Reviews with content warning for Death - Lightbringer

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Lightbringer by Claire Legrand

15 reviews

christinereads1823's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

Very... interesting conclusion to the trilogy. Ending was unexpected in terms of everyone who did not survive, but I'm also glad that the time travel aspect of the plot wasn't glossed over and had actual impact (even though I still think it was handled very weirdly). I like Legrand's writing style and ability to craft interestingly flawed characters, but this series overall did not do it for me.

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christina_chen's review

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adventurous challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kathrynleereads's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Lightbringer, the finale to the Empirium trilogy by Claire Legrand, follows Eliana and Rielle through the final stages of each of their wars against the angels. Rielle in the past, and Eliana 1,000 years in the future.

Across time and space, they both find themselves being manipulated and coerced by Corien, leader of the angels and the Undying Empire.

•

Pace

Unlike it’s predecessors, the first half of Lightbringer really felt like a chore. After the action-packed first and second books, I felt as if Lightbringer was dragging on and on for the first half. Around the half-way mark it picked up and returned to the quick pace I was used to, but it took quite a bit of effort to make it to that point.

•

RIELLE'S TIMELINE

Rielle - Honestly, I found Rielle just plain frustrating in this book. Her character arc had so much promise in Furyborn and Kingsbane, but there were very few times in Lightbringer when we got to see the spark that I associated with Rielle.

With Corien and the Empirium both fighting with her mind, I understand why this was, but I still expected her to fight back a bit harder, instead of just turning her back on everything and everyone she loved so completely.

I will say, however, that I found her ending to be quite fitting. It was a perfect balance of demonstrating that she made the right choice, while also acknowledging that she was still too deeply connected to the Empirium to live a normal human life anymore.

Audric - Staying true to the first two books, Audric was a very cookie-cutter book boyfriend.

Sticking to the trend of this book, however, his character did step up a level (or a few levels) about halfway through, when he really embraced his title as the Lightbringer.

My favorite hat on Audric was definitely fatherhood at the end of the book. Seeing him moving on from the events of the prior years and really just embracing his role as Eliana’s dad was wonderful to read.

Ludivine - Throughout this entire series, Ludivine is the only character around whom I found inconsistencies.

Rielle and Audric claimed countless times that they had come to terms with Ludivine’s true identity, but still threw that deceit in her face whenever their emotions ran high.

They were both so all over the place with their shifting opinions about Ludivine that it was hard to keep straight.

There wasn’t a single time while reading Lightbringer that I doubted Ludivine’s want to keep Rielle and Audric safe, no matter what her original or ultimate motive had been.

The other main inconsistency with Ludivine was the fact that she left.

This was so out-of-character for her that I actually went back and reread a bit to make sure I hadn’t missed something.

I understand not wanting to see your friends hurt each other, but that had been a possibility from the start.

Throughout the entire series she had fought so hard to keep both Audric and Rielle safe, and then, out of the blue, she up and leaves? It made no sense to me.

Corien - I was almost expecting a sort-of redemption arc for Corien, some tragic backstory, or change of heart, but in the end I’m glad it didn’t happen.

There are very few times when readers are given full reign to really hate a character, and this was one of those times.

Corien’s “love” for Rielle was way over the line into obsession, and even though he did seem to actually care for her, not just her power, it was extremely toxic in the worst possible way.

Evyline - Honestly, Rielle didn’t deserve Evyline. She was loyal to Rielle without a single doubt.

Even when Rielle sided with the angels, Evyline shifted her loyalty to Audric, knowing that he was Rielle’s best chance to come back to herself and the right side.

Her trust in Rielle as they walked to Rielle’s death was so complete and incredible after everything Rielle had put her through.

Garver - I love this man. Right in the Furyborn prologue, he had reminded Simon to not judge Rielle too harshly because she had once been just a girl.

He seemed to understand better than most of the characters that what Rielle was going through was not her fault (at least entirely).

Garver was always kind to her and treated her with respect, and it felt fitting for him to be with her at the end, just as he had been in the original Furyborn prologue.

Tal - At no point in this series was I a fan of Tal. His whole relationship with Rielle was so weird and bordered on the line of an obsession.

I wasn’t sad when she killed him.

Obritsa - For such a young girl, Obritsa really had herself together.

She was strong and chose the right side the second she was free to do so, despite the abuse that Corien and Rielle put her through.

Atheria - I love Atheria with my whole heart. Her presence acted as a sort of moral compass.

When Rielle was doing the right thing Atheria was there to help, but as soon as Rielle made a bad choice (attempting to open the gate, running away from Audric to Corien), Atheria left.

I also appreciated that Atheria’s role as a moral compass extended past Rielle to Audric as well. She was by his side the whole time he fought, helping when she could, but being a constant supporting presence.

•

ELIANA'S TIMELINE

Eliana - I’ve been trying for days to put down all my feelings about Eliana and the ending that she got, but I just can’t seem to fin the right words.

The amount of physical, mental, and emotional growth Eliana went through in Lightbringer was amazing.

She came to terms with her power, held on through all of Corien’s torture, and carved herself a safe space to hold on to her sanity.

