Yikes. I adored the first book and this was nowhere near as good.

I received an ARC of this, but ended up reading the finished copy instead. And ... I'm pretty sure a mistake was made because there was no way that what I purchased off Amazon could have been the final version. It felt unfinished, sloppy and repetitive as heck. I mean, the word blessedly was used three times in one paragraph for no reason at all and the word impassioned appeared in almost every single chapter at least once.

In keeping with that, I skimmed quite a bit of it because the descriptions got out of hand. We meet a new character and two pages are spent describing the colour of their skin, eyes, hair, their clothes, etc. etc. etc. It bogged down a story that didn't need to be 600 pages long. I shouldn't want a story to just be over for the sake of it.

I don't quite know what made me dislike this one. I can't quite put my finger on it but it felt ... like it tried too hard this time. Like we have to show you have different Elloren is and how only she can be the one to put this whole world to rights, despite basically being useless magically and still super ignorant of that same world. It worked for the first, but now it's slightly annoying. Every single chapter needed to end with a tug on your heart strings or there was no purpose to it. The writing felt kind of self-serving as well. Like, the author wanted to write certain scenes and she'd be damned if they didn't worm in there. Such classics as a ball dance scene and "But there's only one bed."

Characters I enjoyed in the first I kind of low-key hated here (*cough*Diana*cough*) and it got really annoying how almost every single person needed to be paired up in some kind of forbidden romance. Also, I don't know if I missed this detail in the first book, or it was added to the second due to the backlash the first received, but Gardnerians are green now?!?

I'm surprised to see this is now a series of 4 books, as I thought it was a trilogy. That said, I don't think I'll actively be looking to continue.

This continuation of The Black Witch evolves the characters, some not for the better, as race, religion, and love are explored in this sequel. I am interested to see what lies ahead in the next book.

This book was... okay. To be honest, I probably won't be reading the finale of this series once it comes out. I listened to the audiobook of The Iron Flower because I knew I would have had a hard time finishing it otherwise.

I was a bit bored while listening to it. I just wanted it to be over. I was annoyed to always have the same problems (the FMC looking exactly like her evil grandmother..., the racism present in this society etc.). Also, something so obvious to us readers from the start is finally revealed itself to the FMC. No, actually, there were two things and I expected both of them. It wasn't surprising at all and in a book I usually like to be surprised so... yeah.

What I enjoyed was the relationship between Yvan and her and see where it was going.

I'm sorry if I seem really negative in this review. I think it can be a great book/series for some readers but for me it's just not a "hit".

Title: The Iron Flower
Author: Laurie Forest
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 5 out of 5

High Priest Marcus Vogel and his influence—not to mention his army—is spreading quickly, along with his hate-filled, racist beliefs. The Gardnerian soldiers are tightening their hold everywhere, and the strict laws make life difficult, not to mention the fear their cruelty instills. Every non-Gardnerian is a target, and death is the sentence for many.

Elloren Gardner may be the granddaughter of a murderess, but she is a mage with almost no power. She’s determined to fight to save her friends and family. For Elloren, “family” is her brothers, her uncle, and her friends—of all races and species. Most of all, she wishes she weren’t Gardnerian and seen as the enemy by many she wants to help. As if that isn’t enough, she is the very image of her evil grandmother—and even the forest whispers dark things against her.

As the darkness around her grows worse, Elloren struggles to find a way out for her friends and family—any way out—and is willing to risk her life to save whoever she can. Then there’s Lukas Grey, commander of the military base and determined to win Elloren over, no matter what. The pull between them is strong, but Elloren has no way of knowing which side he’s truly on—or what he wants.

Let me say that I have not read The Black Witch, the first book in this series, but that did not detract from my enjoyment of The Iron Flower. (And, I’ll be buying and reading it immediately!) This was a fantastic read, and I was drawn in from the very first page. Elloren is fighting her heritage and what she’s always known as she realizes just how horrible those beliefs are. Diversity is something the Gardnerians hate, but Elloren sees its beauty—and will fight to protect it. This is a dark book, but completely compelling, and I read it in about 24 hours, staying up far too late to find out what happens!

Laurie Forest lives and writes in the woods of Vermont. The Iron Flower is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review.)

