First things first sunnies: did you see that book cover? Isn't it pretty? I am in love.
Furyborn is the first book in the Empirium series by Claire Legrand. It is what I would describe as high fantasy. It has its own and intriguing world and sets of rules and magic.
It evolves mostly around Rielle and Eliana, two independent and strong woman that when posed with similar questions and doubts in their lives choose different paths that somehow connect their lives and the lives of those around them across centuries.
Book Blurb:
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.
I really enjoyed the story and its pace.
Claire Legrand created a very unique world. I am always amazed at authors that can come up with unique settings in the fantasy world, there is so much stuff out there already. It got confusing at times, but nothing too distracting.
The story is told from two different points of view, Rielle and Eliana, and during two different timelines, past and future.
Eliana has always followed orders and done what is expected of her. Hers is a story of loss, of grief. She was the most interesting character to me. She was rather lost, with a misguided sense of right and wrong. Life has not been kind to her and she in turned has not been kind to anyone either. She believes she is a monster, but in truth, she is kind and loving.
Rille has hidden her powers all her life. She is defiant and strong minded. Hers is a story of love, trials, and misplaced trust. Contrary to Eliana, she believes she is good, but her actions don't always prove that to be right.
The romance was very mild. Some of it was beautiful (Rielle and the prince). Some of it was unnecessary (Eliana's lover and best friend). And some of it we really need to see more. That was just mean, leave us hanging like that hehe :)
All in all, it was a great high fantasy read. I would recommend to anyone that likes their complicated and innovative fantasy reads.
I only have one major issue with it... And that is that it is advertised as an Young Adult book. As a librarian and someone that works with teens and parents often I can tell you with confidence that not all parents will be happy with their younger teens reading this. The sexual content, although done respectfully, is too graphic for an Young Adult novel.
Thank you sourcebooks for the arc!
Release date: May 22, 2018
Can’t wait to read this book!! I’m on chapter 3 but I kind of want to wait for the physical book as I have an earc at the moment
ReplyDeleteI understand.Physical copies will forever be better than ebooks :)
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