Publish Date: November 7th, 2023
Number of Pages: 640 Pages
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Genre(s): Fantasy, New Adult Romance

***Warning! This review will contain spoilers from the previous book in the series, so continue reading at your own risk! You’ve officially been warned!!***

To see my review of book #1 – Fourth Wing – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series SO FAR – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 2.75 Stars

Because love, at its root, is hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for what could be. Hope that the someone you’ve entrusted your everything to will cradle and protect it. And hope? That shit is harder to kill than a dragon.”

— Rebecca Yarros, “Iron Flame”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

~~~

Now I know what you’re thinking…Nick, WTF is that rating?!

I know, I know…but I’m going to be completely honest, I struggled with this book, much to my own disappointment. There were just some things about this book that frustrated me and really took me out of it and at one point I considered dropping it. It just couldn’t keep my attention in some parts, it felt dragged out, and I’m a HUGE hater of the miscommunication trope, and it was felt in this sequel.

You’re brought right back to where Fourth Wing ended, where we discover that Violet’s brother is actually NOT Dead, he’s very much alive and is helping the rebellion out in this secret war that is brewing against the Venin, who are also VERY much alive as we found out too last book. Without giving too much away, the rebellion is very much happening, but they’re learning that the leaders are also trying their very best to make sure it stays contained or a secret…and that they’re willing to silence those who are trying to show the world the truth.

Danger is literally squeezing Violet and everyone from multiple sides!

Things definitely took a huge turn from book 1 with the character development of A LOT of the characters, and dynamics and impressions have also shifted too, Like you can’t get too comfortable with the cast dynamics because there’s some definite change either already happening or is being hinted at…

~~~

I do. I’m sorry if you expect me to do the noble thing. I warned you. I’m not sweet or soft or kind, and you fell anyway. This is what you get, Violet— me. The good, the bad, the unforgivable. All of it. I am yours.” His arm wraps around the small of my back, holding me steady and close. “You want to know something true? Something real? I love you. I’m in love with you. I have been since the night the snow fell in your hair and you kissed me for the first time. I’m grateful my life is tied to yours because it means I won’t have to face a day without you in it. My heart only beats as long as yours does, and when you die, I’ll meet Malek at your side. It’s a damned good thing that you love me, too, because you’re stuck with me in this life and every other that could possibly follow.”

— Rebecca Yarros, “Iron Flame”

~~~

What I Liked:

Xaden & The Spice! I mean…”My House, my Chair, my woman” is officially iconic and now considered one of the best lines in the romantasy genre *swoon* and Shadow Xaddy is GOALS! This should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone!
The Found Family/Friend Group! I love the side characters like Rhiannon, Imogen, Ridoc, Garrick, and I was super glad to see some of them begin to feel more fleshed out this time around. I felt like I could really begin to distinguish them more and more the more they appeared.
Great New Characters! Varrish was a great villain, he was annoying AND vicious and you hated him every time he appeared…he was like a male Dolores Umbridge! Arric and Liam’s sister, Sloane, were also great additions to the cast and its great that they’re addition had MEANING, they weren’t just filler content or someone who lasted a chapter then was brutally killed off right away.
The Danger and Unpredictability of Character Fates! It’s what I loved about Game of Thrones, the high-octane excitement and nonstop action and how it really felt like the cast of characters were really in danger. Like I’m really questioning whether some of the bigger characters are going to make it to the end of this series, and that both makes me very anxious and very excited!

What I Didn’t Like:

The Miscommunication/Secret Keeping…The drama with Violet and Xaden got on my nerves with all the secret keeping and the miscommunication that seemed to happen with them…like I feel like the book was so much thicker because of this alone. Violet being all “I can’t trust him if he doesn’t tell me everything” then doing the same thing BECAUSE he’s doing it too…I was just so UGH about it at a certain point. It felt like some high school BS mind-games and THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING, KIM!
The Lack of Andarna…I know Andarna’s absence was for a good reason and is setting up for her later in the series, but I was surprised to feel like her absence was really noticed and felt in this sequel. Like, part of the magic of book 1 was missing because of this.
Could’ve Been Condensed…This book did NOT need to be as long as it was. I feel like with some more editing like a 100 pages or so could’ve been taken out? Some of the side conflicts happening and just the immature drama really killed a lot of the momentum…this book could’ve definitely done without most of it in my opinion.
The Drama Seemed Very Childish…Like I mentioned with Xaden and Violet and their lovers quarrels and communication issues, and the issues with Violet and Cat over Xaden too, like I know they’re still young adults 21-26 years, but again….like c’mon guys, there’s a war going on…get your shit together.

~~~

Conclusion:

Overall, I was disappointed how much a drop the series was with this book compared to book 1, which I ADORED! I just really struggled with this book and wasn’t feeling it as much based off the reasons I’ve listed.

