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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
There is a lot to unpack with Furyborn, which had some great elements with a lot of potential, but failed to execute them well.
The first five-or-so chapters were phenomenal. They were compelling, gave the reader a lot to look forward to, and succeeded in drawing you to the main characters immediately. However, the same energy was not sustained throughout the novel. The prologue, and the small excerpts at the beginning of the chapters, undermined the tension of the plot as it gave away many of the ‘twists’. The ‘high-stakes’ scenes were also written in a way that was quite confusing and hard to follow, and required lines to be reread multiple times. Rielle and Eliana were flattened to become quite boring characters despite the charisma they both displayed in the opening chapters.
I actually preferred Rielle’s pov to Eliana’s as I found the trials more interesting despite already knowing what the results would be (given that it was in the past), and Eliana’s storyline seemed quite messy to me. Eliana did have the advantage between the two leading characters of being ruthless and selfish, led by her best interests rather than a moral compass.
Although there was meant to be a 1,000 year time difference between the two perspectives, there was no difference in narration style. If there was a scene that was not relevant to the plot and specific characters were not mentioned, I would not have been able to place which timeline it belonged to. The Blood Queen’s Fall and rise of the Undying Emperior should have had significant repercussions in the lifestyles of the characters, however, and created different priorities, attitudes, and atmospheres, but this was not reflected in the perspectives.
The supporting characters were also quite two-dimensional, so the entire cast of characters were very hard to connect to. It also hindered the romance aspect of the book, which seems to be a significant portion, but seemed to be something that we were told about rather than shown. There are some positive portrayals of sex and use of contraceptives, but the sex scenes are very reminiscent of sjm and similarly are literally earth-shaking. I have seen the book advertised as a “bi fantasy” as the two main characters, while both having male love interests, mention previous female sex partners in a single line. While the main characters are bisexual, readers should not be inclined to read the book for bi representation as it is very easy to miss.
Many questions were left unanswered, so perhaps the next book is stronger in the plot development, and it does seem that the characters have been left at turning points, but this book seemed unnecessarily long and empty.
The first five-or-so chapters were phenomenal. They were compelling, gave the reader a lot to look forward to, and succeeded in drawing you to the main characters immediately. However, the same energy was not sustained throughout the novel. The prologue, and the small excerpts at the beginning of the chapters, undermined the tension of the plot as it gave away many of the ‘twists’. The ‘high-stakes’ scenes were also written in a way that was quite confusing and hard to follow, and required lines to be reread multiple times. Rielle and Eliana were flattened to become quite boring characters despite the charisma they both displayed in the opening chapters.
I actually preferred Rielle’s pov to Eliana’s as I found the trials more interesting despite already knowing what the results would be (given that it was in the past), and Eliana’s storyline seemed quite messy to me. Eliana did have the advantage between the two leading characters of being ruthless and selfish, led by her best interests rather than a moral compass.
Although there was meant to be a 1,000 year time difference between the two perspectives, there was no difference in narration style. If there was a scene that was not relevant to the plot and specific characters were not mentioned, I would not have been able to place which timeline it belonged to. The Blood Queen’s Fall and rise of the Undying Emperior should have had significant repercussions in the lifestyles of the characters, however, and created different priorities, attitudes, and atmospheres, but this was not reflected in the perspectives.
The supporting characters were also quite two-dimensional, so the entire cast of characters were very hard to connect to. It also hindered the romance aspect of the book, which seems to be a significant portion, but seemed to be something that we were told about rather than shown. There are some positive portrayals of sex and use of contraceptives, but the sex scenes are very reminiscent of sjm and similarly are literally earth-shaking. I have seen the book advertised as a “bi fantasy” as the two main characters, while both having male love interests, mention previous female sex partners in a single line. While the main characters are bisexual, readers should not be inclined to read the book for bi representation as it is very easy to miss.
Many questions were left unanswered, so perhaps the next book is stronger in the plot development, and it does seem that the characters have been left at turning points, but this book seemed unnecessarily long and empty.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
this trilogy has been on my tbr for ages, and i’m finally getting around to it. it follows two storylines of two women separated by a thousand years, which was a little rocky to get into at first but after the first hundred pages or so i started to really like the structure, and the way that the storylines gradually started to intersect more and more as you figure out how these two characters are connected to one another. the main characters are messy and morally questionable at times (my favorite type of woman!!) and the romance subplots are well-executed and the worldbuilding and plot are off to a solid start in this first book. i didn’t have any sort of expectations going in but i think i was surprised how much i ended up enjoying this. onto the second book we go ✨
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book initially. Each chapter goes back and forth between Rielle and Eliana and when I haven’t read in a few days or weeks I forget where I am or what point I am at. Another thing I was unsure how I felt was the prologue showed us that Rielle doesn’t have her happy ending and I am a happy ending type of girl. HOWEVER!!!!! As I continued reading the book, I loved seeing how the characters are all connected prior to the events in the prologue.