And all that growth, all the strength that this beautiful girl held, all the trials and hardships she went through were erased, just like that.

I’m so grateful for Zahra and the fact that, through her, a spark of the person that Eliana was still lives on.

But the loss of the person that Eliana was is one that I felt deeply.

I’m happy that she now gets to grow up properly, with Audric and Zahra and Simon there, but the hardships that she went through made her the person she was.

Simon - Simon’s story simultaneously aggrevated me and made me so deeply sad.

The idea that he underwent such incredible torture starting at the age of eight is horrible.

I had been holding out hope that his timeline would accidentally be reset, but I couldn’t imagine any scenario in which he would secretly still be on Eliana’s side.

And for that revelation to happen only hours before he is then killed by Corien? Brutal.

He deserved so much more than that ending, and I hope that little Simon eventually gets the ending he deserves with little Eliana.

Corien (p2) - At this point, Corien has driven himself completely insane with his desire for Rielle.

He has absolutely no regard for anyone or anything other than Rielle, and doesn't even seem to care about the power he stands to lose as his obsession grows deeper and drags him further into insanity.

Similar to Corien in Rielle’s timeline, I felt absolutely nothing but hatred toward him.

The Prophet - After a book and a half of guessing who The Prophet was, Lightbringer finally confirmed my hunch.

While the identity of The Prophet did leave me with a lot of unanswered questions, it also fit their storyline really well.

The only part that I found difficult to wrap my head around was The Prophet’s relationship and interactions with Simon.

Ludivine always tried to be so respectful when entering someone’s mind, and I found it difficult to believe that she would ravage Simon’s mind like she did.

Especially with the knowledge that she knew him as a child and knew his father, the idea that she would torture him the way she did seems far-fetched to me.

Remy - While I wasn't happy about everything Remy went through in Lightbringer, I think the journey was fitting for him.

He followed in his sister's footsteps but stayed true to the person he was, studying and loving stories more than anything else.

I also think it was fitting for him to go with Eliana and be with her on the terrace that night. For Eliana's sake, I think that was the only way for Remy's story to end.

Right beside her, seeing all his heroes come to life, and having a complete understanding not only of what they were doing but of what the consequences were as well.

Navi - Although I know it was the only way it could've gone, I hate the way Navi's story ended.

She was my favorite perfect little badass, and I wanted so much more for her.

I was incredibly happy, however, that she found Ysabet.

The two of them complemented each other wonderfully, and I’m glad that Navi got a little happiness after everything she went through.

Zahra - Zahra was probably the only character whose ending I was satisfied with.

She had the opportunity to see the life that Eliana lived in the future before it was erased and therefore was able to see how she had loved and died for Eliana.

"May I tell you the rest?" she asked. "May I tell you the story of your daughter?"

Tears in his eyes, completely undone, Audric nodded, and then he listened through the night as Zahra spoke of a future that would never be.

Those were the words that broke me and finally drew out all the tears I’d been holding in.

•

Suffice it to say, Lightbringer broke me.

After dragging slowly for the first 250 pages or so, the end of the book, and subsequent finale of the Empirium trilogy, was everything I’d hoped it would be.

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eve_reads's review

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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

4.5

Overall Thoughts:
⁕ Rielle is one of the most complex heroines in the New Adult Fantasy genre and no one can convince me otherwise. Thank you, Claire Legrand, for writing a woman who has depth, makes morally flawed decisions and is not guided solely by her relationships with men. While I absolutely don't agree with or support many of Rielle's decisions, it means so much to see a woman truly put herself first.

⁕ Without giving anything away, this is a series you want to read if you're looking for something to make you FEEL. I'm talking Song of Achilles/Clockwork Princess levels of emotion in the last several chapters.

⁕ SPOILER: A huge plot point of this book is that Eliana will change her present by going back and altering her past (which she does achieve by the end of the novel). We find out what happens to her but none of the other important secondary characters from her future timeline! Characters I became attached to! And there wasn't even a meaningful goodbye! Ugh!

To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
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allisonisabel's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think that I can genuinely count this trilogy among one of the best fantasy series I have ever read. For the sole reason that it excelled in every aspect of what it attempted to do. And while I may not have liked everything that is attempted to do it did it well and it did it thoroughly. I think it is a worthwhile lesson to remember that while the characters we love may not make the decisions we want them to make, while it may seem easy for us to say well this is the right path for you why can’t you take it, it makes the story that much more compelling when the character follows what makes sense to them, and we see the repercussions of that. I both loved and hated Rielle’s arc in these novels because to me it seems so clear that she could simply return to what she had before, but to her she was following the desire in her heart, the human necessity to be known, and brought the world down and doing so.

As for the other characters, I think they all showed great development, and while some could’ve come earlier (Audric), or given more more explanation (Ludivine), what they were given did them justice. I didn’t know the scope of what I was getting into when I started this, and I said multiple times that at no point did I know where it was going. And for that I am somewhat grateful. It is refreshing to follow an epic fantasy series that continually keeps you on your toes. That attempts something so ambitious that it could easily fall flat. I remember a piece of writing advice I read somewhere that whatever you do in your story you have to believe it if you want your readers to, you cannot question yourself. And while so much of the story hinges on the unbelievable it is written in a way that makes it palatable and comprehensible for readers.

