Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Furyborn (Empirium Trilogy, #1)

by Claire Legrand

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, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire 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.

Reviewed by Leigha on

4 of 5 stars

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I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Two women come to terms with their destinies in this young adult epic fantasy novel.

So Claire Legrand’s Furyborn completely blew me away. I devoured this book in a 24 hour period. It’s about two powerful young women, Rielle and Eliana, coming to terms with themselves and their circumstances. Each chapter seamlessly alternates between their very different perspectives. Honestly, it should be a hot mess – the constant hopping between time periods, characters, and mythology. And yet, the novel’s charm is the ability to immerse yourself into each story equally. If you enjoy magic, bad ass women, and political intrigue, you will most likely enjoy this story.

The preface took away some of my enjoyment as it reveals the connection between Rielle and Eliana. My hope is the preface is deleted from the final copy. Context clues within the story provides ample foreshadowing to their connection. Additionally, the antagonists needed more development. Despite those minor issues, I just fell in love with the characters and setting. I’m dying to get my hands on the next book in the series!

tl;dr An action-packed epic fantasy with two tenacious female characters.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 January, 2018: Finished reading
  • 4 January, 2018: Reviewed