It has me worried if I’ll keep going with the series? I’m a part of the group of folks who it’ll really depend on how Onyx Storm goes on whether I keep going or not…I don’t WANT to discontinue the series, but I’m also not going to keep going if I’ve flown the coop or fallen off the fandom for the sake of following the bandwagon of a really popular series. I have too many other books to read to stick with a series I’m lukewarm about…

I REALLY hope I love Onyx Storm and that it hooks me back into the series, fingers crossed!

Thanks for Reading

— Nick Goodsell

Fancasts/Dreamcasts

My Fancast/Dreamcast: The Empyrean Series by Rebecca Yarros

June 19, 2023February 26, 2025 nicholasjgoodsell

Hello fellow riders/readers!

Here is my post with my fancast/dreamcast of the romantasy series that literally dropped like a gigantic dragon onto the scene in the summer of 2023, the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros!

I’d known about Fourth Wing way before it was released, but WOW it is actually insane to see how much this book had blown up since its release date on May 2nd, 2023. It’s literally took over the bookish community, and its had so many people talking!

We loves to see it (for the most part)

The story is about a girl named Violet Sorrengail, who’s off to war college! This war has been going on for over 600 years, and there are four quadrants one can go into for the cause: flyers, scribes, healers, or infantry. As someone with a chronic illness, she’d been under the impression she’d become a scribe like her long lost father, BUT her mother is the head general and surprises her when she’s actually sent off to become a flyer! And to make matters worse, the son of the rebel leader her mother executed back in the day is one of the first people she runs into there as well…

Obsessed. I am obsessed with this book like so many others!

***Also a friendly reminder that these are how I VIEW the characters in these books…I never said you have to agree with me, but you definitely don’t have to be an internet troll and trash my opinions on here. Please keep things respectful, or by all means go make your own website and share your own fancast choices over there! I promise I would NEVER return the favor if someone was rude to me on here…

Warning:: This post does contain MAJOR SPOILERS so read on at your own risk!

To see my review of book 1 – Fourth Wing – Click HERE

To see my review of book 2 – Iron Flame – Click HERE

~~~

Here’s my Fancast/Dreamcast of the Empyrean Series so far:

~~~

Violet Sorrengail: Sophi Knight

Image courtesy of the actress’s IMDB profile

Sophi Knight is exactly how I pictured our FMC of this book series. She’s a young Canadian actress who’s so close to the actual age of the character, but she is 5’7” so maybe a little taller than Violet, but I still stand by this choice! If they can make Tom Cruise look taller than he actually is in his movies, they can do the opposite for her I’m sure!

~~~

Mira Sorrengail: Phoebe Tonkin, or Lyndsy Fonseca

Phoebe Tonkin, image credit not available

Lyndsy, image courtesy of the actresse’s IMDB profile

Both of these actresses are pretty recognizable I’d say; we know Phoebe of course from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, and Lyndsy has been in so many shows like Kick-Ass and a list of CW/Free form shows too! They’d both be great choices to make a great older sister in Mira in my opinion.

~~~

General Lilith Sorrengail: Rebecca Ferguson, or Lena Headey

Rebecca Ferguson, Image courtesy of facts.net

Lena Headey, image courtesy of yahoo! movies UK

Whoever plays General Sorrengail has to be cold, ruthless, and have a resting bitch face that can shake you to your core. Rebecca Ferguson can for sure do just that. She’s played powerful women before in the new Dune movies and has a calculating, ruthless presence that would be perfect for Violet’s mother! Another amazing choice would be Lena Headey, aka the iconic Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones.

~~~

Rhiannon Matthias: Keke Palmer

Gotta give this character to my girl Keke Palmer, I would absolutely love to see her as Violet’s bestie and fellow dragon rider!

~~~

Ridoc: Taylor Zakhar Perez

I don’t remember a whole lot of Ridoc’s looks being described, but I’ve seen some fanart of him, and it seems people are viewing him has Hispanic/Latino. I’m all for it! He’s kind of the comedic relief of the friend group, and I adore Taylor who was in the movie adaptation of Red, White, and Royal Blue! One of my absolute favorite books

~~~

Jack Barlowe: Alexander Ludwig, or Arthur Becari

Alexander, image courtesy of mensfashionpost.com

Alright when we met the psychopath Jack in this book, I was having total flashbacks to “The Hunger Games” and pictured Alexander as him. I couldn’t help myself, and it’s didn’t help that Jack was described as blonde 🤷🏼‍♂️ The next guy is a model with probably no acting experience whatsoever, but MAN does he look like Jack Barlowe to me!

