The first book in the instant New York Times bestselling series, the Empirium Trilogy!
Furyborn is an epic YA fantasy about 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 … herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and one of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed as the Blood Queen…unless the trials kill the queen 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.
Perfect for:
- Epic fantasy and dark fantasy YA readers
- Fans of To Kill A Kingdom and Ash Princess
- Lovers of dual POVs and epic world building
- Those who enjoy fiction about strong girls and women
The Empirium Trilogy:
- Furyborn (Book 1)
- Kingsbane (Book 2)
- Lightbringer (Book 3)
Praise for Furyborn:
“Set in an immersive world of elemental magic, legendary godsbeasts, and cutthroat assassins, Claire Legrand’s Furyborn is an addictive, fascinating fantasy.” — Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series
A BuzzFeed Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018
A Bustle Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018
“A must-read.” —Refinery29
“A series to watch.” —Paste Magazine
“Visionary.” —Bustle
“One of the biggest new YA Fantasies.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Empowering.” —BuzzFeed
more
Beautiful, brutal, heart-stopping, and epic, Furyborn is a world to lose yourself in-just bring weapons. It’s dangerous there.
I tried to stop reading Furyborn and go to bed… then I got up and kept going. Epic in scope, endless in imagination, this book will grab hold of you and refuse to let go.
Set in an immersive world of elemental magic, legendary godsbeasts, and cutthroat assassins, Claire Legrand’s Furyborn is an addictive, fascinating fantasy. Truly not to be missed, this story of two fierce queens battling their way across two different eras will have you on the edge of your seat.
Furyborn is epic and unforgettable. I was immediately captivated by the story of two powerful young women fighting to survive in this vivid, unique fantasy world. A must-read!
Claire Legrand’s Furyborn is as complex as the angels it depicts-captivating and lovely, volatile and deadly. The contrast of elegant, stately court politics with gritty, blood-soaked war is balanced perfectly alongside shifting timelines, blurred prophecies, and a sprawling cast of characters, each more alluring than the last. Furyborn is a sexy, luscious shiver of a book.
Furyborn by Claire Legrand is the epic start to a YA fantasy trilogy focused on two very different and fascinating young women, a delicious villain, non-stop action, and heart-pounding romance. A fantastic read!
There’s not a dull moment with this one! It’s go go go from the start yet, somehow, the author still manages to give us fully-fleshed characters, great world-building, and romance! Probably one of my favorite reads of the year. Can’t wait to continue this series.
Immersive and intricate, Furyborn is a kick-you-in-the-teeth and grab-you-by-the-heart tale of two queens.
In this gorgeously written, dual-POV novel, the reader enters a world of and ancient prophecies. In the dark YA Fantasy series, The Empirium Trilogy, we’re given two heroines, living 1000 years apart, whose stories intersect in the midst of a cosmic battle that will bring out the best, and worst, in them both. Who is the sun queen? Who is the blood queen? Something tells me we won’t know for sure until Lightbringer releases later this fall!
This book is definitely on the darker end of fantasy that I read, and especially at the beginning this made it harder for me to connect with the characters. But by about midway through, I was fiercely rooting for both women and excited to learn how their stories would one day intersect. There’s also clearly a lot of world building that’s gone on behind of the scenes. However, because of the structure of the first half of the novel, it was a bit challenging to understand the nuances that became more apparent later on. This made the first half a bit disorienting. Yet at the end of the day, the thing I loved most about this book is that we’re given two heroines who defy simple labels of good and evil, hero or villain. Rather, they are people in their own right, every bit the product of their circumstances and yet still managing to rise above them. This book is an absolute must for anyone with a love for rich fantasy worlds, fast-paced plot, and fierce heroines.
Well, fantasy readers, you NEED this series. ‘Furyborn’ was a book I devoured. Jumping back and forth between the lives of Rielle and Eliana, Legrand easily draws the reader into both of their tales. I finished this first in the series and am thrilled I have the second one sitting on my shelf. The third has been preordered.
Where a lot of fantasy books lose me is too much detail in the worlds. The authors are in love with those worlds and they want you to be drawn in, but they pull away from the more exciting moments to showcase the backdrop of the story. It’s deflating the air from the balloon and makes the book boring. Legrand took a different approach where she wrote with succinct details, allowing for the action and characters to take center stage without losing the background of the fantasy world. This is not to the taste of fantasy-passionate readers, but I have an eclectic interest in books so this was right up my alley.
