I have seen so much hype about this book, I thought I would like it better. I normally do not mind alternating points of view but add in the time difference and it was just too much.

After getting through the slowness and confusion that took up the first couple hundred pages, I finally figured out the way this story was flowing. I think out of both of the protagonists, I loved Eliana the most. Rielle seemed like a lustful and desperate woman which I wasn’t entirely a fan of, but goodness some parts were steamyyyyy. Eliana was a badass, strong willed, stone hard killer and her world was so horrifying and thrilling at the same time. I look forward to seeing how the story will continue. I think this book showed how power can ruin and sanctify worlds and how history can either repeat itself or have opposite outcomes.

4.5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

It took a little over halfway through reading this to be really engaged with the story. And I was surprised that it took so long seeing it’s positive reception. Part of the issue was not immediately liking the characters, but as the story developed so did my regard for them.

The prologue was one of the best hooks that I’ve read in a long long time.

Looking forward to the next installment.

There are some books that are so problematic that they end up making you question the state of the universe.

There are some books that are horribly written, and you wished you didn't bother reading them.

Then we have Furyborn, which was none of the above. So what the heck was it, Aimee?! Calm down, my booknerd friends, I'm getting there! Furyborn, to put it simply, was just so boring and forgettable. Too harsh? Heck, I can't even remember most of the characters' names anymore. Let me get into detail for you guys:

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1. First off, can we talk about how freakishly long this book was!? (Goodreads says the hardcover is 512 effin' pages!!!) But that's not even the problem. The problem is that it didn't need to be long. Take off 200 pages and there wouldn't be a significant difference in terms of plot. Maybe I wouldn't have fallen asleep while reading!

2. Furyborn was told in alternating perspectives–one from the present, and one from the past. I was alright with this at first, until suddenly the cutting between chapters didn't make any sense anymore. The swaps weren't smooth, and often times it made me more frustrated rather than wanting more. This kind of made it hard for me to care for the characters?? Or maybe it was something else.

3. Like I said, I don't give a single crap about any of the characters. Their personalities are all kind of messed up, like they themselves aren't sure of who they are. They have too many conflicting traits that don't match up. Let's take one of the heroines, Eliana, as an example. Is she an assassin, or is she an angsty teenager? I dunno, you tell me.

4. The romance is WEIRD AS HECK. It's kind of a love triangle-square thing and I can't even describe it. I don't want to spoil this for people who still plan to read the book, but generally, things were… odd.

Anyway, I did appreciate what the book tried to be. There were some interesting concepts here and there, and I enjoyed the elemental aspect, but overall, I'm sure I'll be forgetting Furyborn as a whole.

5 OUT OF 5 STARS

HOLY. BANANAS!!

I loved this book so much. Truth be told, I almost didn't expect to love this book so much — there was so much hype, and I was very skeptical about the dual timelines and the cosmic war spanning millennia. It just didn't seem possible at all for that to play out well.

I was overjoyed to find out that I was wrong! Ha! This book was so well-crafted in its structure, such a marvelous example of excellent storytelling, and such an intriguing premise. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

This book is so fun. I constantly am on the search for fantasy books and series that have a strong female character that has depth. In this book I get two! I cannot wait to continue with this author and her series. The word was hard to leave longer after I finished the book.

This book was so, so awesome! Definitely a new YA fantasy series that's going to receive a lot of hype as it continues. It's a fantastic tale that skillfully weaves together the two protagonist's timelines and leaves you hanging in all the best ways.

Um, this was amazing. Thank you netgalley for this e-ARC! I couldn't put this book down once I started! Cant wait to read it a second time!

This is one of those books that I could just not get into for the life of me, but I can see other why other people might enjoy it. For me though, the biggest struggle was the two different point of views, in fact I got to a point where I was not even slightly paying attention to Rielle timeline. While I was slightly more interested in Eliana's timeline, I still for the life of me just could not get into this story and this world and would dread picking the book back up every time I put it down. While I did not particularly enjoy this/get into it, I didn't hate the book and I can see why others might enjoy it if they can be drawn in unlike me.

"Furyborn" is one of the most hyped releases of 2018, and I was so excited to read it. At first, I really struggled to get into the story. The opening scene is quite dramatic and confusing, and I do think it was a rather rough beginning to the book. However, as I read on I became more and more engrossed in the story.

Rielle’s chapters are at first a little slow, but once we get into the drama, action, and magic, it really picked up. I loved seeing her journey as she goes through the trials to test her magic. To see her struggle and learn and grow. To see her confidence and pride. To see her arc over the course of the book and understand how her actions changed the world.

I also liked the romance; a friends to lovers romance. It was sweet, hot, and full of tension. I found it really anchored the story as the stakes got increasingly higher in the trials.

Eliana’s chapters were compelling from the start, with her sharp tongue, confidence, and dark past. She’s attracted to both genders, and not shy about seeking out pleasure. It was great to see such a sex positive character. I feel like Eliana is judged too harshly, and that did detract from my enjoyment of the book at times. I felt it was there just to add conflict but not in a truly meaningful way.