~~~

Xaden Riorson: Flamur Ukshini

Xaden has been confirmed by Rebecca Yarros herself that Xaden is POC, and so I pictured this gorgeous guy I’ve been following on Instagram for some time now! He just needs to maybe pack on a little more muscle, but hey, Taylor Launter did it for Twilight!

~~~

Dain Aetos: Leo Suter, or Kilian Isaak

Leo, Image courtesy of the actor’s IMDB profile

This guy is the singular reason why I want to watch that Vikings: Valhalla show…I mean, LOOK at him! And as a grizzly, hairy Viking warrior?! *swoon* he also seemed to fit the character of Dain when he’s all cleaned up, like in this pic. Kilian is a model I discovered on Instagram who’s also got the looks of how I imagine this…..wonderful character.

~~~

Amber: Sydney Zmrzl

Image courtesy of the actress/model’s IMDB profile

This one could honestly be anyone, Amber was a very minor character. So honestly this could come down to just personal preference.

Liam: Chris Bednarik, or Leo Woodall

Chris Bednarik, Image courtesy of the models Instagram profile

Leo Woodall, Image courtesy of Forbes.com

Alright, I would be TOTALLY fine with either of these cute guys playing Liam, and yes, I made sure they both have the dimples too. That was like a requirement! Chris is a fitness model, and Leo was actually in season 2 of “The White Lotus”

~~~

Imogen: Cheree Crowley

I always have at least one WWE person in my fancasts because WHY NOT? When I got the description of Imogen having pink hair, it reminded me when Cheree (aka “Dakota Kai”) had a similar hairstyle as well!

~~~

Garrick: Wolfgang Novogratz

By the time we reach book 3, we have a somewhat decent idea of what Garrick looks like! Rebecca Yarros is stingy with the character descriptions so it’s hard to come up with folks until physical descriptions are dragged out to help describe these characters…

~~~

Bodhi: Zayn Malik

The guy I picked for Xaden kind of looks like Zayn, and since Xaden and Bodhi are actually related, I thought this made sense! I mean, Harry Styles is trying to be an actor…why not Zayn too?

~~~

Tairn (Voice): Chris Hemsworth

Image courtesy of encyclopedia Britannica

If not Liam Neeson, Chris would be an excellent voice actor choice for Tairn! I just imagine him with his deep, booming Thor voice would do wonderfully at this!

~~~

Sgaeyl (Voice): Charlize Theron

Imma give credit to my friend Kat for this pick, and when she suggested it I was immediately like YES. Charlize has such a sexy voice, I remember how she did a crazy good job as the evil queen in “Snow White and the Huntsman” (or literally anything she does), and thought she’d make an excellent voice actor for a dragon like Sgaeyl as well!

~~~

Andarna: (Voice): Mandy Moore

Picking a voice for Andarna was difficult….would you pick an actual child to voice her? I was wondering Ariana Grande for a hot second, but nawww. I love Ari, but she wasn’t who I imagined Andarna sounding like. Then it hit me: TANGLED! Mandy Moore did such a great job as Rapunzel, I think she’d also make a great choice to voice Andarna!

~~~

…now for book 2 – Iron Flame – Here Are New Additions:

~~~

Brennan Sorrengail: Sam Claflin, or Oliver Stark

Sam Claflin, image courtesy of the Wallstreet Journal

Oliver Stark, image courtesy of The Wrap

Honestly, both these actors I could totally picture playing the Sorrengail brother whom we believed to be dead all this time! Both just give me the vibe that Brennan also gives off.

~~~

Syrena Cordella: Lauren Cohan

Lauren has been a WB/CW actress for many, many years with being on shows like “Supernatural” and “Vampire Diaries” so she’d definitely fit in with this new fantasy setting with dragons and gryphons! I think she’d be an excellent casting choice for the lead gryphon rider

~~~

Colonel Aetos: Christian Bale

Christian Bale could crush absolutely any role he plays, and I absolutely know he’d do amazing as Dain’s evil father in this series. Christian has such a wide range of characters under his belt, and some are downright twisted in the head, so I think I’d really enjoy seeing him as the villain in these books.

~~~

Sloane Mairi: Scarlett Leithold

Scarlett is a model, and her statuesque looks totally remind me of Sloane! I’m not sure about her acting abilities in actuality, but as far as looks go, she’s exactly how I pictured this important character whom we meet in book 2, Iron Flame!

~~~

Sawyer: Daniel Portman

Image courtesy of the actor’s IMDB profile

This choice I’m not 100% about in all honesty…but I also don’t think there’s much physical description of Sawyer in general in the books, or I’ve missed it when it’s mentioned. Since its a dragon riding college, why not have the guy who played Podrik Payne in the number one dragon show ever made so far, “Game of Thrones” also make an appearance in here?

~~~

Aaric Greycastle: Alexander Breck, or Cody Christian

Alexander Breck, image courtesy of the model’s Instagram profile

Cody Christian, Image courtesy of Bello Mag

Aaric was probably my favorite of the new characters introduced in Iron Flame, especially when we learn his big secret! I pictured him looking like either of these guys or maybe even NASCAR cutie Charles LeClarc!