My one complaint is there were moments where I did lose the imagery of the action. I couldn’t quite place who was where and how they were positioned, but overall, those moments were brief and I quickly moved past them. There was more than enough reason to keep going.
One final note: This book was fantastic for inclusivity.
Furyborn is the book for any reader that enjoys suspense so thrilling that it leaves you reading until two in the morning. A prophecy that predicts the rise and fall of two queens, one food and one evil, connects the two female heroines over thousands of year. When Rielle exposes her life long secret to save her prince who she secretly loves, the trails begin to test both her powers and her loyalties. Thousands of years later in a land far away, Eliana is a secret theft and assassin to the most powerful person in the broken kingdom she lives. Woven together, the stories of these two leave you turning the page again and again. The author does a splendid job of creating captivating and intriguing characters that make you yearn to learn more while holding you in suspense while you try to unravel the truth of this ancient old prophecy.
This book was a very unique take on dark fantasy. The story is told through two POVs, Rielle and Eliana … but the twist is: their stories take place 1,020 years apart.
What surprised me was that each chapter switched between the two POVs. Because of that reason, most chapters ended slightly “cliffhangery” and that did take some getting used to.
I thought this was a daring undertaking for the author. I won’t say it was without flaws; I do feel like she could have melded the two stories together with better pacing, but I can understand why it would be a bit too difficult to do with the first book in a series. She was essentially crafting two worlds within the same world, so I have a feeling, now that the world-building is complete, that I will have a more enjoyable time with book 2.
I did enjoy this book a fair bit, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t LOVE it. I feel like I’m hovering between 3 and 4 stars. After contemplating it for a full day, I decided to lean a bit more towards 3 stars, regardless of how imaginative Legrand’s story was. Parts if it were too drawn out for my tastes.
It was well crafted, but it was by no means an easy read. If you want something easy where you can turn your brain off and just enjoy a fast-paced book, this is not what you’re looking for. You need to pay attention and dedicate time to fully lose yourself within the pages.
I had a hard time deciding which POV and story I liked better. Whenever I was reading Rielle’s chapters, I would think she’s my favourite, then I would read Eliana’s chapters and think nope she’s my favourite. It was a fun and vicious cycle. Plus, Audric and Simon were very enjoyable to read about … especially a particular scene with Audric *wiggles eyebrows suggestively*. But I have to admit, the surprising standout “star” of the book was Eliana’s little brother Remy. He was just so stinking cute. So cute it made me ache. So sweet I just wanted to bundle him up in my arms and protect him forever. It’s a very strong author who can make you love side characters just as much (and sometimes even more) as you love the protagonists, and Legrand achieved that.
I don’t think I would recommend this book to everyone, but I know for sure there is an audience for a book like this. I know several people who would become full-on obsessed with Legrand’s world, and I’ll very happily tell them they need to read this book.
I’ll definitely be anxiously awaiting the sequel. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I can’t remember how I found this book, but I’m really glad I did! Furyborn is action packed and tells the story of two women, Rielle and Eliana – both from different times. I *love* the twisty-turny storylines in this book and had a hard time putting it down. If you like a good, meaty fantasy with strong, independent female leads and great worldbuilding, then pick up this book! I’ve already got book 2 loaded on my Kindle ready to go.
Furyborn is one of the most imaginative and captivating books I’ve read this year.
Panning between the POVs of two very different heroines living in two completely different worlds gives the story a sweeping scope, which I devoured every word of. The heroines are complex and flawed in ways that propel the story forward so incredibly well as they face their respective trials, and the journey ahead (for any sequels) is set up to be quite the epic.
The chapters are short but pack a ton of content. Everything moves fast while still giving characters and plot lines all the attention they need.
From the opening pages, Claire Legrand’s Furyborn plunges the reader into a captivatingly imaginative world filled with intrigue and deception. Beauty wars with violence as the stories of these two fierce women intertwine with stunning results. Furyborn will leave you breathless and aching for more.
