Claire Legrand’s Furyborn is intriguing, great for Harry Potter and Red Queen fans

Let’s talk the protagonists of Furyborn

The story’s strongest aspects are its two protagonists. Rielle and Eliana are both strong, complicated, dangerous women. Personally, I loved Rielle just a tiny bit more than Eliana. Possibly that’s because we spend more time with her. Or it could be that her ability to control so many types of magic at once is just really cool. Plus, the trials themselves are wild. (Like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Triwizard Tournament wild.)  We see Rielle survive so much in this story that it’s hard not to root for and sympathize with her. Her friendships with Audric and Ludivine also give her character a complexity that Eliana doesn’t quite reach. Plus, I’m always a sucker for a good forbidden romance.

Eliana is a bit more closed off. She keeps everyone at a distance, even those reading about her. (Hopefully that is a trait that will soften a bit in the next book.) For a heroine in a story like this, she’s incredibly grey. But that’s precisely what makes her interesting. Her willingness to cross lines and make questionable choices sets her apart from other characters like her.  I’m extremely curious to see where her character goes as the story continues.

A huge portion of Furyborn dedicates itself to world building. This is actually quite helpful,  particularly since the story takes place in two distinct time periods. From magical laws to kingdom histories to religious and political institutions, it’s clear that Legrand thought out the rules and story of her universe in great detail. Yet, it’s the gap between the two sections that looms largest as we wait for the Empirium trilogy’s next installment. What happened there? And can we stand waiting to find out? Fingers crossed.

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Furyborn‘s out now. Will you give it a try?