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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
50 pages in and I could not tell you what the f*** this book was about
adventurous
dark
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
I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
This book probably could have gotten a grudging 3-star rating out of me if it had been about half the length it is now. Pro tip to authors: just because you are writing high fantasy doesn't mean it has to be ridiculously long, especially when you don't really have any plot to fill up that page space. Sometimes less really is more.
Anyway, this was your usual run-of-the-mill really bland YA fantasy story with weird romance included. There was a sex scene that was apparently horrible according to other reviews, but I can't really attest to that because I saw they were getting naked and just skipped to the next chapter. Also apparently there's a lot of hype for bi-rep with this, but it basically amounts to a few off-hand sentences about both the women sleeping with both men and women in the past [love interests in the current timeline are all male]. While that does technically mean they are bi, I feel like it's not really something to be overly-praised as I didn't even catch it until I came here to read all the reviews. That's how completely under-the-radar the whole thing was.
There was a mildly interesting plot hidden somewhere in this but 1. it was your average chosen one / prophecy plot that has been done to death at this point and 2. I had literally forgotten what was supposed to be happening by the time everything started coming together at the end because it's seriously just that long and boring. Looking back you can predict every plot twist in the book just from the prologue, but I was so bored it that it had already gone in one ear and out the other. Also I had literally forgotten there were angels in the book because they stopped mentioning them for the middle half of it and then suddenly it's back again and I'm just sitting here like 'wait, what???'.
I think the main problem was that none of the characters were interesting enough to make me care so information just went in one ear and out the other and I would constantly be asking myself 'wait, what is the point of this again?'. Someone with more patience for both long books and YA nonsense might have better luck with this, but I'm putting myself on a YA high fantasy ban at this point because I just can't do it anymore.
This book probably could have gotten a grudging 3-star rating out of me if it had been about half the length it is now. Pro tip to authors: just because you are writing high fantasy doesn't mean it has to be ridiculously long, especially when you don't really have any plot to fill up that page space. Sometimes less really is more.
Anyway, this was your usual run-of-the-mill really bland YA fantasy story with weird romance included. There was a sex scene that was apparently horrible according to other reviews, but I can't really attest to that because I saw they were getting naked and just skipped to the next chapter. Also apparently there's a lot of hype for bi-rep with this, but it basically amounts to a few off-hand sentences about both the women sleeping with both men and women in the past [love interests in the current timeline are all male]. While that does technically mean they are bi, I feel like it's not really something to be overly-praised as I didn't even catch it until I came here to read all the reviews. That's how completely under-the-radar the whole thing was.
There was a mildly interesting plot hidden somewhere in this but 1. it was your average chosen one / prophecy plot that has been done to death at this point and 2. I had literally forgotten what was supposed to be happening by the time everything started coming together at the end because it's seriously just that long and boring. Looking back you can predict every plot twist in the book just from the prologue, but I was so bored it that it had already gone in one ear and out the other. Also I had literally forgotten there were angels in the book because they stopped mentioning them for the middle half of it and then suddenly it's back again and I'm just sitting here like 'wait, what???'.
I think the main problem was that none of the characters were interesting enough to make me care so information just went in one ear and out the other and I would constantly be asking myself 'wait, what is the point of this again?'. Someone with more patience for both long books and YA nonsense might have better luck with this, but I'm putting myself on a YA high fantasy ban at this point because I just can't do it anymore.
Fans of YA fantasy should enjoy Furyborn. It's a fast paced fantasy that keeps the reader on their toes throughout. Legrand's opening scene draws the reader in right away as we witness an intense birth and escape scene that really grabs the reader's attention and keeps them engaged chapter after chapter.
While the whole thing works well, personally, I'm not sure that this is my favorite YA Fantasy - it employs all the usual elements, dual narrative, the special character who has the abilities she shouldn't have, unknown pasts, etc. The concept is pretty similar to other titles in the genre, obviously with it's own spin. I enjoyed this enough to read the sequel - and while it's well done, I'm thinking that this is the type of book that will need a cohesive series to really shine.
While the whole thing works well, personally, I'm not sure that this is my favorite YA Fantasy - it employs all the usual elements, dual narrative, the special character who has the abilities she shouldn't have, unknown pasts, etc. The concept is pretty similar to other titles in the genre, obviously with it's own spin. I enjoyed this enough to read the sequel - and while it's well done, I'm thinking that this is the type of book that will need a cohesive series to really shine.
this book has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read since 2020. tried to pick it up once and couldn’t get into it, but i still kept it on my shelf bc i knew someday it would click. and now it’s four years later and it has.
it was so fun to witness how different rielle and eliana are and how their approach to their circumstances truly shape them into who they become— the blood queen and the sun queen. i’m so interested to watch their respective rise to and descent from power.
it was also neat whenever their stories reflected each other. like when something similar would be happening in both chapters despite being a thousand years apart, and then watching them navigate their reflecting events and see just how different and yet similar they are. was pretty neat.
ALSO the fact that the book Started with the villain and the blood queen at the height of her madness right before her death was crazyyyyy. i kept looking back at that like euuuu how in the world do we get to that point??? and then reading her chapters about her rise to power just filled me with so much dread because you know what’s gonna happen and will be sat for all of it. so messy. but what a strong emotional hook for the book to start on that continues to effect the reader as they keep going.
i’m intrigued to dig into the next book and really Get Into It. this book was just the introduction into what could be a really good story. fingers crossed for something epic!
it was so fun to witness how different rielle and eliana are and how their approach to their circumstances truly shape them into who they become— the blood queen and the sun queen. i’m so interested to watch their respective rise to and descent from power.
it was also neat whenever their stories reflected each other. like when something similar would be happening in both chapters despite being a thousand years apart, and then watching them navigate their reflecting events and see just how different and yet similar they are. was pretty neat.
ALSO the fact that the book Started with the villain and the blood queen at the height of her madness right before her death was crazyyyyy. i kept looking back at that like euuuu how in the world do we get to that point??? and then reading her chapters about her rise to power just filled me with so much dread because you know what’s gonna happen and will be sat for all of it. so messy. but what a strong emotional hook for the book to start on that continues to effect the reader as they keep going.
i’m intrigued to dig into the next book and really Get Into It. this book was just the introduction into what could be a really good story. fingers crossed for something epic!
I really really loved this book to start. But swapping between worlds so often was tiresome by the end, and Rielle and Eliana were almost indistinguishable. It made keeping the two story lines straight annoying.
Fucking amazing please read. A little hard to get into at first but once your in your in. Fucking amazing 100/10
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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
I'm always all about the end of a book, and this one had me until about the last chapter, where it started to get too romance-y and too predictable in the "I'm just a girl but now I have to reluctantly save the world while I flirt with a cute boy and try to get him in bed" trope that's so popular right now. I'm fine with alluding to it - I know what I got myself into when starting the book - but literally the last paragraph was exactly that and just.....ick.
Otherwise, I frickin loved this book. I loved switching perspectives and jumping timelines the whole time, even though it got to be a bit much to track before I got the hang of what was going on. It was very well written (up until that last chapter) and the story was told really well, with interesting twists throughout. I can't wait to start in on the next one.
Otherwise, I frickin loved this book. I loved switching perspectives and jumping timelines the whole time, even though it got to be a bit much to track before I got the hang of what was going on. It was very well written (up until that last chapter) and the story was told really well, with interesting twists throughout. I can't wait to start in on the next one.
Great fun! Most of the characters had a 3-dimensional, flawed, kind of broken-but-still-trying thing going on that I really enjoyed. The magic and the world-building was pretty excellent, too.