~~~

Burton Varrish: Christoph Waltz, or Michael Keaton

Christoph Waltz, image courtesy of the actor’s Wikipedia page

Michael Keaton, image courtesy of Deadline

This character was like Umbridge and Joffrey level horrible…an absolute menace who made your blood boil whenever they popped up in the book. Christoph Waltz has a way of playing wonderful villains that are both obnoxious but still absolutely terrifying, just like in “Inglorious Basterds” and “007: Spectre” and who I pictured as Varrish. I could also see Michael Keaton too though, who I feel is more physically intimidating.

~~~

Viscount Tecarus: TBD

~~~

Jesinia Neilwart: Josephine Langford

She looks so sweet and innocent! just how I pictured this silent scribe who always is willing to help out Violet in tight spots.

~~~

Catriona Cordella: Elizabeth Gillies

Ever since she iconically played Jade in the Nickelodeon show “Victorious,” Liz can SLAY the mean girl role and even just has that mean girl look to her (sorry if she’s an actual sweetheart, it’s the eyebrows and she’s just that good of an actress).

~~~

Professor Devera: Rosario Dawson

I saw someone else propose this fancast choice and LOVED it and immediately agreed with it!

~~~

Professor Kaori: Daniel Dae Kim

Despite recently playing the ruthless Firelord Ozai in the live-action version of “Avatar the Last Airbender” I see Daniel playing this professor in all honesty too, who gives me the total opposite vibes of the Lord of the vicious Fire Nation.

~~~

Commandant Panchek: Daniel Brühl

For some reason, this actor from Captain America: Civil War” came to mind for this slimeball of a character, but I say he could definitely look the part!

~~~

…So there you have it for now! Expect more characters and fancast choices to be added as the series develops because this is going to be a 5-book series!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fantasy, New Adult Romance

My Review: Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1): by Rebecca Yarros

May 22, 2023May 25, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: May 2nd, 2023
Number of Pages: 512 Pages
Publisher: RedTower Books
Genre(s): Fantasy, New Adult Romance

Total Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead.”
– Rebecca Yarros, “Fourth Wing”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

~~~

I absolutely love it when a book, at least in my opinion, gets as much hype as this one did AND it actually lives up to it all! It may not be the most poetic, or the next literary masterpiece…hell, it may not even be the most original concept to some, BUT there’s no doubt that Fourth Wing will go down as one of the most popular books of the year AT THE VERY LEAST!

I can already sense the Goodreads award being polished for this one!

This had to be the most fun fantasy I’d read in awhile! So many things just worked for this story; all the characters together made a great cast, the vast array of dragons, the forbidden romance, the war college, the four different quadrants people could join for the cause, the bits of history we get of the war….it all just comes together to form such an engaging and addictive story that you won’t be able to put down!

The story revolves around Violet Sorrengail, youngest daughter to General Sorrengail, who’s been raised her whole life to be a Scribe; a historian, a record keeper, librarian, keeper of books and records, etc. She has a chronic illness that made her content to never be a rider like her mother and older siblings, but PLOT TWIST……

Her mom makes her sign up and go for the riders quadrant of the college! and no, that’s not a spoiler…

It’s there where she also meets Xaden Riorson, son of a rebel leader who killed Violet’s older brother, and then his father was executed by Violet’s mother….so yeah, things are about as smooth as the edge of a dagger’s blade on that whole relationship…

This book gave me Eragon meets Divergent meets Hunger Games vibes and it was so much fun overall!

The beginning started off a little slow for me as fantasy books usually do…for some reason I’m just terrible at getting to know the world and the characters, I much prefer when you’re halfway through the story and already familiar with it all. For me, I just thought the book felt very YA, and despite my reading history, I’m just really veering away from YA fantasy as of late. It’s just not doing it for me like it used too. I mean, it’s totally normal for your reading preferences to change over time and as you get older.

BUT, the danger of this war college becomes apparent even in chapter one, and plenty more happens throughout that draws your attention and gets you excited because there are people dying left and right, and they’re not even in the actual war yet!

Once the dragons became a bigger presence in the book, that’s when things became so much more interesting for me! The magic system the author created puts the dragons at the center stage, and is truly a major highlight. It’s definitely one of the most unique concepts of this world by far.

The romance was also a highlight of the book, although that doesn’t really take off until much later than I’m sure a lot of us were hoping…but at least that means no insta-love! Things also got a little spicy, but not as spicy as I personally felt the book was advertised as. “Spicy AF” it was not….but what you got was pretty good I will say! There wasn’t as much as a “Spicy AF” hype term made me think there’d be! Hopefully this means there much more in the next books.

The last chunk of the book………..whoah my gods……so much happens. SO much all at once. Major twists revealed, feelings are shared, and of course there are epic battles in the skies! Your heart will absolutely wrench for some of it too, don’t you worry! You ain’t getting off that easy!

