Everyone, I am hereby predicting that Furyborn is going to be the next big thing! Because it is so, so good and totally lives up to the hype. It's a dark fantasy novel that is feminist, diverse, and so gripping that it keeps you turning pages. Oh, and it makes me wish I could draw, because the character descriptions are just MADE for fan art!
This is a dual-perspective book that follows the stories of two young women, Rielle and Eliana, who are coming of age in different time periods, but hold the fate of the world in their hands. Both women are complex, powerful, and not clearly good or evil. They refuse to be constrained by society or the people around them, are often violent, but also love deeply and fiercely. I adored both of these women. There are great side characters who are richly drawn and relationships that are beautifully portrayed. Some of the side characters create important nuance, showing that compassion and gentleness can be a strength rather than a weakness. We get positive female friendships without jealousy, a very touching brother-sister relationship, and some pretty steamy love interests.
Which makes this a good time to note that while it is marketed as YA, this book feels much more adult in content and should probably be read by mature teenagers. There is some explicit sexual content and contains some trigger warnings for violence, death of children and parents, torture, and non-graphic sexual abuse. So yes, this is definitely a darker book. But, it still feels hopeful. It is, in some ways, about what it means to retain your humanity in the midst of pain and violence, and to believe in a better future even in the face of great darkness.
The world-building in Furyborn is really great, and I just wanted more. We learn a great deal from Rielle about the culture and religion of her people, which is fascinating. Eliana lives a long time in the future and from her, we get to see hints of the history that has transpired since Rielle. The mythology is rich and has me itching for a more expansive understanding. A key component to the story is that humans have long been at war with powerful "angels". We learn a little bit about them, but I can't wait to find out more in future books. The magic system is an elemental one, but I do wish we had more fully fleshed out rules about how it works. We know that the "empirium" is what makes up everything, and somehow magic users tap into it. Rielle is even able to see the empirium, which is unusual.
There is a lot of adventure and intrigue, which I loved. The chapters alternated between perspectives and they were often on the shorter side, which kept me reading longer. Rielle's chapters were often punctuated by a series of magical trials and they were all really well-written and depicted vividly. Eliana travels to a few different locations which added great flavor to the book, and hints at the variety of cultures we might encounter later in the series.
Finally, I want to mention a bit about why I say this book is feminist and diverse. Obviously, you have two powerful women as protagonists, but it goes beyond that. I mentioned the positive female friendships as well, but there were also little things that struck me as interesting. For instance, there are male sex workers depicted in the book rather than just female. There is also some casual LGBTQ representation. For instance, Eliana is bisexual, two male side characters are married, and there is a harem that includes both men and women. I also liked the fact that we see Rielle and Eliana dressed up on occasion, with Rielle even being a total badass fighting with magic while wearing beautiful costumes. I always appreciate representation of women who can fight, lead, and also be feminine when they want to be.
This is much longer than my typical reviews, but it's just such a great book and I had a lot to say! Seriously, go pick it up when it comes out! It's probably going to make my top books of the year. I did receive an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a dual-perspective book that follows the stories of two young women, Rielle and Eliana, who are coming of age in different time periods, but hold the fate of the world in their hands. Both women are complex, powerful, and not clearly good or evil. They refuse to be constrained by society or the people around them, are often violent, but also love deeply and fiercely. I adored both of these women. There are great side characters who are richly drawn and relationships that are beautifully portrayed. Some of the side characters create important nuance, showing that compassion and gentleness can be a strength rather than a weakness. We get positive female friendships without jealousy, a very touching brother-sister relationship, and some pretty steamy love interests.
Which makes this a good time to note that while it is marketed as YA, this book feels much more adult in content and should probably be read by mature teenagers. There is some explicit sexual content and contains some trigger warnings for violence, death of children and parents, torture, and non-graphic sexual abuse. So yes, this is definitely a darker book. But, it still feels hopeful. It is, in some ways, about what it means to retain your humanity in the midst of pain and violence, and to believe in a better future even in the face of great darkness.
The world-building in Furyborn is really great, and I just wanted more. We learn a great deal from Rielle about the culture and religion of her people, which is fascinating. Eliana lives a long time in the future and from her, we get to see hints of the history that has transpired since Rielle. The mythology is rich and has me itching for a more expansive understanding. A key component to the story is that humans have long been at war with powerful "angels". We learn a little bit about them, but I can't wait to find out more in future books. The magic system is an elemental one, but I do wish we had more fully fleshed out rules about how it works. We know that the "empirium" is what makes up everything, and somehow magic users tap into it. Rielle is even able to see the empirium, which is unusual.
There is a lot of adventure and intrigue, which I loved. The chapters alternated between perspectives and they were often on the shorter side, which kept me reading longer. Rielle's chapters were often punctuated by a series of magical trials and they were all really well-written and depicted vividly. Eliana travels to a few different locations which added great flavor to the book, and hints at the variety of cultures we might encounter later in the series.
Finally, I want to mention a bit about why I say this book is feminist and diverse. Obviously, you have two powerful women as protagonists, but it goes beyond that. I mentioned the positive female friendships as well, but there were also little things that struck me as interesting. For instance, there are male sex workers depicted in the book rather than just female. There is also some casual LGBTQ representation. For instance, Eliana is bisexual, two male side characters are married, and there is a harem that includes both men and women. I also liked the fact that we see Rielle and Eliana dressed up on occasion, with Rielle even being a total badass fighting with magic while wearing beautiful costumes. I always appreciate representation of women who can fight, lead, and also be feminine when they want to be.
This is much longer than my typical reviews, but it's just such a great book and I had a lot to say! Seriously, go pick it up when it comes out! It's probably going to make my top books of the year. I did receive an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.