Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy, 1)

An epic start to an exquisite and captivating fantasy series, Furyborn is everything I had hoped it to be and more.An epic start to an exquisite and captivating fantasy series, Furyborn is everything I had hoped it to be and more.  A note before the actual text of the ARC tells readers that they hope this book will change our lives.  I thought that was a tall order, and that actually made me a bit apprehensive about ​starting the book.  However, after a few chapters, I was hooked.Almost every chapter ends on a cliffhanger.  Which was amazing to read, but also frustrating.  Amazing because the plot and writing were captivating and I desperately wanted to keep reading each chapter to get through each of the girl's stories to find out what happened next.  Frustrating because when I was trying to look for a place to stop, it was almost impossible.  Plus, most of the chapters are decently short, making the "Just one more chapter" lie I was telling myself even easier to accept.I loved both of the main characters, Rielle and Eliana.  I thought it would be hard to connect to Rielle, because the preface is set before her point of view chapters, and reveals some not so pleasant details about her life two years after her point of view.  However, I was immediately drawn in to her voice, and yearned to understand what had affected her so deeply as to cause the outcome that is shown in the preface.  (Can you tell I'm trying to make this review as spoiler free as possible?).  Rielle's best friends, Audric and Ludivine, were absolutely lovely as well.  The friendship between Rielle and Ludivine was so supportive and loving, and Rielle and Audric...well.  Let's just say I totally approve.  Audric reads as such a pure human.  So pure, at times he is oblivious, which is frustrating as a reader, because I know he's intelligent, but he can be so blind to the realities of what is going on around him.Eliana and Rielle are total opposites.  While both of their hearts are in the right place, and both want to prevent their loved ones, they go about it in different ways.  Eliana is a killer, and makes no effort to hide that fact.  She's ruthless and focused on survival in the colonized world of the Empire.  Her world is nowhere near as peaceful as Rielle's starts out as.  Still, she, like Rielle, is an incredibly dynamic character.  She makes awful decisions, but I still found myself rooting for her at every turn.  You don't have to respect the decisions of a character, but their intentions are important and are what makes them a likable character, which is the case with Eliana.  Her loyalty to her mother and her younger brother, Remy, is admirable, and everything she does is to help ensure the survival of her family.  Don't even get me started on her best friend and lover, Harkan.  If you read the book, you'll see what I mean.  I absolutely adore him.In a fantastical age where so much of society has gone to ruin, the normalization of same-sex relationships prevails.  Eliana has slept with both men and women for information, and other same-sex couples are not questioned at all, as it should be.  Unfortunately, this is something that our own "real" society has yet to accomplish.An interesting aspect of the story is the angels.  In most of the fantasy serieses that I have read, angels are good, not bad, such as in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters novels.  Some of the ideas of the story reminded me of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen series, but Furyborn clearly stands on its own.Overall, I fell in love with Rielle and Eliana, and I would absolutely love to see these books turned into a film franchise.  I can't believe that I have to wait a year to read the sequel!

