A world torn apart by a rekindled ancient war. Two powerful young women separated by centuries and foretold in prophesies.
A magical adult high fantasy (mostly suitable for and marketed as YA) told in alternating perspectives of two separate timelines and their ultimate convergence.

Strong, well developed protagonists; fully fleshed cast of supporting characters; and well developed worldbuilding that has room to grow in subsequent story arc.

I kind of thought that the problems I had with this book might be "just me". Then I read some other reviews from people who felt similarly, so now maybe it's not just me? Anyway, my deal was this: I found the story interesting, but I also found it quite cumbersome. I feel like it was very well written, and I think that a ton of thought went into building this story. As it jumps from past to present, and between two main characters' points of view, there's a lot happening.

And for me, this is also kind of the problem. See, while I was impressed by the story, I was also wholly overwhelmed. It was kind of hard work, and when I read, I want to be entertained and not feeling like I had to keep a damn spreadsheet just to know what was going on. It was very slow going for me, which in part was because it is a longer book. But it wasn't just the length, it was just very taxing to read. Trying to keep all the characters in two timelines straight, the magical elements, the world building, there was a lot to take in.

I also don't know if it was a great decision to start the way it did. The prologue tells the reader what the fate of one of the characters is from the start, and it made the stakes feel a little lower for me. I did enjoy the characters, though I don't know that I enjoyed them quite enough to make up for the slowness/difficulty.

Will I Read the Next Book? I'm torn. On one hand... I don't want to. But on the other, I am a little curious? Let's leave it as a "perhaps, let's wait and see".

Bottom Line: The story has a lot of appealing elements, but I was too overwhelmed (and a little bored) most of the time to be fully immersed.

It took me a while to get into "Furyborn" by Claire Legrand, but once I did I liked it. I think I'm a definite outlier with this opinion, but it almost started too fast--there was so much going on and I didn't feel like I'd had enough time to get to know the characters and care about what happened to them. I also read the beginning so slowly that I forgot/missed major details until later that would have helped the story make more sense. That's my own fault.
Once Rielle and Audric started getting together and once Simon found Eliana, I started to feel invested in the story. It improved from there.
I kind of wish they would have cut out or really condensed Rielle's trials--those we're repetitive and boring for me. I would have rather spent more time progressing her narrative.
The sex scene between her and Audric is one of the best I have ever read. It was realistic without being gross and a good example for young teens of how things should be between two consenting people who love each other, while still being super heart-pounding. I loved it.
I definitely still have a lot of questions and don't feel as grounded in the world and how it works as I would like to be. But I am curious to see what happens next, for sure.

Unfortunately I was not able to finish reading this book. The plot looks interesting and I look forward to reading it when I have the time. I am sorry that I was unable to complete this ARC.

FURYBORN had an incredible premise/plot and yet... the book was just "okay". I was initially going to write out what I liked and what I didn't like, but when I tried I found I couldn't come up with a Like list :/ I didn't necessarily NOT enjoy the book, but finding things I genuinely liked about it is hard.

I preferred Rielle over Eliana, but only a little bit. Rielle, or at least Simon's version of Rielle, is completely different from the prologue to the actual story which is two years previous, and the idea of seeing how she got from one place to the other excited me. Unfortunately, we still don't really know by the end of the novel but I'm sure I do actually know. You know what I mean? I can make a logical guess and it'll probably be right. Which is kind of boring, yeah?

Eliana was... not enjoyable at all and it was annoying. I have no problem with unlikable main characters - what I have a problem with is when the writing tries to make you like the unlikable character but the character herself keeps waffling. And waffling can be fine! If you're a bounty hunter that gets people/families killed I can understand being, you know, cold, and only sometimes letting your "feelings" get felt. But even when Eliana felt them and you could see a moment where she was actually being fleshed out as a human being/real developed character.. it was pulled away and you were left with a weird taste in your mouth. I only started to like Eliana when she goes back for Wolf and then the book basically ended, so.

Speaking about the ending - how BORING. Nothing? No cliffhanger to get people excited for the second one? It just felt so abruptly over that I actually rolled my eyes.

OH. Also. Speaking of rolling my eyes - what on EARTH were those sex scenes? I was reading on my phone at the gym and physically had to hold on to the bike because I was rolling my eyes so hard. Mist rising? Tremors shaking the bathing room? Oh please. I understand that it was needed (I GUESS.) to show how Rielle's power can affect her surroundings (although didn't we already know that re: her house being on fire when she was 5???).. but did it have to be so comical? Boring ol' Audric made her make the walls tremble? Again I say: oh please.

