Of Swords and Soulmates
Is this a kissing book? Of Swords and Soulmates features two couples (and sometimes more), with varying reading preferences and experiences, as they read, listen, and sometimes watch romantasy stories and discuss plot, fantasy elements, romance, spice, theories, and more. Join us for our non-expert opinions as we discuss, argue, rave, rant, and hopefully entertain. We may just help you find your next reading obsession or at least contribute to that TBR list!
Of Swords and Soulmates
"Iron Flame" - Plot Twists and Predictions
Ever wondered how to navigate the often tumultuous seas of book collecting, especially when it comes to special editions? We've been there, shared the frustration, and today we're spilling the tea on all things literary buzz. From Callie Hart's much-anticipated "Quicksilver" in the Fey and Alchemy series to the sell-out success of Sarah J. Maas's exclusive Night Court edition, there's plenty to discuss. BookTok sensations and their impact on our reading habits also take center stage, alongside some juicy preorder gossip that's bound to stir up excitement and maybe even a little envy.
Our bookish banter doesn't stop there. The anticipation for the third installment of the Empyrean series has us all on the edge of our seats, as we examine the series' captivating world-building and the narrative evolution from college settings to sprawling kingdoms. Through spirited debates, we explore the moral complexities and societal questions presented in the Empyrean series, offering our unique takes on the multifaceted world Rebecca Yaros has crafted.
A central theme in this episode is the romantic entanglements that keep us turning pages late into the night. Xaden and Violet's relationship faces scrutiny as we explore their communication hurdles and protective instincts amidst a wartime backdrop. We tackle the spicy side of their romance, highlighting the memorable scenes that balance attraction with deeper connections. Theories on second signets and mind melding add an extra layer of intrigue, prompting us to speculate on future plot twists and character capabilities. Join us for an engaging discussion that promises insights and a hearty dose of literary passion that any romance fan will appreciate.
Links from the News Segment and Show (not all were discussed):
- Quicksilver book 2 by Callie Hart.
- It has no listed title but is listed under the name Fae and Alchemy book 2
- Release Nov 18 2025
- Amazon Link
- Sarah J Maas announced a special Night Court edition of the ACOTAR books
- Exclusive to Barnes & Noble
- Available 05/29/2025
- Barnes and Noble Page
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Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the participants. The hosts make no claim to be literary experts and their opinions are exactly that opinions. All creative works discussed or reviewed are the intellectual property of the creators of said stories and is being used under the fair use doctrine.
Mari:Hello and welcome to Love Swords and Soulmates, a podcast where we read, watch and discuss romanticist stories. I'm one of your hosts, mari, and with me I have the crew from Summer Reading Creations. Summer and Rebecca say hey, hi, hi, and with us we have hey guys it's Ashley.
Ashley:We also have Jonathan.
Jonathan:What's going on? It's me, JP. How's everybody doing today?
Mari:Today we're going to be discussing Iron Flame, book two in the Empyrean series by Rebecca Yaros. But first we're going to get into some news and then we'll get into the book a little bit more. I tried to keep the news segment fairly short because I figured we'd be doing a lot of talking. Surprise surprise. So the first thing I had in the news area was that you can now preorder Quicksilver book two Quicksilver by Callie Hart. I've not finished it, but I know you have, didn't you, ash? I did.
Ashley:You liked it one yeah, it's a thick book and it takes. It takes a minute because she is doing world building. I always stumble on those two words, forgive me guys. World building, and so it. I would say don't judge this book by the cover, which is stunning and the book is great. But, like you, gotta you gotta give it a little bit more time. You gotta get to like 35 40, and it's gonna get a lot better. Gotta you gotta give it a little bit more time. You gotta get to like 35 40, and it's gonna get a lot better. I've I've seen a lot of people struggle.
Jonathan:Don't give up okay, I you know. It's interesting that you say that, because quite often, when it comes to the books that that some people recommend it, what I'm hearing you say is this is going to be a horrible thing for you to endure. But I need you to just tough it out, just like say is this is going to be a horrible thing for you to endure, but I need you to just tough it out, just like Say horrible, it's going to feel like you're getting somebody's stuff. It's going to be uncomfortable, people are going to be standing on your toe.
Mari:I know.
Jonathan:But, if you just get through, it through like this percentage of it, if you get through all the way to this, it's coming.
Ashley:It's easier.
Jonathan:It's downhill then.
Ashley:The security line at Universal. You know it's coming, know what you're going to have to get through.
Jonathan:Man, am I paid to get around that we valet? No, we valet. So that way we get private security. You got any private books?
Ashley:Listen. Callie Hart has made a splash on BookTok. May it rest in peace, potentially in the next five business days. Book talk may it rest in peace, potentially in the next five business days. Yeah, and it is. She's become so popular in a very rebecca yarrow's kind of way that it's pushed the release of her second book by like 10 months. They're the waterstones editions are selling out and, yeah, I pre-ordered book two some weeks ago. There's no cover.
Jonathan:I don't think we even have a title, do we?
Ashley:So Quicksilver is the first book, but I believe the series is called the Fey and Alchemy Series.
Jonathan:That's not the name of this book though, no. Do you see where I can get confused here? I'm a pretty face and I I'm lost in just read the book.
Ashley:You won't regret it and I think big things are going to come out of it. Book talk made her so famous.
Jonathan:She got a traditional publisher and now book talk is dead not yet that's not book talk's fault, yeah more days, some more support I mean summer, rebecca, have you guys read that red quicksilver?
Summer:no, like I was saying earlier, we, it was one of those. I saw all over tiktok everywhere, so I went to download it and realized that I already bought it on kindle. Whoops, so I will be you're gonna read it twice now. Yeah right, I don't even know if I read it the first time. It's probably just on my TBR for the longest time.
Mari:Yeah, mine's on my TBR. I started reading it and then I had to stop for something and I need to go back. I'm probably going to have to restart it to just devote time to reading it, because I think I stopped and then got caught up in 15 other things and Got caught up in 15 other things and you know, winter holiday stuff, and then now Imperium, syrian stuff. So sometime after next week we'll probably get back to Quicksilver. But yeah, it's the Fey and Alchemy series. It's book two. It doesn't have a title. It's going to be released November 18th 2025. All right. The other news thing I have is Sarah J Mass announced a special Night Court edition of the Akatar books. There's really nothing new about them. It's just a pretty cover. So it's only the paperbacks. It's exclusive to Barnes Noble. It's not, from what I could see. It's not like a set where you could buy all of them. You have to buy them individually. It's limited editions. It'll be available May 29th of this year.
