Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: BookTok made me start the series, and Yarros' cliffhanger in 'Iron Flame' brought me back.

Overall rating: The Empyrean series continually reminds me that for every ten books recommended on BookTok, only one or two are going to be good. Did I like 'Onyx Storm'? Yes. Do I feel like it could have been...more/better/clearer/focused? Also yes. There's a lot of world-building (which I like) and character development (which I also like), but overall, it felt a bit drawn out. I'm struggling with the fact that this honker of a book said so much but also so little.

I also don't understand how bringing up the wards with the 7th dragon kind was such a thing in 'Iron Flame' and then all the sudden, 'Ope, we got it guys, no big deal!' in 'Onyx Storm.' An entire book was literally based around the wards, people died, but don't worry, the Irids got you. Argh!

Here's my biggest issue, editing. We saw it in 'Fourth Wing' and 'Iron Flame,' and I absolutely hate that it's continuing with 'Oynx Storm.' Yarros desperately needed another pass from an editor on Onyx Storm. There are a few times when the writing just doesn't make sense, is repetitive, or is absolutely giving too much*, and this is just what I was able to pick up from the audiobook. I have a feeling that if I had a tangible copy, I would have been going absolutely bonkers. I recently read 'And then? And then? What else?' and there's a part in there where Handler talks about how one of his mentors would simply write 'DB' in certain sections. DB meaning 'do better.' As in the writing just doesn't feel right and needs a tweak. I just wanted to scrawl DB throughout Onyx Storm. For example, in chapter 12 when Yarros writes, "his eyes sparkle and red veins pulse at the corner of his eyes." This type of phrasing happens frequently throughout the book and drives me bonkers. If his eyes are sparkling, and we're already focused on the eyes, I don't need to be told again that the red veins are pulsing...at the eyes.

All that aside, 'Onyx Storm' continued to sink me deeper into the crazy world of dragon riders and venin. There were times when I audibly gasped and couldn't believe the turns the story was taking. There were times when my heart hurt because of the emotion and intimacy Yarros was able to convey between characters. And there were times I wanted to scream into the void because the book made me so incredibly angry at how the story was progressing. Overall, I would say that all of that makes it a good read. And (as if I wasn't before), I'm fully invested and will be anxiously awaiting #4.

Reader's Note: 'Onyx Storm' includes themes of war, death, dying, torture, injury content including blood, and sex. I'll also add, as a copy-paste from my review of 'Fourth Wing' and 'Iron Flame' since it also applies to 'Onyx Storm:' There's not a lack of sex. Descriptive, steamy, wall shattering sex. And I think what makes it so good in 'Onyx Storm' is the intimacy, specifically between Violet and Xaden, that makes it more than just physical.

<i>*I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't want authors to tell me how to feel. I want authors to write in a way that automatically makes me feel what they want me to feel. </i>