Iron Flame

Violet Sorrengail survived her first year at Basgiath War College, but her second year as a dragon rider proves even more brutal: training is designed to break riders, and a new vice commandant seems determined to destroy her. Now bonded to two dragons and carrying secrets that could get her killed, Violet must face newly revealed threats to the kingdom while Xaden Riorson, the man she loves, is often stationed far away and keeping secrets of his own. The second Empyrean novel continues the high-stakes mix of war-college combat, dragons and romantic tension that made Fourth Wing a phenomenon, though some critics, including Kirkus, found the sequel relentless and less tightly built than the first book.