okay, let me know your favorites and if you plan to get any of these for your shelf! Happy decorating! I’d love to see your final products or shelf inspo!

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I promised a blog post on my thoughts of Variation, so here it goes! Just a warning, this post has all spoilers ahead! Jump to the bottom of my post to read the Goodreads synopsis with a link to the book!

*** Spoilers Ahead ***

I think it’s safe to say that I will never see what Rebecca Yarros has coming for me in any of her books! To start at the beginning, I really wasn’t sure who I disliked more – the Rousseau sisters’ mother or Caroline.

I knew something was up with Allie’s mom from the first encounter, where we see her yelling ballet positions instead of truly conversing with Allie and Anne. But despite that suspicion, it was obvious how she treated her children (poorly, let’s just go with poorly) before that moment in the book. Allie didn’t know love besides her obvious dedication to her sisters. It makes you wonder how her father played a role (if he did, really?) but I’m also not here to dive into any plotholes. I’m here for the vibes.

Anywhoo you know a character is well-written when they get on your nerves to the point you want to throw the book. For me, that was Caroline Ellis, no doubt. It was already hard to get past her stigma for ballerinas, but it was even harder to listen to her be such a well, you know, to Allie at Juniper’s birthday party. Of course, we come to find out that Caroline had really valid reasons for not letting Juniper dance. BUT I still think she let her prejudice against the Rousseaus get in the way of initially meeting Allie.

“Dreams aren’t stagnant, Allie. They grow.
They shift.”

I absolutely adore Hudson Ellis. I said this in my post on Instagram, but I just love that he supports and shows Allie his love no matter what. She obviously hasn’t had much of that in her life, so it’s really awesome to see her have a cheerleader who’s there just because they love her and not because of her talent as a ballerina.

I will admit that I didn’t see any of the twists coming – Rebecca keeps me on my toes! I could not figure out the big secret of Allie’s memory loss from the accident, but I was really worried that Hudson caused it or something. Of course, it ended up that Hudson pulled Allie out first and didn’t get to Lena in time. It was really hard to see Allie hear that truth, but I did appreciate how she pretty immediately realized her mother was the culprit of that secret, not Hudson. I didn’t see Juniper’s daddy reveal coming AT ALL, so good for you if you guessed that one! And of course we come to find out that their mother is sick. I’m not saying we should condone yelling at sick people, but I’m also just saying that that scene FELT. SO. GOOD. I was also totally expecting Hudson to move to NY at the end, so that one threw me for a loop – BUT I loved it!

As far as romance books go, I’m loving Rebecca’s. They are giving me Nicholas Sparks vibes – and yes, I love Nicholas Sparks – and I’m here for it. If you’re looking for something different for your Onyx Storm Book Hangover, I would definitely recommend it!

Have you read Variation yet? Let me know in the comments!

Quotes

“Messy is good, love. Messy is where the best parts of life happen.”

“Why are you brave for everyone but yourself?”

“You need to stop hiding behind what everyone else wants, because you’re the only one responsible for your happiness.”

“I didn’t want to be some anonymous, fleeting, erasable guest in her life like the others who had come before me. I wanted to be engraved, etched, and carved so deeply into her soul that she’d never get me out.”

“This wasn’t chemistry. This was combustion.”

Goodreads Synopsis

Variation by Rebecca Yarros

Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother’s eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she’s sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she’s tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.

As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He’s always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau…until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.

When Hudson’s niece shows up on Allie’s doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson’s past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.

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I love sharing when I get great book deals with my fellow readers! I honestly don’t know where I’d be without the Library (shout out to Libby and Hoopla!), but I do my best to find and look for deals when I can!

I’m a huge audiobook fan, and I love my physical books. BUT, I do appreciate having the Kindle app on my Ipad for e-books! It’s super convenient when I’m traveling or for reading on my lunch break at work, and it’s definitely good for my bank account!

In September, I saw a deal running for two months of Kindle Unlimited for $4.99. I thought, “What the heck!”

