This book has absolutely earned its hype, the "most anticipated" title that it's being marketed with it is also well-deserved. It's a rare thing to find a single fantasy story that is original, exciting and full of powerful, intriguing characters, let alone two within one book. Rielle and Eliana's stories are connected, yes, but it's not in an in-your-face obvious way, which serves Furyborn very well. But for a few overlapping elements, they each read as fantastic, nearly standalone stories in their own right, and the way author Claire Legrand deftly weaves them together adds tremendously to the depth and magnitude of the plot. It's so interesting to see both sides of the coin in one story - Rielle's story provides the lead-up to an earthshaking event (which we get tantalizing hints of in the prologue), and Eliana's story is set in the devastatingly brutal Empire left in the aftermath of Rielle's time. In books with multiple POVs, I personally find it nearly impossible to not have a clear favorite, but in Furyborn, both Rielle and Eliana are strong, compelling, and fascinating in their own ways. I truly did not have a favorite, and was only tempted once to skip a chapter and get a peek ahead, and skimming can be a huge problem for me in other books. Fabulous writing, action, character development, worldbuilding, magic...everything. Fabulous everything.