Name: Furyborn
Rating: 3.817865707434053 (417 reviews)
ISBN: 9781492656623

Claire Legrand

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed ... unless the trials kill her first.

Furyborn

I expected a bit more from this story. I didn't like the way in which chapters were placed and tbh I wouldn't mind for half of the Rielle chapters to be gone.... At the end it was a bit better than at the beginning tho 

Martyna

Sunky

I DNFed this book at the start of Chapter 10, about 21% of the way through the book. 

Okay, so I was gonna try to muscle through this book, but I don't care enough about the characters at 21% of the way through the book to enjoy it. I'm confused by the action sequences. The world politics might be interesting, but I just don't think I feel like muddling my way through the rest of this book to find out.

I will say that the cover design is absolutely beautiful and whoever did that should be so proud of themselves.

Kirsten Simkiss

I DNFed this book at the start of Chapter 10, about 21% of the way through the book. 

Okay, so I was gonna try to muscle through this book, but I don't care enough about the characters at 21% of the way through the book to enjoy it. I'm confused by the action sequences. The world politics might be interesting, but I just don't think I feel like muddling my way through the rest of this book to find out.

I will say that the cover design is absolutely beautiful and whoever did that should be so proud of themselves.

My favorite thing about this first book is the way that the chapters are split between the stories of one woman’s descent into the villain and one’s path to the hero. But at the same time, there was so much information in each and every chapter that I did find myself getting somewhat lost until about 60% of the way through the book. And the first ~1/3 was quite slow as well, which made it hard to keep invested and probably harder for me to follow. However, the last 1/3 was definitely more exciting and had some crazy reveals that I wasn’t expecting, for sure! And for a YA fantasy, this is 

On the audiobook side, I did really enjoy the narrator, but I find that books that flip flop POVs frequently are harder to follow if the narrator is too similar between chapters (as is somewhat the case here). But nonetheless, I definitely enjoyed the reading and the writing in this book. I will definitely keep reading the series, as I have quite a few questions I need some answers to.

Tace

My favorite thing about this first book is the way that the chapters are split between the stories of one woman’s descent into the villain and one’s path to the hero. But at the same time, there was so much information in each and every chapter that I did find myself getting somewhat lost until about 60% of the way through the book. And the first ~1/3 was quite slow as well, which made it hard to keep invested and probably harder for me to follow. However, the last 1/3 was definitely more exciting and had some crazy reveals that I wasn’t expecting, for sure! And for a YA fantasy, this is definitely on the spicier side…

On the audiobook side, I did really enjoy the narrator, but I find that books that flip flop POVs frequently are harder to follow if the narrator is too similar between chapters (as is somewhat the case here). But nonetheless, I definitely enjoyed the reading and the writing in this book. I will definitely keep reading the series, as I have quite a few questions I need some answers to.

The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

DNF'd. I couldn't get into it. Also, is this supposed to be Christian-fantasy? God is mentioned but there are non-biblical saints spoken of.

Emily B

I have been in a reading slump for so long I had wondered if I’d ever get out of it. This book brought me back! It was such a fun read! It had a few problems, sure, like some character consistency issues. I also would love to see the lore of some creatures fleshed out, but who knows, that might all happen in the second book. These are just nitpicks though. 

I loved both of the main characters. Knowing her fate, I was intrigued by Rielle and how she becomes who she does. Her dynamic with the main villain is what really stole the show though. He is so deliciously cunning, cruel, and manipulative that he was a joy to watch on page. I kept looking for his dialogue so I could see him interact with Rielle every chapter, I loved him that much (my nickname for him is Evil-Yum yum- bad guy. Juvenile, I know, but that’s what my brain came up with.) 

Eliana started out as a character who I got frustrated with, but I ultimately understood her. Doesn’t mean I liked her decisions though. However, this gave her room for more character growth, and that cultivation of emotions at the end was fabulous! Not to mention her chemistry with her love interest had me cackling with glee!

There is so much more I could say. I loved Simon and Zahra, they were my favorite side characters. Remy was a joy, and Navi was so lovely. Ludivine reminds me of one of my aunts, and Audric is a supportive cinnamon role. I wish I could go into more, but it’s 1:20 am in the morning and I need sleep. Point is, this book is an absolute gem! Read this as soon as you can!

Well written, and concept great, book just fell slightly short at times. Any smut in this felt rushed and sort of out of nowhere with no build up or anything, and sometimes characters rushed. I never got the vibe of there being something being between Rielle and Corien, but the dialogue kept insisting there was. She also acted super out of character during her trials. Book was too long -- details, like in each trial, worked against the plot and bogged it down instead. Some of the shifting POV worked against the plot too, but overall, book was pretty good! Can't wait to read more about Lu, Eliana, and Simon!

(Bre)anne✨

TW to be added later

Well written, and concept great, book just fell slightly short at times. Any smut in this felt rushed and sort of out of nowhere with no build up or anything, and sometimes characters rushed. I never got the vibe of there being something being between Rielle and Corien, but the dialogue kept insisting there was. She also acted super out of character during her trials. Book was too long -- details, like in each trial, worked against the plot and bogged it down instead. Some of the shifting POV worked against the plot too, but overall, book was pretty good! Can't wait to read more about Lu, Eliana, and Simon!

