Furyborn is that kind of novel that manages to capture the reader from the start. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I was hooked from page one and I just couldn’t put this book down. Claire Legrand wrote an incredibly compelling story with Furyborn and the first chapter alone was a bold and action-packed introduction into a tale that continued to amaze me with every new page I read.

"And what hope, she wanted to ask, can they possibly find in a killer such as me?"

As far as the story goes I want to emphasise how much the concept alone intrigued me: prophecies? Trials? Elemental magic? That sounds like my kind of book! I’m a huge Avatar: the last Airbender fan, so if a book features elemental magic I don’t have to hear anything else to want to read it. But Furyborn has a lot more to offer; it’s a very unique story set in a world ruled by magic and fear and it was very interesting to get to know it. But this is also a very dark book. It’s supposed to be YA, but in my opinion it could easily be an adult fantasy novel. Topics such as war, death, loss and violence are main aspects of the story and are often described in detail; rape is another subject and even though it’s not as graphically depicted as the other topics, I still think that you should be aware of this, going into the book.

One of my favourite parts about Furyborn were the characters, especially how they interacted with each other, their friendships and relationships. I really liked Rielle, one of the protagonists, and her relationship with her two best friends, Ludivine and Audric. Ludivine is probably my favourite character in the whole book and I’m just so, so excited to see what’s going to happen next with those three. I also liked Eliana, the other protagonist; I liked how important her family was to her, because I think that’s something that gets often left behind in YA novels.

“We all have darkness inside us, Rielle,” he said, his voice rough. “That is what it means to be human.”

Both of our protagonists, Rielle as well as Eliana, have a dark side to themselves, which fits the whole atmosphere of Furyborn; I think there might be something along the lines of anti-heroine in the future for one or both of them, so if that’s something you enjoy in a book, you should definitely pick this one up! Also, both Rielle and Eliana are bi!!! It should be said that the focus isn’t on their sexuality, but it is explicitly stated that they both feel attracted to men and women, so yeah. That’s pretty cool!

And finally, the writing. Claire Legrand had the perfect voice for a book such as this one. I read Furyborn in two or three days and it has more than 500 pages, but it was so captivating that I just wanted to read on and on. It’s not often that I find myself unable to put a book down, that I stay up until late into the night, just to keep reading. But I had this while reading Furyborn. Another thing I adored were the different timelines and POVs! I’m not always a fan of changing POVs, but it was very well done in this book.

"Fighting to save friends and allies was one thing. But fighting for the world was not a task she appreciated having dropped in her lap."

If you’re looking for a captivating story that features a lot of dark themes and is very action-packed, Furyborn is the book for you. I can promise you, it won’t be easy to put this one down! I’m really looking forward to see how Rielle’s and Eliana’s stories are going to continue and I can’t wait to read the next installment in the Empirium trilogy.

SOME SPOILERS!!!! I'm not even sure where to begin on this one. The description of this book sounded original and exciting, but in delivery it was convoluted and confusing with unlikeable characters that were completely unrelatable. I did not connect to anyone and actually strongly disliked the two main characters the story centers on, Rielle and Eliana. The magical aspects were interesting with elemental powers but too much was left out to get really excited about how everything worked. I felt like the author relied on the readers' knowledge of magic from a basic fantasy genre standpoint so didn't get too focused on explaining how certain things like casters even worked. And yet, the author decided to throw creatures referred to as angels into the mix that were in no way related to what most people would think of as angels - it would have been much better to have come up with an entirely original race of magical beings than to use angels and then describe them as something completely foreign. I did finish this to the conclusion and was thankful when it was over. I should also mention that there are some highly graphic sex scenes in this that are completely inappropriate for a young adult classification so be advised. All in all, this book fell flat.

This book is perfect for fans of Kristen Cashore and Leigh Bardugo. I loved the duel perspectives of our two female leads Rielle and Eliana. I found this book fresh and enjoyable and would definantly recomend.