Jonathan:But apparently, from what I was looking of the, some of them are already sold out, so they're all. Yeah, I see this on their website. It's like pre-order, um, and everything looks to be and you know I'm a sucker for a book with a circle on the cover but the they all look to be the same price, except for this last one. So what's wrong, what's defective with akifas?
Mari:nothing, I mean, it's just it's popular. I guess I, I don't know, I don't know why the the cost difference. I'm always very iffy about buying special editions of series that aren't complete, because if I buy them and like them and then, whenever the series is complete, like, are they gonna have the rest of the books in this version? You know what I mean that's yeah that's my issue of this.
Summer:Sorry, that's my issue with having the series right now. I just actually got the for christmas, but the series isn't finished and I wanted the special edition one they had at books a million and that was prior to them announcing this yeah, do they do the set that you got for christmas?
Jonathan:does it come in a polite, tidy box too?
Summer:yes, and it bothers me because when I get the sixth one it won't be in the box yeah so I'm having issues with that yeah we love a special edition, but we want the next book.
Ashley:Yeah, just give us something, ma'am.
Jonathan:We need something pretty please I was thinking about starting uh throwing a glass I would love it if we read that on the podcast yeah, I think I'm leaning towards it, like maybe next, like I might you have, you have one on the shelf over there, right? I like how he says one how many of them do you have?
Ashley:Grown a Glass is not a small series, it's a one book. Didn't we just talk about doing some fluffy ones?
Jonathan:It's one book. I'm reading it. I've just read a fluffy one.
Ashley:It's not just one book, Listen. You read one. You read ACOTAR. And then you refused to read the rest.
Jonathan:About 45 years ago my mother popped out a child. She years ago, my mother popped out a child. She named that one james. Now, what happens after that? Subsequent children are not called james. Right, I have my own name, right? So the so sarah j math is like here's a book we're gonna call the throne of glass. The next book has a name too.
Ashley:No, next book's name glass series, just like akatar's akatar series. That's only book one.
Jonathan:Stop trying to make us do things, because then you got. You got akamath, then you got aqua war, then you got act cops any other new stuff? Did y'all hear that um onyx storm is dropping?
Mari:what's that I haven't heard of?
Jonathan:that it's a book about a dragon and a and some friends um pretty pretty cool, pretty, carry on, carry. I want to hear the rest a lot of people are upset right now because, uh, it turns out that entry level employees I don't know if that's the right term are struggling to respect, uh, book embargoes. So socials are all a flutter. The socials are all a flutter, with people like accidentally being able to purchase the book, like a week ahead of time I've seen a few places from target and walmart specifically, where they're already on the shelves.
Summer:They just won't allow you to purchase it, which I feel like defeats the purpose, because you could just read through the pages in store I mean, some are getting through there are some that are getting did you?
Jonathan:did you hear the trick that people are doing?
Ashley:Changing the cover.
Jonathan:Yes, that's zapped. Horrible, Although I'm not going to lie. Maybe you just get a cheaper one. Get one that's on sale.
Summer:And that takes away from our dragon mother.
Jonathan:We don't condone that. Kelly edit that out. Pause for an instant we're going to have to get our legal team involved.
Mari:So obviously, why we're going to be reading Iron Flame right now is because book three is coming out. Like we are recording this, just so you can see behind the curtain a little bit. We're recording this on January 16th. Book three comes out next Tuesday, january 21st, and so we are rapidly catching up and rereading and or reading to be caught up for book three. This is I'm pretty sure this is the first sequel that we've done on the podcast. Right? Yeah, I think so, and then we'll get into the actual book talk. This book was published back in November of 2023.
Mari:Everyone expected Violet Sorengel to die during her first year at Basquiat 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 readily excuse me. 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 rider's 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 Basquiat 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 Basquiat War College and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end. Bum, bum, bum.
Mari:That's exciting, not even dragon fire may be enough to save them in the end. So, uh, what do we think?
Jonathan:overall rating can we do 10? Is there 10? You stack them like you're like five for the first one and five for the second one. That's 15, because then there's the other five, that's gonna come the impending five. Oh, oh, for sure. So 25 it is.
Mari:So 25 out of five for you, okay, okay, that's your overall rating.
Summer:Well, it is five book series.
Mari:So that math, maths oh then we got to go 50. So obviously you liked it. That's all you got. You got no notes.
Ashley:Just 20, 50.
Jonathan:Did you?
Ashley:you got no notes just 20, 50 did you? You want notes? No, she does not want.
Jonathan:No, she does not need the 20, you don't want my 23 page word document.
Mari:No, okay simmer down it's the hunt for the second signet is what it is oh and fyi, at the end of this we're going to talk about what we think will be happening in the third book, because this episode will release on the 30th, which means the third book will already be out. Um, but as of right now, this second none of us here know anything about the third book, yeah, yeah, so anything else you want to say other than five stars or 25 stars or 50 stars?
Jonathan:jonathan yeah, all the stars, all the stars um in the galaxy, um, it's, I like a good riddle and I feel like, uh, that's what this, the empyrean series, brought to me.
Ashley:So do you feel stumped? Because you've got theories, but I don't think you're convinced. Like is there a hill you're dying on? Just the yes or no?
Jonathan:um. I love how you set the bar just Just a yes or no. Don't dig any deeper.
Ashley:We're not joking about the word doc.
Jonathan:Don't ask me for just a yes or no. I would say there's not a hill I'm dying on. But I could rank them in order of what I feel is probable, but I'll save that more towards the end, what I feel is probable. So, but I'll say that, uh, more towards the end. Uh, the five for me is and I and I my first read with this book. I struggled, uh, because it's broken into two parts and the first book spans a year and is like what? Like uh, 40 something chapters or something like that. And this one spans six months in their time in their world, and it's like 66 chapters. So it's like it's a little bit slower moving for me. But what the second or my one of my other rereads, uh, was basically just like I'm on the hunt for this detail. So now, every stupid single word. Was that comma supposed to be there? What did? Did that? Did this change the? Should I inflect up or down? What's going on here?