Annabella

I hadn't felt this immersed in a book in quite a long while, I must admit

Emelie

It was good overall but I'm still not sure if I got the plot... fantasy is not my thing!

I enjoyed this immensely! I loved the story and I’m really excited to see how this goes!

 The only negative thing was that it was what felt like a ton of story but a bit less description if that makes sense? Like, someone would die and within a paragraph and it isn’t mentioned much beyond the one line. 

Shai

I enjoyed this immensely! I loved the story and I’m really excited to see how this goes!

 The only negative thing was that it was what felt like a ton of story but a bit less description if that makes sense? Like, someone would die and within a paragraph and it isn’t mentioned much beyond the one line. 

Megan Lowe

I’m not really sure what to think about this book. I have wanted to read it for months and was absolutely stoked to receive an ARC but this book was hard work.
Usually I fly through a book quickly. This one, it was tough.
That said, I did enjoy it, and I await the following book(s). I think what bothered me was that basically right from the start we know who Eliana is. That’s not a surprise. But it takes SO long for things to start happening. At about 30% dots start connecting, then they stop. We get more about 55%, then it stops again. Finally at the end we get even more but it’s the end. The intervening sections are hard work to get through. Also, I felt not enough explanation was given about Eliana’s time. What happened after Rielle fell? Why is it bad? Even as simple as who is who?
Still, I did enjoy this book at points. Rielle was an intriguing character, who you thought you’d hate, but don’t. Eliana is a little more complex. One thing though is I absolutely HATE how she uses sex.
Simon is interesting, Remy is sweet, and Navi was neither here nor there.
I did think Zahara’s appearance was random, even if a great addition.
I would like to see more humour, the parts where it was were fantastic, and more explanations. I get we’re supposed to be left in the dark to an extent, but if it’s to the point where we check out, I don’t think is intended.
Still, a decent book if you can stick with it, and am awaiting the next books!

jess

“People like us don’t fight for our own hope,” he said quietly. “We fight for everyone else’s.”


From other reviews, Furyborn seems to be a "love-it-or-hate-it" type of book.To me, it wasn't great, and it wasn't terrible. Furyborn had a lot of creative worldbuilding that I haven't seen in fantasy often, and a few interesting characters. Really, I just feel somewhat ambivalent about this book--there were a lot of things I liked, yes, and there were a lot of things I found boring or slow.

Between Rielle and Eliana, I liked both of them about the same. Neither of them were my favourite characters, but I didn't find myself particularly annoyed with them. I felt like both Rielle and Eliana were very archetypal, somewhat generic fantasy characters. The side characters, however, I found interesting. I liked Ludivine a lot; she was just so incredibly sweet and angelic, so even though Rielle and Audric didn't hold my interest, I liked being in Rielle's POV because of Ludivine. On Eliana's side, I liked Remy, Navi, and Simon the most. Remy and Navi were just so nice and positive compared to Eliana's pessimism, and Simon was intriguing, even if he was kind of an ass.

Plot-wise, I found the whole book somewhat slow and repetitive, which really made me struggle in some areas. I really felt it with Rielle and the seven trials: each of them were so similar to the other ones. Rielle would describe her costume, the crowd cheering, almost die, and Corien would speak to her and she would miraculously make it out alive. I liked seeing Rielle outside of the trials and especially with Ludivine and Audric, and witnessing her trying to navigate complicated court politics. Eliana's side of the plot was slightly faster and more interesting, but I still struggled in parts.

One aspect of the worldbuilding I liked is the creativity of the lore. Angels don't show up in otherworld fantasy often, so that part of the worldbuilding had me hooked. It's a fairly unique concept. I do wish some of it had been expanded on--I would like to know more about the empire and the angels--but I expect that will come in the next book. There was a lot in this book that I was expecting to happen but looks as if it will be saved for a sequel, which personally left me feeling kind of betrayed. The book opens with Rielle as an anti-heroine and a crisis, but after that all the action died down, and so did the continued establishment of the world that makes it feel real.

This is especially obvious in the 1,000 year timeskip from Rielle and Eliana. Except for a few mild things, such as guns and gas lamps, the world feels the same. I would say, in our historical terms, Rielle's era reads like high medieval era, while Eliana's is Regency-era at the latest--that's a difference of 400-500 years at most, and I definitely felt the lack of change while reading it. Why do people still fight with swords, especially when there are guns? Why are the same countries all still around with the same borders after 1000 years, even accounting for the existence of the Undying Empire? Having the feeling of time lapsed would have been really nice to see and given the book a lot more atmosphere than it has right now.

I did mostly enjoy reading Furyborn, though. Yes, the plot was a bit slow at times, but in the end I liked the characters and the worldbuilding enough, even if nothing was an absolute standout to me. Throne of Glass fans might like this, but if you don't like slow fantasies, then this book is probably not for you. I will definitely be picking up Kingsbane after it comes out.

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cheyenne 

*** 3.5

I happened to be reading this book during my reading slump so when I decide to reread this another time, my rating may change. While I did enjoy the characters and the book itself, I felt it could've been a shorter book. I don't think it needed to be 500 pages. Some of the chapters were just kind of unnecessary to me and stated things I already knew. Nevertheless, it has a lot of potential and when the next book comes out, I'll definitely reread this one and read the next one. It's worth a shot if you're into high fantasy.

Furyborn

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