Kingsbane (Empirium Trilogy, #2)

by Claire Legrand

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love, Audric, protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: she is the Sun Queen, humanity's long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana's power dangerous and unpredictable. With few allies in her corner, she races against time to save her dying friend Navi. Most importantly, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted by either embracing her mother's power or rejecting it forever.

Separated by a thousand years, connected by secrets and lies, Rielle and Eliana's fight continues amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals that will test their strength—and their hearts.

• Publish Date: September 2023 (first published 21 May 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Fire
• Edition: Illumicrate Exclusive
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 608
• Language: English
• Special: Exclusive Design Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[kalventure]

While this review is spoiler-free, if you haven't read Furyborn yet, I'd recommend not reading this review or book synopsis as both have spoilers for book 1.

"With the Fall of the Blood Queen, the magic that had once illuminated humanity's path to the empirium had vanished. And, somehow, Eliana had to find it again. Find it, and control it."

Friends, this was a wild ride of a sequel and if I am being honest took me days to formulate my thoughts on this book (I still don't think I did this book justice). One thing I can say for certain: my heart hurts and need the next book NOW. The Empirium Trilogy is set in an intricate and complex fantasy world, and just when you think you have it all figured out you find out you were wrong. And I am just putting this out there now: your heart will break and there is an evil cliffhanger in this book.

I am conflicted. Reading Kingsbane was at times arduous for me, but then again I've thought about nothing but this book and the mindf*ck of a cliffhanger for over 24 hours. When I sat down to write my initial thoughts for this review (my first drafts are usually bullet point lists of word vomit), it sat at over 1,000 words. The best of books challenge you and stay with you, and this one has invaded my mind.

I highly recommend re-reading or at least skimming Furyborn before diving into this one. This world is complex and complicated; the worldbuilding that began in Furyborn really takes off here and is expanded upon. I'm glad I re-read (but I have the memory of a goldfish). Kingsbane picks up where Furyborn left off: Rielle passed the trials and has been deemed the Sun Queen by the Church; Eliana is still trying to come to terms with the reality that her life has been a lie and she is in fact the daughter of the Blood Queen. This book is in large part about both of them coming to terms with their prophesied roles and their paths there, but also how the prophecy itself shapes their paths.

"She was, according to Simon and Zahra, the foretold Sun Queen, the daughter of the Kingsbane and the Lightbringer. The Furyborn child."

One of the things I mentioned in my review of Furyborn is how the narrative style didn't quite work for me, and I am still not sold on the dual POV storytelling. I found it jarring to jump stories every chapter because, while connected, the storylines are separated by 1,000 years and completely different plots. The world is changed. That being said, the story itself would be TOTALLY DIFFERENT if the books were single POV and I am not sure that it would work. There is honestly just so much happening and it is hard for me to keep track and focus, especially when the gears are constantly changing between timelines but this is largely a me thing (remember: goldfish brain).

The pacing felt a little uneven, there was a chunk in in the second quarter of the book where I was bored to tears and skimming but other parts where I was irrevocably enthralled and unable to put the book down. Despite the narrative style not really working for me, I really love this story, world, and cast of characters. I have so many questions and want to know more.

"Being a queen doesn't mean you can do what you want without consequence."

Kingsbane definitely feels more character-driven and I appreciated the random levity between characters; their personalities finally seemed to come through and alive in this book! There is a good amount of action as well, but thankfully the it doesn't come at the detriment of worldbuilding: our understanding of the world, empirium, magic, and history have been expanded with this installment of the trilogy. A lot of the questions as to angel motives and the war waged between the saints and angels are answered, but of course we get a lot of questions too.

"I am a force unconquerable."

I am going to be honest: Rielle grated on my last nerve in this book. I actually loved her a lot in Furyborn but am not here for her egotistical, know-it-all demeanor that lowkey makes everything worse. Legrand has done a good job of depicting her descent from being good to wanting power here, and it is sad to watch the promise of power and freedom corrupt her.

