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Iron Flame Spice Level and Content Notes

By Rebecca Yarros. Last checked .

Spice level

4/5

Several explicit scenes

“There are a few pages-long explicit descriptions of sex and sex acts, including oral sex. A couple has sex a handful of times.”

Source: Common Sense Media, checked Oct 12, 2026. We place that description on the FaeShelf 0 to 5 spice scale.

Looking for chapter numbers? Iron Flame spicy chapters lists the 6 chapters that at least two independent guides name (18+).

Book facts

Author
Rebecca Yarros
Series
Book 2 of The Empyrean
Publisher
Red Tower Books (Entangled Publishing)
First published
Nov 7, 2023 (Goodreads)
US edition on sale
Nov 7, 2023, Entangled edition, ISBN 9781649375858 (publisher)
Pages
640, Entangled edition, ISBN 9781649375858 (publisher)
Shelved as
New adult (publisher)
Age rating
17+ (Common Sense Media)
Goodreads
4.36 from 2.92M ratings on Goodreads as of Oct 12, 2026

Content notes

  • Violence: War, battle, hand-to-hand combat, blood, intense violence and brutal injuries. “war, battle, hand-to-hand combat, perilous situations, blood, intense violence, brutal injuries” (Rebecca Yarros's site)
  • Death: Death and poisoning. “brutal injuries, death, poisoning, graphic language” (Rebecca Yarros's site)
  • Strong language: Graphic language. “poisoning, graphic language, and sexual activities” (Rebecca Yarros's site)
  • Sexual content: Sex shown on the page. “sexual activities that are shown on the page” (Rebecca Yarros's site)

A book missing from this list is not guaranteed to be free of that content.

Tropes and creatures

Only tags the publisher’s own description names, with its wording.

  • Dragons“Dragon riders make their own rules.” (source)
  • Overcoming odds“TROPES: OVERCOMING ODDS” (source)
  • War college“Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College” (source)

Read it or skip it

Read it if

  • You want several explicit scenes that are a notable part of the book (4/5 per Common Sense Media).
  • You want dragons, overcoming odds and war college, as the publisher's description puts it.
  • You have read The Empyrean up to book 1.

Skip it if

  • You want romance without explicit sex (4/5 per Common Sense Media).
  • You want to avoid violence on the page (listed by Rebecca Yarros's site).
  • You have not read Fourth Wing yet: start there.

Iron Flame FAQ

Is Iron Flame spicy?

It is 4/5 (several explicit scenes) on the FaeShelf 0 to 5 scale, based on Common Sense Media: "There are a few pages-long explicit descriptions of sex and sex acts, including oral sex. A couple has sex a handful of times."

Is Iron Flame YA or adult?

The publisher shelves it as new adult. Common Sense Media rates it 17+ (checked Oct 12, 2026).

Is Iron Flame part of a series?

Yes. It is book 2 of The Empyrean by Rebecca Yarros. Read Fourth Wing first. The next book is Onyx Storm.

When did Iron Flame come out?

Goodreads lists it as first published Nov 7, 2023. Entangled Publishing lists this edition on sale Nov 7, 2023: Entangled edition, ISBN 9781649375858.

What content notes does Iron Flame have?

Rebecca Yarros's site lists war, battle, hand-to-hand combat, blood, intense violence and brutal injuries, death and poisoning, graphic language and sex shown on the page. A book missing a note is not guaranteed to be free of that content.

Same series: The Empyrean

In our guides

How we checked this

This page draws on 4 source pages, each linked next to the fact it supports, last checked on Oct 12, 2026. Spice comes only from a named review or the author’s or publisher’s own content notes, quoted as published and placed on our 0 to 5 scale; reader shelves and fan sites are not used. Ratings change daily, so the Goodreads figure is a dated snapshot. Read more about our sources, or browse all books.