I’m not sure if they hype around this book got me or what, but I found it just... OK. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t put it down and never pick it back up. But I definitely didn’t love reading it. I found the back and forth between timelines and characters very jarring, as there wasn’t really anything to link them in my mind for the majority of the book. I also just didn’t really identify with the characters much. I wanted to love this, but I can’t say that I did. I don’t know that I’ll continue with the series based on the first book.

Two opposing viewpoints: Claire Legrand's Furyborn is, at its crux, about a war between angels and humans; the war between angels and humans in Claire Legrand's Furyborn is a nominal plot point at best.

In the end, the truth is somewhere in the middle. When I settled in to read Furyborn, it was with visions of Kendare Blake's Three Dark Crowns and Erika Johansen's Tearling series' dancing in my head. So color me surprised when the word "angel" makes its grand entrance in the first thousand words of chapter one and remains a central theme.

I take no umbrage with angel-centric plots; in fact I devoured Susan Ee's Penryn & the End of Days series. But I didn't realize that's what I was getting into and, I must admit, it immediately made me wary. A poorly executed story about angels can go awry quite quickly. In the end, though, my misgivings were for naught. The dual narrated stories of Queen Rielle and assassin Eliana were so intricate and fascinating that the angel plot rarely registered when it wasn't the prime focus.

"The Gate will fall...the angels will return and bring ruin to the world. You will know this time by the rise of two human Queens--One of blood and one of light. One with the power to save the world. One with the power to destroy it. Two Queens will rise. They will carry the power of the Seven. They will carry your fate in their hands. Two Queens will rise."

Rielle's story would begin at the end...the end of her, that is. Her introductory chapter is also the chapter in which she dies as "at once the loveliest and most terrifying thing" who had allied with angels and killed her husband. Her story then backtracks two years to when she was merely a girl harboring a dark secret (is there any other kind?) and a rebellious streak (see earlier rhetorical question). In a world where only a few can still wield powers over magical elements, with the physical aid of a "casting," she can wield all seven unassisted. When this is (inevitably) discovered, she is rumored to be the Sun Queen, protector of the kingdom and its people. But first, she must undergo trials à la The Hunger Games of all seven elements to prove she can control these powers, or else she will be executed.

Eliana's story begins 1,020 years later, after Rielle was instead found to be the Blood Queen...no need of an explanation for that moniker. Eliana is better known as the Dread of Orline, a silent and seemingly invincible assassin of Red Crown rebels who move against the Empire, which rose to power following Rielle's betrayal (if it helps, consider Eliana as Boba Fett). All of that comes to a screeching halt when her mother is kidnapped by a mysterious entity that has been taking girls and women from less reputable areas. It's then that she forges a bitter alliance with the Wolf, a high-ranking member of the Red Crown who promises to trade Eliana's mother's location in exchange for her skills.

"Dread," he murmured, his breath caressing her cheek, "is only a feeling, easily squashed. But wolves, my dear, have teeth."

This is where I’ll leave the remainder of the story to the author and share the Good and the Bad of Furyborn.

The Good:

-The Writing of Rielle:
Let's be honest: When you start a book and one of the protagonists is immediately revealed to be a Blood Queen who murdered her husband and sold her people out to angels that would massacre and conquer them, you don't exactly expect to root for her. But I did. Even though I knew where her story would end, I found myself joyous at every victory and angered by every betrayal she went through on her journey to the end. Maybe even more so because I knew how it all played out and I wanted so desperately to learn why so I could absolve her of her sins.

-Ludivine:
As Rielle's best friend and fiancé of prince Audric, whom we know Rielle later marries, it would be easy to go down the same old clichéd road of treachery and a grating love triangle--but we don't. Without spoiling any plots, Ludivine is a breath of fresh air in what has become a stale role to play.

-The Multiple Narrations:
I've had a lot of luck with multi-narrators lately, but it's not always the case. I really got to know Rielle and Eliana equally, with no favoritism to either. Legrand certainly knows how to end a chapter, though. With each jump back to the other story I found myself always on the precipice of something grand and exciting, only to be grounded again for another 10 minutes.