Furyborn is the first novel in a new YA trilogy. The story is a dual perspective told by two very different women. The world building and the explanation of abilities is great and the author does a great job at describing the world being built. Although the two main characters a different, the reader will discover that they have a few things in common. My full review will be posted on my website www.bookofcons.com closer to release date.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a little slow in beginning and was hard to stay with. Book was just not my style

This is the very long first installment of a trilogy about heroines with more magical powers than they know what to do with. The chapters alternate between the stories of Rielle and Eliana, both dealing with struggles to manage their power against forces of evil. For my taste, in spite of the maps included, the book took much too long to make sense of the kingdoms, the political structure, the relationships, and the connections between stories. I found myself skipping impatiently over the opening quotes of each chapter, and I became more focused on Eliana's story. It wasn't a deal-breaker that I didn't like the main characters, since often that makes a book more interesting. It was just that it all took too long and was unnecessarily complicated, and I finally didn't really care about what happened to either Rielle or Eliana.

Furyborn is the first book in the Empiruim Trilogy. It follows the story of 2 different women and flips back and forth between their stories. A prophecy from long ago talked about the rise of 2 queens, who both will be able to control the 7 elements. One is the blood queen, who will bring destruction to the land. One is the Sun Queen, who will save the world. I really loved this story. It was not hard to follow which chapter belonged to who, as they are labeled. For myself, I think I would have preferred to have the 2 different stories be split into a part one and a part two. I'm looking forward to the next book and didn't want this book to end. I feel like we are just beginning. It does not end on a cliffhanger, but it doesn't wrap up the storylines. Now we wait.

If I could give half stars, this would be a 3.5. A cut above your average YA fantasy, but it doesn't quite break new ground.
Where this book succeeds -
The two leads, Rielle and Eliana, are complex characters, and it's interesting to compare them with one another. There's Rielle, daughter of nobility and raised in privilege , who goes to great lengths to appear poised and perfect while hiding a growing darkness within. Eliana, knife-for-hire and assassin, has decided that she is a monster, and denies that there is any kind of possible compassion or goodness within her. Yet both enjoy a bit of theatricality - Rielle with her costumes, and Eliana with her moniker and reputation. They're nice foils for one another, and I like how their journeys parallel.
I really enjoyed the world building thus far, and am very interested to learn more. It was a nice touch to start each chapter with a bit of lore, and I would love to learn more about the Saints and the era they lived in.
Where this book falters -
Though many of the side characters were fun, they did not have much depth. Especially Rielle's love interest, Audric. He's dull as hell, and despite their long history described on the page, their attraction felt very skin-deep and shallow.
Lastly, it felt like there was a lot of sex for a YA book. One scene in particular felt very drawn out and borderline silly, and took me out of the book entirely.
Most criminally, for as powerful as Rielle and Eliana are written to be, they both are carried through a lot of each of their stories. They're both such tough, cool ladies - I really want to see them take charge and be the directors of their own adventures!
This book will be enjoyed by fans of Sarah J. Maas and Victoria Aveyard. I will be reading the sequel!

Amazing all around book. With great female characters with both good and bad attributes. These are real characters with real problems and if you throw in magic it just complicates everything. Would greatly recommend for all to read.

Really well done world building around a pair of distinctive and intriguing female heroines. (Though I will admit to the fact that I loved Rielle and only liked Elainia.) I'm really looking forward to seeing where this series goes next, as Legrand has laid out some captivating breadcrumbs regarding its internal history and mythology that I find very fascinating.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced review copy of this book.

Normally I try to review my ARC copies closer to the release date, but I couldn't wait with this one. It's very good. It's about two women, Rielle and Eliana, who exist years apart but their stories start to relate in interesting ways. It's also about a prophecy: two queens will rise, one of blood and one of sun. I really liked how Legrand characterized each of these characters. They each were individual, complicated people, with interesting, complicated people around them.

My main complaint about the book is that it took me a little while to get into it. You're definitely thrown into the action, and it took me a while to get my bearings. Initially I also didn't read much of what the book was about, so the switch in narrators was also really confusing for me. By the end, I wasn't able to put it down, and it was a book I was reading on my phone, which normally I only read during my work lunch breaks.

“The Gate will fall,” the King recited. “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.”

Furyborn is a young adult fantasy novel told from alternating points of view, following two young women separated by time yet connected by a mysterious prophecy. Set in the realm of Avitas, the book takes place during a tenuous peace after the defeat and imprisonment of the angels behind the Gate.
“If you ever sent me into battle,” [Rielle] said, “I would go gladly, and I would burn our enemies to ashes. But I would not do it for you, or because of the prophecy. I would do it because this is my home too. And if you tried to keep me near for your love of me, you would fail.”