Laurie Forest really outdid herself with this amazing look deeper into the world that readers were introduced to in her first novel The Black Witch. The analogy made towards a corrupt government and its people was really well done and her use of language throughout was excellent.

The Iron Flower is even better than the first book. All the characters are wonderfully written, and the relationship between Elloren and Yvan is so full of emotions.This series is so brilliant .I don’t want to dive deep into the plot. This is a 600 page book, like the first, so there is a lot to unpack in these pages. So many things happening to keep your interest.

This book jumps right in where The Black Witch (TBW) left off, with Elloren and friends in tow, now fighting with the resistance to keep the Gardnerians from seizing control of the entire Western Realm. She again is forced to confront biases and bigotry and continues to encounter new forms of prejudice among new characters and races she meets in this second installment of the series. If you liked TBW as much as I did, you’ll love this one too. There are some differences though. There is a lot more romance involved in this book. A love triangle becomes a central point of the book, in fact. While it detracted somewhat from what made me enjoy the first book so much, it wasn’t too overpowering. It did, however, drag out quite a bit and that became a bit frustrating at times.
Verpacia is becoming a more perilous place and Gardnerian soldiers are gaining more strength in numbers. Lukas Grey is also now the commander of the fourth division base. As you can probably surmise, the love triangle is one in which Elloren is caught between Lukas and Yvan. (They are always drawn to the bad boys, aren’t they?) She has different reasons to be attracted to both though Lukas admittedly is only after the power he thinks she has as a descendant of The Black Witch. Yvan himself, seems to wax and wane regarding his feelings for her but she doesn’t know why, of course. This makes things even more confusing for her. Thus, she is somewhat torn between the two. TBH, it felt a bit off kilter for her to even entertain a pull towards Lukas, as he is the depiction of everything she is hoping to change in her world. This also what I like about her character; she is fallible. She can make mistakes and wrong choices, but her heart is good, and she is continually learning and growing stronger in her own self-identity. The book was very emotional for me. personally. I even cried at times.
She is compelled by the resistance to “play both sides”, which puts her closer to Lukas and creates more romantic tension between the two of them. It also puts her in the position of having to hide her new belief system and be shoved back into the people with the same thought patterns she was taught when she was growing up. She finds herself in a duplicitous and uneasy predicament. She is trying to save all those she has grown to care about, but will she lose herself in the process?
This book was absolutely riveting for me. There were highs and lows that were extreme. I didn’t expect to be so emotionally invested in these characters, but I was. This book was just as good as the first and I enjoyed it immensely. The characters and plot were well developed. The settings were written with meticulous descriptiveness. The writing was impeccable. The only teensy thing that I didn’t care for was that the book dragged just a bit. Otherwise another fantastic read that I would highly recommend. I can hardly wait to read the third book! 5/5.
I was given this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.

This review, or portions thereof, will be posted (when able) on Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo, Bookbub, BAM, Litsy, IG, B&N, Pinterest, Facebook, Kobo, and my own blog. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide all links at this time, as I am using my phone.

This book exceeded all expectations I had. I LOVED The Black Witch so when I finished this book and found my jaw on the floor, I had pause and wrap my brain around it. Laurie Frost is AMAZING. She must have a white board connecting all the little pieces together because DANG! I am all about Yvan letmetellyousomething. I loved the character development and adored the good vs. evil throughout this book.

I highly recommend this book and purchased both books for my YA collection at my library!

I wish I had read The Black Witch first. When I first started reading this book I was totally confused. It is a good book, well written and weaves a tale of good and bad. There are many characters in this tale from the first book as well new one's in this book. (I did go back and read the first one! Amazing!). The world building skills of this author are spot on and keep your attention. I will be purchasing this for the Teen/YA collection and recommending it to all who enjoy this genre.