And the final sequence……

Oh look! A picture of me at 1am when I finished the book! I’m fine….everything is fine…

~~~

There is nothing more sacred than the Archives. Even temples can be rebuilt, but books cannot be rewritten.”
– Rebecca Yarros, “Fourth Wing”

~~~

What I Liked:

Dragons! And New Dragon Lore! I loooooove dragons, I never tire of the giant lizards with wings in fantasy books. I mean, they’re the apex predators of any food chain, the top of the pyramid of any mythological creature biome in any fantasy setting. I liked that they had their own set of rules too in this world. Different Colors also meant different personalities and like cats, THEY choose their humans (if they even want to be matched with a human). They’re intelligent and have their own voices and personalities! There’s more to this, but that goes into spoiler territory and I don’t want to do that, but I love that the dragons are so integral to the magic system of this book!
Danger at Every Turn! There’s literally death in chapter 1, and there’s plenty more throughout. You felt the danger that anyone at the college could die, and some really did just as you met them too! It was like Game of Thrones, the stakes just feel so raised and elevated and makes it for a much more exciting book!
Several Twists That Shocked Me! Either I wasn’t paying close enough attention or these really came out of nowhere, but I didn’t see some of these twists the author threw in, and ooooooooooofda did they add so much to the story!!
Forbidden Romance! Like I mentioned earlier, I loved the whole “enemies-to-lovers/forbidden romance” tropes at play here!
I Actually Chuckled At a Few Parts! The author managed to sneak in a few comedic moments, kind of similar to Game of Thrones dark sense of humor, but also with the modern-esque dialogue in a few places too.

What I Didn’t Like:

Spicy AF?…..I mean, yeah there was SOME spice to this, but “Spicy AF” seems a bit of an over exaggeration here when it came to advertising this book. Well…maybe it is spicy to someone who’s never ventured over to the sexier side of reading? Honestly I’d rate this book 2.5 peppers on the spice scale. BUT at the same time, it was also a slow-burn romance. Maybe there’ll be more in the later books (which there will be 5 as of right now as confirmed by the author herself in a TikTok video)
Felt Kinda YA at the Beginning…The beginning was just slow for me to get into at first. Luckily that quickly changes once the dragons become more prominent.
The Question of Why Violet Becomes a Rider is Unanswered….part of me wonders why her mother had her switch from being a scribe to a rider last minute, and maybe that was explained in the book and I missed it, but surely this may have a bigger answer to give us from her mother later on?

Conclusion:

Overall, Fourth Wing was a book that came with a LOT of expectations and hype, and in my honest opinion, it was all lived up to. Surpassed? Perhaps not. but that’s A-Okay in my book! If the first book in a series starts off this strong, that means we’re in for a WILD RIDE as the plot thickens and everything changes and arcs develop!

I absolutely cannot wait for Iron Flame to come out later this year!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, Fantasy, LGBT

My Review: Iron and Fire (Silk and Steel #2): by Ariana Nash

September 19, 2021 nicholasjgoodsell

*Kindle Edition*
Publish Date: April 19th, 2019
Number of Pages: 411 Pages
Publisher: Crazy Ace Publishing
Genre(s): Fantasy, LGBT, Erotica

***Warning! This review contains spoilers from the previous book in the series, so continue reading at your own risk! You’ve officially been warned!***

To see my review of book #1 – Silk & Steel – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

‘Because…’ he said, ‘in the one place I expected to die, you gave me a reason to live.‘“
– Ariana Nash, “Iron & Fire”

What It’s About:

The official blurb:

Alliances are forged and broken, friendships shattered, and despite the odds stacked against them, two hearts collide in this explosive sequel to Silk & Steel.

From his mother’s cage to a human one, but Lysander’s captors are the least of his concerns. Rumors of a monstrous bronze dragon ripple through human camps, a dragon tearing great holes in the world as though searching for something… or someone.

It’s just a matter of time before the bronze chief, Dokul, finds Lysander and makes good on his promises. And should he find him, Lysander knows Dokul will not be merciful.

Amidst the greatest of elven victories, Eroan failed. Failed his people, failed himself, and failed the dragon who saved him. But he will not falter. The dragonkin are in disarray, there will never be a greater opportunity to strike. Eroan Ilanea will not fail his people again.

But when rumors of the dragon prince’s survival reach him, he must choose: Fight for his people or fight for the prince who nobody thought to save?

