Furyborn: Empirium, Book 1

Book review by Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Furyborn: Empirium, Book 1 Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 15+

Riveting teen fantasy follows two fierce women warriors.

Claire Legrand Fantasy 2018
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Parents say

age 17+

Based on 3 reviews

Kids say

age 15+

Based on 5 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Furyborn is the first in a compelling fantasy trilogy by author Claire Legrand. Set in an alternative universe where angels can telepathically communicate with humans, and select humans possess mastery of an element, the bestselling book follows two young women warriors (one a paid bounty hunter/assassin, the other a queen) who are more powerful than they ever imagined. The unputdownable novel features loads of violence (both up close with swords and knives and on a vast, earth-shattering scale) and some fairly overt romance and sexuality (by the end of the book, both protagonists have had love scenes). Readers who enjoy authors like Sarah Maas and Leigh Bardugo will gravitate toward this novel.

Community Reviews

elci
elci Adult
January 24, 2020
age 18+

An okay read for a bored adult, but not something I'd give to my child unless I handed them a pack of condoms with it

My husband and I got this book as something to read out loud together to wind down in the evenings. The world is interesting, and the plot starts out great. But I agree with another reviewer that the back-and-forth perspectives were designed to end each character's chapter with an annoying cliffhanger. Toward the end of the book there is an embarrassingly melodramatic and explicit sex scene. I can't imagine a parent in their right mind who would read that scene and then recommend the book to their child unless they are absolutely assuming that their child is mature enough and ready to actually have sex. Except sex in the real world is definitely not how it is depicted here. I rolled my eyes a million times. The use of profanity also felt out of place in this fantasy novel set in a different universe--wouldn't they have their own swear words?

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
VTPharaoh
VTPharaoh Adult
July 30, 2018
age 18+

Definitely NOT Young Adult

This book is definitely NOT a Young Adult book. If that means 18-25 then sure but I think that label is targeting young teens. It is very violent and has the most explicit sex scenes in a book I've read since the first Game of Thrones book (that was the only one of those I read). It is the first time for the characters as the CSM review states but it over romanticizes it (as most media does) and will definitely do more harm than good to any young teen. I've read books with far worse language but there were a few uses of the F-word if that bothers you. Beyond that the book really isn't that great. It was very unoriginal and each chapter is written to simply leave you with a cliffhanger while it switches view points to the other character. I lost count on the number of times the main characters were knocked out or passed out for whatever reason. It's not written with any great themes or messages to enjoy, just a "I have to see what happens" plot.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

FURYBORN is Claire Legrand's first book in a fantasy series called Empirium, about two young women with supernatural powers beyond all measure in an alternative fantasy universe. The prologue starts off with Queen Rielle giving birth, pushing the baby into the hands of an 8-year-old angel-human hybrid named Simon (who can time travel), and then proceeding to destroy everything around her to get away from a telepathic angel, Corien. Then the chapters alternate between Rielle in the past and a young woman named Eliana 1,020 years later. Rielle lives during a time in which a select group have 1 out of 7 elemental powers, but she can master them all -- something her father and tutor have been keeping secret from the royal crown. When assassins threaten her best friend (and secret beloved) Audric, the kingdom's crown prince, Rielle uses several elements at once to save him (and kill the mercenaries after him). It turns out Rielle's powers deem her either the prophetic Sun Queen, who will save the world, or Blood Queen, who will destroy it (by handing it over to oppressed angels desperate to leave their realms). A millennium later, Eliana's world is post-ruin and run by an evil emperor, but she works for it anyhow as a well-paid bounty hunter for the Empire. When Eliana's mother is kidnapped, she teams up with a rebel faction to save her, only to discover she's now part of a thousand-year-long battle that connects her storyline to the legendary Queen Rielle's.

Is It Any Good?

An amazing prologue and intriguing premise make this series starter a riveting YA fantasy read, particularly among fans of ultrapowerful "chosen one" protagonists. Legrand's opening chapter is brilliant and sets the page-turning tone -- a baby, an evil queen, mentions of a lost love, and a battle between said queen and an even more mysterious angel. That's a compelling start if ever there was one. Once the story rewinds (for Rielle) and goes forward (for Eliana), it occasionally gets tripped up with more action than world-building (and definitely more steamy romance and sex positivity than is typical in YA books outside of, say, Sarah Maas' bestsellers), but readers will still want to barrel through to figure out what's happening and what turns Rielle into the character we meet in the opening pages.

Between the two main characters, Rielle is the more likable, even though readers know where her story "ends" from the start. At times she seems a bit too overwhelmed by desire for Audric (and even the sexy angel speaking in her mind) than worried for her world's future, but she is, after all, a teenager in love. Audric, for his part, is an earnest, handsome hero without any stereotypical bad-boy edge. That edginess is reserved for Simon, who's scarred and cryptic and has a complicated attraction to Eliana. The plot is super simple if excised from all the action sequences (a seven-part trial in the past, a rebel mission in the present). But younger readers unused to timeline changes may find it difficult to understand if they're rushing. Even after 500-plus pages, readers may not fully grasp the scope of what's at stake for Eliana's timeline, but they'll be ready for more of the Blood and Sun Queens in Book 2.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in Furyborn. Does reading about violence affect teens differently than seeing violence portrayed on a screen? Why?

  • One half of the story goes in reverse chronological order. Does that in any way lessen the impact of what happens to that main character?

  • Will you read more in this series? What do you think will happen to the two main characters? Which storyline do you find more compelling?

  • Do you consider any of the characters role models? If so, which ones?

Book Details

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