Okay I finally thought of some highlights: Remy, Wolf, Zahra, Navi. The end. When your supporting cast are more likable/digestible than your TWO main characters, you've got a problem.

Also why were the magic trials so boring??? They were MAGIC TRIALS!!! I shouldn't have been bored.

Anyway. Will I read the second one? Probably. But it's not a book I'm going to be lusting after.

Ready for your next addictive YA fantasy obsession? Furyborn has alternating perspectives set a thousand years apart. One queen must face seven elemental magic trials and one is a bounty hunter. Somewhere along the line, their storylines connect, but it's the journey getting there that I really enjoyed. The world-building is outstanding. The characters are complex and fascinating. If you're looking for the next big YA fantasy series, be sure to check out Furyborn today.

"'We are all of us dark creatures,' Navi said, 'but if we linger in those shadows, we'll be lost. Instead we must seek the light when we can, and that's just what your doing.'"

Claire Legrand has created an epic and boundless world with her first book in the Empirium series. I found the juxtaposition and parallels between Eliana and Rielle characters to be fascinating, though I will say that I was drawn more to Eliana's story than Rielle's. I loved the dynamics between Eliana and Simon, and I am interested in seeing where Legrand will take these two characters in her next book. I do think the characters in Rielle's stories fell a bit more flat for me, and I found myself forgetting who some of the side characters were. However, Rielle's own inner conflict and struggles were amazingly portrayed.

This was a great Fantasy read, and I would recommend Furyborn for teens and adults 16/17+. There were a few situation that I felt could be considered inappropriate for younger teens.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this, and I can't wait to see what happens next. It follows two different perspectives, which typically is not my favorite but I liked how it was done here. Because the perspectives aren't the two love interests alternating back and forth and they are in different time periods, you get two distinct storylines that aren't muddled by their feelings for each other. I do think that it slowed the pacing down a bit though, just as I was getting invested in one character’s story we would switch and I would lose interest in what was going on in the other timeline. I think had we stayed with one character a little longer it would have kept the flow of the story going. The prologue sucks you in, and you think the characters are completely unrelated, but as things unfold we learn that they are very much connected.
We follow Rielle, who has since she was 5 has been hiding her abilities to control the elements. Some people can control one element but she can control all 7. Her father has had her hide her ability and train to control it after an accident when she was a child. When she is exposed, she is put through excruciating trials to see if she is the prophesied Sun Queen, come to save the kingdom from the angels when the gate trapping them finally falls. Angels in this world are evil creatures, and they were defeated by Seven Saints at one time, trapping them behind a gate. The prophecy foretells that the gate will fall and the angels will return, and that two queens will rise, one of blood and one of light. The Blood Queen will destroy the world and the Sun Queen will save it. Rielle undergoes the trials thinking that she is the Sun Queen, as she can control all 7 elements and she wants nothing more than to protect her kingdom. She also wants her best friend Audric, whom she’s been in love with forever. He of course is the Crown Prince of the kingdom and engaged to her other best friend Ludivine. Rielle and Audric’s romance is fairly predictable, and at times over the top. Ludivine is always there to support Rielle, and I really loved her as a side character. As Rielle undergoes the trials, she has some extra help, but I don’t want to spoil it. It’s a plot twist you have to read for yourself.
Eliana is an assassin working for the empire and rooting out the rebel faction the Red Crown. She’s noticed that women around town keep mysteriously disappearing, but she doesn’t let it stop her work rooting out members of the Red Crown until her mother becomes one of the women that is taken. When Simon, also known as the Wolf and high ranking member of the Red Crown, tracks Eliana down and proposes that she help him on a mission in exchange for his help finding her mother. Eliana hesitantly accepts his offer in exchange for protection for her mother and young brother Remy. As her story unfolds we learn that she has some secret powers of her own, and while her meeting with Simon may have seemed convenient for both of them, we learn that he has known her since the day she was born. He knows her true identity and that she is more than just an assassin. There is a hint of a romance between the two of them.

