Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Series: The Empirium Trilogy #1
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult
Published by Sourcebooks Fire (5.22.2018)
ARC, 491 pages
Source: I own it (Illumicrate)
When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.
A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire 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.
I read to page 167, skimmed to the end, then read most of the ending.
I didn’t care for the writing style at ALL – I was bored and not even remotely engaged. The story was interesting but just didn’t do it for me. Despite being a cool idea, it felt predictable and generic. Tricked by a pretty cover and the hype monster yet again…
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Series: Seraphina #1
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult
Published by Random House (7.1.2012)
Paperback, 528 pages
Source: I own it
In the kingdom of Goredd, dragons and humans live and work side by side – while below the surface, tensions and hostility simmer.
The newest member of the royal court, a uniquely gifted musician named Seraphina, holds a deep secret of her own. One that she guards with all of her being.
When a member of the royal family is brutally murdered, Seraphina is drawn into the investigation alongside the dangerously perceptive—and dashing—Prince Lucien. But as the two uncover a sinister plot to destroy the wavering peace of the kingdom, Seraphina’s struggle to protect her secret becomes increasingly difficult… while its discovery could mean her very life.
I made it exactly 54 pages in and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I hated the awful sophomoric writing, was bored as hell, and the weird mental garden WTFery was just too much for me to handle. It’s really a shame, I’ve been wanting to read this book for years and was excited to finally pick it up. Maybe I’ll try again one day, but probably not. Now I’m afraid to pick up Tess of the Road.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #1
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult
Published by Random House (9.29.2015)
Hardcover, 465 pages
Source: I own it
Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.
I finally decided to give up on the audio of this, after almost two months. It was my second attempt, and I wasn’t enjoying it any better I’m afraid. The narrators were pretty good – I liked that there were separate narrators, but the story itself just wasn’t inspiring enough to keep me interested even with decent narrators. 188 pages in and I was bored out of my ever loving mind. I found the writing style mundane and the plot (or lack thereof??) boring. The only thing I remotely liked were the characters that I’d heard so much about.
Narration wise, I liked it. The full cast was great. My favorite was definitely the voice of Kaz! However, while Jesper had a great voice, I hated him as a narrator. He narrated everything in EXACTLY THE SAME voice, which made his chapters super confusing because I couldn’t tell who was talking.
I have had a hard time with Six of Crows I was thinking of trying the audio. Good to know!
You’re one of the first people I’ve seen who have DNFd Six of Crows. It’s a real shame you didn’t like it. And I have an ARC of Furyborn and I’m kind of afraid to read it. A lot of people have been raving about it but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not going to end up liking it.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy any of these books! I read Seraphina a long time ago and I remember that I really enjoyed it, but I don’t know how I would feel when I read it now. I like Six of Crows, but I am one of the few people who thinks the Grisha trilogy is better than the duology. I haven’t read Furyborn but I am excited to, sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I hope your next read will be better!