There’s honestly so much that happens in this book that I have to kind of summarize in this review, so bear with me if you’re willing to stick with an in-depth review. (There may be slight spoilers, but just enough to give readers an idea of really what’s going, because there’s just SO MUCH to it.) I’ll try to organize it as best as I can!PLOT & WRITINGThere is no argument that Legrand is an exceptional writer. Her prose flows from beginning to end, and it was so easy to continue reading despite my initial disinterest in the book. With constant fast action and witty dialogue, readers will have no trouble keeping up with the story. But then comes my issue, which is that for all the action in the first half of the book, I felt like the storyline was going nowhere. It was easy to predict the background from the action-packed prologue, and from there I just felt very disinterested about the characters. It wasn’t until the second half – when the story actually started going somewhere – did I become more engaged in the book. The atmosphere is fierce, a bit dark, and wholly intense. The writing has an excellent balance of dramatic flare and emotional connections.The story begins with the end of the Sun Queen Rielle, who is regarded as the Blood Queen in centuries to come. After the prologue, we get the alternating, third person limited POV’s of Rielle in the past and a girl named Eliana who lives ~1,000 years into the future. At the beginning of each chapter is an epigraph that tells some important background information if one pays close enough attention. Rielle has spent all her life hiding her special powers of controlling all seven elements of magic, which is unheard of except for in prophecies. When she attempts to save the Crown Prince Audric from an assassination, her powers are revealed and she starts the trials to see whether she is the Sun Queen or the Blood Queen. Rielle’s POV essentially serves two points: 1) give readers a glimpse of really cool elemental magic and 2) set a backdrop to the story that is happening. Each chapter (whether Rielle’s or Eliana’s) is packed with action and sexual desires and emotions."To be sought after instead of hidden away, to protect her country instead of living in fear that she was capable of nothing but hurting people, to be loved instead of hated…Tears stung her eyes.I will be loved."At Eliana’s time of the period, the Empire has taken control of the lands. Angels are a legend of the past, and are seen as the antagonists of the story (although it’s not as clear cut as that.) Magical powers are a legend of the past as well, especially since the Emperor controls everything. Not all is lost, as the Red Crown is a rebel group fighting against the mysterious Undying Emperor. Eliana is seen as a touch girl who hunts for the rebels in order to support her family: her mother, partner, and little brother. But when her mother disappears suddenly, she reluctantly makes a deal with the captain of the rebel group, the Wolf (his name is Simon), to join his side and figure out what happened to her mother. The majority of the story is basically a build-up to the sequel. There’s always action happening, but it’s a slow ascent into figuring out what’s going on in the elaborate world that Legrand paints.WORLDThe plot is actually really organized, and that extends to the world as well. It’s very easy for readers to follow the past and future timelines, as well as connecting the dots to figure out what’s happening. The map is complex enough to create a multi-dimensional world, but not too complex that readers get confused and have to reread sections.Additionally, I’m quite happy about the many POC’s that are featured in the book, as well as the fact that pretty much none of the important pairs are homosexual. There are skin descriptions across the spectrum. Eliana takes lovers that are men and women, and Rielle also fantasizes about her close friends, whatever gender. There’s an important gay couple in the rebel group. Everything is added neatly and smoothly into the story. I love it when fantasies do that.CHARACTERS AND RELATIONSHIPSI think Legrand did a great job on characters. However, I wasn’t a fan of Rielle’s POV (which is interesting, because it’s the other way around in some reviews.) Readers already know the end of Rielle’s story in the prologue, and I found myself sighing when we came to her chapters. There’s no denying that she’s very well-written though, flawed and on the path of becoming almost an anti-heroine. Rielle’s powers come with high costs as it’s made people close to her die, or come close to it. Despite this, she always revels in her elemental magic – much more powerful than anyone in the kingdom. She has a forbidden romance with the Crown Prince Audric, as he is betrothed to his cousin and her best friend. When a voice inside her head starts messing with her, she finds herself torn between the light of Audric and the dark path that the cajoling voice offers. I didn’t really care about her romance, as two potential love interests offer two futures that could decide the fate of the kingdom. This trope grows tiring the more I read it, and the fact that I know what happens at the end due to the prologue kind of takes the intrigue and turmoil away from it."‘Sometimes your goodness shines so brightly that I want to devour you. Maybe if I have enough of you, that light you shine will stave off the wickedness that lives inside me.’"I enjoyed Eliana’s chapters a lot more, although it took a very long time to get her up to speed on the main conflict of the book. Eliana is also flawed like Rielle, and she is very stubborn. She sacrifices a lot to support her family – even to the extent of killing people and masking her emotions. However, we see a gradual character development as her soft side comes out when she joins the rebel and slowly shifts in defending them rather than capturing them. She and Rielle are both very strong characters that go through an emotional journey in their narratives. I loved Eliana’s devotion and loyalty to her family, and especially her bond with her younger brother Remy, who is a dreamer and believes the old tales of Angels and Saints. She forges a friendship with fellow rebel Navi that is well-incorporated into the story. Her romance, on the other hand… Okay, so she has several love interests as well that have more potential than the other based on her circumstances. Towards the end though, Simon’s character does a complete 180 degree turn. He goes from barely tolerating her to almost devotion like a snap based on one event. It was jarring and could have been handled much better in my opinion: more gradual and justified. For some reason I just couldn’t get onboard with either perspective’s romances."‘We are all of us dark creatures,’ Navi said, ‘but if we linger in those shadows, we’ll be lost. Instead we must seek the light when we can, and that’s just what you’re doing. I see it happening.’‘You believe too easily,’ Eliana muttered.‘And you don’t believe enough.’‘Belief doesn’t keep you alive.’‘But, given time, it can win wars.’"Speaking of romances, I enjoyed the healthy dialogue of sex and contraceptives in this book. Rielle’s POV is charged with the sexual tension of a young girl learning her desires, while Eliana is familiar with sexual acts because of her manipulation being a part of her job and surviving. Thumbs up for the author taking the straightforward route in this aspect of the book.OVERALL FEELINGSFuryborn would have impacted me more if the story moved along quicker. But I also think the slow pace works for this introductory book of a trilogy, forming a solid background of the story to come. It just made me very disinterested and impatient in the first half of the book. Also, the alternating POV’s did tend to make it drag. Oddly enough, it reminded me of Strange the Dreamer – perhaps not plotwise, but with the same veiled secrets, hidden powers, and tangled relationships thrown in with the hinted strength of magic, hope, and survival. Definitely a magnet for fantasy readers."‘In these dark times, not even the light of the Sun Queen is as powerful as the light waiting inside our deepest hearts, if we only have the courage to look for it.’"Wow, that was a lot to get through! Thank you, if you stuck with me. To sum it up though: wonderful writing, awesome world-building, fun yet familiar magical elements, flawed and multidimensional characters and lots of action make up Furyborn. However, it acts as a very long background for the events to come as both reader and character figure out what’s going on in the grand scheme of things. I’m actually quite excited for the sequel and want to see how the story will progress. Fantasy readers should definitely give this one a try, and perhaps stick with it despite the lackluster first half. There’s a lot of detail and discussion in the story, as well as character growth, that make it an intriguing read.Rating: 3.5 out of 5Content Warning: abuse, animal death, violence, sexual content

