Rating: 4 Stars
Publication: May 21st, 2019
Furyborn (Empirum) #2
Genre: Fantasy
Format: ARC
Diversity: LGBT+ MC & POC SC
Quick Summary:
This captivating fantasy story follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world, or doom it just as the prophecy of the Sun Queen and the Blood Queen foretold. With the gate failing and murderous angels rising Rielle and Eliana will be tested in more ways then they could ever have imagined. For some promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist. As they fight a cosmic war that spans a millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them will ultimately determine the fate of their world, and of each other.
My Thoughts:
In this sequel, we get to see Eliana come into her power while Rielle goes into a downward spiral as people start to fear her. I enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences between the two characters personality as they are both morally grey in their own way. Their gradual development felt very authentic and made me love them even more. We get more queer representation than the first book which made me very happy. One of the steamy scenes was even queer. I just loved all the different friendships and relationships. The romantic pairings were all amazing. They just had so many wonderful nuances and complexe layers to them. We also get some chapters from many of the side characters point of view letting us see whats happening in their part of the world. I really appreciated getting a glimpse inside their minds and getting to know them better.
Elianas relationship with her brother Remy hit me in the feels. Her best friend Harkan was such a sweet cinnamon, but I wish he hadn't made a certain decision in this book. I understand why it was done, but it felt a little out of character for him. I enjoyed seeing Eliana and Navis friendship develop further as well as seeing her new relationship with Jessamine blossoming. What really stood out to me though was the slow burn romance between Eliana and Simon. Simon is so broken I couldnt help but feel for him. As for Rielle, I thought her relationship with Prince Audric and Ludivine was amazing. I really loved the dynamic between the three of them and how much they care for one another. I also enjoyed the interactions between Rielle and the villain Corien. All the characters are so complex and multilayered.
We get to know the world a lot better as the main characters travel to different places. I really liked the information we got about the past and the Saints war against the Angels. The plot twists and that ending blew my freaking mind. Im usually pretty good at predicting how things will go down, but this one threw me for a loop. I also loved the dual time line and how they end up intersecting. It was interesting to see how similar the queens journeys were despite them having opposite destinies. My main issue with this book was how it felt longer than it needed to be. There were some scenes and descriptions that didnt feel necessary to me. It made the pace a bit slower than Furyborn, but that sometimes happens with sequels. I still think it did a good job of setting up the story for an explosive and gripping final book.
Note:
I tried keeping my review as vague as possible given that its a sequel. I hope I still managed to get my thoughts across. ☺
Did You Read Furyborn or the Sequel? Who's your favorite side character?
*This book was received for an honest review
*My summaries are often a shortened version of the goodreads summary
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