Fury: Bane War Vol. I has so much potential. The world Jeffer Nightwind has created is dark, intense, and rich with lore—and there’s no doubt that the writing is beautiful in places. Fury, the main character, is fierce and emotionally complex, and her journey is one of pain, power, and survival. I found myself invested in her arc and rooting for her, even when things got bleak.

That said, it didn’t completely hit the mark for me. While the atmosphere and tone were gripping, the emotional heaviness felt overwhelming at times without enough breathing room. The pacing also struggled in some areas—some parts flew by, while others dragged or got bogged down in detail. And while Fury was well-developed, I wanted more from the supporting cast, many felt flat or underutilized.

Pros:
• Dark, vivid worldbuilding
• A strong and emotionally raw protagonist
• Beautiful prose with flashes of brilliance
• Unique magic and lore

Cons:
• Emotionally exhausting without much relief
• Uneven pacing
• Side characters lacked development
• Cliffhanger ending felt a bit abrupt

Overall, I can see why others might love this, and I do think the series has serious potential. I’m curious to see where it goes, but this one didn’t fully land for me.

A book that heavily focuses on mental health in a fantastical world from a debut author. I can see where there might be spots for improvement in the prose, but the focus on strong woman that are actual strong would appeal to readers tired of those faux warriors woman that still need to be saved. I hope the author continues writing!

I want to thank Negalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Saffa is a bad ass character, that battles through with courage and strength. She is half human and navian. She has her paramour Soren that helps and helps her through the void. Saffa is a battlemage that keeps her darkness at bay. I love the world building the romance and just the general story telling from the author. One thing I think I enjoyed was the consent between Saffa and Navian when it came to sexual advances. I would suggest this to anyone that wants rich world building and great developed characters

I really struggled to get into this book and I think a lot of it was the author's writing style. I always felt confused about where the story was going, but I liked the two-headed dog.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, and thank you to the author for being kind enough to send me a physical copy as well.

Overall, I did like the concept and plot of Fury. We have a strong FMC, which is one of my favorite things to see in books so I really liked Saffa's character from the start. Early on in the book we were introduced to themes regarding mental health, such as depression and anxiety. This helped to make the characters seem more real/relatable and also helped give some insight into decisions that were made by the characters. I really appreciate when books are able to pull in themes that we as readers deal with in our actual lives and make us more aware of the things going on around us and potentially help us see things differently. Mental health can be a heavy topic and I think this was woven into the story really well, without overwhelming us on the topic.

I did have a little trouble getting into the book, but things picked up for me around the halfway point when we reached the "Great British Baking Show" part of the plot. I thought that was a fun, unique part of the plot and I love that show so it worked perfectly for me. The elements of the underworld and demons were also something I really enjoyed in this book, as I find anything dealing with the underworld to be interesting.

What didn't quite work for me was some of the dialogue and the initial relationship between the Saffa and Soren. While I understand that they were childhood friends and had a previous relationship before losing their memories and being in the void, since we didn't know that (Saffa just speculated a previous connection), to me it felt like instant love and that's not my favorite thing when it comes to romance in books. There were also parts of the book where there was so much dialogue and nothing else that it read more like a movie script than a book. At points it felt as if there were multiples pages of straight dialogue and that got confusing at times to even keep track of who was saying what, especially if there were 3+ characters in a scene. There were just some chapters in the book that the writing was alot harder to get through as it seemed muddy, but then would immediately switch and become so clear/easier to read. It definitely felt like two different writing styles at times so that made it a little confusing for me.

I absolutely adored this book. The story was so thoughtfully crafted, and it had everything I look for in a great read—angst, challenges, action, and romance. The world-building was exceptional, drawing me in completely. I’m already eagerly anticipating whatever Nightwind releases next