A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire 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. Synopsis from Goodreads PERSONAL REVIEW To be completely honest, sometimes I pick up a book simply because and author that I like or another book reviewer that I trust has taken a picture of it, talked about it, or really hyped it up. This was the case for Furyborn by Claire Legrand. I had seen it on a few instastories and it kept catching my eye, so I thought I’d grab it and give it a read myself. Unique Storytelling I loved that we were given two distinct POVs from two women, both at age 18, but taking place 1,000 years apart. Starting with Rielle at 20, and then jumping back to her at 18 so that we are reading about the dramatically different lives for her and Eliana was a brilliant idea and gives us both the lead by the the war and the aftermath of the Emperor taking power. I wasn’t surprised by the revelation at the end (I actually don’t know if we are supposed to be?), so the build up for me was definitely waiting to find out when Eliana and Rielle both learn the truth (Eliana about her heritage and Rielle about Corien). This is definitely one of the best examples of world building I’ve read in a series, where the entire first book is getting us ready for the rest of the series. A major part of that is the dual POVs that we get. Jarring Chapter Changes As much as I liked the different POVs, I often found at the end of each chapter was constantly a cliffhanger. We wouldn’t find a resolution until two chapters later just every chapter jumped between Rielle and Eliana. I almost wish there had been maybe two or three chapters for each woman before a change to the other one, just so that we could stay in their respective time period longer. I found it jarring to be jumping back and forth so often and had to remember where each story had been left off. I loved learning about both of them (as mentioned above) but I definitely found it hard to jump back and forth again and again. Modern Characters (and Sentiments) in a Historical Fantasy World Although this book is set in two very different time periods, it was great to see that they were both fairly open and accepting of different sexualities. Eliana has had male and female partners and it’s not considered taboo, which is wonderful to see in YA books. Likewise, Rielle is brought to get birth control and the doctor simply helps her instead of shaming her; she’s making a safe decision for herself and it’s honestly so great to read about. This was a very refreshing way to read about sexuality in a historical fantasy world. I’m glad Legrand made the choice to give these characters modern sentiments about acceptance and love. Overall, this was a good book, but it didn’t live up to the hype for me. I enjoyed reading it, but the style of jumping between POVs (and time) every chapter really threw me off. I also don’t feel like we really know any characters besides Eliana and Rielle, which is a shame. I’m really looking forward to the next one, though! FINAL RATING: 3.5/5 
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About MeHi, I'm Alexandra! I love reading (largely YA fiction, but sometimes I'll read "adult" books), playing board games, Nutella, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix with my husband. Follow Me on Instagram@AllCharactersWanted
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