Before getting started with the discussion, I’d love to thank Angie Elle from Books & Beauty are my Bag for coming over to Birdie Bookworm to review this with me.  I love our discussions, and I’m so glad she had time to chat with me!  I really really needed someone to break Furyborn down with, so:

Thank you Angie!

Now, before you keep reading, this is the second half of our discussion.  If you just read my part you’re going to be shoved right into the middle of our conversation.  You’ll miss our talk about Furyborn’s dual POV and the World Building.  Don’t do that.  Go read Part 1 at BaBAMB first, and then come back.

Go on.  I’ll wait.

*Please beware of spoilers for Furyborn in our discussion below!
For Birdie’s spoiler free review, click here.

Furyborn by Claire Lagrand
Empirium #1
YA Fantasy
Sourcebooks Fire | May 22, 2018

Part 2

Furyborn was classified as Young Adult, but the story was very sexual.  Did this alter your perception of the book and characters?

Birdie Bookworm: I did find it a bit surprising.  I read sexual books, but I’ve never read a YA with this much sexual content.  It wasn’t just sexual acts, it was the language too. I definitely thought it should be considered NA.

Angie Elle: This is going to make me sound prudish, but I thought it was too much. It didn’t alter my perception because I didn’t have one before I read it, but I wasn’t sold on the necessity of it with Eliana’s character.

Birdie Bookworm: I got that Eliana was seductive, and she used it against both men and women, but there was just too much of it all over.  It was Rielle too. She thought about sex constantly, even with her life on the line it was always in the forefront. It was all over the place, and maybe I’m too much of a traditional Fantasy lover, but I thought it was jarring.

There were a multitude of relatively important side characters.  Did you find any of them as standout? Did any of them bother you?

Birdie Bookworm: I am very intrigued by Wolf.  There’s so much about his history that we haven’t learned yet, and I’m really dying to know.  I think he may be my favorite character, in that he’s the most interesting. I also enjoyed Eliana’s brother Remy, and I liked Eliana’s best friend Harkan.  Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I was more drawn to the side characters from Eliana’s chapters. None of the Rielle’s friends made me feel anything strong.

Angie Elle: I am interested to learn more about Navi, and I liked Harkan, too. He and Remy were the only things that made me like any part of Eliana – her love for them was her only redeeming quality for me. And this may be odd – but I like the Audric I created in my head. I think that I romanticized he and Rielle so much it made me love him, but to be honest, the way he was written, he had no agency. And that bothered me a bit. It’s like he was there just to get Rielle pregnant. We need to find a happy medium with agency for male and female characters in the same story.

Villains are a very important part of a Fantasy novel.  How did you feel about Corian or the other evils in Furyborn?

Birdie Bookworm: So far I’m underwhelmed by all of them.  When I think about my read, none of them or their interactions with our heroine’s really blew me away.  I have a feeling it will change as the story moves on though.

Angie Elle: You’re right. So far they are underwhelming, but I think there is a lot more to Corien than we’ve seen. I think his character will eventually blow me away, but for now I am more interested in the fact that Rahzavel and the others are able to resurrect themselves than I am that they’re villains.

At our core, we’re both ‘romance’ fans, so it has to be asked:  How did you feel about the romances/potential romances for both Rielle and Eliana?

Birdie Bookworm: In hindsight, I think what most stayed with me was Eliana’s story.  I liked the way things are going, and while there wasn’t all that much romance in her chapters, I foresee very great things… I love a slower burn.

Angie Elle: Eh – that’s how I feel about both romantic storylines. I think Simon is falling for the idea of Eliana than the actual young woman. And if Audric had the agency he had in my head, that would make Rielle’s romance much more interesting and credible.

There’s always hope for a Happy Ending, however with how the prologue started the story it’s hard to see this ending on a good note.  Does the possibility of a tragic ending color your read?

Birdie Bookworm: I spent a lot of my time trying to figure out how all of these characters can end happily, and I just know I’m not going to get that in the end.  I think it makes me fret some. It’s like, while reading you can see how things will end up and you keep hoping something would change. It reminded me of watching Titanic, and even though I KNOW the ship sinks, I still hoped for a different ending!

Angie Elle: Oh my word. I am a sucker for a good tragedy, and it’s even better if I see it coming! I think a good tragedy stays with me so much more than a happy ending, and while I resent that, I also revel in it! I’ll never let go, Wendy. 😉

What did you think about the ending?

Angie Elle:  I found the ending to be underwhelming. I think the ice battle was more epic in the author’s mind than it was on page; it didn’t satisfy me. Also, I feel like the end was about checking off character deaths more than getting the plot to a good place to leave the story. That being said, I still loved this book and can’t wait for the next!

Birdie Bookworm:  Both endings were meh, so far, but I definitely liked Eliana’s more -if we’re keeping score, lol.  I felt Eliana’s grief in her intimate battle more than the loss of anyone from Rielle’s side. I’m definitely looking forward to the next read, but I think (regardless of how unlikeable she can be) it’s Eliana that will bring me back.

Thanks so much for reading!
And if you’ve read Furyborn, we’d love to know your thoughts too!  How did you feel about the characters, the world, and the plot?
Chat with us!