Furyborn was a good kick-off for this series. It gave a refreshing fantasy story of two women narrated in two different timelines. And for all who've read it, Eliana and Rielle's timeline would intertwine soon.

Kingsbane was a great sequel to it. It was dark and meatier in the sense of what the story has in store for us. Kingsbane paves this history in the story for the upcoming war and it gave a substantial storyline for our two characters. There are parts that I want to omit since it makes the story longer and straightforward but there is more strong plot than the weaker plots I might say.

>>>Eliana
I was annoyed in her POV in Furyborn because she gave this aura/attitude of stubbornness and all she thinks about was she was a great warrior blah blah blah and ignoring all the facts that she might be a resemblance to what prophecy foretold. But her character here was redeemable for me because she took a lot of effort to accept her ancestry and what she can do. I felt this warrior thing in her and not the self-privileged heroine who would do anything to protect all people she loves. What I love about was gradually intake all the responsibility of being this "savior" and honed some awesome skills that I might say resemble with marquees and a lot differ to her mother's powers.

>>>Rielle
I loved her from the start. I have this attachment with dark characters and Rielle was one of it. At first, she resists this thought of having a power that everyone in the Celdaria would fear, and instead believed in herself that she will be loved by anyone and actually proves it to them. But Rielle was more dark and cunning here. She loved that dark part of her powers because it gave her supremacy than the others. What I love with Rielle's POV was the fight within her moral stands whether to be this queen everyone wanted or the queen she should be. I am excited where the Legrand will take forward Rielle's story since we know its ending.

>>>Honorable mentions
I hope to see more of Audric's POV here since we know that the Lightbringer will be dead at the end. I hope to see more of his perspective here because he is a vital part of the story. What he really thinks of Rielle's powers and the shockingly revelation at the end.

It feels awkward for me that Eliana and Simon got to have this romantic moment knowing that Simon was the one carried her away from Corien. He is older right? Quite off and ish for me. But I loved the turnout events of his development as a character. We got to see him as an ally or somewhat against Eliana's motive to free every one of the tyrannical rules of Corien.

I loved Corien's unseemingly tethering with Rielle. I liked the unprecedented way he manipulates Rielle and how he bit by bit attacked her own moral stand.

You may get to be annoyed with Ludivine or loved her. All I think about was she is this thought of good morality for Rielle. She managed to always protect Rielle from Corien. AND I GOT A HINT OF HER TRUE NAME. I HOPE IT IS NOT BUT IF IT IS, I WILL BE DAMNED.

Kingsbane was a strong sequel to the Empirium trilogy and all I wanted was to have that satisfying ending. I got to see more of dark Rielle!

I have been waiting for this book for a year! Furyborn was amazing and if you haven’t read it yet then GO READ IT. Actually, if you are going to read Kingsbane, a reread or a skim of Furyborn isn’t a terrible idea. I was too excited and had to jump right in, but a reread would have been helpful.

I’m leaving this spoiler-free, but there will be Furyborn spoilers since this is a second book. Legrand’s writing is amazing. The world-building that we got in the first book seriously pays off. The only thing I want and don’t have is a map. I really want a map for this world.

We left off after the fire trial, where Rielle killed the king and her father and somehow “brought Ludivine to life” since she is actually an angel. Audric and Rielle are an adorable couple and we get a ton of sweet moments that really hurt.

Audric is my cinnamon roll and I adore him. He is pure and sweet and deserves so much better!

Rielle begins her downward spiral that we know somehow results in Audric’s death. She has dreams of Corien and this Corien>Rielle>Audric love triangle becomes a THING.

“Fuck your suggestions.” - Audric

I’m going to say this now and you all can hate me, but Corien is a better Darkling than the Darkling. I freaking love him for his manipulating, evil self.

A thousand years in the future… Eliana is with Simon after saving Astovar from the Emperor (Corien). As luck would have it, we get another love triangle with Eliana. As a person who dislikes love triangles, I have to say that these didn’t bother me. The love stories truly take a backseat to the queens fight to save the world.