Ashley:Meaning of the phrase All right, hamilton.
Jonathan:Yeah, that's kind of where I like I went on this hunt, the scavenger hunt, and that man Ooh, I got the, I got the chicken skin.
Ashley:I like it so tired, but I like it so tired, you guys. But did you think, um, I loved this book I. I devoured the first one, I devoured the second one, I think. I think I'm it more impressed, you know, with the author because I've also read some of her other works and so I see the potential of this very long series and it's also scary. So this, this is a five for me. I have such high hopes. We've all read it more than twice, it's very least in my household. My sister reads it. I think this book actually helped get her back into reading, like she was never a reader before this and she's definitely not a fantasy reader. So I'm excited for everything Empyrean series. I'm excited for this next book. I'm excited for the television series that's inevitably coming at some point before we all die.
Ashley:I don't have any complaints, think we are all you know playing whodunit and murder mystery and find the signet, and it's just such a delightful game that we're all just having so much fun with summer rebecca.
Mari:What do you guys think? Oh, five stars a hundred percent for me too.
Summer:I I from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. It's a completely different book and I I disagree that it was slow moving. For me it felt there was a sag for a moment, but then it just felt so fast paced and there was so much change. But it literally it is just a completely different book from the book you started with. It's amazing.
Jonathan:What was the transition point for you? When did the sag pick up and start gaining momentum?
Summer:for you, I don't remember the chapters and I don't want to do spoilers for you yet Well, spoilers.
Mari:Yeah, we're doing all spoilers, so you don't have to hold back on anything. Oh, okay, perfect Full spoilers for book, one book, two FYI readers out there.
Jonathan:Bring me a glass of last month's milk, all spoiled.
Summer:So the sag for me was where they were doing this whole back and forth, where the dragons could fly and see each other, but they weren't allowed to see each other. So there was just like no time where they were together then. After that it just felt like it was like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. So many things happening and coming together.
Rebecca:Yeah sorry, good, I was gonna, I was I agree, like it?
Jonathan:there's definitely. It was a tipping point where, you know, it felt like I was pushing a boulder up a hill but then all of a sudden we were rolling. Yeah, becky, oh, sorry, it was that, it was a tipping point.
Rebecca:Really, it felt like I was pushing a boulder up a hill but then all of a sudden we were rolling. Yeah, becky, oh sorry, it was a. It was a five star for me and I didn't get through this reread because I was busy with work and everything. But I would listen to it and read it periodically throughout the day and my favorite part is when they're at that um, that other kingdom where he wants to see her wield her magic and her lightning and everything. And her and yeah, and her and Meera are in the words are hard where they're down there and they release the Venon and they have to get away. Yeah, that was a fun part for me.
Summer:A lot of really good action in this one.
Mari:Yeah, I agree. For me it was a five-star read as well. First time I read, it was a five-star too. I liked this book better than the first one. This one expanded the world out more and I felt like it just delved deeper into the characters and opened my eyes a little bit more to all the things that are going on in the world, and the action scene at the end is really well written. Like I rushed through it the first time I read the book and then I just finished my reread today and I could not read it slower. I rushed through it again. Which is, to me, is if the author can control your pacing of how you read. Like if they're wanting you to savor something and they're making you read every single word, or they're wanting you to feel like you're in the middle of battle and everything's going really fast and they're making me do that. I think that's. That's a good writing, yeah absolutely good pacing or whatever.
Mari:Yeah, five star for me too. Uh, what about the world building?
Jonathan:You know, I think we got some some expansion into the Peromish province and so some kind of the dichotomy of how these two worlds, these two areas or kingdoms exist within the same, on the same continent, where Vesgayath, the and Navar kind of built protections to keep themselves safe and they were like we have to, we need walls and stuff like that. And all of a sudden, when you got to, when they went to the Viscount to negotiate for the luminary and you got the opportunity to see how the, uh, the, the flyers were, were living and they had, and violet was like oh, y'all got pools, y'all, y'all got time to swim, like we don't yeah ornamental grass, what?
Jonathan:right and they were like vikon was like yeah, we're not, we're here for a long time, so we're gonna be here for a good time. Uh, so like seeing that. And then when they were like what, like what happens when you, when you guys like, when you, how do you, how do you bond with a, with a griffin? They're like, oh yeah, you jump off, like, um, what's that blue cat alien movie style where you got a link to uh avatar? Yeah, so like you gotta like fall off and connect with one of them on the way down and then, like you mount it, you're good and like, oh, and if you miss, you're dead. And they're like not now, you, just, you just go somewhere, you go to one of our you go to like the baking program or something you're just gonna take a nice swim
Mari:yeah like what like, which is what I was saying last episode. I'm like, why, why is bathgath wanting everybody dead? There's got to be people to like work the mess hall and like do laundry.
Jonathan:Not everyone has to be a badass superstar that's what the cadets are for, yeah so, seeing the breakdown, those two worlds come together, seeing a kind of we're in this protective bubble and we're seeing it through the lens of somebody else who's maybe in that world and living in that space and in that protective bubble, and now they're stepping way outside of their comfort zone and they have to learn everything all over again yeah that was fucking rad.
Ashley:That's what you got for world building I loved the expansion, you know, of what our perception is of the story. I I think my biggest I don't know if regret is the right word, but I think my biggest, like what I feel is missing is more into the actual dragon world like this is the empyrean series. When do we get to dive into that? But I'm assuming that the the conflict of humans right it. We have to dive into that and explore that and understand that. Maybe before we can dive into the, the um delicacies and you know, the spider web weaving that will be the dragons.
Ashley:I think it hit me when Violet realized that Basquiat was killing Perumish civilians just for crossing the border, basically, and I think that's when her world really tilted, because that goes against the very bare minimum of what they've understood about protecting the civilians and, and you know, the people of the kingdom. So I thought rebecca did a fantastic job in taking, you know what is not a tiny college, um, but it is a significant space and it is, but it is a very small space in the grand view of a kingdom and enlarging it. So not only did we get to see a whole nother kingdom in cordon right, who is arguably the next in line for royal lineage over there. But we got to see more of eratia and tyrandor and explore that, you know, as what was once a flourishing um uh, not well, I mean, I guess it was a kingdom back in its own time, right.
