Furyborn (The Empirium Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

Normally I don't get into a book series unless I have all of them to read. Furyborn happened to show up time and time again, raising interest enough for me to go grab an introductory chapter. I liked it, so I went ahead and paid $10 for the full novel. NEVER in my life have I paid so much for an ebook before. The question is, did I find ten dollars worth of satisfaction in book one of the Empirium trilogy?Furyborn is the telling of two stories. One for the Blood Queen and the other for the Sun Queen. Throughout the novel, you're given excerpts from religions books, journals, prayers and more, concerning the two women. When one arrives, she will be the people's champion but the other follows bringing destruction.You're given two worlds during two different points of time, but they're connected, thanks to the "prophecy"! Even though you see they're from different times, they're actually from the same! I know that sounds confusing but should I say more, I'll be giving away the process pertaining to the plot of the story. No SPOILERS here!So what did I think? Was I happy to bounce back and forth with this novel, learning about the two women, their trials and difficulties? I did. I liked what took place because I paid attention. I saw where things were coming from, even if I didn't understand them. I surprisingly found great appreciation in the method of the storytelling. I don't always like bouncing back and forth, the way the author did, for an entire novel, but it worked. I do admit, I grew weary from time to time with it all but it didn't take from the story.I managed to figure out a few things and that was cool too, no disappointment there, which brings me to what I didn't like. First, it was the back and forth through the entire novel. It irritated me! I know many don't want a story that simply states what's going on, but to go back and forth all the time was way too much for me. Secondly, the way LeGrand wrote made the read feel choppy from time to time. It's like she preferred shot sentences, instead of throwing a conjunction or even a semi-colon in there from time to time. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either.Before I read the novel, many called the book sexy and intense. A little intense, yes but not sexy at all. Where'd they come up with that? Also, it wasn't breath-taking. Something happened rather quickly, to the point I didn't quite understand what I was supposed to be seeing. It happens I guess. The thing is, I didn't see all the pizzaz I'd heard about.For me, Furyborn was a decent read. I don't know if I'm deep into it enough to spend another ten bucks, or if I want to bounce for another novel in order to see who wins the battle and such. It's just too much bounce. You'll see if you read it. Don't get me wrong, it's good. I just don't know if I'm willing to invest anymore in to it.Grab yourself a copy while I move on to the next read. Cheers!Furyborn, book 1 of the Empirium TrilogyClaire LeGrandPublished by Sourcebooks Fire516-pagesReleased May 2018*For more of my reviews: www dot areneehunt dot com

THIS. BOOK. WAS. OUTSTANDING.I could just leave it there, but where’s the fun in that? No joke, though. Furyborn was an amazing and exhilarating read, and it was so difficult to put this book down when I had to work or clean or do something else. I’d literally be cleaning, and either be staring at the book sitting on the kitchen table or thinking about the characters. That’s how addicting I found this book. Like Lisa Maxwell’s blurb says below, this book was utterly breathtaking and has left me impatiently waiting for the sequel.Furyborn follows the path of two girls, both centuries apart, but somehow connected. There’s Rielle, who can manipulate all seven types of powers. And there’s Eliana, a girl set on finding her kidnapped mother and protecting her younger brother while getting caught in the middle of a centuries-old war (and did I mention she’s hiding something that could make her a valuable asset in the war?). Both these characters are fierce, strong, and undoubtedly charming. I loved reading both their stories and seeing each character progress as a person. Legrand did an incredible job bringing these two characters to life. I highly enjoyed reading Eliana’s story just slightly more than Rielle’s, mainly because I could relate to Eliana’s fierceness, her snarky and sarcastic replies, and her overall protection toward her family.The world building was phenomenal. Claire did a wonderful job describing both parts of the world (one for Rielle and one for Eliana). There was not a single moment where I got lost in the world building or got bored; actually, there was never a dull moment in this book, in my opinion. There were tons of satisfying action scenes to keep the pace going and to keep the readers engaged. Though, I will admit, there were times where I secretly wanted to skip a character’s chapter just so I could continue the other character’s story. But I didn’t (now that I think about it, though, I might go back and re-read Furyborn, just to see what it’s like when you read each character’s story separately).Overall, I was very impressed with Furyborn. I had high hopes and expectations for this book and I am happy to say that Furyborn did not let me down. The book exceeded my expectations in every possible way. I know the sequel does not come out until next year, but that does not mean I will stop wishing I had it in my hands at this very moment. Furyborn was one of my favorite fantasy reads of all time!

