Review: Furyborn by Claire Legrand – 3.5 Stars

Furyborn, the first book in Claire Legrand’s Empirium trilogy, is an ambitious fantasy tale that follows two powerful women—Rielle and Eliana—separated by a thousand years but bound by fate. With its dual POV structure and sweeping timelines, the novel promises a grand narrative and lays the foundation for a high-stakes cosmic war. While there’s a lot to admire here, the execution doesn’t always live up to the story’s impressive potential—at least not right away.

The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 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.

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Opinion

At the outset, I struggled to get into the story. Despite being someone who enjoys multiple POVs and nonlinear timelines, I found myself oddly detached during the opening chapters. It wasn’t the structure that caused the issue, but rather the characters themselves. Both Rielle and Eliana initially felt a bit bland, their personalities somewhat muted under the weight of exposition and world-building. I kept waiting for that spark of emotional connection or urgency to pull me in—and thankfully, it did come, just later than expected.

As the narrative progressed, both protagonists grew into their roles. Rielle, undergoing deadly magical trials to prove her identity as the prophesied Sun Queen, becomes increasingly complex. Her motivations and vulnerabilities start to feel more grounded and real, especially as she struggles with the intense pressure and consequences of her powers. Eliana, a bounty hunter in a corrupt empire, also evolves in compelling ways. Her hardened exterior slowly begins to crack as she uncovers disturbing truths and allows herself to form bonds with unlikely allies.

The two women’s arcs mirror and contrast one another in interesting ways, and I appreciated how Legrand uses the dual timeline to gradually reveal the connections between them. Their fates feel intertwined in a way that adds both mystery and a looming sense of tragedy. That said, I occasionally wished for a bit more subtlety and depth in how these connections unfolded—some reveals felt a touch too on-the-nose or telegraphed.

Where Furyborn really shines is in its world-building. Legrand presents a richly detailed universe full of elemental magic, angels, prophecies, and political machinations. Despite the sheer amount of information presented, the world never felt overwhelming or dense. Instead, I found it surprisingly easy to visualize the settings and understand the stakes. There’s a cinematic quality to the writing that makes it easy to immerse yourself in the action, especially during the elemental trials and battle scenes.

That said, I couldn’t shake the feeling that more could have been done with the premise. The concept of two prophesied queens—one to save the world, the other to destroy it—has enormous potential, but in this first installment, the execution sometimes leans too heavily on familiar tropes. I kept wishing the narrative would push further into the unexpected, but perhaps those surprises are still to come in the remaining books.

Conclusion

Overall, Furyborn is a solid start to what could become a standout trilogy. It takes time to find its footing, and the initial character work is a bit uneven, but the payoff is worth it. If the next two books can build on this foundation and deliver on the series’ potential, I’m hopeful for some genuinely thrilling twists and emotional depth. As it stands, this is a promising—if slightly flawed—beginning that fans of epic fantasy should still consider picking up.

About Claire Legrand

Claire Legrand is the New York Times-bestselling author of a dozen novels, including the Empirium Trilogy, A CROWN OF IVY AND GLASS, SAWKILL GIRLS, SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS, and THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. She is one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade fiction.

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