Mari:Yeah.
Ashley:So, uh, five, five for world building. For me, I have no complaints, other than not seeing more in the dragons. Why, what are you fact checking me over there, gordon, because I just read that section. Oh, that's where they were that section?
Jonathan:oh, that's where they were. That's where they're around. Was that around chapter?
Ashley:40. Yeah, if I count the cars, yeah, yeah, yeah, they're in cordon, he's, he's fact checking me, you guys I was also curious.
Summer:I thought it was crowfla or crovla, something along those lines yeah, I agree with you, um, but uh but I didn't get.
Jonathan:During my reread I did not get up to 40, so I don't know if I missed that part yeah, sometimes I thought for some reason, I thought I'm with you, I thought it was, uh, coroblo, I'm not sure. What do you think of the world?
Summer:building. Who would pass me? Yeah, okay, originally I put my world building at a three because I like the Sarah J Mass descriptive, like enriched in color, like all the pretty words when describing everything. However, I do really like how we went further outside the walls and we get like more inside the outpost when she's visiting Zayden and you get all the details of the Ryerson house and like the stone and the arena that was built or the Takaris had built and it's just all of that.
Summer:It was so immersive and I really felt like I could bumped it up since to four stars, but originally for me it was the three stars because I like the colors and the really like fluffy, cutesy descriptions more. But I felt like she did build the world really well and stepping outside the, like you said, the college, that was the whole book of the first book. I mean, you made one not so small college, but it was just one area of the map, an entire book, and this time we're stepping outside of that and seeing the entire realm other than the veil. Yeah, it ended up being four stars for me. I appreciated the descriptions.
Mari:Nice. Very good, becky, what'd you think?
Rebecca:The world building for me. I didn't do the reread, so in the first one, um, thinking back, it was three, but I also like the um. My favorite part was like the ruins, like the, the obstacles that they had to do together and um, and the description of like the hill that they had to climb and when the Griffins came back to the college and how they had to fit in there and how it was different for them, harder for them, rather.
Ashley:What a wild scene that was.
Summer:Yeah, it was.
Mari:That was intense version for most of the reread and that scene where they had to go up the mountain and um, where they lose, um, the one writer like that scene got me in the dramatized audio version. Yeah, in a way did not get me, just when I read it the first time. Uh, it was, yeah, it was, it was rough my reread.
Summer:It was just the regular audible version and it still. It got me more this time than physically reading it.
Mari:Yeah, fantasy world building for me was a four. I definitely like the fantasy and world building in this book better than the first book, because it does expand it out, it does like, compare, like oh yeah, this is the way things are done in Basquiat, but this is how the rest of the world does things. This is what's going on in the rest of the world way things are done in Basquiat, but this is how the rest of the world does things. This is what's going on in the rest of the world. I still feel that there are things that don't quite make sense to me, like after rereading it this time.
Mari:I've sitting here thinking I'm like okay, I understand that Violet and Zayden are like and they've gotten together and they've done all these big efforts and they're fighting the Venin and everything before these two 18, 20, whatever year olds existed. Why didn't the venin overrun everything then? Like I I'm sure we'll find out more in other books, but I'm like I feel like as dysfunctional as the government and the army and the society of so much of this world is it? It would have fallen before now. Nobody talks to anybody else, nobody shares information with anybody else. There's a thing I'm having trouble with, and it may very well come all together in the following books, and I may bite my words, but for now I had a lot of trouble with how dysfunctional so much of the world was, so it's a four for world building for me. What do we think of the romance?
Jonathan:With the books, like the romance with the books, like how she was like, so in love with the books.
Ashley:What do you?
Summer:think we're talking about?
Mari:What do we?
Jonathan:usually talk about Jonathan. I didn't really dig the romance in this one. I wasn't really feeling like there's not an abundance of it.
Ashley:Like the first. No, it's more.
Jonathan:Yeah, the first part of the book was like. The first part of the book was was Colonel Atos' lockies trying to keep Violet and Zadie Pants apart, right? So they kept like driving a wedge between that between them part, right, uh, so they kept like driving a wedge between that between them, so I wasn't really super. I uh, I didn't really get a whole bunch of romance out of that. Um, the biggest cozy, cute romance thing that we had was, uh, um, jessenia and the in the uh and the class clown. What's his name? Sawyer? Is it riddick or Sawyer?
Mari:Yeah, they're cute.
Jonathan:So romance after all, that I'm going to give it a 15.
Ashley:Listen, when Violet was in the torture chamber five days in and she's like fuck, I still have two more days before Zayden even knows that there's a problem. Meanwhile, that motherfucker is on the other side of the country dropping wyvern out of the sky to disrupt the military, the royal family, the civilians, the cadets, the infantry. He's like, fuck this, we're going to distract you guys all the way the fuck over here, turn your worlds upside down and then I'm going to storm that fucking castle that is that guy of college and get my lady out of there, cause that's a hundred percent what he did. And in her mind for the last five days she's telling herself he's not coming for me, he's going to protect his people, he's going to protect this rebellion. That is priority number one for him. And the fuck, it was because he came storming that castle for her. Had he been one minute earlier, dane, motherfucking atos would have been dead because he never would have had a chance to kill varsh from the get-go.
Jonathan:There's so much did you read the same chapter?
Ashley:yeah, no, no, no, so listen yes zayn is the one who get.
Jonathan:Who kills him?
Ashley:that's what I'm saying. If zayden was one minute sooner, zayden wouldn't have even had a chance. Oh, I thought you said later. No, I'm sorry, yeah, no worries.
Jonathan:I like the part of their relationship. I like that. So my favorite part about Zayden is that Zayden starts at level 10, where everyone else is like maybe we should go to level 1, 2, or three Zayden's like when you're like let's interrogate them and ask some questions, and Zayden's like I'll interrogate You're dead.