I ordered the hardback which has deckled edges, if you aren’t familiar with deckled edges (I wasn’t until a few months ago when I was watching a booktuber), deckled edges are where the pages are different widths. It looks so good, but I found it could make turning the pages a bit tricky. The dust cover design is stunning, pictures do not do it justice at all. The book is also a chunky 512 pages long.Furyborn is the first book in the Emporium trilogy, I already own the second book Kingsbane and have the final book Lightbringer on pre-order.Furyborn follows the story of our two main characters Rielle and Eliana, two women separated by a thousand years. What this means to you and me as the reader is we are following two plot lines, which are connected in some ways, across two timelines. Now this is where my main criticism of the book comes into play and it isn’t really a criticism just took some adjusting too. With the narrative you switch between the two timelines/two characters each chapter, so you have a chapter on Rielle, then a chapter on Eliana and then a chapter on Rielle etc. For the first maybe quarter of the book it kinda blew my mind trying to get it around both timelines and remember what’s happening. Once I got into both plotlines across the two timelines the constant back and forth didn’t really bother me anymore. The chapters are quite short though which may add to the difficulty of getting into a reading rhythm with Furyborn, it may have been easier on the reader to have longer chapters but like I said once you’re into it you stop noticing and automatically jump into the into each timeline where you left off.This is a typical first book in a trilogy, we have a lot of world building, setting up of the characters and wider story so when we get to the nitty gritty in books 2 and 3 we have enough information to understand what is happening and why. Both plots are slow burners, with the short chapter lengths giving you just enough information in the first half to keep you reading on. Don’t let the slow start of this book fool you, it is a build-up book and you are going to want to get to the end once you reach the half way mark and carry on with the series the more you read.One of the things that really got me hooked was that prologue, like what a way to start. I’m not going to tell you why it got me hooked because I don’t want to give it away, you need to read it when you’re reading the book for real! But it gives you a reason to read on, so you can understand the prologue more.The characters, from reading this with the club we had a same question pop up a few times in our group chat we read, who do you prefer Rielle or Eliana. The prologue definitely tinges your view on one of the characters but as you read you become conflicted with that view on her. Well I did.Rielle is our MC from the older time period, she is extremely powerful but has had to hide it since she was 5 as her Father worries that she may be classed the Blood Queen from the prophecy spoken by a dying angel and executed. I think a lot of us can related to Rielle’s need to feel loved, having to keep her true self a secret she fears what will happen when others find out. We follow Rielle through trials designed to prove she is the Sun Queen, her relationship with her best friends and her affect for Prince Audric (one of sed best friends). Also, her internal conflict with who she is. From this time line I wish there was more time spent on Rielle and Audric’s relationship, based on the prologue there is an event including both that is quite the thing but we actually see very little of Audric. There’s also an introduction of a character that appears in both timelines, but I won’t be talking much on that as it could give spoilers away and I’m not about that life right now.Eliana is the our other MC and based at the other end of the thousand years. I should maybe have pointed this out early, but during both timelines the narrative is written as if it’s based in the now. So each chapter is written as if the present, because it is the present in each timeline. Anyway, back to Eliana, her story is a thousand years after Rielle’s and the world has changed dramatically. For herself and her family to survive Eliana has become a formidable bounty hunter, which has caused her to have built a lot of barriers around herself as protection from the things she has to do. Eliana has the most personal growth out of both main characters and you genuinely see the struggle inside her between self-preservation and doing the right thing, although she’ll have you believe differently. She reminded me in some ways as Aelin from Throne of Glass, which meant I obviously had to like her!Each character goes through so much during this opening book and I couldn’t dislike either of them despite knowing what I found out in the prologue. Their stories are told in a captivating way, slowly building up with each experience you grow to know them better.I enjoyed the writing style of Claire Legrand, found it easy to keep reading. She obviously designed this trilogy to start slow and build up the plots. I still wish the chapters were a bit longer to give a bit more of each story in one go but in the end I was captivated and will 100% be reading the second book. I’ve avoided talking about the plots too much because I really don’t want to let any spoilers slips.I gave this book 4 star, which means it was a good read. It lost a star because I did find it a bit tricky getting my head around the two timelines and the shortness of the chapters that I almost struggled to retain what was happening and keep the timelines separate for the first half. This is just my opinion on it, others might not even blink at the change in timelines. I also wanted more on Rielle’s and Audric’s relationship in this book, to me it went from staring longingly at each other in secret to declarations of love with little to no interaction between the book, I want me some romance in the midst of the action.This is so worth the read and investment because once you’ve got through the first quarter to half you’ll be hooked! Happy reading.

