Book Review – Threshing Day

Welcome to Threshing Day, the brutal, high-stakes trial where would-be riders at Basgiath War College fight to earn the bond of a dragon or die trying. Amid ruthless competition and dragon fire, these thirteen cadets must survive a battlefield where desperate rivals will do anything to gain an advantage and dragons decide one’s ultimate fate―and where a single choice can forge a rider…or destroy them.
Xaden Riorson, the powerful leader. Rhiannon Matthias, the clever friend. Dain Aetos, the dutiful rule-follower. Liam Mairi, the kindhearted protector. Ridoc Gamlyn, the jokester. Sawyer Henrick, the underdog. Garrick Tavis, the dependable aide. Imogen Cardulo, the impulsive fighter. Bodhi Durran, the second-in-command. Mira Sorrengail, the fearless rider. Brennan Sorrengail, the brilliant tactician. Aaric Graycastle, the restless royal. Sloane Mairi, the determined sister.
On Threshing Day, there’s only one rule: don’t die.
The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.Reading Order:Book #1 Fourth WingBook #2 Iron FlameBook #3 Onyx Storm
Though Threshing Day can be enjoyed as an introduction to the series, due to contained spoilers, it is best read after Onyx Storm

Julie’s Review:

This book was such a gift to the fandom! We’ve all been waiting for AGES for the next book (looking at you publishers: why release Iron Flame in November and Onyx Storm immediately the next January, then make us wait years?) – and this gave us a dive into the world and characters we’ve loved. Can we just stop for a long moment and admire the beauty of the illustrations in this book? Full color, gorgeous dragons. Sprayed edges! Just don’t understand why the hardback cover is blank when you remove the dust jacket. Might get a sticker…

I read them out of order, because I needed to get the crying out of the way first. So I read Liam’s and Sloane’s chapters before reading the others. Sloane’s hit HARD! And if I had to read “Liam was the best of us…” one more time! 😥

 

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Then I read Xaden’s chapter. Then I skipped around. And yes, I got the graphic audio version too, and immediately listened to Xaden’s first. I can’t get enough of Gabriel Michael’s voice.

The chapters that stayed with me the most: Sloane’s and Imogen’s and Aaric’s and Xaden’s of course. I’m absolutely on board with the theory that Aaric is the “brother” at the end of Onyx Storm. RY hinted at the dragons being secretive and not truthful in one of the interview clips I’ve seen, and we definitely got some of that insight in two of those chapters.

I really enjoyed getting more insight into how the dragons choose their bond and how they magically do seem to know everything about everyone to make their choices. The dragons obviously know more about the war than the humans, and they seem to have positioned themselves accordingly. So looking forward to the next book finally coming out one day soon. But when Rebecca??

Did you do the dragonkind.com bonding adventure? I died the first time and the second time I bonded:

 

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BTW I posted this on release day of Threshing Day and it went wild!

 

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Lynn’s Review:

You are either reading Threshing Day because you love the series and want to know more about the characters and their dragons. Or you are hate the series and everything about it. If you are undecided, I found this enjoyable and informative. It’s extra content to tide us over between books. Do you need to read this? No, probably not. Should you read this? Yes, definitely.

Let’s talk about the stories that I am still thinking about days later.

• Imogen: Wow. Just wow. This is the one that stands out the most for me. From learning more about Imogen, who I don’t think we knew much about, to sneaky dragons. I was entranced from the beginning. Plus that WOW of an ending had me 😮. 
• Sloane: After reading Liam’s story, we all knew this was going to be heart-aching. And yeah. It was. 
• Aaric: I think this one, the last in the book, will have the most impact on the series going forward. I am a lot more curious of Aaric and his POV in the future books after reading this story. It was amusing to see Molvic, Aaric’s dragon, in the earlier chapters, looking for a rider to bond, but not finding one worthy. 

And the ones which were meh or I barely remember:

• Dain: Still the freaking worst. Even if he gets a redemption arc, I will never forgive him. 
• Bodhi: Did I even read this? No memory. Which I think is indicative of Bodhi in general. A background character who may have more details to come or become more important. 

Also – check out my cook bookmark from Velaris City!

Threshing Day (Wing and Claw Collection) (The Empyrean)

• Hardcover Book

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