Furyborn

Publisher's Summary

This stunningly original, must-listen fantasy follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light, and a queen of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable - until her mother vanishes. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain and discovers that the evil at the empire's heart is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world - and of each other.

©2018 Claire Legrand (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

"Epic feminist fantasy." (Melissa Albert, New York Times best-selling author)

"Truly not to be missed..." (Kendare Blake, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

"Fiona Hardingham expertly narrates this thrilling fantasy, giving voice to two remarkable young women.... Hardingham's portrayal of these seemingly disparate but inextricably linked young women strikes exactly the right notes, precisely conveying the girls' single-minded intensity, which is underscored by sorrow and self-doubt. Impeccable pacing exquisitely ramps up the tension as the story hurtles towards a breathtaking climax that will leave listeners eager for more." (AudioFile)

Fun Action Thrill Ride

When I saw this book on Netgalley, I knew I had to read it. The description grabbed me & it sounded like a book that I would fall in love with. Once I finally found time to read the book it grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, I wound out of time to physically read the book so I ended up buying the audiobook. When I first listened to the narrator's voice I was hesitant but by the end I loved it. Fiona Hardingham (Narrator)just added a little bit more to the story. I was so glad that I switched to audiobook that I think it added a half star to my rating.

My rating would be a 4.5 but since I cannot do a half star I'm going to round up to 5. The plot was fascinating and I loved all of the characters that I read. This book was jam packed with action, swoon worthy heroes, and some really powerful women. I loved that Rielle & Eliana had their flaws and I loved that we got to know them on a fundemental level. It was fun to see the growth in them.

All in all, I really liked this story. I probably wouldn't consider it young adult though. I think it belongs in the adult fantasy section.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

ummmm, liked it, but did not like it as much.

Two girls, but very much the same personality. couldn't tell who is who in between chapters. the story does have the build up, but the dialogues are very bland(but of course, these dialogues of teenagers going into teen-adult). the character development of supporting-characters are not well developed, felt like the characters were just thrown into the scene to kill chapters. I want to know more about Zara, but not explained why she chose her path to support Eille. and when things are being explained, its beated around the Bush a lot (literally had to speed the narrator because it took forever to get to the point). Speaking of which, the Narrator did a good job of getting into character, but her narration/voice-acting into characters' voice is terrible. **spoiler** (like when Ludivine tells Rielle that she is all for Rielle to have intercourse with Audrick, the narrator narrates their voices like a bunch of 12 year olds), honestly, 18 year olds does not talk like that at very least.

The trials were very boring to me, felt the need to rush through those scenes, it didnt intrigue me as much as I thought. it felt weird that I was more interested in Eillinas story more than Rielle. Would I recommend it, no, would I read book 2? probably not. it was good, but not how I thought i would enjoy it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awesome start to what I hope it a series.

Loved this!! You really had to pay attention with the Audible version since it was both of their stories but once I did I was hooked. Can't wait for the next one!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Narrator ruined it for me

Wound up reading a hard copy after about 7 hours. The narrator is good with different voices, but her sentences have strange inflections. It's very choppy and sounds like a droning speech, not a cohesive story. I couldn't stand it. Story itself is interesting. Would not recommend the audiobook.

Great start!

This book is a great start to a trilogy. It started out a little shaky and I had some difficulty following the initial storyline. Once I got into it though it became very intriguing. I’m a bit over the whole ‘trials to prove yourself’ storyline that authors just seem to love these days. In my opinion it wasn’t a totally necessary part of the story and is the reason I went with 4/5 stars. I just think there was an opportunity to do something a little more new and exciting there, I understand it helped with character development though. But even with that it was still a great story with some creative and refreshing twists. There are a few steamy scenes that I wouldn’t recommend for younger readers which I think brought this book more into the New Adult rather than YA category. I enjoyed that each chapter started with some piece of historical information, I thought it was a cool element that added to some of the mystery of the story. I will definitely be continuing with the Trilogy. (Also the narration was excellent)

Wow.

I have listened to many books this year and this is probably in my top 3 series. I know it’s not continued yet but I’m blown away. Fiona Hardingham is flawless at her narration, she captures each characters qualities so very well.

As for the story I am so blown away by the craftsmanship Claire has done, just wow. I love the division of the story between Rielle and Eliana. I could envision the cords winding together bringing us full circle without feeling like it was too easy or too predictable. I felt enthralled the entire time, the sacrifices Eliana made were heart wrenching and I loved her spunky character, sure she’s a murderer but she’s all the things she didn’t want to be, which is a good thing. Rielle I think it’s easy to hate her on precedent and sometimes she makes it too easy, although there are times I find I enjoy her, I still want to shake her until her teeth pop out like tic-tacs. But as with Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo there’s always the tether to the darkness that can prove impossible to ignore especially when the darkness is a hot and manipulative male, so it’s hard to blame her.

I truly am glad I found this series and can’t wait for the second installment! Thank you Claire! 💙

I Couldn't Stand Either Main Characters!

First off, this rating is actually 3.75 stars. I loved this world and the magic system, but I could stand either Rielle or Eliana. Both of them just made me want to scream at them. Like seriously, the both Rielle and Eliana just couldn't seem to understand how idiotic they were being. Rielle starts hearing a voice in her head, but it doesn't sound any alarm bells in her mind to tell someone?!?!? Eliana doesn't realize that secrets are being kept from her for MOST of the book!!!!! I wasn't even surprised with the twist since I figured that out way before the reveal. I didn't enjoy the weird, but totally not sure if it was there love triangle between Rielle, Audric, and Corien. This book would have been so much better if Rielle and Eliana used a little more sense. Hopefully book 2 will be better.

Surprisingly addictive!

Great story teller with a unique spin at the end to pull everything together.

I enjoyed the narrator’s voice, yet the first word of several sentences are cut off. Usually one can figure out in context who or what was said, but sometimes names were lost.

Great performance and story

I really enjoyed the stories of both characters as bd how they connected. I can't wait for the next book so I can see where Eliana's character will go.

Wonderful Pag turning to the end

This had everything! Action, suspense, love, magic. I couldn’t stop. I can’t wait for the next book!