The media could not be loaded.  Nunca vi um livro tão bonito sem a jacket quando esse, espero muito que a história seja também. Chegou em perfeito estado, veio muito bem embalado junto com a outra encomenda.

5 out of 5? Try 10 out of 5. This. Was. So. Damn. Good.I'd heard a lot about this book, and when I was granted a wish by the publisher I was over the moon! This book did not disappoint at all, and any faults it does have are forgiven so very quickly. As far as fantasy goes, this one is lush, epic, ingenious and utterly gorgeous.Featuring two strong and kick-ass women as heroines, with a dash of time travel and a whole lot of magic, Legrand has created a story that delivers in romance, action, mystery and sheer fantasy. Even the element of angels was a neat twist. I couldn't tell which MC I loved most, but Legrand is a master-class at suspense and kept me reading through each chapter with a near desperation to find out what happened to either girl. Likewise, the way just enough is revealed in the beginning leaves me with such high levels of curiosity and a burning need to read more of this series! And a round of applause for the secondary characters being just as wonderful. Usually there's just that one that you can't stand, and that was never the case here.The world-building is spot on too. Some fantasies I've noticed pile so much on at once with little grace or explanation that you find yourself lost throughout the book. Not the case here. The world, the history, the magic, the religions---all of it was easy to understand and stow away in my head.I have to admit that the book's big plot twist I figured out pretty quickly myself, but it's not in a way that's predictable or ruins the story. If anything, it heightens the magic of the book. As for the minor twists, I was in love. (In case you haven't figured it out yet, this book could literally do no wrong for me.)As I mentioned, there are a few negatives to it, but the book as a whole is so good that I got over them pretty quick. One was the pace slowed down a bit too much at around the 75% mark, but the ending made up for it. Two, there is a sex scene that is just awko-taco. And I don't mean awkward in a this-is-their-first-time-let's-figure-it-out-together way, but in the way it was written. I found it be a strangely written section with peculiar word choice and description.Nevertheless, this is a solid start to what I know is going to be a fantastic series. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy, and I definitely can't wait to read more. Thanks SOURCEBOOKS Fire!

Ordinato questo libro per un regalo, arrivato in tempi brevi ma in pessime condizioni: parti danneggiate, copertina piena di macchie sparse, ma quel che è peggio PAGINE TAGLIATE MALE (come da foto, vi è anche un confronto tra quello e un libro normale che rende l'idea). Ho quindi richiesto immediatamente un reso e come visibile dalle foto il libro arrivato in seguito è nelle medesime condizioni del primo: copertina macchiata e rovinata, pagine ancora tagliate male.Che dire, davvero indecente soprattutto considerando che sono due copie diverse entrambe rovinatissime. È vergognoso che venga spedito un libro in queste condizioni! Davvero imbarazzante!

Es vergonzoso que se venda un artículo en esta condición. Es una pena porque el libro merece muchísimo la pena, pero el estado del libro merece cuanto menos una queja.

arrived damaged