I have absolutely LOVED reading this book! Every page of it has had me smiling, laughing, or excited to see what will happen.This is easily my Favourite Read of the year for Young adult and Fantasy. Now consider that this year I discovered Sarah J Maas, and that I have reread the ACOTAR series several times, that will give you some indication of how much I have enjoyed this book. By the time I was halfway through, I had preordered Book 2 which is due out in May. I already know I will be impatiently waiting for the next books arrival!And what has made me enjoy this book so much? Well... let’s just consider that for a few moments.The writing style - not only is the writing style fun and exciting, engaging as you would expect any book to be, but it’s so easy to read and enjoy, neither too heavy on descriptions nor lacking, the Author has done a brilliant job of creating short Chapters that make it effortless to place yourself in the middle of each situation. Not one chapter was slow or unnecessary to the storyline, and that was a surprise. Every chapter in this book has something HAPPEN, and that is no small feat. I can’t even imagine the amount of time and thought that must have gone into creating this story!The Layout - Again. The short chapters. They made this a fun and engaging read, and the shortness of the chapters made this maintain a sense of excitement throughout the story. The tale alternates between two Main Characters, set over 1000 years apart, and the opening scene is in fact the ending for one of those Characters. So although we know of one persons end, normally this would frustrate me. In this case, I found it intriguing to learn about the Person, to see the lead up to the end we knew was coming.The Characters - I love them. Seriously, I haven’t come across a story before where I enjoy reading about every character, I usually find there are a couple I’m not really interested in reading about, instead, I found myself looking forwards to reading about each Character and seeing what would happen next. Eliana and Rielle are both intriguing Characters, a perfect mix of strong and weak, they both make bad decisions at times but their choices are very human and very believable.At times throughout this book, I have felt sorry for them both, wanted to slap them both, and felt happy for them both. Normally I find that in this kind of situation with alternating viewpoints, it partly irritates me, and I wind up completely disconnected from the Characters. Instead, I found the opposite was true.I enjoyed reading about Audric and Ludivine with Rielle, and I equally enjoyed Harkan, Simon, Navi and Remy with Eliana. I even enjoyed reading about Rahzavel and Corien. I like the all for different reasons, even when I don’t truly ‘like’ them, I find myself appreciating the Character, and enjoying reading about them, even when I sit there hoping they get stabbed in the face. What can I say, I like my bad guys, but I also like it when they get their asses handed to them by the Main Characters.The revelations towards the end of the storys, and the Characters we came across along the way, were interesting and at times shocking! One of the reveals was expected, but it was intentional for the reader to know I think, and the story is more about the Character finding out. But, that is more easily understood once you have read the book.I all honesty, If you enjoy Young adult and/or Fantasy, and you don’t pick this up, you’re missing a treat. This was so much fun to read! I can only hope that the second book is as good or better!!If you enjoy Sarah J Maas books, Pick this up. You may find, that like me, you suddenly find yourself with a new Series you NEED the next book for. And in all honesty, the women in this story blew Aelin out of the park for me. well done Claire Legrand! A Brilliantly told story, that has me itching to nag you for a faster release of Book 2!

So I've heard many things about this book good and bad. The book follows the lives of Rielle and Eliana pre and post Emperor's rule. The chapters are written in the past with Rielle and then the next chapter is in the future a 1000 years later with Eliana. The two women's lives linked closely and to that of the emperor. The book follows that back and forth pattern in the chapter's which at first was annoying as I felt I wanted to carry on reading about a character but had to wait until the next chapter was finished.The pace for the first half of the book is slow and in fact I took a small break from it. When I returned to it a couple of weeks later the pace picked up. The story is set in Celdaria, Astavar and the surrounding regions after the fall and return of the angels. The Emperor a merciless man conquering lands with generals who are something other than human. Eliana finds herself on the wrong side of the emperor after the abduction of her mother and a run in with The Wolf. Her journey is one of discovery and redemption.The Sun Queen saviour of all and champion of the people will defeat the angels, Blood Queen will bring down destruction on all.

This was an odd one, as I started this book and then didn't really think much of it - it was only after say 200 pages where I then got compelled and the book got good, which is a long time but this could be as it's part of a duo so needed a big build up. I didn't like the switching between people at the start as I struggled to know who was who, but later on it became "unputdownable" so that's always good, with some excellent characters and a good idea generally, as I'm left wanting to know/read more waiting for book 2 in 2019. Let's hope it delivers - worth preserving but not at the Leigh B or Sarah J Mass standard.....yet

Though I enjoyed this book, I can't say I greatly enjoyed it. The altering points of view to begin with made it hard to enjoy, just as I was getting into a chapter it ended and I was dragged into a different perspective and it seemed sloppy.I HATED Elianna at first, I thought her character tedious and bothersome until I got to see her character more and then suddenly she was easily what kept me reading. Rielle however, interests me completely. We know how her story is going to play out but that doesn't take away from wanting to learn about how she got to where she did.I give it a three for it's wonderful world building and history, for the different magic users and their saints. I also do look forward to the next one only to see how it will carry on