Where do I even begin – this book was amazing, it was fast paced, full of adventure and continued the character development seen throughout the first book. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot of this book as it was more centered around events, than character development than the first. The fight to break the systematic prejudice against the different species continues through them joining the Resistance.

It’s interesting to read how they react to the increased threat on the non-Gardnerians and what the group do to help those in threat escape to safer lands.

I think the main thing that I really enjoyed was the continued world-building seen in this book. The fact that she is remarked to look so much alike her grandmother strikes as such a challenge for her throughout the books – with most people only seeing her exterior and assuming she is exactly like her grandmother. This in a sense extends the prejudice to Elloren alone, for she is both analyzed and oppressed by her own people and the other species just because of her looks and her family history. They only see what she looks like and assume that is all there is to it. So, when she is finally able to prove that she is not anything like her grandmother and the surprise shown by them is an awesome thing to see.

Let us take a moment to talk about the romance. We finally see more of the spark between Yvan and Elloren with them growing increasingly closer in this book. I would have liked to see more of Lukas in this book, and more of Ellorens conflicting feelings for him. I think that would have made it more intriguing to read. Though, it is interesting reading about Lukas’ loyalties and how they are very close to changing towards the end of the book.

☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆▪︎☆
My full review on this book can be found here:
https://bookswithniamh.wordpress.com/2021/06/27/the-iron-flower-by-laurie-forest/