Beginning with a prologue that is one of the best I have read in recent memory, Furyborn introduces us to one of the main characters, Rielle Dardenne, a powerful magic user and queen who controls all seven types of elemental magic. After finding out the end of her story in the prologue, the book flashes back to her rise to power and the start of her tragic romance with the future king Audric. Through a series of trials to test her control and skill at mastering the elements, Rielle’s ego and temper give the reader a glimpse of how she arrives at her fate from the prologue. The prologue also reveals her connection to another woman living more than 1,000 years later and how both women will play a role in the centuries-old battle between angels and humans.

“I have always imagined a monster dwelling inside of me instead of a heart. And that’s why it was so easy to kill, to hunt.”

The second protagonist is ruthless bounty hunter and assassin Eliana Ferracora. Her character is selfish, rash, and aggressive and any warmth seen in her is only revealed through her relationship with her younger brother Remy. Remy is a particular favorite character of mine, a lover of the folktales and stories of their culture and someone who pushes back on Eliana’s decisions while still showing her unconditional love. Eliana serves the evil empire, ferreting out rebels and those who would conspire against the corrupt government. Every harsh decision she makes is meant to protect and provide for her family. When several women, including her mother, begin mysteriously disappearing from the city, Eliana teams up with a mysterious rebel leader known as the Wolf and a foreign princess disguised as a courtesan for assistance recovering her abducted mother. Eliana’s chapters were some of my favorites, though her character growth occurs at a snail’s pace and her decisions are frequently infuriating.

If you require that all your main characters be extremely likeable or relatable, then I would suggest proceeding with caution. But if you really enjoy morally gray, conflicted characters who show a whole range of painfully human emotions and reactions, then I believe you will be pleased with the main characters of this book. In fact, the connections between both narratives were some of my favorite parts of the books. Despite their different times and circumstances, the protagonists Rielle and Eliana struggle with their power and their egos in eerily similar parallels.

The cliffhanger endings of most chapters plus quick pacing and frequent action makes this book quite a fast read for a novel of more than 500 pages. I read it as part of a large buddy read with other reviewers on a set schedule and found it difficult to stop at our agreed upon place each night. In fact, one of my critiques of the novel is to say that the world building and explanation of the magic system in the novel suffers some because of the action-heavy focus. Additionally, the dark tone and themes in the book make it read more adult than young adult, and readers would be advised of potentially triggering/more mature content such as violence, abuse, animal cruelty, gore, murder, torture, sexual themes, and enslavement.

Overall, I found Furyborn a really enjoyable and unique read and a good break from a lot of the formulaic, trope-filled young adult fantasy I have read lately. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy as author Claire Legrand continues exploring this world, further explaining the magic system and history of the war with the angels in the future books. There is still so much growth for the characters to undergo and many questions yet to be answered.

The quotes in the above review were taken from an eARC and are subject to change before final publication. I received this advanced reader’s copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

How I'd Describe This Book to a Friend
Furyborn is a time traveling, high fantasy, girl power! novel with a heaping bowl full of romance as a side dish. The prologue on this book is amazing, by the way, and if it were published on its own as a short story I'd have demanded a book to go with it ... which makes me wonder where, exactly, things went off the rails here. Let's dissect it a bit and see, shall we? The prologue promises drama, introduces us in media res to some very interesting characters, and gives us a sneak peek of this whole concept of angel wars. Angel wars, now this I can sink my teeth into. In high school, I wrote an embarrassing number of short stories from the perspective of these guardian angels who adopted at-risk kids and I think one of them married his charge once she was of age and I don't .... know. Anyway, suffice it to say, part of my head really enjoys Cool Angel Stories. Unfortunately, after the prologue we don't get much of that at all.

We have two main characters: Rielle and Eliana. They live hundreds of years apart, and are separated by time, but still united by a prophecy foretelling that there will be two queens, one ~blessed~ and one ~wicked~. There are also a whole host of other, supporting characters, half of whom wind up just being there for lovemaking, but we'll get to that.

Rielle is a BAMF, and for a long time she was the only character I was truly interested in. In the world she inhabits, there are seven types of magic one could possibly possess. Rielle, our darling female main character, has all seven. This is Very Bad, and she is often drugged and locked away by her family because they don't want her having a temper tantrum and exploding the whole town, etc. Anyway, Rielle eventually - through some vaguely climactic events - reveals her powers to everyone in her kingdom, and has to undergo seven trials to prove that she is the real blessed sun queen. So she goes through seven grueling, copypasta trials wherein she doubts her abilities, excels anyway, and moves on to the next one.