***

***Contains adult themes, triggering content, a bisexual elf, and a gay dragon shifter.***

~~~

Oh boy!

This book got even better than the first book; no second book syndrome in sight!

The story continues right after how the previous book ended, and what heartache we must face as Lysander and Eroan were tragically separated and Eroan later believes he sent the dragon shifter to his death with the humans. But really, the Dragon lord, Dokul, knows he’s still alive and is after him still.

Again, I’m shocked how much I enjoy this story because it’s a gay romance Game of Thrones—Gay of Thrones?—and the sexual tension and overall development between them and their relationship is done so spectacularly well, It was by far the biggest driving force that kept my eyes glued to the page and seeing what possibly happened next. I loved it whenever they reunited and was sad whenever they got separated again and again.

The worldbuilding more or less stayed the same, not much really changed in that regard, but the world still remained so brutalistic and violent and harsh as everyone is doing whatever is necessary to come out on top of this game of thrones. We have Lysander’s brother Akiem popping up and causing destruction whenever he appears, Dokul and Mirann are also still like a dragon-shifter version of Cersei and Tywin Lannister, and Seraph is still Eroan’s best friend and kind of being like an elven Arya in her way too.

Lysander continues to be the MVP of these books, but also the one who unfortunately gets the most abuse out of the characters…like, holy moly does he really get put through the wringer, and my heart aches for him because deep down he really just wants to find a place to belong and not feel like a waste of space. He feels that with Eroan and has such a deep connection with him, but of course the forbidden aspect of their romance makes that plenty complicated too. BUT they really fight for their relationship and did what they can, plus there was a ton more steam and spice between them this time too!

~~~

‘What is this thing between us?‘
Eroan’s chin rubbed his head and when he spoke, his voice rumbled through Lysander. ‘It is everything.‘“
– Ariana Nash, “Iron & Fire”

What I Liked:

The Sexual Tension Between Lysander & Eroan! There was way more romance with these two in this second book, which made the overall storyline sooooooooooo much more interesting to me too! The tables have turned and this time it’s Eroan who’s rescuing Lysander and they’re hiding out together, keeping each other warm by staying super close…I’m just so glad this was a bigger focus now that the world has fully been introduced and there’s no need to further explain a bunch of other things, I’m ready for the smut! I’m ready for the romance! I’m ready for the fluff too, because both these tortured beings deserve some freakin’ happiness.
Dragons! I said this in the last review too I’m pretty sure—I don’t feel like looking back to confirm—but I love that this is so dragon-centric! It’s dragon-shifters to be exact, but either way, they’re big scaly flying lizards of death that can breathe fire! Honestly that’s enough for certain readers to want to read this
How Dark and Brutal This Story Gets! The author isn’t afraid to get to the dark and dirty content with how descriptive the more violent scenes can get. There’s also a lot of rape, which is pretty triggering content, there’s also a sex scene that’s actually kind of manipulative and was meant as a tactic to get one character to hate the other, so I know the previous review said this, but this book continues with the similar trigger warnings so there’s my PSA on the subject! It was also pretty unpredictable in a few parts that did somewhat surprise me! It was mainly battles and the big climax, but either way, I always appreciate when something raises my eyebrows and gets me to say “huh, I didn’t see that coming!”

What I Didn’t Like:

Too Many Side Characters That I Can’t Remember… I don’t know if it was just me, because I’ve been weird with books lately and my attention span has been suffering as of late, but there were quite a few side characters in this book, and half of the time I was struggling to remember who was who. It was either I wasn’t paying attention as much as I should’ve been or I simply didn’t care because I was more wrapped up in the sexual tension between Eroan and Lysander, but I struggled with this aspect of this book.

Conclusion:

Overall, I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, but mainly because there was a ton more romance this time around. The worldbuilding and history of the world is nothing too special, but if you’re looking for some dark fantasy/smutty M/M romance that’s pretty well written, this is a great option for you! (obviously, just start with the first book obviously)

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fancasts/Dreamcasts

My Fancast/Dreamcast: The Zodiac Academy Series by Caroline Peckman and Susanne Valenti

August 4, 2021March 28, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Hello Readers!

Welcome back, and can I say it’s always such a great feeling when you discover your next literary obsession while waiting for your other book obsessions to release the next book, and this series has been one on my radar for quite some time now. It’s been recommended over the last couple months in a couple Facebook groups I’m in, and even my Bookstagram friend (@Kaythebooklover, the photo above!) has started these and loves them too, so that was the final straw and I had to join the bandwagon myself!

The story revolves around twins Tori and Darcy Vega, orphans and struggling to make rent for their single bedroom apartment, but a mysterious man chases them and informs them that they’re the lost heirs to the Fae throne of his homeland and must come with them to learn how to use their magical abilities to (possibly) earn their place on the throne and prove any naysayers wrong.

Of course, things don’t go easy and they both have to face the four current heirs and their obvious disdain for having the twins swoop in and take what they believe is rightfully theirs, which leads to the main draw of this story: a bully romance.

Tension rises with all the drama and cryptic threats and sexual attraction that goes hand in hand with the hatred these characters develop as pranks take them to their limit and their will is tested, BUT there’s not even just that! There’s some dark shadow swooping over the campus, and the enemy of the Fae is back and causing a potential war down the road, and they’re getting bigger and stronger faster than we all hope to see!

