mekikula's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
svien2020's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
jessicalowes's review
4.0
This book has destroyed me for reading other books for a few weeks now. I have really complicated feelings about it! For about 85% of the book, this was perfect. I felt it was shaping up to be a good / fitting ending, even though the pacing went a little wonky (slow) in the middle, I understood why, but then the final chapter came so abruptly, with a time jump that had everything resolved off page, and some odd choices for the two MCs moving forwards, that made me feel dropped and disappointed. It's a sad, intense book for the most part and you really, really feel it. Every step of the way.
Overall, I highly recommend this series. It's unique, the character development is incredible, the connection between humans and dragons is beautifully done, writing is beautiful, the political developments make sense, the world building is so well thought out, and you end up falling in love with the characters so deeply, without even realising. The romance is the slowest, slow burn, (so slow I switched ships in Flamefall but not because it wasn't done amazing), and has such an emotional undercurrent.
What I enjoyed:
- Duck being alive! His choice to leave dragon riding behind, and not return to the war, made so much sense for his character and his motivations from the previous two books.
- “Some of the bravest women in our lives have been peasant women, Annie. They’re why we’re here. Even if they go unsung.”
- The politics, just handled really well (up until the last chapter basically)
- Power playing for the other side, and his eventual love confession for Annie. Also, how he was the one to pull Annie out of her slump, not Lee (but I would have liked Lee to have pushed her too instead of allowing her to slip so far without even one conversation). He truly pushes her to be better, and realise her potential. "It's been an honour, commander."
- How strongly I felt for these characters, honestly it came out of the blue I didn't realise how much they'd crept up on me.
- Aela and Pallor's relationship and love, so freaking cute
- Cor surviving (lol), I let out the BIGGEST sigh of relief when I saw his name after they escape.
- Lee and Aela bonding after Pallor's death (though I wish we'd seen more, and got an explanation for why this was)
- Aela killing Ixion.
What I didn't enjoy:
- Lee losing Pallor, after everything he's been through, to be Dragonborn without a Dragon, and to have experienced yet another massive loss, just felt like one thing too far. I was rooting so hard for him to have a win. I absolutely sobbed my heart out at the chapter were Pallor is killed, and Lee's chapters after, it was heartbreaking and while I was prepared for death in this book, this one hit me too hard for me to let go / understand I think.
- It was so unrealistic (after SUCH a realistic series that balanced reality and fantasy so perfectly) that they managed to harpoon the biggest dragon with rope... when the dragon's body literally burns to touch. That was SO easy, after a series and book that made the characters really work for the resolutions, that it was laughable.
- Power's death. I was fine with him dying, it made sense to me and I understood we had to lose some key players as the stakes were so high, but the way he died fell so flat for me. But more than that, because of the rushed ending and time jump, we never see him mourned by Annie (or his mother), and we never see the other characters fully realise that he was good, in the end. He just doesn't show up or is mentioned again, and it's a huge wasted opportunity and shame.
- We'd spent two books building Annie up to really own and see herself as First Rider, and then early in this book she experiences a big setback (which I get) but then spends a really long time wallowing, and ignoring what's happening in her country, and not wanting to ride, and this just felt so jarring and opposite to who we've seen Annie be, and become. It took us too long to get back to the Annie she is, and the self-blaming and ease of letting the title go felt false.
- Griff's character development went a little haywire, he had such a good build up in Flamefall and then he fell short in Furysong. I agree he should have became ruler, but it didn't feel earned enough and we weren't immersed in that experience enough to understand the stakes. He just wasn't it - and Delo felt quite 2D besides loving Griff.
- Lee choosing to become a dragon-rider trainer, instead of stepping into a political position, made no sense to me for his character and the journey he'd been on. He had big dreams and hopes for reform, and a lot of ideas and drive, and for him to opt out of shaping the future of their country was an odd choice.
- I'm happy with Annie staying in dragon riding and politics, but I wanted it to be explained more and further developed, as she spent half this book thinking instead maybe she wanted to retire, and become a mother and a housewife (which really irked me). She would never cut her connection with Aela, never, I don't know why we even entertained the thought.
- Annie and Lee's ending: why is Annie always pushing / finding reasons to not just be happy together? No they can't get married yet whilst she's a Guardian, but they can still see each other and have a relationship, and it just felt so disappointing after spending three books rooting for them to finally find each other at the end. I wanted more of a firm, real ending for them together.
Overall, I highly recommend this series. It's unique, the character development is incredible, the connection between humans and dragons is beautifully done, writing is beautiful, the political developments make sense, the world building is so well thought out, and you end up falling in love with the characters so deeply, without even realising. The romance is the slowest, slow burn, (so slow I switched ships in Flamefall but not because it wasn't done amazing), and has such an emotional undercurrent.
Spoiler
What I enjoyed:
- Duck being alive! His choice to leave dragon riding behind, and not return to the war, made so much sense for his character and his motivations from the previous two books.
- “Some of the bravest women in our lives have been peasant women, Annie. They’re why we’re here. Even if they go unsung.”