Eliana struggles to accept her magic and who she is. The girl just wants to live with her brother and not be some prophesied queen. Simon, is the best, but he is also driving her to do whatever the prophet says. Honestly, I don’t trust this shady AF prophet. But I LOVE Simon. Why do I always have to like the broody, messed-up guy?

My favorite thing about Legrand’s writing is that she provokes thought and pushes boundaries that shouldn’t exist to begin with. The heroine is allowed to question herself and others; the main character may not be a “good person.” but she does what many would in her situation. So many characters do questionable things and have real, human thoughts. They make out with strangers because they are lonely. They realize that loving someone has little to do with them loving you. You can love someone and have no idea who they truly are.

This book is packed with so much action it will make your head spin. There are plot twists and character twists that no one could see coming. And heartbreak. The ending will ruin you. Especially when you realize that the third book is still being written and you won’t have it for a year at least!!! I cannot praise this book enough and I can’t wait to get my pre-ordered hardback!

Loved this sequel to Furyborn and was sad to see it end because that means I have to wait for the next one now! The only reason I would not adopt this title into my classroom is the quantity of the more adult-nature scenes that would not be appropriate for my middle school audience. I love the battle between the humans and the angels though with angles crossing that line to help the humans.

I am completely shaken by this book. I thought I loved Furyborn, but Claire has made me adore Kingsbane on a whole other level. This series is so fascinating and I love it so much. Book three please!!!

Kingsbane is the sequel to Furyborn. This is a frustrating and complex read. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it right now. So many questions....
Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Two women--mother and daughter--separated by a thousand years, each about to change the world for better... and for worse.

Recently crowned the Sun Queen, Rielle continues her romance with Prince Audric and the fight against angels. But when she accidentally weakens the Gate that seals her world from that of the angels, she must embark on a journey to find the seven castings of the seven saints in order to fix it.

A thousand years in the future, Eilena--the former Dread of Orline--has just learned the truth: her birth mother was, in fact, the legendary and terrifying Blood Queen and she is the Sun Queen. She has the power to overthrow the angels the rule the world. The only problem is that she has no control over her powers, and doubts that she can really do what has been foretold.

Legrand's fantasy world is breath-taking and astounding, and the storytelling is amazing--from Eilena's time period, we know most of what will happen in Rielle's, but not how it happens. Eilena's future is the only truly unknown factor--and this presents the opportunity for many heart-jolting plot twists.

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand is the 2nd book in her YA Fantasy Empirium series. When we left off in Furyborn, Reille Dardenne managed to come through her trials to prove that she is the Sun Queen, though we knew from the start that she was indeed the Blood Queen, and gave birth to a girl; a baby she handed off to Simon ( a young boy) to bring her to safety, away from the evil angel, Corien.

Eliana Ferracora is in fact, Reille’s daughter (1000 years after her death), and she is just learning about her powers and who her mother really was. In Kingsbane, we continue the story in the past about Rielle prior to her death, leading up to her being the Blood Queen. In the present, Eliana must learn to how to use her powers, as well as accept her destiny to save the world and be their savior as the Sun Queen.

To understand a bit better the theme of this series: Many years prior to Rielle’s time, there was a Prophecy that claims sometime in the future the evil angels locked away for centuries will return and wreck havoc across the world, and two women will rise; one made of Blood and the other of Light. A Queen of Blood and Destruction and a Queen of Light and Salvation; hence the Blood Queen and the Sun Queen. Kingsbane continues the two pov’s of the past with Rielle, and the present with Eliana.

Rielle continues her journey to prove to she is the Sun Queen, and in doing so must collect the castings of the saints. Wherever she goes, she has her love and the future king of Cedaria, Audric and her trusted friend (and secret angel), Ludivine traveling with her. I really liked them in Furyborn, as they are what holds Rielle together, to prevent the evil Corien from pulling her to his side. The evil Corien was very powerful, not only a voice in Rielle’s head, but also appearing to her in her dreams. I also adored her Dragon, Altheria. But Rielle has her issues controlling her anger, when she is faced with others not believing in her, causing more dissent.