The Bad:

-The "Twists":
There are four major twists in this book, as far as I'm concerned. While one did catch me off guard and genuinely surprise me, the first was obvious from jump street and the second and third I caught on to a little late, but well before they were established. I'm unsure how these could have been more difficult to crack, but maybe they shouldn't have been twists at all. Maybe they should have been known to the reader, if not the characters in question. While there's always something smugly self-satisfying about guessing a twist, there's also something innately disappointing.

-The Wolf's 180:
When we first meet the Wolf (Simon to his friends) he is mercilessly fighting--and winning--a battle against Eliana. For a good portion of the book he is brash and unyielding in his coolness toward her, even though he works hard to keep her alive. His change of heart and complete personality shift comes nearly out of nowhere and is a bit jarring and implausible.

-Rozen:
That's right; Eliana's kidnapped mother for whom her entire plot is predicated upon has a name! I don't know why, but I felt zero compulsion to care if she was rescued or not. Even though she was at the core of everything Eliana did, I kept looking to other developments and considered this a side quest at best. There was a touching scene involving Rozen, but I think it affected me more as someone with a mother, rather than someone who cares about Eliana's.

Special Addition of
The Curious:
I don't normally stray from the Good and the Bad, but this one was a quandary. This book is considered Young Adult, which may give some readers (silly) pause before reading. While it did read smoothly like a lot of YA books, I didn't necessarily consider the material thus. I've had YA blinders on before, so I could relent that, considering the lack of cursing and overt gore/horror of this book, it may begrudgingly be YA...BUT the sex scenes in this book tip it far over the scales of any YA I've ever read. In fact, with the exception of Fifty Shades of Grey (guilty), I don't think I've ever read a more sexually explicit book in my life. So while I don't think anyone should be turned off by the YA ranking, I don't necessarily recommend any younger children read this, lest they be turned on (see what I did there?).

TL;DR: Furyborn is a 500+ page book that reads like 200. If you want to get lost in a story of magic, love, friendship, betrayal, action, and the strength of women (and don't mind a few mentions of angels) you would be furious with yourself for missing out on Furyborn.

Amazing storytelling! Great development of the characters and a captivating plot make this book a must-read. Would love to read the next installment.

This was a pretty enjoyable start to a fantasy series. My favourite thing about it was probably the prologue of the book, mostly because the action and intrigue was so jaw-dropping, especially when we then immediately went back Rielle as a younger woman already knowing something of how she would end up. I also liked that there were some creepier aspects of this book that differentiated it from other similar YA fantasies and some interesting world-building, though it could've been built up a little bit better. At times it felt like some things were explained well and something things were just mentioned and half-explained and then the book moved on while I was like "wait what?"

Some of the twists in the book were good. Some of the twists were a little...off the wall. Like so out of nowhere and just not seeded enough that when it got revealed I had to go back and reread a couple times to make sure I was getting things right. Overall it just felt like it could've been a bit more tightly plotted and planned out and that with some more foreshadowing and hints, some of the twists would've given the reader more of an "a-ha" moment when they got revealed later on.

I liked some of the characters but I didn't always feel like I got a chance to really connect with a lot of them like I should have, which left me feeling kind of blah about some of the characters. I kind of liked them but it almost felt obligatory, like I had to like them because they're in the book and they're probably going to be important later. It's always better if I like them because they're so awesome that I wish they were real, you know?

Overall I did enjoy this book and it made me want to check out the sequel when it comes out. Of course, not knowing how long that might be before the second book is out, I might forget a lot of pertinent details and have to go find some spoiler-laden reviews to refresh my memory, but such is the life of a reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I DNF'd at about 45%. I tried picking it up again, but I couldn't do it even with the audiobook. For me, the pacing was all over the place. Once I got used to one perspective it would switch to another. Overall, it felt really slow to me and I just don't have the patience for slow books.

I loved Claire Legrand's Winterspell so I requested this one and I am so glad I did. It was a stunning book filled with magic, angels, prophecies, fierce characters and romance.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

<I>When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.
One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable―until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world―and of each other.</I>

I am so disappointed. So many rave reviews. So much hype. So much excitement generated about this book that I couldn't see anything less than a 4-star novel here...maybe even a very rare 5-star...