Ashley:That's what I'm saying. It's like her with the lightning. She doesn't know how to do little controlled maneuvers. She's coming in with a fucking war hammer, so that's what he does no, but listen.
Jonathan:You're saying he needs, like, some Zandibar or something.
Ashley:There's letters they can't communicate. They can't talk to each other on a daily basis. He's leaving her fucking letters. He doesn't know how to have a relationship, he doesn't know what healthy relationships look like, but he's fucking trying.
Jonathan:There's so much pure romance in this. You don't think that Taryn and Seagal have a healthy relationship. No, they love each other.
Ashley:What does he know about their relationship?
Jonathan:You're the Seagal to my Taryn.
Ashley:You're know about their relationship you're the scale to my parent. You're deflecting. What does he know? I mean, he knows he's got it. He's got to get the wacky tobacco whenever they get it on to help block him out. That's all you know. Listen, he's doing the best he can with what he has.
Jonathan:Oh, that's good, that's a good line.
Ashley:Do the best you can with what you have that's what he's doing and he admits it takes him a minute to process, but he does admit it and he tries to do better. And he tells her that there's effective communication happening when they have the time to communicate. But they are in the middle of a war at 20 and 23. So I thought there was a lot of romance here. Yes, it's, you know, naive and yes, it's infantile, and they're figuring it out as they go along, because neither of them know what a healthy relationship looks like. And I think it's so great to watch them grow, like I.
Ashley:The part that I was rereading, because I didn't get to finish my reread either, so nobody should feel bad, but like I got to where, um, they're in a ratio. She brings him the chocolate cake you know on the roof of of of his house and he's just like he's just like you're the one. You know what I mean. He's like they pulled me out of there because I was the liability and that's because they don't want to lose you being violet. And he's he's recognizing what it's like to be considered the weak link, and look at him expressing his feelings he should be a real man.
Ashley:Stuff that shit down no, go sit in a corner. That is terrible to say. Do you know what podcast you're on?
Jonathan:yeah, swords and soulmates. Yeah, I'm not. Come on now if you don't know where, you don't know where we're at.
Ashley:You don't know where we're at is it the most beautiful romantic relationship that I've ever read in the book? No, but I think there's so much potential here, what?
Jonathan:are you giving it? It's a four. Okay, that was a long.
Ashley:There was a lot to say. Simmer down.
Jonathan:Interesting Sarah. How's it going? Wait, what are the names saying?
Mari:sarah how's it?
Jonathan:going wait, no summer, we got summer summer, hi, it was close. Hey, summer, how's it?
Summer:going, it's going how?
Jonathan:do you feel about?
Summer:the romance, oh man was it romance romance?
Summer:yeah, I, I don't know. So here let me. I love zayden. He is my husband, I ride for zayden, he is my husband, I ride for Zayden.
Summer:But this book and him, this book specifically, and his not giving her answers unless she's explicitly like asks the right question, pissed me off to no end. I couldn't, I hated that her trying to like traverse like the damage in his mind to ask the exact question, to get answers out of him. And then I kind of disagree that when they were together they communicated. Well, I don't think that's true, because I feel like for the first chunk of them being together in person, prior to him starting to write her letters, it was an argument or he like would shut it down and he'd walk away and then he left early and then they came back and they would have this like heated little moment and not really talk about the issues or kind of skate around a little bit of issues.
Summer:And I do see towards the end where he does start to like he takes her with him to do the drop and he's kind of like trusting her a little more, and then he writes these letters and he's letting her into his life a bit more. And then the moment on the roof. I just don't love how long it takes him to get there, knowing that he loves her this much. You almost lost her in the last book, right at the end, and you said this was the hardest thing you knew then. How much you care about her, then why aren't we letting her in easier? Why are we still making her fight for this information from you?
Jonathan:I didn't like the communication okay they're at war, right and uh, and he has a greater level of knowledge than she does. She has to go back to Basgaia and where she's vulnerable to people who are looking to her as a source of information against their enemies. Information against their enemies and in a world of of riders who may or may not have intrinsic uh uh signets, oriented signets, um, he's protecting her by not giving her the information until she can effectively shield people out.
Summer:I don't fully agree with that, because he was the one training her, so he was shielding her against him. But his powers are above the norm. So she already had shields above her grade level and I feel like she'd already given up, like she'd already lost her life for them. She'd already seen Brennan, she'd already seen the other kingdom and knew kind of behind the curtain what they were doing. So at this point she's already a risk and a liability. If she was going to be one, then she was already one. There's nothing more that he could have told her. That she didn't already kind of know.
Rebecca:But his other signet. She didn't know about that. He kept it from her.
Summer:Yeah, that's the only one I'll agree on, because I feel like that one was more life or death for him personally.
Rebecca:I don't know. I like the romance in this book. Oh, I don't like miscommunication, though, and I still can't get over whenever he asks her how long it takes to fall out of love. It guts me every time, yeah.
Ashley:Asks her how long it takes to fall out of love it, guts me every time.
Mari:Yeah, yeah, oh it guts me every time. That's a rough scene.
Summer:So he did have those jaw drop moments where he would like, like you said, he showed up while she was being tortured and the line he gives her he's like I'd have been here sooner, but it took forever to get the wyvern, yeah. And then, like you said, the moment where he's like how long will it take you to fall out of love with me? There were those jaw drop moments where you're like, oh, my heart there weren't enough for you I don't think so.
Summer:There weren't enough of those moments to make it, so my rating for that was the three I don't know if I said that or not, because I don't think there were enough of those like heartthrob moments.
Rebecca:Oh, sorry, that's okay. That's okay, that's your opinion. It's your opinion. I'm sorry. I was like.
Jonathan:That was the equivalent of like a bookish. Bless your soul. He was like oh, I'm sorry, that's your opinion. Oh, my goodness.
Rebecca:Becky, what was your rating For the romance? I'm going to stick with a four. It wasn't a five for me because I felt like there was so much miscommunication and so many hit or miss moments where they could have communicated better and it would have portrayed a stronger connection with them. But because she was keeping things from him, he was keeping things from her and they just didn't fully trust each other, even though that was her problem at the end of the last book was that she felt like he didn't trust her, but then she still kept things from him too. So it's like intentionally, intentionally, yeah. So it's like, oh, I'm just hoping the next book's gonna be better. More love, lots of more love you know in terms of communication.