I found myself falling in love with character relationships characters, and feeling so much dread that the prologue of the first book had given away the ending. Even though I knew something would change. Although I did take some issues with some of the ways things were written, in particular the ending of the last book. I both love and hate it. Because it comes full circle, it allows closure in name for everyone, and yet get something feels incomplete.

We never learn what happened to those of the future that was erased, and while I do not know how that could’ve been rectified, and I feel that maybe it could not have been, it does not stop me from wishing I could know. Eliana and Simon said their last goodbyes as adults and then he was gone and we did not see that version of him ever again, but I suppose neither did Eliana. We never saw Remy again, or Navi, or Ysabet, or Harkan—characters we had grown to love over the course of 1500+ pages fizzled out. (I take particular grievance with Harlan’s off screen death between books.)

I think the only character that I was iffy about was Ludivine because she was a bit too hard to reach, and I could not quite understand her. But that paled in comparison to everything else I was reading, and so it does not affect my rating much.

I have so many more thoughts, but many are restatements of what I have already said. The Empirium Trilogy is epic fantasy at its best, and I am glad for the time I spent reading it. I do not find myself yearning for changes to what was done, but rather wishing for things that weren’t, and if anything, that is a compliment to the author. Because she was able to weave a story so compelling, I cannot stop asking questions.

I think my final thought is similar to what I opened with: While we may not like the path a character is on, or the actions they may commit, or the atrocities that they usher in, when they are true to how they are written, when they are not forced into the palatable happy ending simply for the sake of it, the story becomes so much richer.

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angstifies's review against another edition

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honestly i don’t feel like keep reading this right now, i will probably finish this book sometime in the future but right now i don’t want to nor feel motivated to finish it

the pacing is REALLY REALLY SLOW and things aren’t going in the direction them to go and there are a few useless POVs that just feel thrown there and i don’t enjoy reading them at all.

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taryn_g's review

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adventurous dark hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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ka_ke's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Lightbringer is an incredibly satisfying end to an incredible trilogy. If you enjoy fast-paced fantasy it is not for you, many chapters are filled with mundane/repetitive events, but it’s worth it to push through if you can!

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claudiamacpherson's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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

Rielle is separated from Audric and Ludivine, and embraces her status as Blood Queen. A thousand years in the future, Eliana has been captured by Corien and brought to his city, where she is trapped and tortured. Scattered across the world, her friends must come together in a final attempt to save the world.

Honestly, this book was a bit tough to get through. I still enjoyed it and the story kept me engaged enough, but it was pretty depressing and had more violence than I really wanted to read.

The ending was...unexpected for me, which may be silly because it was essentially what they had been planning the whole time, with the whole traveling-back-in-time-to-change-Rielle's-mind plan. Somehow I still thought they were going to find a way to save everyone's lives in the "present" (Eliana's time period). I know that Corien and the Empire were really bad for a thousand years, but erasing all of those lives (including half of the characters we, as readers, have come to love!) felt wrong too. Though it was sad, I thought Rielle's ending was also fitting—a normal happy ending would feel forced and unrealistic after the extreme upheavals of her life. It reminded me both of Enna Burning, and how the elements almost overwhelm and kill Enna and Isi, and also how in The Lord of the Rings Frodo is too scarred after carrying the ring to have a happy ending. I did appreciate how the threads of the two stories came together, with both Ludivine and Zahra showing up in both times, as well as the scene with Simon at the end.

Happy ending meter (no spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):

I guess it's happy? Sort of? But not really? This is a tough one.

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stormywolf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've made no effort to hide how much Kingsbane's ending affected me. In fact, I've mentioned in several other reviews how depressed I was, and how I didn't plan on ever reading it again, regardless of my tradition of rereading series leading up to the latest book. It was really thanks to the audiobook that I ended up revisiting both Furyborn and Kingsbane, partly to refresh myself on the characters, but mostly so I could give a review of the audio throughout the series. And I will say, thanks in part to the year of letting my wounds heal, and having the expectation of devastation in my mind throughout the reread, I entered into this final chapter with a bit more hope than I last left off.

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, Lightbringer had some dark turns, but as a certain Prophet once said, "To rise, first one must burn," and this definitely turned up the heat. I didn't talk too much about the nitty gritty of the plot or the twists of this book, but honestly I didn't want to spoil more than I did. Just know that I was gripped at every step of the way, and had this not been a 12-hour read, I would have tried to devour it all in one go. I don't know that I'll be returning to dark fantasy soon, but for anyone who is a fan or is looking to dip their toes into the dark waters, I'd definitely recommend this trilogy. If you were as disheartened as I was after the second book, I can't promise it'll get easier to deal with the loss, but just as the title suggests, light is on the horizon if you can hang in there through the dark. And if nothing else, you can always let your hunger to see Corien suffer drive you forward.

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