Clara’s Verdict
Rebecca Yarros raised the bar with Fourth Wing and kept it there with Iron Flame. The third book in the Empyrean series, Onyx Storm, is the longest and most ambitious instalment yet – twenty-three hours and fifty-two minutes of epic fantasy romance that extends the world of Basgiath War College into unfamiliar territories and tests Violet Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson to their absolute limits. This is not a book for series newcomers; it is very much for readers who have invested in this world and these characters, and it rewards that investment richly.
I want to be honest: the fantasy romance genre has been glutted with Yarros imitators since Fourth Wing became a phenomenon, and the quality has been variable. Yarros herself, however, continues to demonstrate why she started the avalanche in the first place. The emotional intelligence here is considerable, and the plot has enough genuine consequence – characters you care about face genuine risks – to keep the stakes feeling real.
About the Audiobook
After eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail is done training. The war is real, the wards are failing, and enemies have infiltrated every level of trust. Violet must travel beyond the familiar safety of Aretian protection to seek alliances from lands and peoples unknown – a journey that will test her wit, her luck, and everything she knows about herself and those she loves.
The novel expands the Empyrean world substantially, introducing new political factions, new magic systems, and new threats that recontextualise events from earlier books. The secret Violet is keeping – the one that could destroy everything – gives the central relationship between her and Xaden a sustained tension that the novel handles without being gratuitous about. The found-family dynamics, the dragon bonds, the moral complexity of fighting a war where your own side’s ethics are compromised: all of it comes together in a book that is genuinely difficult to put down. The recommended reading order is: Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm.
The Narration
Jasmin Walker narrates, as she has throughout the series, and her performance at this point is essentially definitive. Walker has inhabited these characters across three volumes and understands them with the intimacy of a long creative partnership. Her Violet is fierce and vulnerable in the right measures; her Xaden is complicated and credible; her management of the ensemble – which by this third book is large and varied – is assured. Twenty-three hours and fifty-two minutes in Walker’s hands feels like a journey rather than a marathon. The battle sequences in particular, which require sustained aural energy, are handled with tremendous commitment.
What Readers Say
Onyx Storm carries 295 ratings averaging 4.6 out of 5, which is a genuinely impressive score for a third-in-series volume – the point at which fatigue typically sets in for broader audiences. Readers described it as “captivating from start to finish” with “jaw-dropping revelations” throughout. One reviewer noted that Yarros had “raised the stakes again” in ways that had given her “a book hangover too large to start a new series.” Another praised Violet’s development into “a fierce, determined protagonist” while acknowledging the emotional cost Yarros places on her. A more measured four-star review found the pacing slightly uneven but still described the novel warmly. The consensus is that this is the best entry in the series so far – which, given the quality of its predecessors, is remarkable.
Who Should Listen?
If you’ve read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, this is not optional – you need it. If you’re new to the Empyrean series, start at the beginning; Fourth Wing is one of the most compelling fantasy romance debuts of recent years and will give you everything you need to make Onyx Storm land properly. Recommended for fans of epic fantasy with serious romantic stakes, readers who enjoy morally complex heroines, and anyone who has been quietly waiting for fantasy fiction to combine genuine world-building ambition with emotional honesty. This series delivers both.
Listen to Onyx Storm on Audible UK – find it here.