I was previously hesitant to try KU, worrying the book options might not be worth it. When I saw this deal I figured the worst-case scenario was I get to read a few books that I like and then cancel in two months. I was honestly blown away with my options! You get to keep 20 books at a time in your library, and there are plenty of popular/trending books, along with a great selection of new authors and titles to try from.

The best part for me is that some titles come with the audiobooks too! This is huge for me since I get most of my reading done in the car with audiobooks while I’m commuting to work.

I wanted to share some of the books I’ve read with my KU subscription and the ones I have on my list. I’d love to know if you use KU and if you think it’s worth the subscription!

In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros
This was such a great read! It was really cool to read one of Rebecca’s romances from a totally different world. I absolutely loved Isabeau and Nate’s story!

Variation by Rebecca Yarros
I’m actually in the process of listening to the audiobook, and y’all I love Rebecca Yarros’ characters! Hudson is absolutely swoon-worthy and adorable.

One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
This duology was such a good fantasy read, with a really unique magical system and characters that truly grow on you. Give this one a shot if you haven’t already!

Assistant to the Villian by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
I absolutely LOVED this series! I actually listened to the audiobooks through my library, but I had to include this because the e-book is available through KU. This is me begging you to meet the Villain and Evie Sage! You won’t be disappointed!

Amazon’s Under the Mistletoe Series
These were such cute novellas for the holiday season! They were the perfect reads – short, spicy and sweet – for a really busy time of year! I felt like I got some reading in while also not having as much time to sit down with a book!

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh
This was my first Catherine Walsh book, and I really enjoyed it! I’m definitely giving her other novels a shot now – they are all on KU!

Of course, they don’t have every popular book and author, but this is a great list! And they are killing it with Fantasy selections. I also see a TON of Meghan Quinn on there – I haven’t read any of her books yet, but I do see people posting about her books a lot.

Here’s my current KU TBR – boy, it just keeps growing.

Have you read or listened to any of these with KU?

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This one’s for all my Empyrean Fanatics!

If you’re anything like me, then when it comes to reading, then you’re just here for the vibes! Truly, though, unless it’s a book I have read multiple times and almost know by heart, I’m not the greatest at remembering the details – especially if it’s fantasy.

I just read Iron Flame last month (I know, how could I have waited that long?!) and I feel like I’ve already forgotten half of it!

I thought it would be a cool idea to do an Iron Flame Recap for anyone who isn’t doing a re-read and needs a refresher, like me, before the Onyx Storm release!

And let me say, this was TOUGH! I thought I would remember most of the book since I just read it, but dang there are A LOT of details, new characters and ongoing events in this book. I basically put everything I remembered and thought would be most helpful in a recap, and then I had to do research and fill in the gaps. (And look up how to spell all the dang names and places – yes, I listened to the audiobook. lol)

This book is definitely a Part 1 & Part 2, so I think that helped. I did my best to try and hit the important points and keep things in (mostly) consecutive order. But if I missed something important, or got something wrong, let me know in the comments! I also tried to avoid utilizing any and all of the fan theories I’m seeing out there. That’s a whole other post and/or book, honestly.

I listed any sources I used at the bottom to fill in where I was drawing blanks and some other blogs and recaps that I thought were really good as well!

So with that said, here we go!

Iron Flame Recap

First Half of the Book

• Big reveal from the end of Fourth Wing, but Violet’s brother, Brennan, is alive. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Revolution, but goes by a false name since everyone thinks he is dead. As far as the Revolution leadership goes, we find out that Xaden is the heir of Aretia (and Tyrrendor), and we meet the Assembly of the Revolution.
  

• Violet and the marked ones return to Basgaith to report for graduation/duty/training. They make up a story that they were all attacked by Gryphons, but it’s confirmed that Cornol Aetos knowingly sent them into battle with the Venin.
  

• Violet and the squad are now second years at Basgaith, and they are taking a new Rider Survival Course, where they will work with Infantry officers and learn to endure torture. Yikes.
  

• Violet is now in on the revolution – her squadmates are eventually clued in, but not for the first half of the book, where she struggles to keep her own secrets from her friends. (Oh, the irony.)
  

