Summary of tl;dr book review: I was disappointed in this book, except for the love story.

I like that the Part 1 Prologue picks up nearly right where The Black Witch ended. This is very like [b:Red Queen|22328546|Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)|Victoria Aveyard|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449778912l/22328546.SY75.jpg|25037051] Red Queen and unlike my more usual trilogies I read.

While I had some problems with [b:The Black Witch|25740412|The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)|Laurie Forest|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487956992l/25740412.SY75.jpg|45580046] The Black Witch and rated it as okay (which is not bad for my critical reviews, honestly), I am interested in Elloren's story. I want to see how romances unfold, because I like a good romance. I was happy that none of the characters died at the end of The Black Witch. I would have been upset if any of them died in that Black Witch SPOILERS: dragon freedom scene.

Iron Flower started out fairly strong, and then slowed quickly. It was frustrating. Then, it got on my nerves. What Yvan was, was apparent from whenever the scene was that he moved so fast in the kitchen to attack one of the Banes in book 1. And it takes so long for him to reveal or Elloren to figure out his origin that I almost quit reading. I don't know if that was an editorial decision but it makes the book so much worse. It isn't cliff-hanger-y. We already know. Elloren looks unintelligent, which we've been shown she isn't, just naive. This is a plea to authors and editors to consider such decisions. I understand mechanics of story-telling and why this decision may have been made. It wasn't a good choice. I also hated that Yvan's nature was the climax for this book. What a let down.

Other than the world-building holes that get slightly patched but not fully in book 2, I find that Forest's story is all about religion, but the way she tied it to races is a little bit sketchy. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I see that it could be pushback against some old fantasy where religion and races are intertwined. Besides how on-the-nose religion and race can be to our own world, she continues with her Messages.

While WHAT Yvan is was apparent in book 1, WHO he is was really interesting to figure out and I only figured that out when he went to see his mother in book 2. SPOILERS: Again, I understand storytelling, but Clive would have said, "Your going to bring the daughter/granddaughter of the person who killed your father to your mother's home and think it's going to be okay?" I know why he didn't say it. But leaving that sentence out for those of us who realize with Mom's reaction and Yvan's "I can't take a lover" is one of those reader loses suspension of disbelief.

I LOVE that rather than revealing who Yvan is and that's why they can't be together, which is quite frankly a really good reason, Forest uses the Gardnerian religion and what happens to those who break those laws. Because in that moment that Yvan and Elloren are so mature and help keep the slow-burn romance going, either reason would work and knowing that there's both means that their love is so much more than Romeo and Juliet insurmountable. This is the most compelling part of both books up through this point.

In the middle of reading this book, I was preparing for a book group discussion and read more about the controversy surrounding the first book. I learned that Forest said she hadn't read a lot of fiction prior to this. It shows in her lack of world building. I think that's my biggest irritation with the series - the world is poorly built. It has a lot of holes and some conflicting information, which I as a reader should not be confused by at this point in the story.

One other huge issue I have with this story is that the Lupines are supposed to be all-accepting - except they can't accept you unless you become one of them. That's horrible. And I'm unsure through book 2 if Forest realized this massive ugly misstep she'd made. Additionally, the flip of treatment of men for only siring babies by the Amaz is interesting. It's been done by stronger authors. This is a place where Forest could have read more in the YA and fantasy genres to learn how its been done and improve within her own story.

I cannot roll my eyes hard enough at a binding kiss. First, how would Yvan know that his kiss binds them together? Second, it is 100% unnceccesary. Additionally, there is a lot of "not all men" in this book. So, while Forest writes a book that has some forward movement, she continues to misstep with regard to social issues.

I moved onto the two novellas and then the third book after this, so even though I found this book disappointing, I kept going.