I’ve only just started this book series, but it really drew me in with the dynamics of the characters and their interactions and banter and sexual tension. The first book is pretty tame, but as I read on, I can tell things are going to get spicy!

To see my review of book #1 – The Awakening – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – Ruthless Fae – Click HERE

To see my review of book #3 – The Reckoning – Click HERE

More reviews coming soon!

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Here’s my official Fancast/Dreamcast of the Zodiac Academy series:

Tori & Darcy Vega: Sara Sampaio

Sara is a Victoria’s Secret model who I thought matched the physical description of the twins in these books. I’m honestly not sure what her acting chops actually look like, but I can certainly say she looks the part. It’s fun to imagine her tearing those boys to shreds with the epic lines that Tory gets throughout!

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Caleb Altair: Michael Dean Johnson

Caleb is one of the characters I’m really drawn to, he’s showing more depth than most of the characters, and I’m very curious to see what he does later on! Michael Dean is a model and fitness influencer on Instagram and I think he was even on an MTV dating show at some point, which is no surprise, I mean….look at him!

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Seth Capella: Elias Black

Seth is a very back and forth character for me….he’s outwardly the most friendly of the four heirs, but he’s also the biggest d-bag of them, at least in my opinion! He’s especially cruel to Darcy and has a weird way of showing his affection to others…but read it for yourself to see what you think. Elias is a model on Instagram and was also a contestant on a season of popular dating show, Love Island.

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Darius Acrux: Alex Badia

Darius is probably my favorite of the four heirs, he’s such an asshole, but man is he hot! He’s got a temper, and he’s Mr. cool guy, big man on campus and I am such a sucker for it all, ugh……….Alex is yet again another model on Instagram, and just who I thought of when I got the physical description of this fire starter.

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Max Rigel: Brandon Bell

Max is the one of the four I’ve seen the least of, but he’s part of the Sirens order, who all leech off people’s emotions and manipulate them to feeling those strong emotions in order to exploit it and use it for their own power, it all sounds like those toxic people in your life that you just need to cut off already….Brandon is quite a handsome actor whom I first discovered as Troy Fairbanks on the social satire Netflix show, Dear White People.

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Professor Lance Orion: Luke Bracey

I’m not sure how I feel about Orion yet…it’s obvious he’s got a soft spot for Darcy, but he’s such a jerk to literally everyone else, it’s hard to like him a lot of the time, and he gets away with a lot of abuse despite being a teacher…Luke Bracey was in the Nicholas Sparks movie, The Best of Me, and more recently the Holidays Rom Com, Holidate.

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Kylie Major: Saxon Sharbino

Saxon’s looks just scream gorgeous blonde mean girl, which pretty much sums up the character anyways, so it’s kind of perfect then! She was in an episode of Lucifer, one of the favorite shows, but she also was in the more recent release of Poltergeist too!

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Sofia Cygnus: Dre Davis

Sofia is kind of the Hermione Granger of this series; she’s a total brainiac except Sofia totally undervalues herself and prefers to be a wallflower type, at least for now! Dre was in one of the later seasons of Pretty Little Liars, and someone who I think looks the part to play the BFF of the twins!

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Diego Polaris: Christian Lee Navarro

Diego is a kind soul who’s like the one male friend in the friend group of most sitcoms. He doesn’t do much for me for now, but hopefully he does more as the series goes on! Christian is probably best known for being a part of the Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why.

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Geraldine Grus: Meg Stalter, or Miranda May

Meg Stalter, image courtesy of forbes.com

Miranda May, image courtesy of dellaterrawellness.com

I don’t know how well this matching actually fits, I get the impression sometimes that Geraldine is actually really tall and buff, but I follow Meg Stalter on Instagram and she’s hilarious–I recommend following her too–and I feel like she’d nail the strange exclamations that this character says whenever she’s super happy, excited, or shocked (which is most of the time anyway). Miranda May is an actress who I recently discovered who I think may physically match Geraldine’s description better!

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Marguerite Helebor: Abigail Cowen

Abigail is just becoming a go-to casting choice for fiery redhead characters, because yes I totally admit I’ve casted her before on other series, but whatever, it works for me! Based off her character in “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” on Netflix, I know she’s capable of playing the “mean girl” role, so that’s my justification!

Principal Nova: Glenn Close

I’m not sure how accurate this choice for me is, and for the life of me I don’t even remember if there’s anything really said about Nova’s physical description, but I could totally see Glenn Close being in the Head Mistress role for a fantasy setting like Solaria!

Milton Hubert: Will Poulter

Anyone remember that awkward kid in “We’re the Millers?” Well, I totally see him being this minor character who enjoyed tormenting the twins when they first got to Zodiac Academy. Sure, he doesn’t have an actual unibrow…but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have a fake one put on in the makeup chair if this was to be turned into an actual show or movie series.