Eliana continues to grow into her power, accepting with each passing day that though she has her mother’s powers, but she is not evil, and is indeed the true Sun Queen. I loved Eliana, even though she may have been stubborn, she eventually was ready to rise up and help all those she loved. In time, she was a tough and terrific heroine, and was willing to put her own life on the line to save others.

There were a wonderful cast of secondary characters for Eliana too; Simon, Remy, Zahra, Navi, Harkan, and those who began to believe in her. Kingsbane was an intense and wonderful continuation of this fabulous trilogy, with a major surprise twist at the end. This can be considered as a cliff hanger; making it a difficult long wait for the final book in this trilogy. Kingsbane was another excellently written book by Claire Legrand, with quite a few surprises that had us holding our breaths, as well as leaving us hanging. Now we wait impatiently to see if the Sun Queen will rise up and save them all.

😍😍😍 I don't think I have adequate words to describe the absolute awesomeness that is Kingsbane. I was nervous that it wouldn't live up to Furyborn, but it was all that AND a big fat bag of chips!

The writing style, jumping back and forth between two very powerful females (and a few other major players), keeps the excitement at a fever pitch. I found it hard to put down because there was never a lull.

I am so sad to have finished Kingsbane because that means I have to wait for book 3 and I'm just not sure my heart can handle that!

dnf i don't like i should request arcs of fantasty books any more because i never seem to enjoy them, i will try this again via audiobook at a later time, probably

Thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks fire for granting my wish for this wild ride of a book!

I really enjoyed Furyborn but I have to say I LOVED Kingsbane. I both wanted to savor each word and devour the book to see where she took the characters...and OMG where she took those characters.

Claire Legrand is absolutely amazing at character development, showing who they are, who they want to be and who they will become.

The hardest thing about this book is going to be waiting for the third book. The cliffhanger is so intense that I just kept turning the pages hoping for one more crumb.

I will say I was surprised to find these kind of sex scenes in a ya novel. I felt like they were well written and one of my favourite moments of the book was during one of these scenes.

I am always leery reading the second book in a series. The second book seems to talk about what happened in the first book. I am pleased to say that this book did not repeat that pattern. The two story lines of Rielle and Eliana were riveting. Without going into too much details and ruining the book,I will way that the twists and turns were truly surprising to me. I did not see it coming. Claire Legrand did a terrific job and I can hardly wait for the next book.

Rielle is the anointed Sun Queen, tasked with proving to the people she is unequivocally loyal to the crown. While she tries to maintain a public façade, she also attempts to secretly close the gate to the angels... and avoid the devious angel Corien, who haunts her dreams. But as Rielle's power grows, so does the people's distrust-they call her Kingsbane. Soon, she's have to choose between the people she's beholden to, or the distrustful angel who says he believes in her.In the future, Eliana has accepted that she is the daughter of Rielle, the Blood Queen. Together with those loyal to her she must figure out how to bring down the empire. But as she continues on her quest, she soon discovers truths about the past and the angels that will lead her down a dark and devastating path... perhaps to the Blood Queen herself.

I found book 2 to be elating... Mesmerizing and captivating. Switching between both Eliana and Rielle again... We follow both ladies down their paths to their destinies. A complex magical system, return of some fave characters, and a better look into Rielle and Elianas futures. I loved the amount of detail in each page making the lines jump off the page. And thos epic battle scenes make a perfect epic story!!! Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and of course Claire herself for making arc wishes come true!!!

While I didn't love this as much as Furyborn, it was still a fun read! I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page, and it's good to see that Claire Legrand's romance writing skills have improved by a great deal! Thanks Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with an eArc of this title!

Well I must say it is no secret that I love this series. Since the first novel Furyborn, I went back and have read Claire Legrand's other books. Let me say if you haven't read this author's material go and do so. What a talented writer she is to read. Now having said that I knew that #Kingsbane would be a great sequel, well written, and well plotted. Bonus! It is a great read with non-stop adventure. The characters get more flushed out and overall it is better than Furyborn in my opinion. It is fast-paced with a "shocker" (this is a joke) cliffhanger ending. We know there has to be a book three! I will commend Ms. Legrand this second book is not a "filler" book just to make money. It is the real deal in this series and I love that we have an author who delivers a wonderful series with books that support and add to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Source Fire books for the E-arc copy of #Kingsbane.