"'In my kingdom, in my world,' he murmured against her mouth, 'you would serve no one.' Rielle placed her hands on his chest, but not to push him away. [...] his words resonated within her like the first notes of birdsong after a hard winter."

Rielle is very much stuck between who she wants to be and who she fears she truly is. You slowly see the wanting to be good chipped away by the impact that Corien has on her because he represents a freedom that Audric cannot offer as she has a duty to the crown as the Sun Queen; one that she doesn't openly resent. I am still really invested in watching how Rielle's character goes from good to evil, even though I don't really like Rielle much. I personally was very much more invested in Eliana's timeline and journey.

I still feel a bit unconvinced with the whole power that Corien has over Rielle because I don't see why she finds him irrestible, particularly after she bags her beefcake Audric who deserves SO MUCH BETTER. That being said, I really am intrigued by his evil, manipulative ways that are also... just honest truths. But while power certainly corrupts I am not sure that is the sole reason that Corien has a hold on her, and so a lot of the driving force and conflict in this plot doesn't feel 100% believable to me... yet.

"When the Sun Queen arrives, she may not look like anything you've imagined. She may not know who she is, and she may resent the destiny to which she was born. Nourish and cherish her. And above all, do whatever you must to keep her safe, even if it earns her hatred."

While Rielle and Eliana are inherently different based on prophecy, at the same time both queens are very much alike and I do enjoy watching their journeys kind of dovetail. There are moments where their stories are echoes. Legrand has done an amazing job of depicting the duality of these two characters because they are so similar that it makes me as a reader question "the truths" that I thought I knew.

"The prophecy, this talk of a Sun Queen and a Blood Queen... it is folly. Humans aren't all goodness or all badness, and reducing Rielle to this choice - presenting her with two impossible and inhuman extremes - is a terrible cruelty, and it will be our undoing. We must allow her to live a life of her own making."

And with the two queens being so alike, that opens a really interesting discussion on the nature of prophecy and free will. No person is really every truly good or completely evil, the best characters are more complex than that and the prophecy really calls that into question. When Rielle's powers became known she had no choice but to be deemed the Sun Queen or be executed and as her actions kind of stray from the prescribed role of Protector to the crown - through no malice of her own - she has no choice but to embrace that other side. Who is to say who she would be if she didn't have this prophecy to live up to?

"No one can decide what you become except you. Not me, and not your parents. You have a choice ahead of you, just as she did, and I have faith that you will make it wisely."

With Rielle's Fall causing destruction and the end of magic in Aritas, Eliana had no choice but be the Sun Queen because the Blood Queen had already lived and brought destruction. But for Eliana that knowledge brings no comfort: she is afraid of being like her mother and fears the magic that she has. Eliana's journey is one of acceptance and one that I was personally invested in while reading because who doesn't fear becoming like their parents?
"She would never have thought him capable of doing what he had done. She would never have imagined him to be the kind of man to take her will from her, to direct her life as he saw fit rather than allow her to lead it herself, as was her right."

Another theme that is prevalent in Kingsbane is having agency over one's actions, which dovetails nicely with the concept of free will versus prophecy. Both queens have people that want to control them and their power: Corien's promises of freedom entice Rielle in a way that is similar to Eliana's rejection of her choice being taken from her.

I love how feminist this book feels. From the discussion of choice, to the woes of the period, to the fact that women are not only allowed to have pleasure from sex and but can even pleasure themselves. In addition to the female empowerment, I appreciated how all romantic pairings express consent for sexual activity. This book also has a lot of lgbtqiap rep: Eliana is bisexual, I got the perception that Jessamyn may be part of the a-spectrum (but the line of text didn't give me enough to be sure if it was that or something else), there are many gay couples and hintings to a potential poly relationship. AKA this book is very queer.

I have been intrigued by Simon since Furyborn, and honestly the opening prologue bit with Simon and the Prophet have me THIRSTING for that back story. I have a lot of words for this shady prophet dude, and a lot of questions as well.I just hope there is more of a Simon perspective in the third book because I need one!