Ultimately, what I got was another YA fantasy romance novel.

After starting off with a bang, this just drifted very quickly into being just another YA novel. Two MC's - who we are forced into believing are strong feminist characters, just basically spout off about how cool they are and who they want to sleep with. Who really cares any more? It's not clever, nor is it even well written. And the sex scenes? Hahahahaha...sure, that's what happens...

And I am still yet to actually figure out what the plot is. For 400 pages, I was just waiting for something other than sex/lust to happen but it didn't. It is quite simply a primer for a second (third, fourth, fifth...) book - which people will probably devour cos, sex...

The ratio of action:dialogue is heavily in favour of action - and that's not usually a bad thing. But character development also comes through dialogue. Understanding motivations and emotions of characters is done through dialogue. And that added to the lack of interest in the characters.

Finally, the changing timeline wasn't clear enough to be two distinct times and plots. All got a little blurred and, to be honest, quite painful to read.

Would I recommend it? Sure, if you love the usual YA fantasy tropes. However, if you want something more than a confusing storyline full of characters thinking about - or having - sex every few pages, then this ain't for you.


Paul
ARH

Much darker than what I normally enjoy but a thrilling tale and I enjoyed how it just between the time periods

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Furyborn for free through Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Possible spoilers ahead.

The thing I loved the most about Furyborn was definitely the in-depth look we get at the world they live in. The story is told through the points of view of the Sun and Blood Queens, one queen in the past and the other in the future. Finding out how the pieces fit together and why Rielle and Eliana were connected was the driving force that kept me reading on.

That being said, up until about halfway through the book, I was far less interested in Rielle's story than Eliana's. Rielle was a bore up until the trials kicked into high gear. I understood why I was supposed to care about her, but as hard as I tried to like her personality, I just couldn't get behind it. I didn't feel for her heartbreaks or revel in her wins.

Eliana's icy, badass attitude, on the other hand, was much more my speed and why I still very much enjoyed Furyborn enough to grant it four stars! Harken's fate brought me to tears. Simon's big reveal had me covering my mouth with the palm of my hand to keep from audibly gasping and scaring my sleeping dog awake.

All things considered, I don't regret sticking it out until the end. Rielle's storyline did catch my attention eventually and Eliana's knife skills are just too good to miss. I could definitely be persuaded to read the sequel. Four out of five stars for Furyborn.

Furyborn surprised me. I don't really know what I was expecting, if I'm totally honest. When I went into it, all I knew was that there was hype surrounding it and that was it had fairly decent ratings on Goodreads, which I only noticed when I went to add to my 'Currently Reading' shelf. I knew it was a Fantasy but I didn't actually know what it was about. I felt a little like I was going back to my pre-blogger days when I used to pick out and read books purely based on their blurb rather than reading what others had to say about a book before picking it up.

This book started off with a bit of intrigue to lure you in but honestly? I was a little confused about what was going on. However, once I was reading the main part of the book, it absolutely made sense. The prologues intention to capture attention worked on me as it made me want to understand what was happening.

The story of Furyborn is told with two different PoVs that are set at different times. Both PoVs are set either side of the prologue - that threw me off at first but because both views have a complete different story, it was easy to distinguish between the two...plus the chapter said who's PoV it was! Bonus points for this as I really don't like it when books have multiple PoVs but they don't tell you who's PoV it is!

The characters were ok. I liked our two main characters, particularly Eliana. I thought that Eliana was much more enjoyable to read about and that it felt like there was a little more going on in her chapters. I thought Rielle's character was good too but I personally just didn't enjoy her chapters as much as I enjoyed reading Eliana's. I liked the accompanying characters in Eliana's chapters, such as her younger brother, but I didn't really feel like I got to know the characters in Rielle's chapters much. I felt that Rielle's chapters were all about her and that she was quite lonely. There are connections between some characters that I had sort of predicated before we were actually told of the connection. I liked working out the connections but also felt that this was the books first step into the predictable zone.