First of all I am grateful to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me the opportunity to read this much awaited sequel!

I absolutely adored Furyborn and I could not wait to read Kingsbane!
When Kingsbane landed on my Kindle I think I screamed so loud that I awoke my neighbors.

Sadly I struggled with that story. As it gets many good reviews, I guess it’s a case of “it’s not you, it’s me” . I hope to help you decide if the book still could be your jam and will go with my likes and dislikes

Let’s begin with the positive:

The world building is still excellent. You have fantastic beasts, angels, magic etc. Claire Legrand knows how to write to make you see this fictional world.



The plot is strong with twists you won't see coming. There is action, you move nearly all the time, meet new people, have threats to avoid and quests to fulfill be it get ancient artifacts from the Saints or find a cure or ….



We get to read about the back story of the characters and about what happened to the angels. Believe me, the humans were not flawless here and they did trick the angels!



I never saw that ending coming! As this is a trilogy it ends on a cliffhanger so you’ve been warned.

BUT



Here come my dislikes

I really disliked the characters.
Of course in book one we know that Rielle was the bad guy. But I rooted for her and really loved her as kickass girl! I wanted her to have excuses.
Here...
Here she changed so much and I could not stand her. In that Claire Legrand did really a fantastic job depicting a villain. Power was so tempting. But I had problems with the grasp Corien had on Rielle. Why was she attracted to him like that? She just seemed kind of selfish in her search for power. I would say she became power drunk and accumulated bad decisions.

On a side note, if I did not like Eliana at all in book one I warmed up to her character in this sequel. She is trying her best but she is also a very conflicted charactersand not easy to like either. She is stubborn and decided to do things her way. That led to mistakes…

As I love above all else character's driven stories it was really difficult to feel concerned with their ordeals.



What bothered me deeply too were the numerous sex scenes. I am a romance reader so I am used to hot scenes but not in YA books. This CAN'T qualify as a YA!
The way these scenes happened and how Rielle wanted it made me feel uneasy. I did not like how she seemed to use Audric and ... well you got it for as much as I loved her before I disliked her here.

I think if this book would have been labelled as adult I would have been prepared and probably not bothered by these scenes.

I like my relationships to be focused and exclusive but that was not the case. I loved Audric and each time Corien happened felt like a deep betrayal. The relationship between Ludvine, Rielle and Audric was also …peculiar and probably not fitting for a YA story again.



Would I recommend this book?

If you have read and loved Furyborn I would say read it and make your own opinion.

I know that I will read other books by Claire Legrand as I loved not only Furyborn but also Sawkill Girls (unique story).
I guess you can't love all books from an author...

I don't even know where to begin with this, but I think the first thing I need to tell you is that it's worth going back and reading the last 100ish pages of Furyborn, if only to refresh yourself with the events at the end. This book picks up quickly, and you're thrown into the adventure of the two queens.

I love and have always loved the way that Legrande meshes the two stories of these characters, and this time around I felt myself loving it that much more. It was different, in an altogether better and fresh way. In Furyborn, we have both Eliana and Rielle discovering themselves and their powers.

In Kingsbane, we have Eliana's powers growing in strength, while Rielle battles her own sense of power and the darkness that comes with it. She seems to lose herself more where Eliana is discovering herself, and clinging to and claiming the fact that she is not her mother.

My heart breaks for my Audric, my sweet, sweet love. My heart breaks for Simon, my precious, broken, boy. Their struggles and torments are seen through the eyes of the ones that love them the most, which makes it more heart-wrenching than if she had thrown in their perspectives regularly.

We watch Simon and Eliana's relationship develop as Audric and Rielle's falls into a delicate state of existence. We watch these characters lean on those that they have. We also get to see the wonderful moment where Rielle and Eliana combine, and can only guess at what that will mean for the next book, and for what Corien has planned.