For the past few days Jess @ Fiction No Chaser and I have been sharing theories and heartbreak with one another, and because of my goldfish memory I re-read the prologue to Furyborn and it was like a whole new experience. This is a series that not only has re-readability but will get better with those re-reads. With the knowledge that I now have after Kingsbane, I really want to re-read Furyborn and look for more clues... but my heart needs some time to heal first.

If you are the kind of person that enjoys trying to piece things together and look for clues in the narrative, I really think that the Empirium trilogy will be for you! This is also a great book & series to buddy read because there the world and story is very complex and it is fun to bounce theories off other people. I love the feeling of having the rug ripped out from under me; all the things I thought i knew being lolol you fool! I honestly am really glad that Jess had finished Kingsbane a couple of days before I picked it up so that I could yell at her while reading.

Overall, I am really glad that I read Kingsbane and am currently Googling time travel so that I can read the third book now! While I found the pacing to be a little uneven, I was fully engaged in this story about two fierce women that are determined to make their own paths in the world and invested in how things will play out. The book is intensely feminist without feeling preachy and you cannot help but root for Eliana and Rielle (and for Audric, who deserves a lot better than the fate he got at the beginning of Furyborn). I am still really invested in the trilogy and seeing how it ends. because ya girls has theories. a lot of them.

REPRESENTATION: bisexual rep (Eliana), consent, lgbtqiap+, masturbation and female sexual pleasure, periods exist, potential poly relationship
CONTENT WARNINGS: death, explicit sex scenes, war

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me an eARC via Edelweiss for my honest review! Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change in final publication.

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9/20/18: A sneak peak was published today in EW: check it out for the cover reveal and an excerpt! The cover looks GORGEOUS and I cannot wait to dive back into this world!

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Kingsbane through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Kingsbane is the second novel in the Empirium series by Claire Legrand. I remember when Furyborn came out last year – it was the talk of the town (er rather, book groups). I rather expect that’ll happen again with Kingsbane, and I’m really looking forward to talking with other fans about it.
Kingsbane continues the tale of Rielle and Elaine, and their epic quests. Admittedly one is more willing than the other to start something so big…but that’s hardly surprising. Both are major elements in a prophecy, one that foretold two queens. One called the Blood Queen, and the other known as the Sun Queen.
Furyborn did a brilliant job of keeping us in the dark about who was who. But Kingsbane removes all doubt. Each queen has their own purpose, as well as their own hopes and dreams. But the real question is, can they manage to balance it all?


Warnings: Much like Furyborn, Kingsbane deals with some sensitive subjects. There are abductions, graphic deaths, and a mind control element in the mix. There’s also one scene (spoiler warning) that is confusing and hard to interpret. It does raise some concerns about Rielle and consent. So consider yourself warned.
Kingsbane is the perfect continuation to the story created in Furyborn. Both queens continue their epic tale, but there are more twists and turns than ever. I think any fan that enjoyed the first novel would be happy about picking up Kingsbane.
But I will confess that I didn’t like Kingsbane quite as much as Furyborn. There were certain elements that I guess just didn’t hold up? I can see the thought structure behind some of what was done, and I understand (and even agree with) the reasoning. But I’m not sure on the whole.
I think, for me, Kingsbane is somewhere between a three and a half star rating and a four. I don’t split my ratings further than half ratings though, so Kingsbane is stuck somewhere in this limbo. Push come to shove I’d probably go with the four-star rating though, because I really enjoyed Elaine’s side of the story.
In Furyborn we saw both perspectives, one of the Blood Queen, and one of the Sun Queen. We even started off knowing that one of them was doomed to die. That structure continues in Kingsbane, which I was somewhat surprised with. But apparently both queens still had a lot left to tell. Having finished this novel, I think the next in the series will probably continue this pattern, but I can’t be certain.
I’ll confess that I absolutely have a favorite when it comes to the two queens. I enjoyed Elaine’s side of the story so much. And while I was interested in what was happening to Rielle, it just wasn’t the same. There wasn’t as much of an emotional investment for me. Perhaps because I’ve always known her ultimate fate? (And thus I’ve been trying to protect myself this whole time?).
The twists and turns in this novel varied fairly dramatically, between the two characters. Perhaps because I’ve braced for the worst, Rielle’s twists didn’t shock or hurt me as much as I expected. Meanwhile all the curve balls thrown Elaina’s way completely caught me off guard.
To be honest, I’m still not sure how I feel about that final revelation. The one involving Elaina (I refuse to say more than that though). If any other fans have read the book and want to reach out and talk about it, please do so! I need to talk that whole mess out before the next book comes out.
Regardless of how I feel about the final twist, I really am looking forward to the next book in the series. I don’t think it has a name yet – or if it does, I don’t know it. But I’m sure we’ll hear about it soon enough.