Jonathan:So you touched on something there where she's she's keeping. She's keeping things not only from him but from her most, her closest relationships at this guy and that comes back to bite her in the, in the in the butt later on.
Jonathan:But then, um, one thing I'd like to see, I'm looking forward to hopefully someday in the future we see this uh played out on screen. But I want to see in this. I have this image of violet and zayden having their mental argument in front of like rey, soy and riddick, and like when they're arguing with each other inside their heads, like their eyes get bigger, like wide, open, like wide, and they're like lean in, like you know, like there's like a look on their face, but then, like soy and riddick, are like side eyeing, like what is happening?
Rebecca:you just hear like western music in the background they're staring at each other.
Mari:Yeah, and I want somebody to just come by and like drop a bucket of water on them or something, snap out of it. Yeah, for me, the romance, I rated it a five. And the reason I rated it a five is because I thought, even though it wasn't perfect, I thought it did a really good job of portraying very difficult situations and portraying progress, which I feel is what long term relationships are all about. Whether it's a romantic relationship, whether it's a friend relationship, it's always going one way or the other. You're either going closer to someone or you're growing apart from them and I think, knowing Rebecca Yaros' situation, with her husband being military and being deployed multiple times, I feel like she did a really good job portraying long distance relationships.
Mari:I know at various points in my marriage it's been long distance and that has its own bag of trials and tribulations. It does change how you have to communicate and what you can and can't do, and it changes your dynamic, not only when you're apart but when you're together and they're at the very beginning of their relationship and having to deal with that. I thought it was interesting seeing how they dealt and how the long distance affected them. I think that them learning to communicate and how they got better and better at it. They weren't great, I'm not saying they were great, I'm not saying it's a great. It's a great example of a romantic relationship but how they I think towards the end of the book get better at communicating, both at navigating the war and the things that pull them apart, but also each other and the games they're playing with each other and the things they're keeping away from each other.
Mari:And, very importantly, the fact that you can love someone and still argue with them, that you can argue in love, um, and that it's not like being in love with not. Oh, if you don't win this argument, you know, that's it kind of thing that you, you, you can do both, you can disagree, you can, you know, try and convince each other one way or the other, and it not be dependent on whether or not you love each other. And the other thing is that they're a little more into the relationship at this point and I liked how, yeah, there was spice stuff and there's still this like hot, first love, carnal, like relationship aspect to the romance, but it also kind of gets tempered some and it's like, okay, the sex is there, yeah, he's hot, yeah, she's hot, but then they're also like getting beyond that and learning like the deeper relationships beyond, like the first love aspect of the relationship. It's not perfect, but I thought it was a really good example of like progress in that direction. So I enjoyed the romance in this book much more than the last book.
Mari:It's a five for me. Yeah, I agree, you can see book much more than the last book.
Summer:It's a five for me. I agree. You can see how it's the long distance thing. Maybe that's why it's a turn off for me, because I can't do long distance. It did make you feel like you were in a long distance relationship.
Mari:Yeah, she did that really well. Yeah. What do we think about Spice?
Jonathan:Ooh, Are you kicking your feet right now? Um, I, you know there were two scenes, um that stood out to me. The one one was the when they were in this, when he was in the sparring gym. After she, um, after sagale's um, emotions kind of took control and they were in. They were in the sparring gym and he had, uh like I think part of it was like this is archaic in this, in this space, that they're in um, but then they had a water warmed bench and I was like you know, I kind of, I kind of wish I had a water warmed bench just in real life, and so then that kind of stuck with me. And then the other scene. I won't say the phrase, but if anyone else wants to jump, out there and talk about Zayden's prime list of possessions.
Mari:The scene, yes, yes.
Jonathan:Yeah, the scene read around the world, right, right, you know it's. It's not often that Zayden flexes his, his Royal muscles, you know like. And so when he, when he walked into a room and he said, all right, everybody out, and they were just like, yes, okay, we're out, we'll see you later, bye, and uh, and she, she, she, like it was poignant, although, like when, when, I, when, when ashley sits on a chair, it doesn't, she doesn't have the same reaction doesn't occur. So I don't understand what I'm doing wrong it's not your throne nah, she's not allowed in my bathroom.
Jonathan:Yeah, for spice. I besides those two scenes, I didn't. It wasn't the spiciest book for me, so I'm gonna just I'm gonna dial it back. I'm gonna give him a 12 restrain yourself restrain myself. Ash, what do you think of? What do you think of the spice? Was it like? Was it caliente or was like paprika?
Ashley:uh, I thought the spice was a four. Uh, I don't have any complaints. I thought it was appropriate spice, I thought. You know, there, I thought they did a really good job dancing around reestablishing trust and not using sex to win each other back over. You know, for the, what felt like the first half of the book felt like the first half of the book. Um, it was very responsible of him to acknowledge that. You know that anticipation in that space was integral to them. You know, re reforming those boundaries and and those trust lines again.
Ashley:Um, listen, I have not read another book that involves a throne scene of that nature. I hear that it exists. I thought, you know, my woman, my throne or whatever the line is was, was very interesting, pivotal for them, especially in in the sense that he was doing something specific for her, for her insecurities, for her you know her jealousy, her working through the stuff with cat. Um, yeah, it wasn't an overwhelmingly spicy book. I thought what was there was extremely appropriate. I think this was more about bonding and trusting again than tumbling into bed, which was nice. So I say a four.
Summer:I like, like you said, the emotional intelligence of him to just not use sex as a weapon. And in the first book that was his only goal was like we can sleep together but we can't fall for each other. And she was the one saying like, oh, you can't tell me not to feel. And now this book was complete reverse, where she's like, oh, we can just sleep together and he's like, no, we're not doing that. I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I liked the primal of the shower scene. It was just very close off now. Close off now. And yeah, you know the throne heard around the world. That's perfect. I gave it a four just because the amount of scenes for me were lacking, but it made up for it with how great the scenes were. I wanted more, so mine was a four, four stars for wanting more.