I loved the Black Witch- but the first 300 pages of that book were so filled with hatred and sorrow that it was hard to read. The second half, however, saw major changes in Elloren and gave all the characters a taste of triumph. I really hoped that The Iron Flower would continue in that vein, but once again, the beginning put all the characters in desperate, miserable situations they had to claw their way out of. That being said, this was another GREAT book by Laurie Forest if you stick with it. Her characters have been so well developed. I love (OR HATE) them all deeply. She touches (some of them, admittedly, beat to death with a stick) on a lot of political issues and her points are welll made, but its really the relationships that makes this book great. Sometime I wanted to slap Elloren for being dumb, but I understood her, and I loved her despite all that. I definitely wanted to slap some other folks. Anyway, I will most definitely be reading anything further that Ms. Forest writes. In fact, I'm going to get the accompanying novellas right now!

I'll start off by saying that this book was different from the first. The romance had a much stronger presence in this one. Lucas remained an enigma, but Yvan... There were also some characters that weren't in this book much, Aislinn being one of them. I can definitely see why this book and The Black Witch are considered controversial, what with the gay, lesbian, and multi ethnic characters it features. Laurie Forest sure fit quite a lot into this story, although with it being 608 pages long you wouldn't exactly consider it to be a short book. That being said, I did read it in 24 hours. I'm currently functioning on four hours of sleep because I stayed up so late reading it, and while most of it passed in a sleep-deprived blur, I do remember liking it. I'd recommend it if asked.

I feel like this was a little more boring than The Black Witch, and not just because there was so much controversy around TBW. There was a lot more romance, which I'm much less interested in when I'm reading epic fantasy (or, what's trying to be epic fantasy). The writing was fine, it was more about the plot.

The Iron Flower was a very interesting novel. I really enjoyed reading it, and it followed The Black Witch (book #1) really well. I felt as though this book focused more on the main characters and the romance than the action compared to the first novel, however I still really enjoyed it and I look forward to reading book 3.

After all the criticism over The Black Witch, I was definitely looking forward to this one. This time around, I felt there was a definite shift toward the romance aspect from the action/adventure of the last book. That was a little less enjoyable for me. Overall, I enjoyed the writing and the book left off with an exciting cliffhanger. I will purchase this for the library and try reading again, as there were some format issues with this ebook.

This is by far one of the best books I have read this year. If I could give it 10 stars I would! The Iron Flower by Laurie Forest is the second book in an amazing series, The Black Witch Chronicles, which is about a girl who everyone feels may be the next fabled Black Witch to destroy the land. This book was even better than the first. It was fast paced, emotionally charged (I cried twice!) and also introduces us to new friends and enemies. The emotions drawing her to Yvan become increasingly more complicated as he refuses to let her know about his power and what it might mean he is. Her ties to Lukas become risky as the resistance urges her to use that connection to find out more information to pass to the rebels and her aunts increasing insistence that she wandfast to Lukas is pushing Elloren into dangerous territory that will force her to question her loyalty to her aunt and everything she grew up believing in.

One phenomenal read! This book had me hooked from the very first page. I wish I could say that I had a favorite character.... but the author does such an amazing job at developing each one that it's impossible for me to pick a favorite.

The book is well thought out and evenly paced. A lot of stuff happens in this second book!! I had begun to suspect certain things and was shocked that I was right, though! I am most definitely ready to see what happens next!

Laurie Forest did an amazing job at bringing in some of the ugly social issues that we face in today's time... and man, she knocked my socks of by capturing exactly what it's like to be different! I can't express how much I love these books!

It was a good week for me as it comes to books.  One of my recent favourite series had a book birthday!  The Iron Flower (part of Laurie Forest's Black Witch Chronicles) is continuing to sooth my soul during these crazy times.
One of the things I love about this series is the way in which it humanizes conflict on all sides.  You appreciate why one group of people are bitter.  You understand why another group can't forgive.  But because you see folks on all sides at different times in the conflict, you know that these enemies are living and breathing the same emotions and worries and concerns.  They are outwardly distinct and inwardly homogenious.
And even if you didn't want to be given any sense of perspective on this world (BTW, why are you reading Sci-fi Fantasy then?), it is a really good book.
Fast paced, amazing world building, empathetic characters, and a plot that can not be presumed.  For YA and Adult readers.

