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kathrynleereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
For both Rielle and Eliana, the events of Kingsbane pick up right where they left off at the end of Furyborn.
Rielle is traveling the continent, attempting to demonstrate to neighboring countries, as well as to her own people, that she is indeed the Sun Queen.
Eliana is settled in Astavar learning about her abilities and their limits as the Red Crown prepares to fight the Empire.
•
As with many sequels, I found that, at times, Kingsbane seemed to drag, but was overall well worth the read.
Legrand once again killed the worldbuilding in this book, constantly sprinkling in details that slowly became clear pages later.
The world she built is so complex and ever-growing that I can’t help but marvel at the sheer size and genius of it.
The world she built is so complex and ever-growing that I can’t help but marvel at the sheer size and genius of it.
•
Eliana - There was absolutely a lot more growth for Eliana in Furyborn, but she still made some pretty significant strides in Kingsbane.
From letting people in to accepting her powers, to even just allowing herself the much-needed relief of a good cry, she’s come far.
Rielle - Rielle also has some pretty significant character development, but it was far from growth.
I usually love a good “watch them become the villain” story, but Rielle’s was hard to swallow at some points. Not because it was badly written, but because a good chunk of it is her own fault.
Not to say she’s being treated fairly or that she wasn’t dealt a bad hand, but she is constantly doing the opposite of what everyone who cares about her is trying to do.
Usually, this type of villain origin story comes with a support system that is toxic or non-existent.
For Rielle, however, this is not at all the case.
Audric, Ludivine, Tal, Evyline, Atheria.
They are all there for her, encouraging her, understanding her mistakes, and excusing her missteps, but she just keeps adding to those piles and blaming them for her mistakes.
Corien - What a terrible guy. He really feels no compassion, just a sick need for power that goes beyond even revenge or vengeance.
Every time he shows up on the page I want to scream at Rielle to run, to not listen, to resist. Pretty much all the things Ludivine does yell at her.
But, alas, listen she does not.
Audric - While Audric does grow as a character in Kingsbane, I still find him a rather cookie-cutter character. Not necessarily in a bad way.
Everything he does is just a little too predictable for me.
Ludivine - I honestly don’t trust my own thoughts on Ludivine anymore.
I’m not sure where that leaves her in my mind.
Simon - The true star of this book. I’m not even sure how I feel. Or where to start.
Without giving too much away, I think my opinion of Simon cannot fully form until the third book. Until then there is too much guesswork.
Remy - Remy frustrated me a bit during Kingsbane, especially when he decides to shun Eliana because of what happened with Rozen.
While this isn’t fair at all, I keep having to remind myself that he’s a child dealing with things no child should deal with, so overreactions and misguided blame are understandable.
Besides, he is incredibly intelligent and empathetic for someone his age.
He obviously cares very deeply for Eliana, but he doesn’t trust her to make her own decisions and honestly believes that the safest place for her is with him.
That being said, I did shed a good many tears for him at the end of the book.
Navi - My favorite badass in this series. I’m sad that I didn’t get more Navi in the second half of Kingsbane. She is such a stabilizing force for Eliana and would have provided her so much comfort while at the Willows.
Zhara - Zhara is so pure in her love for Eliana, and I have to appreciate a (pretty much) eternal being who doesn’t gatekeep information. Every time Eliana had a question or wanted to know something, Zhara provided the information without hesitation.
Atheria - Every book needs a great fictional pet, and Atheria doesn’t disappoint. She makes it very clear when she doesn’t approve of Rielle’s actions, but is also there to support and defend her when needed.
Tal - While Tal on his own is tolerable, I find his relationship with Rielle very odd. The teacher/student sexual tension makes me uncomfortable, especially as Rielle views him as a sort of secondary father figure.
Evyline - Still very much a side character, but definitely one of my favorites. We don’t know much about her, but every time she shows up on the page I smile.
•
Time Travel
As a general rule, I tend to avoid books/movies/shows that involve time travel. It’s so hard to keep up with the different rules and effects, as they change with each story.
Obviously, time travel has been a part of this story from the very beginning, so I’m a little surprised that I didn’t see more of it coming.
Clearly, that conversation didn’t go as planned, but in theory, it couldn’t have changed much as Rielle wrote it off (at least up to this point) as a vision sent by Corien to drive her mad.
Jessamyn’s new timeline, therefore, threw me for a bit of a loop.
I found it plausible that she might not have gone down the same path and therefore been with them at the Willows, but for her to be in the same city but fighting for the Empire instead of against it seemed like a stretch.
•
Sexual Tension
After reading Furyborn, I specifically highlighted the sexual positivity. In Kingsbane, however, it was more like sexual tension.