For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Jo]

I was sent this proof for free by Midas PR on behalf of from Sourcebooks Fire for the purposes of providing an honest review.

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features gory descriptions, a panic attack, murder, some explicit sex, sexual assault, and abusive manipulation (possibly grooming).

It wasn't that long ago that I finished reading Furyborn, and despite only having a few months to wait, I loved it so much, the wait for book two seemed unbearable! But fortunately I was asked to take part in the UK blog tour for Kingsbane by Claire Legrand, and got to read that little bit early. And oh my god, was it worth the wait!

Furyborn ended on such a cliffhanger! Furyborn ended on such a cliffhanger! However, my memory was a little fuzzy on the details, and Kingsbane doesn't give much in the way of a recap as you're reading. So I did find myself a little confused over who certain people were, and remembering all the details of the ending of Furyborn, so you may wish to check out the recap for it over on Book Series Recaps and Reviews. Kingsbane starts off a month or so after the beginning. While Rielle is touring the kingdom along with Prince Audric and Ludivine, being greeted by the people as their Sun Queen and swearing to protect them all, Audric receives a letter from neighbouring kingdom Borsvall that there is an emergency only Rielle can save them from. Running off to save them on Atheria, Rielle's Godbeast, leads to Rielle discovering just how badly damaged the Gate that is holding most of the angels in the Deep. Through the guardians of the Gate, the Obex, she discovers that there's only one way to possibly repair the Gate, and that's by her using the castings of the Saints who first created the Gate, which are hidden throughout the world.

Eliana is in Astavar, struggling to come to terms with who and what she is. The daughter of the woman who destroyed everything, who doomed the world. Supposedly the Sun Queen, who is meant to save it. With powers that are unpredictable and difficult to control. And Princess Navi - who was abducted by the Emperor's adatrox, who had started the process of making her into a Crawler before she was rescued - is getting worse by the day. Zahra, the angel wraith who now serves Eliana, tells her there's only one possible way to save her, but it will be dangerous, and she will only help her do so if she learns to control her power.

Kingsbane is exciting and thrilling, and oh my god, so much happens! What I've shared above is the very bare bones of this story, and there's so much that would be incredibly easy to spoil. Although we still have alternate chapters told from both Rielle and Eliana's perspective (with a few chapters from others' perspectives thrown in, too, which were just so awesome), there's more that happens in the first half, overall, in regards to Rielle's story, where Eliana slowly picks up as the story progresses, and they both end in spectacular climaxes!

What I loved most about this book is the character development. Where as I was fond of Rielle in Furyborn - if often exasperated by her choices - I really didn't like her in this book, but in the best possible way. As the story progresses, you can almost see Rielle slowly becoming the Blood Queen. It's like you can see all the paths laid out before her, but how everything she does is a step further down the path to becoming the Blood Queen: every time she acts, every decision she makes, every lie she tells, who she chooses to listen to, who she believes. And all of this is influenced by how Rielle has a hugely inflated opinion of herself, and thinks of everyone else as lesser than her. She's very self-involved and arrogant. She's disdainful of people who think less of her, and has a kind of "Do they not know who I am?" attitude. She's haughty, vain, and full of her own importance. In Kingsbane, Rielle very much reminded me of fairy tale villains in their origin stories. You can see the seeds begin to take root, and know she will bloom into someone cold, calculated and heartless.