Wait, don't scroll up. Oh, did you already do that? Is it because you thought I was reviewing Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas? You wouldn't be the first. But no, this is its own thing.

Eliana is The Best, and is The Dread of Orline [where they live]. She is skilled with a sword, takes no shit or prisoners, and is allegedly bisexual but we see this brought up twice maybe, and only once is it implied anything has ever happened between her and a female. Eliana and Rielle are both the most thirsty women on the face of the planet, but since they live far, far apart in timelines, they can't ever be thirsty for each other. Also, at one point during some ~sexual escapades~, the ground shakes. This is not a metaphor. The ground literally. shakes.

Angel wars? Glossed over. Prophecy? Confusing. Characters? A parade of them tromp through, and we barely see half of them again. Eliana could - would, and probably has - seduce a literal boulder if it meant getting something she wanted. I can only see home girl do this so many times before it's like "Put your pants back on and just ask politely, girlfriend, I can't deal with you any more." Rielle ... if you find animal abuse triggering, don't read this book. That's all I can say that is not a spoiler.

Oh wait, did you scroll back up again a minute ago after you read about who Eliana is? Joke's on you! No, she's not Celaena from Throne of Glass - made you look - twice! - but she is damn sure close! I didn't like Throne of Glass either, and maybe that's why I have no love for Furyborn. It's just got such an interesting concept - angel wars, magic users, this whole dark undercurrent - and it's turned into a High Fantasy Sex Party.

The Bottom Line
If you like your high fantasy with fighting, morally grey characters and interesting backstories, this is not the book for you. If you, however, like your high fantasy with lots of (literally) earth-shaking sexual escapades, barely-there bisexual representation, a girl who has seven kinds of magic at her disposal but still manages to be repetitive, and a girl who names everything she owns and therefore has a softball team's worth of knives ... this is the book for you!

I loved Furyborn and I can't wait until the next installment in the series is published! Claire Legrand is an excellent storyteller and I predict that she will be the next big star in the fantasy world. Furyborn is such an interesting and original concept, I loved the magic, angels and connection across time of both of the queens. I also liked how Legrand alternated each chapter from the point of view of each queen and I really enjoyed discovering each queen and how their stories intertwine as their epic story unfolded. Legrand also does an excellent job of making each of her characters come alive and the world that they inhabit is well developed with rich detail. Readers who love epic fantasy with strong female characters will love this story, especially fans of Sarah J. Maas!

All in all, Furyborn is a beautiful, dark and seductive masterpiece that will haunt me for a while. There’s nothing more I can say except READ IT PEOPLE.

YES, everything I love about epic fantasy was here. The worldbuilding of elemental magic was incredibly well-done and Rielle's powers seemed all the more terrifying as a result when you saw what someone expert in just one stream of magic could do. Some great fun with the religious symbolism too: I spent a long time trying to work out the angels' agenda. Juxtaposing the two stories was clever as well: from the opening chapter, Rielle's fate seemed inevitable and all her hopes for being the Sun Queen, her love for the crown prince were all the more tragic. Similarly Eliana's true history seemed obvious to the reader, adding another dimension to her reflections on the history of the realm. Three-dimensional characters aplenty, with very few people feeling either truly good or evil. Can't wait to see where this story ends up going!

“The queen stopped screaming just after midnight.”

Apparently, this is going to be a super polarizing book here on Goodreads, which is totally fine. Whatever your feelings are towards this book, they are totally valid. I did end up really enjoying it though. I thought it read like an adult high fantasy, I loved the constant juxtaposition between the two main protagonists, I thought it was high action back to back to back, and I loved how morally grey and ambiguous everyone was. Maybe this book just catered to my personal reading tastes a bit more than others, but I really loved reading this.

I loved the worldbuilding, I didn’t find it difficult to understand. I loved the fast paced and constant action. I ended up completely adoring many of the characters. I thought the writing was smart and lyrical. And I just overall thought this was an expertly crafted tale and made these two girl’s stories and parallels blend perfectly.

Furyborn is a book about two girls who are leading very different paths, from very different times:

“She was supposed to be the Sun Queen, their savior and protector. And yet she had become the Blood Queen. The Kingsbane. The Lady of Death.”