Furyborn grabbed me from the first page and never let go. It was a wild ride of an adventure that I was thrilled to go on. Everything about it was fun and exciting and more than a little dark at times. And, there were angels!
The writing was strong, the world well developed and the characters were well defined with wonderfully evil bad guys. It was just such a fun story to read. My one complaint would be the wait between books. This is not a story you want to put down and wait a year for the next installment. Also, I was surprised at the sexual content of the book. It was more graphic than I have previously seen in a YA book. Just a heads up.
From the opening pages, Claire Legrand’s Furyborn plunges the reader into a captivatingly imaginative world filled with intrigue and deception. Beauty wars with violence as the stories of these two fierce women intertwine with stunning results. Furyborn will leave you breathless and aching for more.
In an epic that spans a millennium, Legrand serves up a veritable feast of magic: mystical beings, ruthless power struggles, and gorgeously cinematic writing that will sweep you off your feet.
Furyborn is a captivating story that is hindered only by its overwhelming predictability. Now that is not a bad thing, but it can turn the reader because they already know the eventual outcome. However, Legrand is very good at throwing in red herrings, keeping the reader on their toes but the fact that the story starts the way it does is unshakable, making it difficult for any of the red herrings to have any merit.
Despite that, however, the story remains fascinating in the way it goes back and forth from the past to the present. The story follows two female perspectives, different in tone, experience, and personality, and whom both live in different worlds. That is what makes the story compelling because, with a prologue as intense as this, to go back and focus on who she before makes the reader ask how she went from point A to point B, it is not hard to be invested in the story. Rielle is an exciting and complex character and her ending, the story’s beginning, is gripping. She is an intense character who feels so deeply, a character who struggles to prove herself and her control over her emotions. All of this makes her complex and interesting to follow, to see the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together to that ultimate ending of hers.
As for Eliana, her perspective is less appealing. Much of her narrative is very hard, very stiff, It reflects the hard times she lives in, but it does not serve to make her a captivating character. Her perspective shows a world long after the Rielle has passes away, centuries have passed between the two, and it is interesting to see two very different worlds exist. Just think, Rielle’s world is more like a romanticized renaissance period whereas Eliana’s life resembles more of the middle ages during the black plague. There are filters between the perspectives, built into the novel through tone and detail, giving the story two dimensions of the world. However, Eliana’s life is just so bleak, and her narrative, her hardness, and unyielding attitude do not make her a strong female character, it makes her almost bitter, unremorseful and cold, unlike Rielle. All of this does not make her likable for half the novel. The reader also knows the direction of her story which isn’t as compelling as Rielle’s journey. Again, the reader knows where her story is going, but the reader is drawn in by the mystery of how she gets there. That is the difference, and it is a big difference that impacts the reader. Eliana’s perspective does generate questions from the reader, but they are more about the world around her rather than about her.
Now, that is not to say there isn’t character development. It is interesting to see how these characters develop. While Rielle’s perspective is more interesting, making her more likable, her growth is slow and minimal. Her vitality is never ending which is why readers are going to connect with her more despite this. On the other hand, Eliana goes through an immense change. She evolves as a character. Parts of her personality remain the same, but the way she functions changes and influences her in different ways. Eliana learns to see the world differently, learns to empathize and sympathize and see the true villainy around her. By the end of the novel, she is a better character and the vitality in her changes. She is not just a character all around surviving; she is a woman bent on answers and revenge. That means something and makes an impact on the reader and the story.
Legrand showcases a keen ability to create intrigue and mystery. She creates wonder in the world she has established, and she makes the reader want to know how the world fell apart. It is intense how it functions, how these two worlds are so different. The reader is eager for the answers. As a beginning, it is an intense first novel to start a series with powerful momentum.
3.5 stars. I’d seen a lot of hype about Furyborn, and I was excited to start it; I’m typically a ya sci-fi fantasy fan. And while this book does have engaging characters and a lot of action, I found myself choosing other activities over reading it. At times I found myself confused by the myriad of characters and settings, but instead of doing a little research to set it straight in my mind, I just kept reading, not overly concerned about the details. Maybe I read this at the wrong time, when life was too hectic to give it the attention it deserved. But it is well-written, and I did love the characters. I just wished it had been more focused on the characters and less on the storyline. If that makes sense.