• The new Vice Commandant, Varrish, is out for blood when it comes to Violet. He finds ways to have her punished and consistently tries to catch her in the act of aiding Xaden/the Revolution. It’s also quickly obvious that Varrish is putting out assassination attempts on any cadets that were at Resson and know about the Venin.
  

• Xaden has graduated from Basgaith and is now stationed at an outpost, Samara. Violet and Xaden both get specific “leaves” so Tairn and Sgaeyl can see each other. He writes her letters about his childhood in attempt to win her back and gain her trust. He also continues to work with the Gryphon Fliers, smuggling imbued daggers to them so they can fight the Venin.
  

• We find out that Jack Barlowe is alive believe it or not, and he doesn’t seem out for Violet’s blood anymore. Weird. He even saves her life. Even weirder.
  

• Violet is determined to do her part in the revolution. She starts researching the Wards. She thinks the key to the Revolution is finding a way to power the unpowered ward stone in Aretia, to put up a new Ward against Venin there.
  

• In order to complete this research, Violet needs journals written by the First Six, which we learn are stored in a Royal Vault in the Archives. The Squad plus Marked Ones work together to steal two journals from the vault, but Violet ends up getting caught with one of them.
  

• Violet is tortured by Varrish for getting caught stealing the journal, but she doesn’t break. Eventually, they bring in Dain to read her memories. In attempt to save the revolution and get Dain on their side, she shows Dain EVERYTHING – the venin, what leadership has been hiding from them, the Battle of Resson. It works, and Dain turns on Varrish and helps Violet and Xaden kill him.
  

• Xaden drops a bunch of dead Wyvern on the Navarrian border (cat’s out of the bag, now!), rescues Violet from her torture chamber, and they (along with other cadets, dragons and some Basgaith leadership) escape to Aretia, leaving Basgaith.

Second Half of the Book

• After fleeing to Aretia, a new training program is established for cadets and run by Brennan and professors who also left Basgaith. This includes bringing Gryphon Fliers into the fold, who had fled their own academy because of the war. Tensions are high at first, but new squads are formed, integrating the Gryphons and Fliers into the Quadrants.
  

• Violet has continuous nightmares about a powerful Venin General, or Sage, forcing her to choose between love and power to join their cause.
  

• Violet obtains a luminary from Viscount Tecarus, which is needed to build a forge in Aretia in order to make the daggers that are imbued to kill venin.
  

• Violet works on training her powers and realizes how little she knows about wielding her signet. She also learns to imbue her power into a conduit and how to use Tyrrish runes for certain types of magic – practices that weren’t taught at Basgaith.
  

• Violet and Dain work on translating the journal, learning how to get the ward stone working in Aretia before a Venin attack. She discovers the answer, using 6 different types of dragons to power the stone with fire, but it doesn’t work fully. They later learn that the instructions from the journal were not complete (according to Violet’s mother, who gives them the journal Violet was captured with at Basgaith).
  

• Violet puts together a big secret of Xaden’s. Because Sgaeyl was also bonded to Xaden’s grandfather, he has a second signet. He’s an inntinnsic, able to “read thoughts” or see people’s true intentions, which is forbidden. Sgaeyl knew but kept it a secret from Tairn.
  

• Violet learns that the Venin plan to attack Basgaith, and Violet and Xaden fly the revolution back to the war college in order to protect Navarre.
  

• Turns out that while Jack is alive, he’s actually Venin. He kills his dragon and breaks the Wardstone located at the college, which exposes all of Navarre to the Venin.
  

• There’s a terrifying battle with the Venin and Wyvern while Brennan attempts to mend the ward stone. Jesinia continues translating the recovered journal and reveals to Violet that the missing key to powering the Wards is using Seven dragons instead of Six.
  

• Violet realizes that Andarna is a seventh breed of dragon and is the key to getting the ward stone working. They have to pick between fixing the stone at Basgaith and fixing the one in Aretia, because Adarna can only fix one stone. They choose to save Basgaith/Navarre.
  

