Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

15 reviews

kathrynleereads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

“Some say the Queen was frightened in her last moments, but I like to think that she was angry.”

Furyborn follows Rielle and Eliana, two powerful women living 1,000 years apart as they find themselves facing the same enemy and facing the same prophecy.

The prophecy foretold the fall of the Gate, behind which Rielle and Eliana’s ancestors locked away the Angels.

“You will know this time by the rise of two human Queens-one of blood, and one of light. One with the power to save the world. One with the power to destroy it.“

Right off the bat, Furyborn’s prologue is a work of art. Just those few pages filled me with enough intrigue that I would’ve suffered if need be, through the next 400 pages just to find the answers to my many, many questions.

Luckily, Furyborn is not a book that needs to be suffered through.

The intricacies of both the worldbuilding and the intertwining plots, along with the cast of lovable–and some hateable– characters, kept my face buried in this book until the end.



Rielle - While I really enjoy Rielle’s character and the growth she undergoes throughout the novel, I feel as if the majority of her story is yet to be told still.

Eliana - Eliana is an incredibly frustrating character, and I spent most of the book wanting to scream for her to forgo her trust issues. Despite this, however, I love Eliana. She is spunky, badass, and not afraid of a fight. 

Audric - While Audric is very likable, I don’t find him any more unique than most male love interests. He is very capable, strong, and kind, but also a tad too cookie-cutter for me. 

Ludivine -  I’m not sure there’s been a more kind-hearted, genuine being to ever live. Ludivine made me smile every time she appeared on the page and her loyalty to both Rielle and Audric just melts my heart.

Remy - Remy is Eliana’s moral compass. Whether she listens to him or not, he stands his ground and is usually right. 

Simon - I honestly don’t know what to think of Simon. I loved him more and more throughout the story but wasn’t able to get a good read on him beyond him being good and lovable. 

Navi - The MVP in my humble opinion. Navi encompasses the idea of Found Family (more on that later) and is there for Eliana exactly when she needs it. Similar to Ludivine, I couldn’t get enough of her on the page.

Honorable Mentions

Zahra - A late addition to this cast of characters, but mentionable nonetheless. I’m hoping we learn more of Zahra’s story in the coming books.

Evyline - She isn’t a main character, but I love the friendship she and Rielle are beginning to develop.


Found Family
This book is 10/10 when it comes to Found Family. Rielle's actual family is just her father, but she's built her life with Ludivine and Audric at the center of it and is slowly adding Evyline. 

Eliana has her mother, Remy, and Harkan, and is now slowly letting Navi and Simon in. 

Seeing this type of trusting and loyal relationship warms my heart every time I see it on a page. Found Family is one of my favorite things (is this a trope?) to see in books, and Legrand did not disappoint in Furyborn.


Inclusivity
Legrand does an amazing job of being inclusive in a natural way. Nothing seems forced or like it was added in an effort to be labeled diverse. 

Patrik and Hob were mentioned to be married but were then developed as individual characters instead of as an LGBTQ couple. 

Eliana is either bisexual or pansexual, which was sprinkled in here and there throughout the story so far. She and Harkan also seem to have an open relationship instead of a monogamous one, which is something I haven't seen often (or at all now that I think about it).

I feel as if inclusion like this is either the main topic of a book, or an author throws it in very obviously as an attempt to be inclusive without actually knowing how to write the characters/relationship. 

It was very refreshing to see these relationships mentioned, but not forced (as it should be). 


Sex positivity
I’ve seen people go both ways on this topic in the case of Furyborn, so this may be a little controversial, but I still think it is important to mention.

In my opinion, Furyborn is incredibly sex-positive both generally and in the way Legrand addresses women's sexuality. 

SpoilerWhen Rielle and Audric were caught together, there was no mention of her "virtue" or blame placed for any reason other than Audric's betrothal to Ludivine. 

Rielle is immediately provided contraceptive tonic by Ludivine, again without any recourse beyond the possible rumors about the affair.

Eliana would sleep with contacts to get jobs and information, and Navi entered the Maidensfold as a spy to smuggle information back to her home country.

Sex is not viewed as something holy or sacred like it often is both in stories and in real life, but merely as a means to an end or a source of pleasure. The lack of focus on it is refreshing.


Worldbuilding
My favorite aspect of reading a book is the worldbuilding, and Claire Legrand did not disappoint in Furyborn.

Most books have a lot of worldbuilding up front, and then it tapers off throughout the book as we become more familiar with the world.

In Furyborn, however, I felt as if the worldbuilding mounted as the story went on. I believe that this was in part because Rielle herself was a part of the world that was being built in Eliana’s story.

Not too much about Rielle could be revealed at once, as there were things that readers still needed to find out about her themselves, instead of through the history known during Eliana’s time.


Overall, Furyborn was a rollercoaster of emotions that I would be more than happy to ride again. Everything from the characters to the world-building to the ever-racing plot was exquisite.

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meredith_williams_'s review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

I’ve had this book on my TBR for awhile and finally decided to give it a try. The beginning was a bit slow and some of the world building was a bit confusing. However, the story eventually picks up and I ended up enjoying it. The dual timeline was especially intriguing. I feel it made the mystery aspect more engaging and allows the reader to sympathize with both main characters even as they becoming increasingly more morally gray. 

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merenguita's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The setup, magic system and the world building were really good and interesting, it's what pulled me in and what motivates me to read the second part.
Some of the characters I loved others I think weren't fully fleshed out (Simon espacially)
SpoilerHe switches personality a lot and his relationship with Eliana kinda just jumps to romance out of nowhere

The pace was slow and there's a while in the middle where not much happens just fights, that got a bit boring, but it didn't bother me that much.
Honestly the book has its flaws but I still enjoyed it throughout so I give it 4☆

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aoife_taylors_version2413's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense 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

5.0

I LOVED this book so much!! It is so worth it. In my top five greatest books of all time and probably has the 1st place spot.

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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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apersonfromflorida's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0


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lanid's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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andatherrin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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thecourtofreading's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense 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

4.75

"we live in a world where good kings die and those foolish enough to hope for something better are killed where they stand."

i quite literally could NOT put this book down, and i love when this happens, because this book was good. i'll admit, the prologue made me want to dnf it a little, but i was intrigued enough to keep going and honestly i'm so glad i did because this book delivered.

at first, i thought it was going to be some wacky time travel thing and i was thinking how the heck that was going to work, but it wasn't and i was pleasantly surprised with the turn this took and what happened. it's split into dual povs, and usually this annoys me because there's always one pov where it's like "oh great it's this person again", but honestly each storyline kept me gripped and i don't even think there was a dual chapter. the pacing was amazing. 

i would definitely continue this series, however my tbr (and wallet) are YELLING at me to not buy anymore books, so i'll listen until i've read a few more and then i'll splurge out on the two sequels. 

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mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-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

4.0


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