Iron Flower (Legend of the Iron Flower)

Iron Flower (Legend of the Iron Flower Book Two) is a sword and sorcery fantasy novel. It’s heroine is a young woman, Rose, whose physique rivals the greatest Amazon warrior you can imagine. The narrative carries her from one battle to another in a story that’s light on plot and heavy on battles.

If you’re in to that sort of thing, you’ll enjoy the book. For myself, I couldn’t finish it because there’s no real “quest” driving the plot forward and the prose is stilted at best. I wanted to get caught up in what Rose wanted to do, but there wasn’t enough in common between us for me to empathize with her, to make her quest mine.

Usually epic sagas have a great quest or some compelling need driving the protagonist forward, show more such as destroying the ring in Lord of the Rings. I kept looking for that in this book, but the closest thing I found came was her desire to rid the realm of something labeled a “Clarity.”

In the end, I wanted to like the book. There is a great story here, but it suffers from too many grammar and style errors and a plot that took way too long to develop to hold my interest. show less

After winning this second book via LT, I got really involved in this series and I must say I really did enjoy every moment. You most certainly need to read Iron Bloom (Legend of the Iron Flower Book One) first just like I had to, and I'm so glad that I did. They are filled with heart-throbbing action and adventure, magic, friendship, companionship and loss.

I adored Rose straight away. Such a strong, powerful and unique woman; just wish I could be that strong tbh, you get so involved into the storyline. Rose has most certainly got her heart in the right place, she thinks more of others than she does herself. Surprisingly after all the wars that she's encountered and all the injuries she herself has suffered, Rose keeps on coming back for show more more and even tho she doesn't agree with battles, she doesn't like anyone getting hurt so she protects; she's a born Warrior and protector and I believe she gets tougher all the time.

Thanks Billy for putting this into LT, so I had an opportunity to read and review this amazing story of yours. I will be most definitely be catching up with Rose again hopefully in the next series. show less

In book 1 we meet Rose Agen, a young girl who by the age of 16 is a warrior of so many battles to rival that of a seasoned veteran. Battles where she gained fame for her strength, endurance and skill and seemingly miraculous recoveries from wounds fatal to anyone else. But being the tender girl she was she suffered from her part in the taking of so many lives and from the loss of comrades and friends, at times, more than she thought her poor heart could take.

Book 2 takes place about 2 years after the end of book 1, Rose is a young woman now, a mightier warrior than ever. While knowing that her presence on the battlefield can bring a faster end to conflict lessening the number of lives lost it still is a burden she carries in her heart. show more So I was happy to see that now she has brave loyal friends (turning to love with 1) by her side, companionship she desperately needed. Rose still places herself in harms way wherever the fight for good may be, she faces many skirmishes on the battlefield as Kayland is invaded, fighting a foe greater than any other before and against magical forces testing every skill she has.

Author Billy Wong once again keeps the action rolling, leading Rose and her companions from 1 predicament to the next. He gives more of an introduction to what many considered "old world magic" than that which was slightly touched on in book 1. This new addition to the storyline left me eager to start book 3, Iron Bonds, and see what Rose faces next!! show less

Rose is back in book 2 and the series just keeps getting better.
Sadly, Roses love dies in the first book, so did many of the other folk that fought side by side with her. Rose has also lost so much to betrayal. She no longer wants to be a warrior, she wants to live quietly - but that dream is too faraway to be a reality, once again - she becomes an even better warrior than before. This is not a repeat of the first book! Yes, there are tons of gory battles - but each one is different. The ethical issues she faced earlier are cloudier.

Rose will need everything she has learned to face her new challenges. Alongside with her new partner Finn, she now seeks what she fears the most. Magic. It is time to bring magic back into the world. Not show more everyone agrees with this. When the magic does start to come back, the costs are high.

It is not out of the ordinary for Rose to kill well over 100 men by herself in one single battle. Now there are other creatures to face. The hardest battle of all though, is Finn. We sometimes forget that Rose is a woman; she has the same wants and needs as any other woman out there. How does she compete for the love she so desires, and is Finn strong enough to be that love? Find out more in Book 3, Iron Bond. show less

Rose Agen is an exceptional fighter, who helps the people of Brushknoll, making a stand in the face of Prince Wilner's army from Coblan. Rose knows that the fighting won't end until either Rose or Prince Wilner are dead. Rose battles Prince Wilner to stalemate and amazed by his recovery time from his injuries. Rose is also sick of fighting because she mourns the loss of every person with knowledge that could've been passed down to the next generation. Rose misses her love Finn, it's been a long time since she's seen him. Rose finds comfort in her other friend Derrick, a scholar, helping the people of Brushknoll. Why is Prince Wilner attacking Kayland? Will Rose reunite with Finn? Will the Coblan army be defeated? Will Rose continue to show more fight? Your answers await you in Iron Flower.

I definitely see alot of change in Rose from Iron Bloom to Iron Flower. Rose appears to be more cautious in regards to magic and what it can do. Just because Rose has more strength than ten men together doesn't mean she can't hurt. I love the way the author shows many facets of Rose's personality and depth of emotion from her is priceless. I look forward to reading the next book in the series~Iron Bonds. show less

This book, the second in the series, is an interesting mix between Arthurian legend (with a heroine instead of a hero) and zombie apocalypse fiction. I haven't read the first book of the series, but I didn't need to in order to understand this one.
I didn't really get into it because the world that the author created for this story was quite strange to me, much more zombie apocalypse than medieval, judging by the characters' diction and the narration style. It just wasn't to my taste.
Everything about the relationship between Rose and Finn seemed quite childish, like a contemporary teenage romance without the technology, which frustrated me. The story certainly was action-packed and exciting, though, that's for sure.

Reminiscent of a 2nd ed D&D adventure I played as a kid, Iron Flower proved to be fun in an innocent way. The language was anachronus in places and the characters a bit cliche, but Mr. Wong's passion for heroic fantasy comes through loud and clear.