Rebecca:Oh, I will agree with that. I've for what there were. They were really good, but no you're right. A four the two that were the most pivotal for me were those two also, and the fact that he reassured her so well in that throne scene, and uh, nope, yep, I'm going to do a four.
Rebecca:Oh because the throne scene wasn't even like sex. It was just about her. Just about her and making her feel more secure and comfortable and get past her issues. I'm gonna give it a five. So bad, I'm gonna give it a five. I'm gonna give it a five. I'm gonna give it a five. Do it Because what there was there was really good for what I wanted out of it, so I'm going to give it a five.
Jonathan:We accept your five.
Mari:I basically agree with you. I gave it a five for the exact same reason. It is not. It didn't have a lot of like a huge amount of spice scenes in it, but I wasn't necessarily looking for that. I, you know, was into the balance of everything that was in the book. If that throne scene had not existed, it would probably would have been about a three or whatever, but that throne scene just pushed it over to a five. For me, the fact that it was about prioritizing your partner even in the midst of the world falling apart around you is super sexy. Like no notes Done, Five stars.
Summer:Mic drop yes, and the commanding the room. Just everyone out, yes, the room.
Rebecca:Yeah, just everyone out.
Mari:Yep, yes, sir, yep All right Now, probably Jonathan's favorite part, but you're going to have to pick from that 25-page document you got going on there and anything anybody else wants to add in on any like theories, anything else they want to talk about what you got.
Jonathan:All right, top down Most probable second signets. And so I have these ranked um from most most likely to um. To, like some, the what I feel. This is just feelings.
Mari:I have no let me say one thing before we get into it. I'm gonna have you do that like second say and then have any everybody else talk about any second sign segment, stuff they feel like, before you go on to your next theory. If that's okay, yeah, okay, go ahead.
Jonathan:Absolutely yeah. So I have. For the second segments, I have a like what I feel is most likely to occur all the way through like meh, it could happen, kind of vibes. Like meh, it could happen um kind of kind of vibes. So I feel like and it's not, none of it's confirmed, you know, like I think we're all out there chasing the same um clues, uh, like scooby-doo and the gang, the.
Jonathan:So I have four you can't see this second, I am holding up four for everybody to see. Um, four digits, uh. The first one is a remnant from andarna's original gift, which is so she not that she stops time, but that she inadvertently slows time. So there's a uh. There's many points throughout the book where she feels faster than she is, or people like a matrix kind of thing.
Jonathan:Yeah, like, oh, you move super fast and I think it's just subtle enough that it's not really being noticed, but it's happening and they do say that. I guess the line in the book is that most of the time, like most times, you know they lose their gift, but you know it's a they, they lose their gift, um, but you know so kind of doors still open. Um, the other one, uh, option number two is written in the book with the in that moment he wielded him. So maybe there's some sort of control, uh, over people. The third one I have is the one I hope with my heart happens. Um and uh, that's where she can walk into other people's minds. Uh, and some of that is, I'm hopeful, because if she can walk into other people's minds then, uh, maybe Liam's still alive.
Jonathan:I'll save that theory for a different section. And then the other one is well, what if Liam's really dead? Maybe she's just talking to the dead people. Those are my second signet theories. I'm leaning towards the first one where it's like she just kind of slows time down, she squeezes it Just a little pinch of time. That's all. That's where I'm at. Anyone else got any second signet theories?
Summer:I don't have any other theory. Look, unless you draw me a map to the point, I'm probably not going to find it.
Ashley:I'm not laughing at you. Normally I am just the happy-go-lucky reader right Like surprise me. I'm not playing Clue here.
Summer:Just living in my delusional world. But you mentioned speed and all I could think about was her. I believe it was the fighting scene with Jack Barlow where she states that like he's so much bigger and like more muscular and he's got the physical, but she's quick and she says that so many times throughout the book like I'm fast, like I got my speed ahead of everybody else, like I'm faster than all of them. So I'm kind of here for that one that maybe it's not that she's just fast or maybe it's something to do with her, like warping time.
Mari:Yeah, I kind of had one that's real red string theory.
Jonathan:Conspiracy theory. I love that.
Mari:But like okay, so really she doesn't wield lightning, she wields light, right. And because when he, when the I am really bad with everyone's names, but the professor was actually helping her how to aim after she left Basquiat, like in the second part of the book, the one that was training her how to control, he talked about how it's really light. It's not lightning, it's light, okay. At the same time in the book, all the students that came from Basquiat are still learning. They're learning physics. Okay, keep that in mind. Light is energy. E equals MC. Squared Energy is matter. I think she's going to be able to create things from nothing. Do what menders can't. Instead of mending can only mend what's there. She's going to be able to create things.
Ashley:Then she can fix.
Jonathan:Mend what's there.
Ashley:She's going to be able to create things that she can fix in darna's week right and she'll be able to ride in darna.
Mari:Well, that's my theory. It's not broken. Well, so that's a different theory. And darna's got a muscle missing. That makes it to where she's unable, potentially, to ride. To carry a rider, is what what they were saying?
Ashley:right what they said in the book. Yeah, we have a theory about that. About that, though, in this house. No, let's finish the current Cigna theories.
Jonathan:Don't go down another rabbit hole. Who took me? You pointed at the hole. I see the hole. I see the hole. Write it down. Write it down. Write it down. It's in the book.
Summer:Oh, that makes so much sense, because why else would equals mc squared? But that makes sense. Why the venin want her? Because she can create matter. Then they wouldn't need to create wyvern.
Ashley:Right, they could use her, but how would they?
Mari:know I don't know. I don't know how they know what they know. There's so much about the vernon that we the venin that we don't know. I don't understand the ven. There's so much about the Vernon that we don't know I don't understand the Venon, which I think we're meant to not understand them. I don't think we know how they know what they know. I don't think we know the limits of their powers. I don't think we know truly what they want.
Ashley:So I'm going to throw a theory out there that I came across very recently on TikTok, and so it's at the forefront of my brain and for the most part I think Jonathan's explored the others that we believe very firmly in our household. And first I will preface Marie, did you read the supposedly leaked chapters from Apple? You're so brave.
Jonathan:You should leave the supposedly leaked chapters out.