I really enjoyed this book and its different timeline as Rielle and Eliana are separated by ~1,000 years. You get to see how the storylines converge. It took me a while to really get into this book but once I did, I kept wanting to read so I could find out what happens next. I definitely will continue reading the next books in the trilogy. It’s considered YA but there was some spice in the book.
Spice:
I really enjoyed this book and its different timeline as Rielle and Eliana are separated by ~1,000 years. You get to see how the storylines converge. It took me a while to really get into this book but once I did, I kept wanting to read so I could find out what happens next. I definitely will continue reading the next books in the trilogy. It’s considered YA but there was some spice in the book.
Spice:
2.5⭐️ The plot itself is interesting but I feel like the constant cutting between 2 completely different time periods is irritating. I felt like I couldn’t really connect with the characters because of the constant going back-and-forth, and I felt like I had to force myself to finish its It just sucks because I tried really hard to like this book and I just can’t. It may not be for everyone, but if the time period switching doesn’t bother you, I would still read it because the plot is interesting.
This had been on my TBR since the year it came out, I don't know, there was something about this book just called to me. After reading it, I can say that it was an interesting read, I'm a little conflicted though.
First of all, I liked both the timelines and overall setting. And even though the beginning of the book foreshadowed a lot of stuff outright, I was still hooked and curious to see how the characters would end up the way they did.
The world and the elemental magic system was really cool, nothing new obviously, but I liked how it was set up.
As for the characters, there was a lot of potential there. Especially with Rielle and Eliana. Both of them had their fair share of flaws and I really enjoyed having MCs that were morally gray to the point that I did begin to get agitated, before telling myself that this was the whole point.
But I think what fell short for me with this book was how fast everything was going. I wanted to spend more time with Rielle, apart from her trials and interactions with Audric and Ludivine. Their friendship was nice but it crossed over into romance too quick for my liking and then it just felt generic. With Eliana, I felt more emotionally invested because we saw her interactions with more characters and that really fleshed out her personality, although it definitely could've been more extensive.
I think the above mentioned two observations are there because of the split timelines. And I understand why the chapters were fast paced and shorter. In that perspective, the book was well-balanced on a whole. But I do wish we slowed down for more meaningful moments, most scenes, with Rielle especially, felt very repetitive.
But I'm definitely interested in the story and will be continuing to see what happens!
First of all, I liked both the timelines and overall setting. And even though the beginning of the book foreshadowed a lot of stuff outright, I was still hooked and curious to see how the characters would end up the way they did.
The world and the elemental magic system was really cool, nothing new obviously, but I liked how it was set up.
As for the characters, there was a lot of potential there. Especially with Rielle and Eliana. Both of them had their fair share of flaws and I really enjoyed having MCs that were morally gray to the point that I did begin to get agitated, before telling myself that this was the whole point.
But I think what fell short for me with this book was how fast everything was going. I wanted to spend more time with Rielle, apart from her trials and interactions with Audric and Ludivine. Their friendship was nice but it crossed over into romance too quick for my liking and then it just felt generic. With Eliana, I felt more emotionally invested because we saw her interactions with more characters and that really fleshed out her personality, although it definitely could've been more extensive.
I think the above mentioned two observations are there because of the split timelines. And I understand why the chapters were fast paced and shorter. In that perspective, the book was well-balanced on a whole. But I do wish we slowed down for more meaningful moments, most scenes, with Rielle especially, felt very repetitive.
But I'm definitely interested in the story and will be continuing to see what happens!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Full review to come closer to release date on Books and Ladders! But y’all this is one to go on your preorder list. The beginning was a little confusing but once I got into the rhythm of it I couldn’t put it down. It’s over 500 pages but doesn’t feel like it at all. It never slows down - it grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go even after you’ve read the final page. This is what is needed in the fantasy genre right now.
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Full review to come closer to release date on Books and Ladders! But y’all this is one to go on your preorder list. The beginning was a little confusing but once I got into the rhythm of it I couldn’t put it down. It’s over 500 pages but doesn’t feel like it at all. It never slows down - it grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go even after you’ve read the final page. This is what is needed in the fantasy genre right now.
slow-paced