The stakes are set so much higher for both of our Queens, and for the sake of the entire world. There are truths, lies, morally grey characters. Sexual tension, actual sex... it's all that one could ever want, and it's written in such an amazing style that you just keep turning the pages until all is finished and you're left emotionally drained (and scarred).

I need book three in the next four seconds or I might explode. I couldn't put this one down, and I'm so excited to see how the story culminates at the end.

I read Furyborn last summer and I adored it, I fell in love with the characters, the universe, it was beautiful. So of course I was overly excited for Kingsbane, I expected a lot from it, and it still managed to exceed all my expectations.

I don’t even know where to start because I loved everything about this book.

Where in Furyborn I was more involved with Rielle storyline, Kingsbane made me fall in love with Eliana completely. After the events at the end of Furyborn she’s slowly trying to understand her powers and to accept who she really is, and Claire wrote this journey so beautifully. On the other side Rielle is becoming more powerful than ever but she's struggling between her love for Audric and her loyalty to Celdaria and her thirst for freedom that only Corien can grant her.

The characters are definitely my favourite part of this book. I love character driven books in general. And I love well written relationships so this book was everything I could ever wish for. Claire Legrand writes the most beautiful and passionate relationships ever, both romantic and platonic. I found myself crying and melting numerous times throughout the book because I couldn't handle the tenderness and sweetness between the characters. I love how she made the characters so tactile, I love how they hug and cuddle so much, I love how they show their affection, I love all the sweet names they call each other. I have annoted so many I particularly adore the relationships between Rielle and Ludivine, and Eliana and Navi. My girls make my heart melt, they're the purest and I love them so much.

And on top of having the most wonderful characters this book also has a fantastic plot that I was more eager to discover with each page. Each chapter put me on edge and I couldn’t get enough of this book. There were no length, no boring chapters. The more I read Kingsbane the more amaze I was at how perfect this book is.

If you liked Furyborn, I can assure you you are going to adore Kingsbane. You are so not ready for this book.

I have been looking forward to Kingsbane since I finished Furyborn. Every book in this trilogy, I finish and end up wanting more. But I don't even mind the wait, because it makes diving back into the Empirium Trilogy even more delightful. The world building is expansive, with Kingsbane adding even more layers, considerations, and ethical dilemmas. Not to mention that Legrand's characters are some of the most complex I've read. They make choices they know they shouldn't and to follow their heart.

But I think what struck me the most about Kingsbane is how Eliana and Rielle both struggle in this book with self-acceptance. In a variety of ways, both of them feel a tad monstrous - whether that be Eliana's fear of her powers, or the way the people treat Rielle - and so Kingsbane becomes about their journey grappling with this. Can they figure out how to accept themselves, even if no one else will? Or can they learn to accept that their power can be used for both terrible good and evil - if such a dichotomy exists?

This is my honest review from an arc I received from net gallery.

Omg


This book is amazing - a must read for everyone.

There isn’t just the two characters point over view eliana and rielle but also Simon, Corine and a few others.

It’s slow at first but so picks up, with some fast paced action, in more then one way.

There is more then a few shocks in this book that I didn’t see coming but opens the door to what the hell is coming next for the two main characters.

It fills in some of the questions from the book, like where did it really all begin with the angels?

It ends on a cliffhanger where I’m hoping the next book begins at full throttle

AMAZING book and I couldn’t put it down and I’m not a big fantasy reader but I’ve fallen in love with both characters eliana and rielle. Even tho most with have taken a disliking to rielle from the first book, you might just feel for her and see her more human then before.

Another great addition to the Empirium series. This one picks up right where the first book leaves off, so if (like me) its been a bit since you read book 1, you might feel a little out of sorts jumping back into the story. I typically don't like a huge backstory in sequels, but sometimes its nice to have at least a reminder of where our protaganists left off before jumping back in. Once I dove back into the story, I didn't want to put the book down and I enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout. In many places, this series reminds me of a combination of The Queen of the Tearling and A Darker Shade of Magic, which are two of the best fantasy series I've read. I'm seriously itching for book 3 already to see how everything wraps up with our two Queens.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.