Her plot became my focus, to be honest. And that’s because she has a mystery to unravel. Her relationship with her brother is adorable and heartwarming. I honestly loved it. The romance is a bit insta-love for my tastes, so I’m not sure what to think of it.

"Furyborn" was a fun read, once I got past the rocky opening. It had its weak parts, but overall I found the story fun and engaging. I’m curious to see what will happen in the next book!

To begin I found the story to be a bit confusing. The Prologue really drew me in and I was intrigued to know more but the main POVs then jumped to two different time periods and I was finding it a bit difficult to follow what was going on. However, I kept going and I'm glad I did as I quickly found myself drawn into the story and wanting to know what was going to happen next. The story is told through two different perspectives and I know duel POV stories can be off putting to some but I quite enjoy them. I liked seeing how the two stories became entwined with each other. My favorite POV was Rielle's I loved following her in the trials, this sort of storyline really appeals to me. The writing was fast paced and action packed and I really found myself saying just one more chapter. It did not feel like I was reading a 500 page book.

I enjoyed the characters too. As the two main characters, Rielle and Eliana definitely had their flaws but there was also something likable about them both. Both characters are independent and fearsome in their own way and you get to see them both grow into themselves over the course of the book and I can't wait to see what becomes of them in the next installment. I also quite enjoyed the romance between Rielle and Audric, although I know this does have quite a split opinion amongst other reviewers. I was really rooting for them and the sex scenes didn't bother me. They demonstrated consensual sex and to me that's important. I wasn't a massive fan of Eliana's romance though. It was quite predictable and it seemed to be lacking in development. That being said it didn't bother me that much.

Overall I really enjoyed this one. It's been a while since I got stuck in to a really good YA fantasy story, especially one that's part of a series. I will definitely be picking up the next installment as soon as I can.

I loved this book. Fantasy is one of my favorite genres so this book was a great find for me. This book was so riveting I couldn't put it down. The girls, Rielle and Eliana were so great I loved them so much. This is just one book that I'll read over and over again!

The prologue is excellent, but the rest of book is a drag. I was quite surprised by the sexual content within, a lot more graphic than I would expect and along with language used here and there I would suggest this for the older crowd only.

I mainly got interested in this book since I heard it would have bisexual representation. Both main characters are ambiguous and leans toward being morally gray. But, I just couldn’t connect with any of these characters. Elianna reminds me of Celaena Sardothian/Aelin from the 'Throne of Glass series. I didn't really care for Rielle's story. I didn't really care for her and Audric's romance or life. There is a really weird love triangle between Rielle, Audric, and Corien. Isn't he literally A VOICE IN HER HEAD?? How is she attracted to a voice in her head?? Though I did like that the angels are the bad guys in this one. I would definitely recommend this one to any high fantasy lovers. If you like ToG, you will probably love this one.

Claire Legrand does an excellent job of creating a new world. Her characters are vibrant and human with believable flaws. She asks the ultimate question, what would you do to protect your family, your friends, your world?

Great fun! Most of the characters had a 3-dimensional, flawed, kind of broken-but-still-trying thing going on that I really enjoyed. The magic and the world-building was pretty excellent, too.

I am so, so frustrated with this book. After reading the prologue, I was intrigued. Legrand had set up the makings of a beautiful fantasy, but unfortunately she just didn't follow through. There were so many amazing elements to the story, but none of them were developed enough to make it a success. I'm going to break it down into a couple points to more clearly explain my thoughts. 

Lots of action + very little valuable human interaction = terrible characterization

This book was almost non-stop action from the first page. It is well-written action, don't get me wrong, but it was too much. Despite its 500 pages, Furyborn contains only a small amount of character development, so I really couldn't care about the action. The novel is told from two perspectives, about a thousand years apart, and both female protags are bland. Legrand described their characteristics instead of actually showing them. The first, Rielle, is supposed to be some epic magic wielder, but SHE REALLY SUCKED AT MAGIC. Next we have Eliana, the Dread of Orline, feared assassin, badass fighter ninja lady--BUT SHE REALLY SUCKED AT FIGHTING. I don't want to talk about the characters. They were dull, whiney, self-pitying, predictable, and completely lack motives for their actions. They added nothing meaningful to the story. Anyways. 

The world-building was excellent...but there was no plot, characters, or development to act upon it

The plot never seemed like it was going anywhere, and that's fine if the book is character-driven. This one is not. The characters spent most of their time threatening to kill people and sending their crushes "coy smiles". Very cute. It's just sad because the concept of the book was so complex, original, and interesting, but Legrand spent her time focusing on all the wrong things. She can write well, and she is very good at creating setting, but I think she just assumed that we knew what was going on her head, when really, she should have explained it better. The magic system was interesting, but once again, needed work. I wanted to know more about the politics, the history; I wanted to see the characters grow and develop bonds. It just didn't happen.

