Furyborn (Empirium Trilogy Series #1)

by Claire Legrand

Overview

The first book in the instant New York Times bestselling series, the Empirium Trilogy!

Furyborn is an epic YA fantasy about 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 one of blood. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials. If she fails, she will be executed as the Blood Queen...unless the trials kill the queen 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.

Perfect for:

• Epic fantasy and dark fantasy YA readers
• Fans of To Kill A Kingdom and Ash Princess
• Lovers of dual POVs and epic world building
• Those who enjoy fiction about strong girls and women

The Empirium Trilogy:

• Furyborn (Book 1)
• Kingsbane (Book 2)
• Lightbringer (Book 3)

Praise for Furyborn:
"Set in an immersive world of elemental magic, legendary godsbeasts, and cutthroat assassins, Claire Legrand's Furyborn is an addictive, fascinating fantasy." — Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series
A BuzzFeed Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018
A Bustle Most Anticipated Title of Spring 2018
"A must-read." —Refinery29
"A series to watch." —Paste Magazine
"Visionary." —Bustle
"One of the biggest new YA Fantasies." —Entertainment Weekly
"Empowering." —BuzzFeed

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492656623
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	05/22/2018
Series:	Empirium Trilogy Series , #1
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.70(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Claire Legrand is the author of several novels for children and young adults, most notably The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, Some Kind of Happiness, Winterspell, and The Empirium Trilogy. Claire lives in Princeton, New Jersey. Visit claire-legrand.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/19/2018
This fantasy trilogy opener from Legrand (Foxheart) introduces teenagers Rielle Dardenne, a Celdarian, and Eliana Ferracora, a Venteran. Many Celdarians are able to magically control a single element, but Rielle can secretly manipulate all seven. According to legend, this means she is either the Sun Queen, who can save the world, or the Blood Queen, who can destroy it. When Rielle reveals her talent by single-handedly saving the crown prince from invaders, the king imposes a series of deadly trials designed to test her strength and prove her loyalty. A millennium later and a continent away, assassin Eliana ponders the source of her preternatural healing abilities while hunting insurgents for the Empire. When her mother vanishes, Eliana offers tactical assistance in exchange for information, thus altering the course of her future. Action and steamy romance abound, but character development takes a back seat to worldbuilding and an excessively complicated mythology. Legrand cleverly intertwines her protagonists’ seemingly discrete storylines, which unfold in alternating chapters, but her plot is overstuffed; a conclusion lacking resolution or closure will leave invested readers eager for the next installment. Ages 14–18. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Set in an immersive world of elemental magic, legendary godsbeasts, and cutthroat assassins, Claire Legrand's Furyborn is an addictive, fascinating fantasy. Truly not to be missed, this story of two fierce queens battling their way across two different eras will have you on the edge of your seat." - Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series

From the Publisher

02/01/2018
Gr 10 Up—Set in the fantasy world of Aritas, this novel alternates between the stories of two dynamic young women. Rielle is forced to use her elemental magic in order to save her best friend, the Crown Prince, during a disastrous horse race. In response, the King forces her to undergo seven trials to discover if she is the Sun Queen, a long prophesied savior of their people, or the Blood Queen, bringer of destruction. One thousand years in the future, Eliana is a bounty hunter working to keep her family alive in a kingdom long conquered by the Undying Empire. When her mother disappears, she has to decide if joining the rebels or ingratiating herself to the Empire will give her a better chance of bringing her family back together. By the time Eliana is coming of age, the stories of magic, angels, and Saints are thought of as myths, but Eliana will learn that there is still a cosmic battle being waged that she and Rielle have both fought in their own ways. The book gets off to a slow start due to the large amount of world-building devoted to the planned trilogy. However, once the story truly gets underway, it quickly becomes a page-turner. Readers will find the complex and flawed characters immensely relatable. The two narratives are deftly interwoven, and plot twists will keep teens on the edge of their seats. Frank descriptions of masturbation and a graphic sex scene make this appropriate for older teens. VERDICT A good choice where Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Kate Elliott's Court of Fives are popular.—Sunnie Scarpa, Wallingford Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

2018-02-20
Two girls separated by a thousand years are connected by a prophecy.In a prologue, readers learn that pale-skinned Queen Rielle has killed her husband, the biracial Audric. She gives birth to their baby while a war between angels and humans rages. To keep the infant safe from the angels' leader, light-skinned Corien, Rielle desperately charges a child with magical abilities to use his gifts to flee with and protect her—with mixed success. Later chapters alternate between telling Rielle's story and flashing forward 1,020 years to focus on olive-skinned Eliana. Following a childhood tragedy, Rielle hid her staggering ability to control all seven elements until a threat against her beloved Audric caused her to reveal her gifts, prompting the Magisterial Council to impose seven trials to determine whether she was the Sun Queen or Blood Queen spoken of in prophecy. While readers start off knowing her story's end, a steamy romance and devious twists along the way pack surprises. Eliana, meanwhile, is a deadly bounty hunter—serving an evil empire in order to protect her own family—who gets mixed up with rebels when her mother is abducted. The rigid, cliffhanger-heavy chapter structure is supported by breakneck pacing and constant action. The ending leaves neither storyline resolved.High stakes, epic scope, intense action, and sweeping mythologies. (element guide) (Fantasy. 15-adult)

Kirkus Reviews

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