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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I had an immense amount of fun reading this! It took me a minute to really get into the story, but once I did, I couldn't put it down!
I found both Rielle and Eliana's stories to be equally fun to read, something that I often struggle with when there is multiple POVs. I love reading about assassins so Eliana was easy to love initially. Rielle took some warming up to, but her story is now the one I'm looking forward to the most. Already knowing how her story ends somehow makes me all the more curious how she lands there.
I love the slow burn romances that both women get, too. That felt like an added bonus to an already spectacular story. I cannot wait to read the other books in this series!
I found both Rielle and Eliana's stories to be equally fun to read, something that I often struggle with when there is multiple POVs. I love reading about assassins so Eliana was easy to love initially. Rielle took some warming up to, but her story is now the one I'm looking forward to the most. Already knowing how her story ends somehow makes me all the more curious how she lands there.
I love the slow burn romances that both women get, too. That felt like an added bonus to an already spectacular story. I cannot wait to read the other books in this series!
I feel like the beginning of this novel gave away a little too much. It was hard for me to feel any of the big suspenseful moments with the opening prologue hanging over the novel. A lot of the novels "big secrets" are revealed in that opener that if you have half a brain you'll know how to recognize them immediately later in the novel and it really cut down on my ability to enjoy the book. It is a good page turner though. Legrand is good at making the very last pages of a chapter interesting enough that you want to race through even if it's past time for you to go to sleep. It's hard for me to talk about the characters without coming back around to that prologue. I really wanted to like Rielle I still found her story the more interesting of the two to watch unfold even though I knew where it would ultimately end. I'm not sure what it was but I found myself struggling to fully connect with Eliana. They're both characters we've seen before in this genre. One, running through a series of trials on a path to becoming the chosen savior of the realm. The other, a wisecracking assassin who can flirt with anything that moves, just doing her best to survive. I am intrigued enough that I'll pick up the sequel when it comes out.
So this book. I didn’t love the switching characters with a 1000 year difference each chapter. I did feel like the prologue- which was awesome and gripping from the start, kind of deflated the rest of the book, as I already knew the ending. I felt Rielle was more interesting but I dunno. It was a fast read, but I honestly lost steam because I already knew how it would end.
It’s fine, it had an interesting plot, and was written well…I just didn’t love it or really like it
It’s fine, it had an interesting plot, and was written well…I just didn’t love it or really like it
3.5 stars rounded up.
I did really enjoy this book, the world building is very interesting I just wish the chapters were longer so you got more of each pov at a time. It felt like as you would get to a climax in one timeline it would switch pov which ended up making it harder to keep track of the timelines and events going on. I think this also stunted some of the character growth and attachment I felt towards both the female main characters.
With all this being said I am invested in the story and I have enjoyed what I’ve read so far, I’m looking forward to continuing with Kingsbane.
I did really enjoy this book, the world building is very interesting I just wish the chapters were longer so you got more of each pov at a time. It felt like as you would get to a climax in one timeline it would switch pov which ended up making it harder to keep track of the timelines and events going on. I think this also stunted some of the character growth and attachment I felt towards both the female main characters.
With all this being said I am invested in the story and I have enjoyed what I’ve read so far, I’m looking forward to continuing with Kingsbane.
4.5/5
I had low expectations for this book after reading reviews but was pleasantly surprised. I was more into Eliana’s story than Arielle’s but this made me read quicker because I wanted to get to an Eliana chapter. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
I had low expectations for this book after reading reviews but was pleasantly surprised. I was more into Eliana’s story than Arielle’s but this made me read quicker because I wanted to get to an Eliana chapter. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Tough to get through the worldbuilding in the beginning but by the end I couldn't put it down.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
I felt like I didn’t get a grasp on what was happening until about 40% just because you go back and forth between two point of views set 1000 years apart. Once something clicked for me, it was like I started picking up on things and little details that were actually making sense.
The book starts off with you reading about one of the main characters dying within the first chapter then reading about her life leading up to that moment and I was gripped by that aspect. I felt like I devoted this book once I started piecing things together and I LOVED it.
This is the first book I have started annotating and I definitely recommend it if you start this series. Looking back at something I wasn’t sure was going to be important then it turns out it was 🤯
The book starts off with you reading about one of the main characters dying within the first chapter then reading about her life leading up to that moment and I was gripped by that aspect. I felt like I devoted this book once I started piecing things together and I LOVED it.
This is the first book I have started annotating and I definitely recommend it if you start this series. Looking back at something I wasn’t sure was going to be important then it turns out it was 🤯
This was a fun beginning to the Empirium series. It’s fast-paced and full of action. To me, it definitely felt like an introduction to the characters and story to come in the next two books. Two queens have been prophesied, the Blood Queen and the Sun Queen – one will destroy the world and the other will save it.
The book begins with the death of Queen Rielle. From there the chapters alternate to send the reader both back and forward in time. Back two years to learn how Rielle rose to power to become the Sun Queen, prophesied to save the world. And forward 1000 years deep into the rise of the Empire we follow Eliana, the Dread of Orline. The Dread spends her days hunting down rebels to keep her family secure.
I really liked that this book featured two strong female characters. While Rielle’s story was exciting, I wasn’t quite as interested in it since we ultimately know the outcome of her fate from the first chapter. The backstory does provide understanding and ultimately, I think will make the reader more sympathetic to her choices and fate.
I enjoyed Eliana’s story immensely. She is strong-willed and independent, and everything she does is based on what she thinks is best for those she loves. She doesn’t always make the right choices, but her loyalty drives her, and her conscious and sympathy grow as the story moves forward.
Along with the strong women, magic plays a large part in this fantasy. In Rielle’s time, certain people are blessed with magic, and it is a strong piece of her story. But 1000 years later, magic is the stuff of legends, many believing it never existed in the first place.
Furyborn is action-packed and a fun introduction to the trilogy. The two female characters are both strong and flawed, and anything with magic always adds an element of fun. I’m looking forward to see what happens next!
Many thanks to BookishFirst for providing me with a copy of this book.
From my review at Hidden Staircase.
The book begins with the death of Queen Rielle. From there the chapters alternate to send the reader both back and forward in time. Back two years to learn how Rielle rose to power to become the Sun Queen, prophesied to save the world. And forward 1000 years deep into the rise of the Empire we follow Eliana, the Dread of Orline. The Dread spends her days hunting down rebels to keep her family secure.
I really liked that this book featured two strong female characters. While Rielle’s story was exciting, I wasn’t quite as interested in it since we ultimately know the outcome of her fate from the first chapter. The backstory does provide understanding and ultimately, I think will make the reader more sympathetic to her choices and fate.
I enjoyed Eliana’s story immensely. She is strong-willed and independent, and everything she does is based on what she thinks is best for those she loves. She doesn’t always make the right choices, but her loyalty drives her, and her conscious and sympathy grow as the story moves forward.
Along with the strong women, magic plays a large part in this fantasy. In Rielle’s time, certain people are blessed with magic, and it is a strong piece of her story. But 1000 years later, magic is the stuff of legends, many believing it never existed in the first place.
Furyborn is action-packed and a fun introduction to the trilogy. The two female characters are both strong and flawed, and anything with magic always adds an element of fun. I’m looking forward to see what happens next!
Many thanks to BookishFirst for providing me with a copy of this book.
From my review at Hidden Staircase.
Lots of fun, and I appreciate the range that this author has! I'm taking a break from fantasy lit after this to focus on curating my sad boy image (I'm going to read Franz Kafka)