But there are moments - small, little moments - when I really felt for Rielle. There's so much pressure on her to be who the people expect, this duty she must perform, how she must bend herself into what the world needs of her. Before everyone knew about her powers, she had to be careful, sure, but she could still be Rielle. But now she must be the Sun Queen. Rielle doesn't matter, the Sun Queen does. And she's also, in some ways, insecure. She worries about what Audric would think of her regarding his father's death, and the truth of other events that take place throughout the Kingsbane that she hides from him. She's not 100% sure of his love. And Corien takes advantage of that. He constantly feeds those fears and worries, while telling her everything she wants to hear, constantly flattering her, waxing lyrcial about how powerful she is and all she can do, and how she is better than everyone else. How she'll always be shackled by her people; how they will be afraid of how powerful she is, and how they'll want to control her. But he's not afraid of her, he doesn't want to control of her, he just wants to let her shine. I don't know enough to be sure, but it kind of felt like grooming? It's at the very least abusive, the way he manipulates her, and tries to get her to do what he wants.

At times, I did think, how much of what happens can actually be blamed on her, really? There is a prophecy after all. Although I don't like her, and she does do some despicable things, does she really have a choice? I ended up going with yes. Because some of her decisions, man. Things didn't need to happen the way they did, and it's all down to her. She may have Corien in her head, but he's not there constantly, and he can't force her to do anything. Some choices she makes without any input from him, and she does some terrible things.

Eliana on the other hand is almost the complete opposite. As the Dread of Orline, she was strong and confident. She was skilled with a blade, healed unnaturally quickly, knew herself and what she wanted, even if that meant she put herself before others. Now? Her confidence and her strength have all but vanished. She is really, really struggling with who she is. She's heard all the stories about the Blood Queen, she knows what the world is like now under the rule of the Emperor because of the Blood Queen. And she's her daughter? And has her power? How can anyone believe she is the Sun Queen, when her mother was the most evil woman to have ever existed? How can anyone want her to use that power, when it caused so much damage in the hands of the Blood Queen? She wishes she didn't have it, doesn't want to use it, is scared of what she could do, or who she might become - hasn't enough damage been done already?! But she is literally the only hope their world has - and potentially others. Can she simply refuse to try, and let the Emperor continue to cause such suffering?

And then there are the twists! Oh my god, the twists! I'm not going to give anything away except to say it relates to time, and oh my god, these kinds of things blow my mind. Completely! There are unforeseen moments of heartbreak, moments of betrayal, and huge jaw-dropping twists that punched me in the gut. I mean, man! How?! HOW?! I need an explanation now! I mean, I think I know, but I need an actual explanation, and I need to know how things are going to fixed and resolved, because, What. The. HELL?! Mate, it's bloody incredible, and I am desperate for people to read it, so I have someone I can share my shock with!

One of the other things I really like about this trilogy, which I didn't mention in my review of the first book, is the sex in these books. There are some explicit sex scenes, and yes, they may occasionally be a little cliché, but do you know what else they are? They are consensual. Consent is given and asked for multiple times throughout. There is a focus on women's pleasure; the men in this book take pleasure in pleasing the women they are having sex with. There is respect. These are (mostly) teenagers enjoying sex. And sure this might make these books "older YA", but I don't think that makes them unsuitable. Teenagers aren't stupid, and they won't read what they're not ready for. But if they are ready, I think the sex scenes in these books are the kind they should read. With 65% of 15-16-year-olds and 28% of 11-12-year-olds watching porn, which tends to be violent, disrespectful of women, and without consent, I think books like Furyborn and Kingsbane are better alternatives.

Kingsbane is absolutely incredible! It's an explosive and addictive sequel to Furyborn, and now I am absolutely dying to read the third and final book in the Empirium series, and don't know how I'm going to wait a whole year! If you loved Furyborn, you do not want to miss out on this one!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the proof.