This was mostly relevant in Rielle’s timeline. With her strange relationships with both Corien and Tal warring against her actual relationship with Audric, there was a constant tension that, in my opinion, wasn’t necessary.
•
Parallel timelines
In Kingsbane, more than in Furyborn, I really saw the parallels Legrand orchestrated between Eliana and Rielle’s timelines.
Beyond the mere excitement, these parallels gave me each time I found one, I am astounded by Legrand’s skill.
Working two POVs is a difficult task, let alone two POVs set over 1,000 years apart. The fact that Legrand was able to work these parallels in is a testament to what a fantastic writer she is.
•
After that ending, I could barely keep Lightbringer on my bookshelf long enough to write this review.
Suffice it to say, I enjoyed Kingsbane a lot, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Legrand has in store for Eliana and Rielle in Lightbringer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Infidelity, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Cursing
eve_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ I am happy to report that, as I had hoped, this book does expand MUCH upon the historical context of the angelic/human wars. A majority of my questions were answered and I was very satisfied.
⁕ This book did not give me the fast-paced, edge of seat, nail-biting start that the Furyborn did. The chapters were still decently short, but I wasn't as absorbed in the action as consistently. The ending (and a massive plot twist) did turn things around in the end, though.
⁕SPOILER: The development of a few romantic relationships had me quite baffled. There is much hinting that Ludivine, Rielle, and Audric are all at least interested in some sort of polyamorous relationship, but didn't Ludivine explicitly state in Furyborn that she was never attracted to them in that way? Also, I get that Corien offers Rielle an opportunity to be completely herself and not tied to the restrictions of a kingdom, but how does Rielle so easily overlook the horror of his actions (the literal murder of her friends and family) when addressing her romantic feelings towards him?
⁕ SPOILER: There were a couple of glaring mistakes in the text that I cannot believe an editor did not catch. The biggest being in chapter 33 when Rielle yells through the door to her guard Evyline that she's upset because she thought she could sleep in, but then later it's written that Evyline is still traveling to the castle on foot after a visit to a neighboring kingdom. How can she be in 2 places at once?! Gahh!! It's a detail that's inconsequential to the plot but still so sloppy.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ I am happy to report that, as I had hoped, this book does expand MUCH upon the historical context of the angelic/human wars. A majority of my questions were answered and I was very satisfied.
⁕ This book did not give me the fast-paced, edge of seat, nail-biting start that the Furyborn did. The chapters were still decently short, but I wasn't as absorbed in the action as consistently. The ending (and a massive plot twist) did turn things around in the end, though.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Child death, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, and War
valpyre's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
[audiobook]
[some spoilers ahead]
i don't even know what to say, because this book was 22 hours long, and the first two thirds-ish, were a slog.
although i understand that the happenings in this book were to show how rielle was mistaken as the prophesized sun queen and might actually be the blood queen instead, i found most of her chapters so hard to listen to. she is so arrogant and hot headed and always seems to get in her own way, and still, for the entire book, her friends are so fucking loyal and defend her till the very end, even though she doesn't treat them all that well. the plot line of travelling around to collect the castings was fairly interesting, and i definitely appreciated that it allowed us to learn more about the world and the different cultures in it. however, most of the political intrigue/going-ons were vaguely written about, yet i was supposed to believe that rielle was some mastermind of the court. instead, she was all tempted by corian, who i find incredibly dull. there is little establishment past insta-lust for their relationship, and i honestly just got increasingly frustrated with rielle as the lies piled up.
eliana's story was, in comparison, way more interesting, as she fought to save her friend (who confessed her love and then vanished off the face of the earth? i dont know how to feel about queer rep in this series :/), and worked at developing and using her magic. also the development of her and simon's relationship was a little sudden, but i did enjoy the feelings. the plot twist at the very end of eliana's chapter did actually get me, and its probably the one thing that's making me want to finish off the series, even though the next audiobook is 24 hours long, woof.
i'm really not sure the length of these books is necessary, frankly, considering how much this dragged. i definitely think there are good parts of the plot, but it took way too long to get there, imo.
