This *cover* - how could any reader pass up a cover this beautiful? And the buzz surrounding this release definitely had be on the edge of my seat for a chance to read it. Actually read it... could be a struggle. People seem to either love it whole heartedly, or cannot finish it. There was a time or two that DNF-ing seemed possible, but sticking with it was well worth the effort, as this book was well worth the hype. A masterpiece, it's no wonder so many people had been drooling over their ARCs, or unable to write coherent reviews other than just saying how good it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this was one long book. May times I felt the details and redundancy to be too much. However, an interesting fantasy of two young women. Maybe this could have been written as 2 separate books? Or I would have enjoyed it more with more explanation of the stories. Many times I felt a bit like I was dropped into the middle of a story that I didn't quite follow.
Interesting overall, but one I would maybe try to re-read one day to get a better understanding . But yet again... 501 pages... maybe not.
Too long, too much.... generous with 3 stars because I like Claire Legrand as an author and the story was interesting, just too much chopped salad.

An epic tale that spans centuries! Featuring strong kickass women and their fight in a cosmic war! The ultimate dark epic fantasy. A great beginning to a promising trilogy!

I love the concept of following two strong female main characters from different timelines and seeing their stories parallel with each other. It's a solid read if you're craving fantasy; however, I couldn't find myself loving this book. The pacing was slow to the point where it bogged me down trying to get through it, and I also couldn't get attached to the characters. Overall, it's decent if you're into fantasy, but nothing remarkable.

A bit of a slow burn at the beginning - but every time the action peaked, I tore through it. At times, i felt like this should have been two books because the pacing of each character’s story felt a bit off. It really grew on me by the end though!

I think it could have been a decent standalone, but I am curious about what’s next - in both characters’ stories.

I may not have consistently *liked* them, but omg did I love the two main characters (Rielle and Eliana). I wish the secondary characters had been a bit more fleshed out, but I guess this leaves room for the sequel.

The romance was pretty steamy — there was great build up, and I’m hopeful it’ll continue 😅

There were definite reminders of the Grisha trilogy, and maybe a bit of Game of Thrones (don’t ask me why, i just kept relating things back to it).

All in all, this was a very solid beginning to a series, and I’m curious about what’s next!

I’m intrigued for what’s next!

J'ai tenté de le lire plusieurs fois ais sans succès, je ne suis jamais arrivée à accrocher à l'histoire ou aux personnages que je trouvais trop distants et froids. J'ai donc décidé d'abandonner ce livre et de ne malheureusement pas donner suite. Je sais que certains ont beaucoup apprécié mais personnellement, quand je ne me sens pas concernée par l'histoire et que le style d'écriture ne m'accroche pas des le départ, je sais que je n'arriverai pas à lire le livre, aussi bon peut-il être.

This was such a great start to what is set to be a great fantasy series! I absolutely loved the world and the characters of this book. I also loved how our two protagonists are a thousand years apart but become inextricably linked over the course of the book. Looking forward to the second one

The main problem is that the chapters were so short you were just getting into one charcer and timeline before you are jumped back in time with another POV and another timeline.
It got to be quite difficult to keep them in your head and the pace was quite slow going.
That said the more we got to know about our two leads the more we loved them. As a first in a trilogy obviously there was a lot of set-up and world building which detracted a bit from character development but it was a good start.

There was very little to make this book stand out from those others in the genre. From cover to cover, it's about average.

I had big hopes for this book. The premise of two bad ass chics 1000 years apart yet still their story intertwines? Sounds epic! Magic trials and political intrigue? You have me on baited breath!

It wasn’t a hit or miss. I found the character development okay, not really flat but not anything special. The world building was good but again nothing special. You’d think 1000 years apart their world would be more definable, more different, easier to tell apart. Not so much.

The magic was cool, but I felt the female leads were more special snowflakes. I always knew they were going to come out on top, which gave no suspense. Even for the magic trials.

The sex scenes weren’t exactly steamy, more over the top in verbiage where “worlds shattered and shook”. I liked the positive message of sex, and that it never held the female characters back. Even bi-sexual was represented as a normality.

I did enjoy it all around, and will read the sequel. But I won’t be scrambling to pick up the next book.

This was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants read, and they were on fire, because I didn't stop reading this until I turned the last page. I love the focus on elemental magic mixed with angel lore and worlds that cross time. The plot is so quick, but it's fully realized and detailed. Emotion and description are vivid, and characterization and world-building are so deep and three dimensional that the characters seem real, and the world seems tangible. This turned out to be one of my favorite trilogies. Highly recommended.

Loved this book! 5/5 stars. We used it in our Not so YA book club and everyone agreed it was a lot of fun.

I was pretty sold on the concept but, unfortunately, it didn't hold my attention. The pacing was slow to the point where I couldn't get through it (even for the characters).

Claire Legrand is one of my favorite writers. Her stories are always captivating and well-written, showcasing her range across genres and age groups. Furyborn was a highly anticipated. This dark fantasy is just another one of Claire's great works. I can't wait for more from her.

This book was a disappointment. The opening chapter was incredible and hooked me immediately, but I felt like an agent or editor fooled in the slush pile soon after because the rest of the book does not live up to that opening. I was hoping that it would improve, but the beginning is just so much more polished.

Super fun girl power book! loved it and though it did a great job at world-building. Great work with the overall plot as well. Can't wait to read the next book.

DNF

I like the idea of this. However, I couldn't connect to any character. I found them very polarized.
I think I could have lived with that but add to that the melodramatic tone. And it became a chore to read this.
I kept trying. Kept struggling. And finally, someone pointed out that there are too many books that need reading. So this is me. I'm done.

Purchased this YA/middle grade novel for my middle school library. Superb character development, elegant world building, and compelling plotting.

We read this title for book club and we all loved it so much! It's no surprise that it has blown up so much since its release, and I know that so many fantasy fans and YA fans will love it

I could see this working for certain readers. My research area is YA fantasy and I'm quite picky with YA fantasy. I want it to be groundbreaking, genre bending. This was just ok. I read this as part of the Indigo Teen SPOTM decision group.