Pros:
• The telling of the story from the dual perspectives was done really well. I’m usually not a fan, but I liked how they were done. Typically dual perspectives are bogged down with the characters mooning over one another from the romance perspective, but we don’t get that here. I liked that they were 1000 years apart, but still tied together.
• I loved the mythology. I am a mythology junkie, whether it is a creation of the author or based on myths and legends of old. I really liked what Claire Legrand did here with the angel mythology and the different magical powers people can possess. I hope we learn more about it in the future, we got a little but I want to know more.
Cons
• The pacing was a bit slow for my taste. This book is pretty long; Goodreads says it’s over 500 pages. There is a ton of action, fighting, crazy magic trials, assassins, and evil angels for all intents and purposes I should have not been able to put this book down. I did not find that to be the case. I liked it, it’s really good, but I didn’t fly through it
• The ending. We start with the fall of Rielle, and then the book goes back and tells her story from the beginning but we never get back to the beginning. I assume we will get to that in the future books, but it is a pet peeve of mine when I don’t feel closure from a book. I was left without a sense of closure when I finished.
• This book feels confused with regards to the sex. Is it adult or YA? It is listed as YA, but I disagree. It felt YA up to a point then it switched and got pretty adult pretty fast. It is pretty violent so it gets a point for adult right there. The sex is pretty graphic and steamy, so this should not be a YA book. I don’t mind steamy, but a book should be one or the other, if you are a YA book keep the sex and mentions of sex vague and non-descript, if you are an adult book I feel like you can get away with more description.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Wow, what an awesome start to a great series. There were so many things to like about this book. Both Rielle and Eliana were freaking awesome. They were complete bad asses and they didn't make any apologies for who they were. Rielle had to deal with all the trials and they were super intense, but she had to do it to prove she was the Sun Queen. I loved Audric and their chemistry. And her friendship with Audric and Ludivine (I may be getting those spellings wrong) was great. There was a prologue in the book that kind of sort of gave a taste of how Rielle's story was going to turn out, so her story was really about telling the journey of how she got to the point. Knowing the ending did not interfere with my love of her story. And even though I knew what was going to happen, I still rooted for her and I loved her. And I am also dying to know whether there is more to that story that was told in the beginning.

Eliana was awesome too and I really, really liked the whole "will they or won't they" thing she had going on with Simon. The plot was so unique and there were a lot of twists at the end. Yes, one of the main things was actually a little predictable (not to spoil too much), but there were still plenty of surprises. There was so much world building here. The world the author created was fantastic and magical and also very, very dangerous.

Now, there were a few issues with it. First of all, the two POV's got confusing because they were 1000 years apart. So there were absolutely no connections between the two women and the characters and the things that were happening. Another commenter mentioned that it was almost like reading two different books and she was right. There were times when I got a little confused about what had happened and what hadn't when the POV's switched. That was odd. Towards the end of the book, the connection between the two women was revealed and that was the kind of predictable thing I mentioned. I also thought the book was a bit too long and it moved a little slow. It wasn't until I had passed the 30% mark that I found myself not wanting to put the book down because it was so good. But even with those issues, I still absolutely loved it and I can't wait until the next installment comes out!

Wonderful and complex characters!
Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Bookish First for the opportunities to read and review Furyborn by Claire Legrand!
The prologue opens the book with Queen Rielle as she’s delivering her baby girl. Then the story goes back two years in Rielle’s point of view, before she’s queen. The next chapter takes place over one thousand years later and introduces Eliana. The story continues on, alternating between Rielle and Eliana, chapter to chapter. Rielle has many powers and potential for more and the kingdom wonders if she’s part of a prophecy. Eliana is a hired hand for the Empire, capturing rebels as requested. Rielle does not have a handle on her powers, even though she’s been training for over a decade. She’s afraid of the destruction she might cause and ashamed of the destruction she’s already caused. Eliana lives with her mother and younger brother and she’s noticed that females are disappearing, being stolen. While she’s given a new job, she discovers that her mother is gone. She leaves in search of her mother with her brother in tow. Destruction seems to follow Eliana and her wall of anger and defiance seem to be cracking and regrets start seeping in. Foreshadowing builds the suspense to intense levels. The story comes together seamlessly and is exposed throughout the length of the book. Wonderful and complex characters make Furyborn an amazing and exciting fantasy read worthy of 5 stars! I’m already anticipating the second book in the Empirium trilogy!

I love this book way more than I ever thought I would. I am always antsy about fantasy books even though I love them. They either are absolutely amazing or absolutely terrible. It all leads to the question of who is really the bad one here? I love the character development and all the events that leads up to them being who they are and why. I cannot wait to read more and to continue on with this series. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to review this book. #Furyborn #NetGalley

I’ve started to really dive into the fantasy YA genre, and Furyborn was a solid fit. The premise was fascinating to me, one queen tasked to seven trials, and one a tough bounty hunter. Which queen will save the world and which queen will destroy it?