The Iron Flower is the sequel to The Black Witch and both are best read in order.
Elloren Gardner has just become part of the resistance and has banded together with her roommates, her brothers, and her friends to try to get the threatened people groups out of Verpacia because the government is beginning to round up, torture, and kill all those they deem Evil Ones. Elloren still believes she is without magic, her aunt still insists that she joins with Lukas Grey by wandfasting to him (an unbreakable engagement). Meanwhile, Elloren and Yvan are falling in love with each other, and Elloren continues to rebel against her aunt. When unspeakable, abominable horrors are perpetrated by the Gardnerians against other people groups, the resistance increases their efforts to save the people and find a way to fight against the injustices being committed. Will Elloren be able to save those closest to her, or will she be too late?
This book was so good, even better than the first (which I also enjoyed very much). Throughout the time I was reading, I became angry, sad, hopeful, incensed, and heartbroken because the descriptive writing and strong characters seemed so realistic. I don't think words can adequately describe how much I enjoyed this book. I didn't like the profanity (though it was limited), some of the acts committed by the Gardnerians were utterly despicable and horrific, and the prejudiced attitudes of some of the people were revolting, but those served to prove the point that there is no room for prejudice or hatred in our society. The end of the book absolutely broke my heart, but I cannot wait to read the next book and see good triumph once and for all. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of this series, and I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The Iron Flower (The Black Witch Chronicles #2) by Laurie Forest did not disappoint. I received a free copy of this ebook ARC from the author, publishing company, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts/reviews are my own.

In The Black Witch we traveled with Elloren as she was dropped into and forced to navigated a world full of new races and religions that she had been taught to hate, but what she began to understand, very quickly, was that all that she had been taught was a lie or at the very least a biased truth. This pushed her to not only befriend those she was supposed to despise, but also search for truth about her own people among the histories of other races and religions.

The political air in The Black Witch was tense to say the least, while a mounting danger is set to be unleashed in epic proportions in The Iron Flower. This is where we rejoin Mage Elloren Gardener and her band of misfit friends. The Iron Flower continues to focus on the governments intentions to create a master race and eradicate anyone strong enough to get in the way of that plan. With the Black Witch’s identity seeming to be uncovered we feel the impending danger that hovers around Elloren and her friends not to mention the plethora of other races considered disposable to the growing government run by the Gardnerian mages.

What I love about this series is the friendships that grow despite the racism, sexism, homophobic, and hate filled rhetoric that rules throughout each race, not just from the Gardnerians and their mages. Elloren was not the only character to judge others based on the biases and stereotypes that proved to be incorrect. Growth for all of our characters comes from truly reaching out to one another to understand what is propaganda meant to keep them apart and what is truth.

The possible romances are slow burns that allow us to see the separation between attraction and true connection. Family for Elloren also continues to be a purposeful focus as her fear for her brothers and uncle continue to be her greatest responsibility, or so she feels. The combination of friendships and family, for Elloren, speaks to the idea that working together even in the face of great adversity, danger, and being outnumbered, can be overcome by working together towards a common goal. How far this will take our little rag-tag group remains to be seen.

For Elloren though, her greatest fear is for the safety of those she considered friends that she now considers family. She fears what seems to be a darkness growing inside of her spurred by her dangerous attraction to Lukas Grey. In the end, Elloren has suffered great loss, endured torture, and stands against an insurmountable foe, one of which is a member of her own family. Feeling powerless hasn’t stopped her from doing so much to help those she cares about, but what will it mean if she is the one person they must all fear the most?

The one thing I disliked about the first book, The Black Witch, faded in The Iron Flower. Elloren stopped whining so much and began to embrace her anger at being a level one with no magic and worked to do whatever she could in her limited nature to help her friends and family. We do see a lot of overdone themes here, but I think they are done well. Elloren learns from her actions and feelings, and the dramas that ensue have specific purpose that stoke the fires of hate either in or for the enemies. For me this was an excellent, yet heartbreaking read. I can’t wait for book three.

This hands down was one of my top reads for 2018.

I grabbed this as soon as I saw I could request it and it was FANTASTIC. The two novel in this series that I have read already have been amazing.

This serves weaves such a riveting story on top of such an epic fantasy that it was all consuming and yet completely brutal page after page. This was a world that had so much controversy and hurt that I found myself yelling at the pages while I read.

I need the next novel now and I don’t want to have to wait for it. Please, I’m not above begging.