[some spoilers ahead]
i don't even know what to say, because this book was 22 hours long, and the first two thirds-ish, were a slog.
although i understand that the happenings in this book were to show how rielle was mistaken as the prophesized sun queen and might actually be the blood queen instead, i found most of her chapters so hard to listen to. she is so arrogant and hot headed and always seems to get in her own way, and still, for the entire book, her friends are so fucking loyal and defend her till the very end, even though she doesn't treat them all that well. the plot line of travelling around to collect the castings was fairly interesting, and i definitely appreciated that it allowed us to learn more about the world and the different cultures in it. however, most of the political intrigue/going-ons were vaguely written about, yet i was supposed to believe that rielle was some mastermind of the court. instead, she was all tempted by corian, who i find incredibly dull. there is little establishment past insta-lust for their relationship, and i honestly just got increasingly frustrated with rielle as the lies piled up.
eliana's story was, in comparison, way more interesting, as she fought to save her friend (who confessed her love and then vanished off the face of the earth? i dont know how to feel about queer rep in this series :/), and worked at developing and using her magic. also the development of her and simon's relationship was a little sudden, but i did enjoy the feelings. the plot twist at the very end of eliana's chapter did actually get me, and its probably the one thing that's making me want to finish off the series, even though the next audiobook is 24 hours long, woof.
i'm really not sure the length of these books is necessary, frankly, considering how much this dragged. i definitely think there are good parts of the plot, but it took way too long to get there, imo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual content
claudiamacpherson's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rielle has finally been crowned Sun Queen, but now she faces the task of repairing the falling Gate. To do so, she must collect the castings of the saints, scattered around the world and protected by the Obex guard. A thousand years in the future, Eliana is grappling with her new power and what it means: that she is the Sun Queen and daughter of the Kingsbane.
As I had expected, my preference for Rielle's storyline in Furyborn was almost immediately reversed in Kingsbane. From reading others' reviews, I knew a lot of people were annoyed by Rielle...but I didn't realize how quickly I would come to agree with them. She was impulsive, violent, rude, and arrogant, and just generally an obnoxious character to follow. It was so frustrating to watch her push away all of the kindness and assistance those around her tried to give her. Eliana, on the other hand, did a 180 in the other direction and suddenly became a much more understandable character (at least for me). Though I thought the shift was a bit too abrupt to be realistic, I liked seeing her start to open up to people and allow herself to care for people besides Remy. I also enjoyed the occasional POVs of other characters interspersed throughout the book, especially Jessamyn's.It really helped show how the tiniest changes effected by time travel could cause important differences in the distant future. Like with the warnings about the characters, I had also heard that there was a major betrayal at the end of this book. I still was not prepared for Simon to be working for the angels. I had assumed that the betrayal would come from Rielle's storyline, either her betrayal (which was inevitable) or either Ludivine or Audric's betrayal of her, causing her to join Corien. But nope, even after all Simon's emotional scenes of love with Eliana, he still turned out to be a bad guy?? I'm hoping that we'll get some justification for his actions (or at least an explanation) in the third book, because it really does feel out of character.
Happy ending meter (no spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):Definitely not happy. Surprising (if you're me, but maybe you'll see the ending coming...I sure didn't). Thank god I have the next book ready to go!
As I had expected, my preference for Rielle's storyline in Furyborn was almost immediately reversed in Kingsbane. From reading others' reviews, I knew a lot of people were annoyed by Rielle...but I didn't realize how quickly I would come to agree with them. She was impulsive, violent, rude, and arrogant, and just generally an obnoxious character to follow. It was so frustrating to watch her push away all of the kindness and assistance those around her tried to give her. Eliana, on the other hand, did a 180 in the other direction and suddenly became a much more understandable character (at least for me). Though I thought the shift was a bit too abrupt to be realistic, I liked seeing her start to open up to people and allow herself to care for people besides Remy. I also enjoyed the occasional POVs of other characters interspersed throughout the book, especially Jessamyn's.
Happy ending meter (no spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy
stormywolf's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was not the best time to read this through. Then again, I don't know if there's ever a good time to read a book like this, but definitely not when you're already feeling depressed. It's not uncommon for the 2nd book in a trilogy to be more depressing than the first, what with needing to set up for the more triumphant finale, but this one, I think, takes it to a new extreme. I mean, I don't even think Catching Fire (The Hunger Games) was this disheartening.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, I think Kingsbane was well written, though maybe a little slow in places, and a great character study in how love, and grief and fear can shape people. Both story and characters are detailed and complex, and every chapter knows just how to end to where you want to get back to their story as quick as possible. Of course, you end up feeling that way for both storylines, so you're stuck reading the book as written. If you were intrigued by the first book, you'll definitely want to continue their stories, but I might recommend waiting until the next book is out so you're not left in so much despair for so long...
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, I think Kingsbane was well written, though maybe a little slow in places, and a great character study in how love, and grief and fear can shape people. Both story and characters are detailed and complex, and every chapter knows just how to end to where you want to get back to their story as quick as possible. Of course, you end up feeling that way for both storylines, so you're stuck reading the book as written. If you were intrigued by the first book, you'll definitely want to continue their stories, but I might recommend waiting until the next book is out so you're not left in so much despair for so long...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
A good bit of the murder/death is either fantasy (a character snapping a character into ashes or summoning fire at them) or done during battle/war.
More...