#55: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re diving into the prologue and chapters 1–15 of Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros and BUNCHIES… something is OFF. Like… deeply, unsettlingly OFF.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

We pick up in the aftermath of absolute devastation, and immediately the vibes are wrong. Jesinia is translating everything, secrets are surfacing, and Andarna casually drops that she may have altered a venin by changing her scales?? I’m sorry—WHAT? If that’s true, that could change everything we thought we knew about defeating them.

Meanwhile, Violet is no longer saying “I will not die today”… it’s now “I will save him.” And that shift? It tells you everything. Because at the center of all of this chaos is Xaden—and the terrifying possibility of what he’s becoming.

Because let’s talk about it.
The pull of power.
The connection to the earth.
The fact that he can sense venin.

Yeah… we’re not okay.And things only get weirder from there. Venin are infiltrating Basgiath, targeting the weak, and we meet a mysterious silver-haired figure who can wield lightning?! I’m sorry—since WHEN can venin do that? And why does she feel… connected to Violet?

The worldbuilding is going absolutely feral again—ancient journals, hidden runes, missing truths about Navarre, and repeated mentions of “the six”… except now we know there’s actually a seventh. (Hi, Andarna??)

We also get MAJOR red flags across the board:
Brennan looks exhausted in a way that feels familiar…
Xaden is unraveling—emotionally and physically
And Violet’s mother?? The more we learn, the less anything makes sense.

Oh—and can we TALK about that unsent letter from Lilith? Because not only does she clock Violet’s poor taste in men (same), but it raises a million questions about her past, her knowledge, and what she’s been hiding this entire time.

On the political side, things are escalating fast. Violet is charged with treason, alliances are shifting, and Xaden is officially named Duke of Tyrrendor—which is terrifying now that he is venin.

And then there’s the magic.
Signets are getting rarer. Stronger. Stranger.
We’re hearing about once-in-a-generation powers appearing at the same time.
And the balance of magic? Yeah… that might be breaking.

By the time we hit chapter 15, the tension is unbearable. Because Xaden himself basically admits that if it came down to it… he would choose Violet over everything. Over the war. Over morality. Over everyone.

And if that’s not foreshadowing something absolutely devastating… I don’t know what is.

We’re breaking down all the early clues, the venin infiltration, the Andarna implications, and of course… the growing fear that Xaden might be slipping into something we can’t come back from.

Let’s get into it, Bunchies!