➽ Rielle Dardenne – A girl that has been forced to hide who she is her entire life. In this world, it is rare to have a magical power, but completely unheard of to be able to wield all seven, well, except in a prophecy. After a life or death situation, her kingdom finds out, and then she is forced to complete seven magical trials or be executed.

“We live in a world where good kings die and those foolish enough to hope for something better are killed where they stand.”

➽ Eliana Ferracora – A bounty hunter that is forced to work for the Empire, who put every rebel they find to death. In this world, this is the only way to survive, until Eliana’s family gets broken apart, and she is forced to truly see the world in a different light.

And one of the best prologues that I’ve ever read, shows the starts of how these two women are connected, despite their stories taking place one-thousand-years apart. We are also introduced to a prophecy about two queens, who will change the world and leave it impacted forever.

“Two Queens will rise.
One of blood. One of light.”

My favorite part of this entire book was seeing the juxtaposition between Rielle and Eliana constantly. This story is told entirely in alternating chapters/points of view of the two girls. They would be doing such similar things, a millennium apart, but we’d get to see the different reactions, choices, and actions they decided upon.

And we have a full cast of side characters who also have completely stolen my heart:
➽ Ludivine – My second favorite character, and an amazing representation of found family and the unconditional love we have for friends. And like, give me all the wonderful girl friendships!
➽ Audric – Rielle’s love interest, and the king in waiting. Also, a sweet cinnamon roll and powerful light bringer.
➽ Corien – I could write at least one page on this character alone. But he’s wonderfully crafted, and I can’t wait for you all to meet him.
➽ Remy – Eliana’s little brother, who is in love with stories and is just adorable in general.
➽ Navi – Princess from another country that truly stole my heart. Also, more friendship goals.
➽ Simon – Oh boy, I don’t even know how to talk about him. Simon ended up being my favorite character, but I can’t say much without spoiling things. He’s amazing, he’s caring, he’s selfless, and he’s a wonderful leader.

Next, I love you all, and these next two paragraphs aren’t directed at any one person. I’m only even writing them, because I’ve seen many reviews talking about both of the things I’m about to talk about. And both of these paragraphs are also going to be very personal to me, so please be respectful, and try not to hate me. Thanks.

I see a lot of people talking about how they feel the bi rep is bad because those characters think and talk about sex a lot, but I honestly think that’s such a dangerous way to think. Bi people/characters should be able to be promiscuous without the world yelling that it’s bad rep/bad actions. You all that do this set queer people back every time you do this. And you only help to reinforce that stereotype. Hi, my name is Melanie, and I identify as pansexual, and you know what I like to have? A lot of sex. So, whenever people say things like this, it actually hurts me and makes me feel bad about myself. People should be able to have sex, a lot of sex, sex with one partner, sex with many partners, sex with themselves, and they shouldn’t be shamed for it. Literature, our society, and the damn world need more sex positivity. And you’ll never catch me shaming anyone or any book for having too much of it, as long as it’s healthy and consensual.

I also see a lot of people saying that there isn’t bi rep in this. Just because a bisexual ends up with the opposite gender, and only has sex on the page with the opposite gender, that doesn’t make them not (or less) bisexual. Both main characters, who both identify as female, state attraction to women, a few times, and that’s enough. Am I going to say this is the best rep in the world and I see myself so much on the pages? No. But am I going to discredit female bisexuals who are with men or who have never even been with a woman? Hell no. This is also super harmful thinking. Hi, my name is Melanie, and I identify as female pansexual, and you know what I’ve been in? A lot of monogamous relationships with partners that identify as male. People shouldn’t make bi/pan people only feel valid if their representation means they end up with the opposite sex/people who identify as nonbinary. Miss me with that gross line of thinking, please. Bisexuality is about attraction, not action, you don’t have to perform any action, sexual or not, to prove your bisexuality. And both these characters say they are attracted to women, one of them many times, despite her also performing sex work with females, which many are acting like that’s the only time she’s expressed attraction to women. Also, I’m not going to write a third paragraph about how we shouldn’t shame sex work, you all should just know better in 2018.

Okay, so moving on, the next thing I want to talk about is the portrayal of grief. I really appreciated the portrayal of grief and how real and constant it felt. And it is focused on by both of the leading protagonists throughout this novel. And even though this book is at least borderline New Adult, I still think YA and NA need so many more normalized stories of grief, and how it’s something you might always struggle with, with good days and bad.