Ashley:I am? No, I am, but I was going to they don't really point to a whole bunch no, but this might resonate if she had um.
Ashley:So it doesn't say this exactly in in that leak, but somebody on tiktok said, um, what if violet has more than just one more signet? And that's why we're basically having such a tough time narrowing down what it is in the book. There are multiple things, that kind of pull, that extra power thought process. So yeah, she's, she's really fucking quick, but also she had to train to run. So that doesn't make a ton of sense overall for me, but it would if she only has access to that at certain times. Right, because Because it's more than one signet.
Ashley:And then another one was, you know, maybe she is talking to the dead, but again, you're only able to access that at very specific times. But then another one was the, the mind melding or the mind traveling. I do think that there's a very strong push for this one and I think because we don't see it except one or two times, maybe three. So there are two very significant scenes that she has with zayden where she is in there right, like like a fucking second skin. She's in him, um, as far as his mind goes, and the first one is in the throne room scene.
Jonathan:And the second one was his tongue in her.
Ashley:Nobody was talking to you. And then the second one was when he's fighting the Venom Sage or whatever it is, you know. At the end of the book there's a point to where and Jonathan says I'm wrong and I haven't gotten back to this point yet, so forgive me, but there's a point that she's so deep in the view of what Zayden is experiencing in that scene that she's almost no longer in her body she yes.
Ashley:I thought I remembered she was seeing through his eyes, she was smelling his smells, she was feeling his fear, um, and to me that was her entering his mind. But I will switch this up because someone else on TikTok said while she's in the room with the ward and, um, general sorngale is doing her and I'm trying not to spoil this for everybody who might be listening when the scene is happening to her mom, somebody yells I couldn't stop her or I can't stop her, it's something like that. And violet says I don't know if that's me or Brennan.
Summer:And now I'm remembering so many like these outer body experiences that she has.
Ashley:Right so, and you could even spend that further, right so, if because we have a Liam theory too, and I'm trying not to go down that rabbit hole too deeply- but, if she, if she can't, if she can walk minds and and see out of the mind of the person that she's able to get to.
Ashley:And there is, there's no body, right? We don't see liam's body when he dies. We just know that he, that he does die. But you know what? You know who else died? Freaking barlow, jack, freaking Barlow died right. So if, on the very off chance, either in a positive or negative way, that Liam's body isn't dead, if she can travel or walk through minds, whatever the language is going to be, and he's alive, then that's why she's able to talk to him.
Jonathan:I just got chills.
Ashley:I know.
Jonathan:So what I've been saying to Ashley is Malik's magic requires balance. Yeah, and if, if Nolan and others mended Jack Barlow, then it stands to reason that Brennan that they could be testing it with him. Yeah, that wasn't the rabbit hole that I'm going down.
Ashley:Okay, the my point is if she has more than one signet, perhaps it's because Andarna is not just one colored dragon, right? We don't know exactly what she is yet we see multiple times in the book that her scale has the sheen of what's next to her, and she says at the end that she's the seventh breed. So what if andarna is all of the colors? What if she's pearlescent? What if? What if she can change the color of her scales at whim and that gives her the ability to channel different magics into?
Ashley:violet or something like that I don't know, I'm not smart enough. That was the theory.
Jonathan:That was kind of like snowballing on tiktok this week so you're going down the rabbit hole of, uh like, andarna is the draw, four of dragons she's the wild card.
Ashley:The wild card, but she is the wild card.
Mari:Yeah, do you guys think we're gonna find out the signet in the third book?
Summer:I hope so Me too.
Ashley:Yeah Gosh, we deserve some kind of closure. But here's the thing the Andarna story.
Ashley:I'm convinced that that's going to be our cliffhanger you know, for book three, in a way that it almost was for book two. You get some a little tidbit, but not the whole picture. A little tidbit, um, but not the whole picture. So I I I would hope that we get clarity on the signet because arguably we're going to be halfway through this series as, as rebecca understands it currently, so we we're. I think three is going to be like our peak right, like that's where we're going to get to the heightened of of the problem, the multitude of problems that we're experiencing in the story, the drama, the, the war, the fighting.
Jonathan:I'm going to disagree with you on that one. I think that three can be informational, but I don't know that I think two is informational I think we're going to get the um the zach morris uncomfortable pain point transition in book four and and then we'll seek resolution in five.
Ashley:So you think three is going to be informational. You think two was a problem yeah, I think she's got.
Jonathan:She's going to connect some dots, but it's going to leave us with so I apologize more questions than answers. Um, she has to keep you mother, has to keep you hooked on her job so it tastes so good like.
Summer:Two is probably just background and building the story, and three is going to be like all the drama yeah, yeah, it'll add to um to a lot of it.
Jonathan:Like the theories are just running wild right now.
Mari:I think I think three is going to be half half. I think three is going to be maybe the last little bit of setup. So I think there is still some world stuff that we need to figure out where the pieces are before we can figure out where they're going. But I think three is going to end on the beginning of the big drama. Whatever the big battle big drama is going to be, I think four is going to be basically the drama and then it's five books total. Right, she's debating back and forth.
Mari:Okay. So I think, whatever the last book, obviously it's going to be like the denouement, it's going to be coming apart, you know, figuring out where it goes. All right, anything else before I wrap it up, guys, I really do need to wrap it up.
Summer:I'm worried to keep going with my theories because there's so many.
Mari:So yeah, we'll call I'll stop, I'm gonna wrap it up. Thanks for listening to of swords and soulmates. Before we go, make sure to check the show notes, rate, review and subscribe to us on your podcast app of choice. It helps others to find us. Follow us on instagram at of swords and soulmates, or join the facebook page at of swords of soulmates. Check us out on our website, ofswordsandsoulmatescom, or on YouTube TikTok for now Pinterest with the same username. If you'd like to offer a suggestion for a future episode, give your opinion, give us a book you think we should read, etc. Please reach out to us If you want to read along with us as we prepare for a new episode. You can follow us on Goodreads at ofswordsandsoulmates, or for chapter-by-chapter interaction on the Fable app at the Of Swords and Soulmates book club. We hope you'll join us in two weeks for our next episode, when we read Thrown in the Dark by AK Caggiano. Thank you for watching.