• Knowing this, Violet attempts to imbue the wardstone, but doesn’t have enough power on her own and is about to burn out. Violet’s mom steps in, transferring her own power to the stone, giving up her life for Violet’s and the cause. Once the Wards are raised again, the Wyvern and Venin fall, ending the battle.
  

• Not only did the battle cost Violet her mother, but Xayden has also turned Venin. During the battle, he faces the same Sage from Violet’s dreams. He’s on the brink of burnout battling the Sage, but instead of dying, he takes power from the Earth, turning Venin and sacrificing his soul, in attempt to stay alive and save Violet. Turns out, Violet and Xaden were having the same nightmare. It seems like Violet was seeing Xaden’s nightmare, but we don’t have 100% confirmation on that yet.

Characters – Noteworthy Changes from Book 1 and/or New Characters

Mira Sorrengail: Mira learns that Brennan is alive and joins the revolution. A big note is that Mira typically can’t use her Signet (extending wards) outside of the wards, but in the last battle of the book, she is able to create a ward protecting and saving Violet and Brennan while the wards are down.

Sawyer: Has a crush on Jesinia that has to be mentioned because he learns to sign for her. Swoon. He loses his leg in the final battle at Basgaith. Violet saves him, but we don’t know anything else after the battle. To be continued.

Aaric Graycastle: Aaric is a first year, but Violet recognizes him before he even crosses the Parapet. His real name is actually “Prince Cam” since he is royalty. His father is King Tarui, who doesn’t know he is sneaking into the Rider’s Quadrant. He intends to make it through Threshing before his father finds out. He knows the secret about the war, which is why he becomes a rider. He and Violet were childhood friends.

Catriona “Cat” Cordella: Cat is a Gryphon Flier, who also happens to be Xaden’s Ex betrothed. She is the niece of Viscount Tecarus, third in line to the Poromish throne, and her betrothal to Xaden was a part of a deal made by Xaden’s father as a political move. Cat has it out for Violet and believes Violet stole her crown. She also has the power to manipulate and heighten people’s emotions. Cat’s drift is, of course, assigned to Violet’s squad, so they end up having to work together.

Sloane Mairi: Sloane is Liam’s sister, and oh boy. Oh boy. Violet promised Liam on his deathbed that she would look out for Sloane. Unfortunately for Violet, Sloane isn’t making keeping that promise easy. Sloane has decided that she hates Violet and blames her for Liam’s death. Also unfortunately for Violet, Sloane is a terrible fighter and needs a lot of training and help to stay alive. They do come to an understanding when Violet finally reveals that she kept Liam’s letters to Sloane instead of letting them be burned upon his death. They make a deal – Sloane trains with Imogen, and she gets one of her brothers’ letters each week. It’s also important to note that Sloane’s signet is a Siphon – the ability to absorb powers from other sources – which she is forced to use at the end of the book to take Momma Sorrengail’s power and imbue the ward stone.

Andarna: There were big changes for Andarna in Iron Flame – literally! Andarna faces problems after the battle at Resson, where she used too much power to stop time and save Violet. Due to this, she grew too fast, and now she is a much larger, black, teenage dragon. After returning to the Vale, she goes into the Dreamless Sleep, but she was interrupted and slept for much longer than normal. Because of this, her wing muscles didn’t develop correctly, so she can’t hold a rider on her back during flight. She’s also going through quite the moody teenager stage. At the end of the book, she reveals to Violet that she is a seventh breed of dragon that can change colors. Pretty big twist that we don’t know all the details about or consequences of at the end of the book.

Sources I used to fact-check myself and fill in the gaps of my detail-lacking memory:

• The Empyrean Fandom Wiki – this was a big help with some of the character profiles.
  
• SCREENRANT article – this had a good explanation of Xaden turning Venin.
  
• Recaptains blog – this was a really detailed list, with some of the smaller play-by-play details I didn’t get into
  
• The Bibliofile’s Recap – if you like to read a synopsis or prefer a chapter-by-chapter overview, this one is for you!
  

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