“We all have darkness inside us, Rielle,” he said, his voice rough. “That is what it means to be human.”

Social issues are becoming the forefront of every conversation, and though I agree that these topics need to be discussed, not everyone makes decisions solely to ask the questions. I don’t know the reason why Legrand covered a few more taboo topics in her book, but I didn’t even recognize their significance because for me the inclusion of a masturbation scene seemed natural. I appreciate that she doesn’t shy away, or even that the editor let her include it, in this world where natural human instinct is no longer being kept secret. So, a long round of applause.

And really this delves right into my thoughts about Furyborn. The story is different. I struggled with explaining why… but then I look at the above comment and realize that's why. Instead of hinting, fading to black and forcing the reader to make assumptions, Legrand lays out her scenes bright and bold. Female sexuality is blatant. Homosexuality is hinted as a plot. The general idea that females can be powerful as well as physically superior. My thoughts are that this wasn’t done to make a statement. Everything was laid out because to Legrand, and many of us in the world, this is a natural mindset.

I wasn’t brought up to believe a certain way about things. Instead, my mind formed it’s own conclusion on the world. Many times my husband reminds me that the average person does not think the same way I do. For once, here was a book forged into the mindset of my own thoughts.

To be clear, for those that tend to ask authors - no, this is not a clean book, though I don’t even know what the definition of clean is.

Now to the actual synopsis. Furyborn is set millennia apart. One world, a noble with power that could be the savior in stopping the gate from falling, unleashing those sentenced to purgatory for crimes in the past. The other, a killer set to keep herself and her family alive until she must help those she kills to save her mother. And through it all, one source of control bent on revenge to a war that took power and life from them.

Throughout the book, we jump between the two protagonists.

To be honest… I almost put this book down never to return. I HATED the beginning. For a solid two days, I kept sighing loudly and grunting out each sentence. I cursed the book club for agreeing to read it. Sometimes book clubs do save the day, and because I must finish books for the meeting, I trudged on. Boy am I glad I did. After page 70 the whole thing takes a major upswing.

Legrand created a massive learning curve for her readers. She isn’t nice about it either, letting us slowly dip our toes into the water and test out our thoughts. No. We are thrown right in left to either sink or swim. Well, I sunk, but luckily a little life saver came along and pulled me to safety. There is no way someone could say that she shows her iceberg. That thing is kept firmly under wraps. Legrand slowly doles out the information piece by piece until you finally place all the puzzle pieces together and form a picture.

Clue - make sure to pay attention to the excerpts at the beginning. They hold more information than you would assume.

Overall, I loved this book. Rielle and Eliana are excellent characters. Eliana is more developed in my opinion, and I really appreciate her tone. The seemingly bad character is the one we are forced to love - though I didn’t find it hard. It poses the question of what would you do in her situation. Rielle felt repetitive in her plot. A lot of the same thoughts and action not repeated, but played out over and over. Her development lends more to personal relationships. There is a large emphasis that the story really revolves around her, which might be the reason she falls flat. The reader expects more, especially after the way she enters the story. Where the plot is going, I think that she will have a more developed role in the next book.

So much happens in this book, your suspension of belief might be a little stretched. Most authors choose to make one topic the stretch but Legrand adds in a whole system. I love her take on angels. These are not your grandmother’s angelic creatures. They are dark and sinister and just the way I like them. Some people complained that her magic system needed to be explained more, but I was fine with going along for the ride. The story doesn’t need it to be enjoyed. I did just fine though I’m also one that doesn’t require every detail of a world mapped out.

So if you want an action-packed story, with time travel, magic, angels, and love, then grab this one from the shelves. You might hate me after when you have to wait a year for the next one. I know that I hate myself. A year is too long. My overall rating is 4.5 stars and only because the ending fell flat. Plus, there was a scene that made no sense, or at least I missed how we got from point A to point B.

Happy Reading.

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 55/100