I thought that the writing was good and felt that it ran at a smooth pace that kept my interest throughout, despite it being just over 500 pages. Sometimes books with longer page counts can feel like they go on forever, but the pacing of this one made me forget that it was even the length that it was. The chapters weren't too long which made for easy reading too.

I did think that some of the plot twists were sort of predictable and I wasn't totally taken by surprise by them. I'm usually pretty bad at predicting things, always ending up being miles off but this time, I managed to figure out what was going to happen perhaps before even the characters themselves knew. It wasn't totally a bad thing. It was nice to have actually figured things out for once, but still. I don't want predictability in regards to plot twists.

I think that this book wrapped up fairly nicely and left loose ends that are ready to be tied up in the next book. I thought that it was an interesting idea and I'm looking forward to seeing how the plot develops in the next book, although I wouldn't exactly say this book lived up to the hype. I have given it three and half stars because I enjoyed this book and felt that I was able to move through it relatively quickly (based on my reading speed these days). However, I didn't feel that it was a completely new fantasy idea and that it hasn't offered something totally different to what we currently have in the genre. Mostly, I just found this book to be predictable.

I can't decide how I feel about Furyborn. The premise of the story was interesting enough; two women, separated centuries apart, both have the power to save the work and are closely connected. What an awesome story line, right?! Unfortunately, there were a lot of questions/gaps in the story that I had a hard time understanding and made it harder for me to love the book (and maybe that is only because I can be a superficial reader) like why are the angels so evil? There are these 7 powers, but where did they come from? How did Simon and the baby get separated in the beginning? However, there are a lot of other questions that I am sure will be answered throughout the trilogy (what happened to Simon and what makes Simon and Eliana want to get frisky?) There are times in the story that are monotonous and unlikeable, but last third is where is picked up and became more enjoyable,

For a YA book, this is pretty adult. There is language, sex, and violence that is deserving of a parental advisory, but I really enjoyed it.

Even though this wasn't my favorite book of 2018, the more I think about it the more I need to know what happens next! I will definitely be getting my hands on Kingsbane in 2019.

This book was intense! I fell in love with both our main characters, who are amazing strong female leads. The premise and plot for this book are really creative in the fact that we follow our 2 leads 100 years apart and don't know which one is the saviour or downfall. I'm super excited for the next book.

I think I let myself buy a little too much into the hype on FURYBORN, which led to disappointment with the actual book. A fine first effort, but comes off as fairly standard YA fantasy. No huge stumbles in execution, but nothing that has me thrilled to pick up the next book in the series.

Furyborn is the opposite of Meet the Sky—this one is a very dark YA, perfect for those readers who enjoy a bit of edginess to their fantasy. It reads a lot like epic fantasy, with extremely complex worldbuilding and a story that spans a century.

Something about this book captured me, despite the fact that I was sometimes lost when it came to the details of the worldbuilding. It took me a long time to figure out that Eliana’s POV takes place 1000 years after Rielle’s—it says it right in the synopsis, but I hadn’t read it recently, and listening via audiobook meant that tracking specifics like dates (in a fantasy world where the dates were foreign-sounding) was difficult. Still, I’m very glad I listened to the audiobook instead of trying to read this one because I tend to have a better attention span for complicated (and long) fantasies via audio than when I read.

Eliana’s POV was definitely my favorite. I was captivated by this very morally gray character and her struggle to keep those she loved safe in a world that was anything but. I found myself less interested in Rielle’s chapters, which I think could be attributed to the fact that we find out right at the beginning of the book that Rielle marries (and kills) Audric, and I thought we’d be seeing everything leading up to that, but we really just get a snippet—her overcoming some magical trials. Still it’s Rielle’s POV that puts the magic of the book on full display—and it’s quite a spectacle!

If you’re a fan of epic, complicated fantasies and you love it when you’re not sure who to root for, this is the series for you. (How does Rielle become the eventual villain? Is Eliana a villain too? She’d certainly be seen that way by many of the characters in the book. Who are the angels and why do they seem to want to destroy humanity?) This is one of those books that some people will love and others won’t have the patience for—I think I was somewhere in between.