Very sensitive and explicit topics, but lack of sophistication in the rest of the story to match

Another thing that pissed me off was how indelicate the writing was. Warning: this novel contains rape, murder, torture, abuse, child trafficking, distasteful cussing, and explicit sex. Some books use these topics in mature ways to help build worlds and characters, and some authors can use it in ways that add something to the story (George R.R. Martin, I'd say. Maybe Stephen King too). However, Legrand mixes her simplistic, YA writing with these heavy subjects just randomly thrown in without warning. Not only is it inconsistent, it seems like she added it in for the shock factor, because there was no time spent fleshing it out. 

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book to those who are tired of half-baked YA fantasies. It had a lot of potential that was wasted on needless action rather than development. It had some delicate topics and the ending left a lot to be desired. I won't be picking up the sequel.

Furyborn reads a lot like Throne of Glass and its peers, with lots of action, a massive cast, and definite anti-heroines. Yes, two of them. It's this large cast and the 1100 year jump in time each chapter (with POV change) that made the first third of the book confusing. By the time I finally figured out what was going on and who was who, things were changing so fast that the people and events just blurred.

I can't explain without getting into some spoilers, but there were also a bunch of things that were just... too dark given the current political climate. Perhaps when this trilogy is over and there's a promise of resolution, I would react better to the book?

As it stands right now, I'm giving the book a "fine" review as it's nothing I'm going to rave about to my friends but also isn't poorly written. It will most likely appeal to a variety of fantasy readers, just not me.

This is such an interesting book. It follows two women thousands of years apart in time, both with great power. The story was fun and fast paced and the characters were very enjoyable. I really cannot wait to read more about this world so I'm hoping for more books! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Furyborn was surrounded by ALL THE HYPE for MONTHS before it released. It was EVERYWHERE, and as a huge YA Fan, I knew I would have to read it, sooner rather than later.

Furyborn was essentially:

1) A magnificent tale told across two millennia by two young girls
2) One lives in a land surrounded my magic, and the other in a land where magic is a fairy-tale of the past and all they know is the Empire that conquers all
3) One of these girls is an assassin and one is a temple acolyte
4) A story surrounding a prophecy about these two girls – a Sun Queen and a Blood Queen, one with the power to destroy the world and the other with the power to save it.
5) It has kingdoms, swoony princes, power, magical trials, angels and it’s just SUCH A GORGEOUS BOOK TO OWN!

MY THOUGHTS:

1) I expected a LOT going into this book. A majority of the early reviews I read RAVED about this book, and I was very hopeful that I had found the NEXT THING I WOULD FALL HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH. Now, as I sit at the end of Furyborn, I find that while I ENJOYED it, for the most part, this story was predictable and kind of MEH, except for ONE TWIST on page 343.

2) If I had to choose between Rielle and Eliana, I would definitely choose Rielle’s story. They were both a little predictable, but I definitely loved Rielle’s dark and twisty viewpoint better!

3) Furyborn was QUITE a long book. I feel like a lot of it was running around, especially in Eliana’s story when she kept travelling from place X to place Y, and not much happened that we DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW?

4) I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Audric and Rielle together, with their forbidden, best-friend romance.

Honestly, I liked Furyborn, but I didn’t fall in love with it. There was a lot of hype around it, and it just didn’t live up to all that hype for me. A 3.5 star novel, but I hope I will continue on with the series!

I'm going to be honest here and admit that I almost DNF'd this before the 20% mark...and maybe I should have.

I felt so lost for the first quarter of this book. It was like I was thrown into this world and expected to know everything about it in order to enjoy the story. Almost like this was a book 2 in a series instead of the introduction. I had no clue how anything functioned in this world and that caused my interest to wane. The world building improves as the actual plot of the novel begins. Slowly you get the pieces you need to understand the world and by the end of the novel, I knew how the world worked and the like.

But the plot itself suffers from a prologue that gives too much away too early on and dampens the suspense. You know how Rielle and Eliana are connected before you even start Chapter 1; so by the time Eliana gets the truth (in the last quarter of the book) you start to wonder what took so long.

I did start to get into this book just before the halfway point. I found Rielle's character to be very interesting thanks to the glimpse we get of the person she becomes in the prologue and the little tidbits of her legend told in Eliana's. What happens to cause such a shift in her persona? We get the answers in time and I enjoyed that. Eliana I didn't particularly care for. Perhaps if I didn't know her connection to Rielle I would have found her to be intriguing but she just seemed so generic and cliche.

When I finished this book, I decided I was going to be on the fence about picking up the sequel. But as I was writing my review, I downgraded my rating from a 3, to a 2.5 and then to a 2 because I didn't have too many positive things to say. And I also felt satisfied in terms closure with these characters. My major questions were answered and I have a good idea of where things are going and it just doesn't interest me.

So this is where I part ways with this series but I think those who like slower fantasies and don't need lots of twists all the time will enjoy the pacing of this novel.