And let me emphasize more, that this is a dark book that has constant dark actions and dark themes. When I said above that this reads like an Adult high fantasy, I truly mean it, even though I would consider this book New Adult, and even though it is marketed as Young Adult. Trigger/Content Warnings: Abuse, child abuse, death, gore, violence, abduction, kidnapping, animal cruelty, loss of a parent, loss of a loved one, sexual content, slavery, and torture.

Also, I’d like to touch on the animal abuse scene a bit more, because animal cruelty is one of two triggers that I personally have. Was the scene hard to read for me? Yeah, a bit. Do I think it was done in a malicious manner? No, not at all. Did the character feel really awful afterwards and remark on it a few times after the event took place? Yeah. And lastly, do I think it’s extremely believable that someone who doesn’t understand their powers would not think about harming an animal consequentially while using them to save the human being you love most in this world? Yes, 100% yes.

Okay, moving on to the romance. I was much more invested in Rielle’s romance than Eliana’s, which is maybe not the general consensus either. After reading the prologue, and knowing what happens between Rielle and Aurdric, I just became so invested to see the events that took place to make the events come to fruition. Like, I became obsessed. And I will read book two alone so that I can hopefully find out more. Also, yeah, there is sex in this book, but it’s tastefully done and for sure not anywhere close to the worst sex scene I’ve ever read. It was just a normal sex scene to me; nothing over the top and nothing bad. But it did heavily emphasize consent and making sure this was something that the woman wanted to do throughout the act. I loved that, and please give me more books like this.

“I don’t know how to both love you and be the person who sends you to war.”

But I really enjoyed this one, and I can’t wait to see where Claire Legrand takes these two interwoven tales next, especially with how both points of view leave off. I thought this was fun, and filled with action, and hard to put down each night. Also, give me all the *Breaking Benjamin voice* evil angelssssss! But I am excited to see how everyone feels upon release, since this does seem like a very polarizing book thus far.

You know who I really think would enjoy this book? Fans of The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen! Now, I know that that series is super polarizing, and I was such a strange reader and gave the entire trilogy three stars, but I truly kept thinking how much Furyborn reminded me of that series. But, dare I say? Better. It reads and feels better. Yet, if you liked The Queen of the Tearling, I would 100% recommend this to you still.

Overall, reading is subjective. And something that one person loves, another could just as easily hate. And one ownvoices reviewer can think the rep is bad in a book, where another could really appreciate and love it. As long as someone isn’t personally coming into my house and bothering me or my loved ones, I’m not going to fight someone over a book. Let people enjoy the things they love, and let people dislike the things they hate. But remember, telling a person their feelings aren’t valid is never a good look.

I received this ARC from my Fairyloot supscription, super awesome !! And then.. I also git it as a granted wish from NetGally, which makes it even more awesome !!

Lately there have been a lot of new YA Fantasy novels that are just not good enough. Not original enough, too predictable, too boring...

But this one, this one is better.

Yes it is not perfect, there are some things that are still predictable and over-used. But I really enjoyed this one. It felt very refreshing and new, I really appreciated the world-building, it was very interesting how it all came together and I feel it has a good plot, a strong plot for the beginning of a trilogy.

I also liked both main characters, and found it very interesting to read both their stories, even though they do not happen at the same time, and we already know how Rielle's story will end. Normally one is much more interesting then the other (at least in my experience), but this time I enjoyed them equally and had no preference. Maybe... Eliana a little bit more because we do not know what will happen to her ? But I found it also very interesting to read about Rielle and am curious what else will happen to her, to make her turn on her own people.

This is most definitely a series I will continue and am very curious how it will progress.. Downside ?? I have to wait very long for the next one haha XD

ARC provided by Sourcebooks via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book simply because the timeline of events from the synopsis had me wondering just how exactly our two female protagonists were going to be connected.

Furyborn is told in dual alternating POV’s: Rielle’s in the past, and Eliana’s 1000 years later. Right off the bat I knew we were in for a wild ride. The prologue was beautiful chaos. From the beginning I was in awe and left with so many questions.

"Two Queens will rise.
One of blood. One of light."

Rielle is fighting for her life as she must face seven trials in order to determine if she is the true Sun Queen. Not only does she have to save the world from angels, but she’s also faced with personal issues between her family, friends, and the person she’s in love with.