One note: This book seems to be labeled as YA, but the characters feel older than they are (especially Eliana, but Rielle too since we start the book seeing her married and having a child). They’re sexually active and empowered and they make no bones about it, and there’s some pretty strong violence in the book. Plus, it’s longer and more complicated than a lot of YA fantasy out there. I know there are teens out there who love this type of book, but it’s good to note that this is a story that sort of straddles YA and NA or adult.

NARRATION: I’m a sucker for a British accent, and I thought Fiona Hardingham did a wonderful job with the narration. This is the type of book that I personally prefer in audio, but readers who have a hard time following complex fantasy in audio format might want to read the book instead.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley (and then also listened to the audiobook via my library) in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

I love a good YA series, but sadly, I won't be reading any more of these. I liked the action elements and there was a lot of suspense built throughout the book. However, here's what I didn't like: there were several graphic scenes that didn't seem to vibe with a YA feel, there were way too many villains to keep track of, and I ended up not really caring what happened to any of the characters. The true reason this book didn't work for me is that I just couldn't keep they mythology straight. I wasn't sure who the bad guys were or how the characters fit into the larger narrative. I always go back to series like Harry Potter and Hunger Games as A-level - they're completely new worlds but it's easy to follow along with what's happening.

This book wasn't necessarily my cup of tea but overall it was very enjoyable. Loved the split POVs and dual timelines very well done and the writing was superb

Furyborn, the first book in the Empirium trilogy, is set in the fantasy world of Aritas and alternates between two stories set a thousand years apart. A prophecy suggests that two women will be born, the savior Sun Queen and the destructive Blood Queen, who will impact the ultimate fate of the Empire. Rielle, who wields elemental magic, is forced to undergo seven trials to discover her true identity and ascend the throne. A thousand years later Eliana, a bounty hunter, joins the rebels who are fighting the Empire. The stories of magic, angels and saints in Rielle's era are thought to be myths in Eliana's. However, when her mother disappears, Eliana attempts to rescue her and gets embroiled in a cosmic battle that has been ongoing since Rielle's reign. There is a great deal of world building in this introduction to the trilogy, but the two stories are cleverly interwoven and fast-paced once each heroine begins her quest.

I didn’t get time to finish this before its publication, but it was amazing! Rielle’s backstory is so interesting, the trials by element were super original! And trying to link both point of views was kind of challenging for me, but all of the references to the blood queen were fun to find.

I absolutely loved this book! It had non stop action, fantasy, drama, and a touch of steam here and there. The characters were well developed, the pacing of the story line kept me wanting to read more. The only bad thing is the wait for the next book. Thank you NetGally for the early review copy. 5 stars from me!

Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Furyborn. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Rielle Dardenne, in an effort to save her best friend from assassins, exposes herself as one of the prophesied queens. But is she the Queen of Light or the Queen of Blood? Forced to endure a series of elemental magic trials, will Rielle prove herself worthy of the title of Sun Queen?

Living in a time one thousand years after Queen Rielle, Eliana Ferracora is a bounty hunter whose personal quest may impact the health and wellness of her fellow citizens. When it becomes apparent that Eliana has a secret that may help her world, will she discover that her existence has importance beyond measure?

Furyborn is a novel about two women who are headstrong, determined, and willing to do what it takes to survive. As the author bounces back and forth between the two perspectives with their separate story lines, it becomes readily apparent that the two women have some connection to each other. I found Furyborn to be overly dramatic at times and, as is often the case with YA fantasy, had too much teenage angst to make it believable. These young women are supposed to be struggling with their identities, their lives, and their purpose, but the author spends a great deal of time on their personal relationships instead. Rielle's story is much stronger than Eliana's and this lopsidedness took away from the balance of the book. The novel was largely repetitive and, although the author does a good job of building the worlds in which the characters live, she did not do enough to hold my interest. There was just too much going on and not enough to anchor the characters to their story lines. As Furyborn is the beginning of a series, perhaps the author will be able to settle into the characters in future books. Readers who like YA fantasy and romance may like this book, but I thought it was not in the same caliber as standouts such as The Young Elites.