Reviews with content warning for Torture - Furyborn

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

28 reviews

rose_argentina3's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

After reading many Colleen Hoover books and enjoying the plot of those but HATING the writing, this book was a breath of fresh air. The way the author writes is very sophisticated in. Way that frames the book very nicely. The book still seems a bit confusing to me in terms of the plot and the war and

how Eliana is Rielle’s daughter even though Eliana is 1,000 yers younger than Rielle

. I’m definitely excited about the next book, Kingsbane but overall I was not bursting out of my chair with excitement and suspense. The

Emporer and all of the bad guys being angels and being in human bodies felt a bit like Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas but with less plot twists every which way to keep you from putting the book down

. Overall it was a great book but it lacked the intense plot that I long for in fantasy books.

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heyheyhailey1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Rielle and Eliana are two badass mfs and fmc. Books like this that alternate POV move so so quickly it keeps the excitement up the entire time. Sometimes the back and forth was too much for me so I would read a few of a single POV and then go back and read the chapters about the other character. I’m not patient enough and dying for the drama !! Sue me!!

Rielle: I loved that we know from the start that Rielle has the most powerful magic to ever exist and follow her journey to learn how to use it. This is my preference compared to the “just a girl that doesn’t know her own strength” version of this trope. Romance Spoiler:

Rielle and Audric are HOT together. I am unfortunately obsessed with this young man, he is down so bad for her and I LOVE IT!

Eliana: Assassin with a conscience? YUUUUUP Morally grey? YUUUUP Hit now ask questions later? YUUUUP. The world is more than she ever imagined? YUUUUUUUP!

I will be reading the next one as soon as I can get my hands on it!!

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abby_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

📖
This was an amazing book. I had a fabulous time reading it. I liked the characters. Both Rielle and Eliana were well developed characters. While I didn't really like either of them at times, I was curious to see what would happen next. I liked the worldbuilding, the lore, and the magic system.

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roseandivy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

this gets a 3.25 because i loved rielle's half of the story and found eliana's sort of so-so. i love a good corruption arc/descent into madness, and the set up of the trials was engaging and kept things fast-paced. i was able to connect to rielle immediately, and found myself rooting for her even when she was clearly in the wrong. eliana on the other hand didn't do much for me in the way of character, and most of the appeal of her chapters was seeing how her story tied back to rielle's. simon felt like a cut-and-paste version of most other YA love interests i've seen, so i was most invested in eliana's friendship with navi and her relationship with remy. i'm excited to read the next book and see how rielle continues to deteriorate.

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akswhy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Solid start to a fantasy trilogy. Lots of lore and texture to keep up with, but the plot of the older timeline makes it easy to get up to speed. Love the dual timeline structure.

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christinereads1823's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Definitely an... interesting start to a series. I liked parts of it, and the magic of the world is a cool concept, but I didn't love the execution and I didn't really connect with the characters. The constant time jumping between Rielle and Eliana was very confusing, especially in the first half of the book, and the prologue chapter gave away the reveal that happened close to the end. I almost think it would have worked better as an epilogue to connect everything and have the reader go "OH SHIT."
I'm invested in learning how Rielle

destroyed the world

, so I will be continuing the series for that.

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celestecurls's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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yriax's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ali_k0's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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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.

When 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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