One thousand years later, we follow Eliana, who is an assassin trying to protect her family. She faces “trials” of her own when her mother, and other women, are kidnapped. Then she meets a stranger and her world suddenly becomes so much more complicated.

Now lets dive into the good and the bad:

The Good:

• Legrand did such a fantastic job weaving the two POV’s together. You will pick up so many parallels between Rielle and Eliana’s chapters. It was like searching for Easter eggs — I loved it.
• Sexual positivity, racial diversity, and bi-rep. There was consent. There was birth control. Yes! We need more of this in books!
• A complex magical system. Don’t forget to check the chart in the back of the book!
• Remy (Eliana’s brother) was such a breath of fresh air. He’s so smart and sweet. I loved how much he fiercely loves his sister.
• Ludivine (Rielle’s friend) is the ultimate bff/wing woman/bae for life.
• The seven trials portrayed in the book gave me Goblet of Fire/Hunger Games vibes. I don’t mean this in a bad way at all. They were epic scenes that had my heart racing!
• Strong females characters! Lets just embrace the fact that all the females are badass. Some may have found Eliana’s “badassery” a bit too annoying, but I applaud her for being human. She is so morally conflicted. That to me makes for a great character arc.

The Bad (but not really):

• I wish we got more background info on a few other main characters. There’s still mystery surrounding them, which I hope will be addressed in the next book.
• Without spoiling anything, I found a few minor flaws with the progression of the story, and a few things were predictable. This ultimately made it a 4-star read for me.

Guys, overall this was such a fun book. War, magic, lore, lust, love, and lots of twists. That’s what you’ll get out of Furyborn. I hope you pick up a copy on May 22, 2018!

I really had such hopes for this book. Such a beautiful cover but, we all know what they say about books and their covers. I thought about giving this book two stars but I am willing to read the next book in this trilogy so I figure that should bump things up to 3- stars in reality it's probably closer to 2.50. The problem with this book was cohesion. There was a lot of potential floating around but nothing really brought it together. There were just so many pieces to this story.We start out with a prologue thing that takes place at the end of one timeline seeing everything through the eyes of a young boy named Simon. There is an evil "blood queen" giving birth and some kind of evil and omnipotent angel coming for her baby. There is a lot of info thrown at reader right away and it's quite confusing. We get the gist that angels are bad and nothing like most people's idea of angels. Apparently this queen somehow helped the angels and killed are adored husband but then again this Corien angel dude is coming for her baby so clearly there some points of contention between the angels and this Blood Queen. I digress, so back to the birth-giving queen attempts to give her baby daughter to Simon's father (the two of them being part angel and part human) so he can whisk her away to safety before that can happen fate works against them all and it ends up being Simon who has to rescue the baby. Angel/humans have the ability "travel" hundred of miles via magic threads we don't exactly know why since neither angels nor humans have this ability The queen then shatters into a bunch of light beams (still not sure what that's about) and Simon finds out the hard way that Marques (angel/humans) actually have the ability to "travel" through space AND time if they don't really know what they're doing.

From this point on the story is split up into 2 timelines one that begins two years prior to the prologue bit of writing and the second timeline takes place 1018 years afterward. Honestly ai don't know what all would be considered spoilers so I'm just going to leave off from the plotline from here on out but basically we have these two timelines both of which you can tell are suppose to be action packed but are somehow seem to be boring. There some very ACOTAResque trials that go down and a very deadly female assassin. Familiar sounding right? Then there are angels and saints thrown into the mix and that just ends up being more confusing than anything else because they are nothing like any idea of angels or saints I've ever heard of so it really serves no purpose to give them those titles other than to confuse us. I mean people have pretty sturdy ideas of what angels and saints are and they all typically connect to some idea of a God but there is no God like being in this book so it just gets annoying. Also there's a prophecy thrown into the mix and at the end there's the most ridiculous romantic plot that literally comes from out of nowhere. Let me tell you I'm a big romance fan, typically speaking I am always down for some romance but some foreshadowing a little lead up , something to make it understandable is required. In any enemies to lovers storyline the "to" is required also. So anyway as bitchtastic as this review may seem I would be willing to read the next installment in this trilogy in the hopes that maybe the author and the editors could get things rolling a little more smoothly because I do believe this story has some decent potential. It just started out pretty rocky and slow.