Professor Washer: Timothy Olyphant

Before I typed out my little explanations for my choices, a “lovely” person by the name of Bri gave me a rude response as to how bad of a choice this person thought this was…yeah, I’m being petty and I’m calling her out…but I’ve watched the “Scream” movies quite a lot over the years as I’m a fan of that horror franchise, and as I’ve watched “Scream 2” to be exact, and without giving too much away, that’s partially why I think he’d be a good choice for Professor Washer! He’s described as being an attractive guy despite how creepy he is, so thats the reasoning behind this, NOT THAT I NEED TO DEFEND MYSELF ON MY OWN BLOG…

Professor Astrum: Conrad Ricamora

Again, I don’t know how accurate this choice is, as I don’t remember exactly how Professor Astrum is described, but Conrad is 42 years old, he’s on “How to Get Away With Murder,” and he’s kind of just who I pictured playing this character!

Francesca: Emily VanCamp

Francesca is a badass female who’s in Solaria’s version of the FBI, and is able to really kick major butt when she needs to! After seeing Emily in the “Captain America” movies, I could definitely see her being a good choice in playing this character if this series was made into a show/movie, and thats what a fancast is supposed to be!

Lionel Acrux: Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson is an attractive dude, he could get it and is actually closer to “daddy goals” than a good of the men who get that recognition in my opinion! In “Aquaman” starring Jason Mamoa, he had his hair dyed blonde and wore this darker armor throughout, and for some reason that just made me think of him as Lionel when the author’s told us that Darius’s father was handsome and had blonde hair!

Gabriel Nox: Tyler Hoechlin

Obviously Tyler Hoechlin would need a wig for this role, so yeah…I do know Gabriel is described as having longer hair, I didn’t forget that…but lets remember Orlando Bloom and how he was Legolas in “Lord of the Rings” ….I’m pretty sure his hair wasn’t naturally that blonde or that long, so there you have it! The power of Hollywood makeup, and Tyler is a pretty decent actor to top it off, so there’s my justification for this choice.

Xavier Acrux: Matthew Daddario, or Jacob Elordi

Jacob Elordi, image courtesy of wonderlandmagazine.com

I personally see Matthew Daddario more as Xavier, but I could see Jacob Elordi also playing the character too! I can’t remember if Xavier is described as being tall like Jacob is, but I feel like age-wise he fits the bill and not taking his height into consideration, he kind of matches the physical description….I think?

Clara Orion: Violett Beane

I’ll be honest, I was having a hard time picturing anyone for this character, and I saw someone suggest this actress somewhere either on the mycast website or Tumblr, but I think she looks the part! I totally agree with this choice and am adding it to mine.

Mildred Canopus: Billie Lourd

Now since “Bri” also called me out on this one, I’m going to continue to be petty and explain this one. I am by no means calling Billie Lourd ugly for fancasting her as Mildred. I’m pretty sure no actor/actress/model/etc. actually looks like how Mildred is described in the books, but lets go back to that Hollywood makeup idea and how these physical qualities can be added on in the makeup chair before shooting! Ralph Fiennes doesn’t look like Voldemort in real life, right? Did Jason Isaacs really have long blonde hair as Lucious Malfoy, again NO! Seeing Billie’s characters in “Scream Queens” and the Cult season of “American Horror Story” are what made me think she’d be a good choice to be this character!

Rosalie Oscura: Tristin Mays

I made a choice for this character because while I haven’t read them yet, I do know this character makes appearances in other books that take place in Solaria. Tristin Mays has been seen in “The Vampire Diaries” for a short while, and is even in the “McGyver” reboot that’s come out in recent years too!

Professor Highspell: Constance Wu

She’s the star of “Crazy, Rich Asians,” but I’ve heard Constance has been known to have a big head and be a total diva on sets, so that made this a quick choice for me when Professor Highspell shows up later in the book series!

Tyler: Chris Wood

I honestly couldn’t remember what exactly Tyler’s physical features are, like he could have blonde hair for all I know, but that doesn’t mean Chris couldn’t get highlights if that true anyways…I actually loved him as Kai in “The Vampire Diaries,” so thats where I got the idea for this fancasting choice!

Hamisch Grus: John C. Reilly

John C. Reilly totally has that big guy who’s a total goofball style of humor–I mean, have you watched “Step Brothers” or “Talladega Nights?”–but I could totally see him playing the role of Geraldine’s father!

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That’s all for now! As I read on in the series, I plan to add more characters and my fancasts for them as I meet them in the books and get a sense of who they could be. Be sure to come back to this page as time moves forward and I finish more of the books! I’m currently up to finishing book 6, and haven’t finished book 7 quite yet! If anything, I’ll probably wait until Book 8 to update all at once to see if any more characters really need to be added.