Review: Furyborn by Claire Legrand

*Furyborn will be released Tuesday, May 22nd!*

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Sourcebooks Fire, 2018
Hardcover. 512 pages.

Furyborn is a book that had been on my radar since last year and I was thrilled when I received copy of it in the mail one day. I read it pretty much as soon as I received it and almost immediately fell in love with this story. In all honesty, I started seeing a huge mixture of good and bad reviews for Furyborn a few weeks before I received it, so I was starting to feel fairly skeptical about whether or not I would enjoy it so I really didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did. 

Furyborn tells the story of Rielle Dardenne and Eliana Ferracora, two young women living entirely separate lives centuries apart, but who end up having more in common in their stories than they ever knew or expected. I was curious to see how Legrand would handle the two storylines in this book, as I've found time-jump novels to be rather hit or miss for me, personally. The way Legrand handled it was perfect, however, and I found that both stories were incredibly engaging and meshed really well overall. 

The story is told in evenly alternating chapters between Rielle and Eliana, and I was so glad to see that Legrand kept up the alternating pattern between only those two characters and no one else. I worried that if she added too much or mixed it up it would become confusing, but because of how she executed the story it was perfectly clear the entire time what was happening in each time period. Legrand also managed to tie together both perspectives with much cleverness and managed to make these two wholly separate lives fit together in unexpected ways. I even noticed very subtle symbols of similarities in the stories of each as they were told that I also felt added an extra layer of cohesion.

In regard to our main characters, Rielle and Eliana, I am beyond pleased to say that I genuinely liked both of them, which is something that doesn't always happen. What made both characters stand out so much and endeared them to me the most was that they were both such distinct people with very different personalities, but at the same time they had core similarities that united them in subtle ways and helped make this story work so well. Eliana is intense, badass, and occasionally does morally questionable things, though everything she does is for the benefit of her family. She is confident in herself and her abilities and I really appreciated that because she wasn't ever afraid to hide what she did or what she was capable of and I really admired that. Rielle is not quite as intense as Rielle, but she is every bit as badass as her, though it manifests itself in different ways. She tends to be the quieter form of power, whereas Eliana is more outspoken. 

Furyborn is an action-packed book that takes off at a quick pace and never really lets up. I would have liked a few more moments to catch my breath at times, but I also felt highly entertained and always lamented the times when I would have to put the book down for a while. Another set of props goes to Legrand for writing the consistent action in an approachable and highly engaging manner. I never felt like I wanted to skim over any action scenes, and that's always a good sign to me that action scenes are written with a lot of care and attention to detail. I also found myself subconsciously slowing down my reading to prevent finishing this book too quickly because of how fast it reads!

My only real complaint about this book was in regard to the magic system. It was discussed in detail to a point, but I still don't feel like I ever had a full grasp or understand of how it actually worked. It's not necessarily vital to the story itself, but it just would have been nice to have a better understanding of how the magic worked and details in regard to that. 

Overall, I really loved this book. The characters and the story were refreshing, the dialogue was incredible, and the writing itself was highly engaging. I wholeheartedly recommend this to any fantasy fan or anyone looking for a fast-paced, exciting story. I've given Furyborn five stars!

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

*I received an ARC of Furyborn in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*

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