I very much wanted to know more about how the two characters fit together, a thousand years apart. Between the two, I much preferred Rielle, she was a more likeable and sympathetic character. Unfortunately, the opening of the book shows her as more of a monster, so that knowledge hangs over her throughout the book. Eliana seems to be the character we should be rooting for, but even with a lovable brother, her constant threats to everyone she encounters make her hard to like.

The novel started off slowly for me, but about halfway through I started to care more for all of the characters, and there are many to keep track of. I thought I would mind each chapter flipping back and forth between characters more than I actually did, although I was much more interested in the Rielle chapters. My biggest issue is that I felt like too much of the book was given away at the beginning. I’m hoping the next book can really take us somewhere unexpected.

Part one of a trilogy, I will definitely continue reading the series. I received an ARC for my honest review.

In the prologue of Furyborn, we are introduced to Rielle, the first of two main POVs, during particularly fraught circumstances, in which various characters are set upon journeys that we follow and revisit for the duration of the novel. Rielle is living amongst the royals and having a grand old time, despite the fact that she is keeping her magic secret from everyone around her.
The second POV is Eliana, some 1000 years in the future. Eliana is a bounty hunter known as the Dread of Orline, in service of the Empire; a, seemingly, violent and repressive governing body. News of Eliana’s skills has garnered the attention of the rebel faction, the Red Crown, led by the feared and mysterious Wolf on the orders of a character we don’t see named The Prophet. Eliana is tasked with capturing the Wolf, but the circumstances of their meeting result in Eliana travelling with the Wolf to free a lost princess and to discover the whereabouts of her kidnapped mother.
The non-linear plot structure of Furyborn was something that I was incredibly intrigued about. Going into the book, I could not reconcile the idea of Rielle and Eliana’s alternating stories taking place over 1000 years apart with a plot that could maintain a good pace and characters that I could come to care about. And, it was... sort of successful.
I really enjoyed the first third of the book, for both plot and character progression. The magical system was fun and the world-building felt pretty solid. I found myself both disappointed and excited every time the POV switched from Rielle to Eliana; I couldn’t decide which POV I was enjoying more - a rarity with double POVs. However, the pacing seemed to dip considerably at the half-way mark, specifically with Rielle’s story. I think this was due in large part to the following:

1) Eliana’s story became more interesting, however there seemed to be a lot of coincidental meetings with certain characters that felt contrived, as well as secrets that were kept and then revealed to Eliana for no discernible reason.
2) Rielle had to face magical trials in order to prove her abilities - I find that I have a bit of ‘magical trials’ fatigue. It’s been done to death and for, in my opinion, better reasons than were laid out in this book.
3) Rielle’s relationships with other characters felt a little forced, especially the romantic progression.
4) A lot of the main characters lost their bite.
5) Due to the way in which he was written, Remy’s age was a constant source of confusion and became a major distraction for me.
6) The majority of the reveals, read as if we were supposed to be surprised by the plot twist, but the effect had been significantly dampened by the fact that we already knew what was happening; due to information revealed in: Rielle’s historical POV, the prologue and the excerpts included at the beginning of each chapter. I couldn’t stop thinking about the prologue throughout my whole reading experience. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more, and gotten a lot more out of it, if there had been no prologue at all.

In saying this though, the pacing picked up again in the final third of the book. The action scenes were well done and there was one twist in particular that had not been spoiled by the plot structure. I ended up really liking Eliana’s story and I very much enjoyed the Wolf. I will most likely pick up the second installment.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the season and so I knew I was going to like it, just not THIS much. This book reminds me of a crossover between Game of Thrones and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I especially loved the first half of Furyborn because there was so much development and action that you just could not possibly stop flipping the pages.

For a while, I had no idea how Rielle and Eliana’s lives were going to intersect, especially given that they lived centuries apart. This book kept me on my feet at all times, kept me guessing what would happen next, and got me so emotionally involved.

Many of you know that I’m not usually one for action or fighting, but the trials that Rielle had to go through reminded me so much of Harry Potter, I just could not help but fall in love with those scenes.

The characters were so well developed in this book, mainly because they made me have such hatred and such love for several characters. The author's writing is so good that she gets you so emotionally invested in the story and the character’s lives that it just leaves you wanting more.

The ending was quite anticlimactic for both main characters since nothing really substantial happened. There wasn’t a super gripping cliffhanger that made you desperately beg for the next book in the series or curl up in the fetal position, crying. That being said though, the ending was still good, it just could’ve been better by adding some more shock value to it.