- The politics, just handled really well (up until the last chapter basically)
- Power playing for the other side, and his eventual love confession for Annie. Also, how he was the one to pull Annie out of her slump, not Lee (but I would have liked Lee to have pushed her too instead of allowing her to slip so far without even one conversation). He truly pushes her to be better, and realise her potential. "It's been an honour, commander."
- How strongly I felt for these characters, honestly it came out of the blue I didn't realise how much they'd crept up on me.
- Aela and Pallor's relationship and love, so freaking cute
- Cor surviving (lol), I let out the BIGGEST sigh of relief when I saw his name after they escape.
- Lee and Aela bonding after Pallor's death (though I wish we'd seen more, and got an explanation for why this was)
- Aela killing Ixion.
What I didn't enjoy:
- Lee losing Pallor, after everything he's been through, to be Dragonborn without a Dragon, and to have experienced yet another massive loss, just felt like one thing too far. I was rooting so hard for him to have a win. I absolutely sobbed my heart out at the chapter were Pallor is killed, and Lee's chapters after, it was heartbreaking and while I was prepared for death in this book, this one hit me too hard for me to let go / understand I think.
- It was so unrealistic (after SUCH a realistic series that balanced reality and fantasy so perfectly) that they managed to harpoon the biggest dragon with rope... when the dragon's body literally burns to touch. That was SO easy, after a series and book that made the characters really work for the resolutions, that it was laughable.
- Power's death. I was fine with him dying, it made sense to me and I understood we had to lose some key players as the stakes were so high, but the way he died fell so flat for me. But more than that, because of the rushed ending and time jump, we never see him mourned by Annie (or his mother), and we never see the other characters fully realise that he was good, in the end. He just doesn't show up or is mentioned again, and it's a huge wasted opportunity and shame.
- We'd spent two books building Annie up to really own and see herself as First Rider, and then early in this book she experiences a big setback (which I get) but then spends a really long time wallowing, and ignoring what's happening in her country, and not wanting to ride, and this just felt so jarring and opposite to who we've seen Annie be, and become. It took us too long to get back to the Annie she is, and the self-blaming and ease of letting the title go felt false.
- Griff's character development went a little haywire, he had such a good build up in Flamefall and then he fell short in Furysong. I agree he should have became ruler, but it didn't feel earned enough and we weren't immersed in that experience enough to understand the stakes. He just wasn't it - and Delo felt quite 2D besides loving Griff.
- Lee choosing to become a dragon-rider trainer, instead of stepping into a political position, made no sense to me for his character and the journey he'd been on. He had big dreams and hopes for reform, and a lot of ideas and drive, and for him to opt out of shaping the future of their country was an odd choice.
- I'm happy with Annie staying in dragon riding and politics, but I wanted it to be explained more and further developed, as she spent half this book thinking instead maybe she wanted to retire, and become a mother and a housewife (which really irked me). She would never cut her connection with Aela, never, I don't know why we even entertained the thought.
- Annie and Lee's ending: why is Annie always pushing / finding reasons to not just be happy together? No they can't get married yet whilst she's a Guardian, but they can still see each other and have a relationship, and it just felt so disappointing after spending three books rooting for them to finally find each other at the end. I wanted more of a firm, real ending for them together.
e_flah's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Furysong is challenging to review as it's the conclusion to a series I have really enjoyed yet also a book that just didn't quite hit for me the same way earlier books in the Aurelian Cycle have. There has been a lot of excellent character development across the Aurelian Cycle that seemed missing from Furysong. Annie in particular felt like a totally different person -- which could make sense given what she's gone through but the journey to get there is completely missing from the book.
The bigger questions like how to govern fairly and how people should respond to cycles of violence were also absent from Furysong. The way Munda grappled with questions like these in Fireborne and Flamefall was a decent part of what made me fall in love with this series so I was very sad not to see them present in the final book.
The bigger questions like how to govern fairly and how people should respond to cycles of violence were also absent from Furysong. The way Munda grappled with questions like these in Fireborne and Flamefall was a decent part of what made me fall in love with this series so I was very sad not to see them present in the final book.
lexberman's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
laurenelisabeth7509's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
the_pale_woman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
This was much better than the second book. It's definitely the best book of the trilogy. It has some serious emotional moments that snuck up on me.
The trilogy as a whole isn't the best fantasy series out there, but I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it. It could have been longer. I think some of the side characters got cheated out of an ending. Plus, explanations and follow-up were lacking in most areas. However, I just liked it. It was entertaining, and I was invested in the characters and plot.
I would recommend this to YA fans but also fantasy fans who enjoy an easy read.
The trilogy as a whole isn't the best fantasy series out there, but I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it. It could have been longer. I think some of the side characters got cheated out of an ending. Plus, explanations and follow-up were lacking in most areas. However, I just liked it. It was entertaining, and I was invested in the characters and plot.
I would recommend this to YA fans but also fantasy fans who enjoy an easy read.
mare_06's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
meganbooks's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0