Overall, this was a great book and a really strong start to the series. I’m excited to see what the next two books add to the story of Rielle and Eliana!

Wow, this book absolutely BLEW me away. I loved both points of view a thousand years apart, and how flawed both characters were. I loved the villains, the heroes, the high stakes, I just immediately need the next book!

I am definitely doing a review on my blog which will be posted on release date @ http://conjuringbooks.org and on my instagram http://instagram.com/conjuringbooks

Fantastic! Furyborn is an amazing novel that zigged and zagged in ways I never imagined. Legrand is a virtuoso writer whose worldbuilding and descriptive prose drew me in and made it nearly impossible to put the novel down. A must-read.

An intriguing idea for a fantasy. It took a while to get used to the switches back and forth in time, but once I got into it I liked it. It was interesting to read, trying to guess at what turned Rielle into what we saw at the start, and how the two storylines would intersect. Enjoyable fantasy.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

Rather enjoyable, the characters and world building were well done. I would continue this series as long as I got more character development. I enjoy learning about secondary characters.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Our story alternates chapters between these two ladies set a century apart.

Rielle is an elemental magic user that can use all of the elements-- a rare ability that the prophecy claims that will only be available to the Blood Queen and the Sun Queen. Rielle must compete in trials to prove that she is the Sun Queen, the queen that will bring light and salvation upon the land, rather than the death and destruction the Blood Queen will bring.

Eliana is a bounty hunter who lives 1000 years after Rielle, so Rielle seems like nothing more than a legend to Eliana. Eliana loves her family and her mother ends up missing, so she teams up with rebels to find her mother, along with other missing women.

This book has one of the best prologues I’ve ever read in a novel. It features Rielle involved in a lot of action and then follows up with our first chapter set two years earlier. It leaves us wanting to know the journey that the character in the prologue take to get to that point. Jumping 1000 years later, it also leaves us wondering how a character so vastly set in the future is important to the story.

However, in some regards, I think the prologue ended up giving too much away. Rielle’s story mostly focused on her trials, which we know she will win anyway, and it doesn’t take too much to figure out why in the end we are following Eliana. It was disappointing that this alternating era storyline wasn’t better incorporated. I would have loved to see a stronger connection of what Rielle ends up doing and how that affects Eliana, or something more along those lines. Additionally, other than mentioning that guns exist, there wasn’t anything to distinguish Eliana’s world from Rielle’s. It’s 1000 years later, what and where is all the progression? How did the world change?

I did think both characters relationships with various side characters were well-developed. Rielle in particular has a cute romance, even if it isn’t the most original idea. Eliana is dedicated to looking for her mother, but she also has a little brother to look out for. The rebels she has teamed up with are questionable characters and leaves Eliana to stay on her toes with them.

Overall, I think this book had a great start, but I lost some interest along the way after I saw where it was going and that it wasn’t really going to expand on it the way I anticipated.

4 stars

Plot: Furyborn caught my eye because of dual perspectives over the span of a thousand years. Furyborn was a book that demanded your attention from the prologue because Legrand revealed the ending first, and it was up to the reader to piece together what happened. Even though Furyborn is marketed as a Young Adult title, I think it's better for the New Adult audience. Furyborn had some mature situations and the characters themselves were all over the age of 18.

I couldn't tear myself away from Furyborn because the chapters were so jammed pack with action and mini-cliffhangers. The dual perspectives between the thousand years also made this book easy to fly through and had me desperately wanting to know what led Riselle to her ending.

Characters: When I first dived into Furyborn, I was drawn to Riselle. She was a complicated girl and I enjoyed seeing her explore her powers and decide how far she was willing to go to get what she wanted. However, the more I read, the more I was attracted to Eliana. Eliana's story took place a thousand years after Riselle's arc and I was hooked by Eliana's blood-stained past. Legrand did an exceptional job of crafting complicated characters who made their own desires a priority. I can't say that I genuinely liked any characters, but I enjoyed watching their arcs unfold.

Worldbuilding: Claire Legrand's world and timeline of Furyborn was nothing short of amazing. With Furyborn, Legrand was tasked with crafting two separate worlds, one where magic and royalty reigned and the other deprived of magic and under the control of a cruel dictator. The two worlds were so different that it was hard to believe that they were once the same place and I loved how freely Legrand allowed her characters to move.

Short N Sweet: Furyborn is the start of an addictive series, it's sure to wow fans of complex characters.