Goodreads Synopsis:
In this sequel to the instant New York Timesbestseller Furyborn, two queens, separated by a thousand years, connected by secrets and lies, must continue their fight amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals that will test their strength—and their hearts.
Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.
Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity’s long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana’s power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted—by embracing her mother’s power, or rejecting it forever.
My Review:
I realize this is my second review today but I just finished my book club reread of Kingsbane. Just like with Furyborn, I gained a much better understanding of what happened in the book. The characters are so well-done and their growth is explained so eloquently that it’s impossible not to see the differences between Eliana and Rielle and how they’ve both changed from the beginning of Furyborn to now.
My main critique is the level of reading needed to understand what’s happening in the book. It is not at all a leisurely read, you have to be very committed to understand what’s happening, like learning a new game or sport. Every detail is important, but there’s so many that you really have to work to remain in the know. My reread really let me dig deeper and remember things I couldn’t before, which I’m grateful for, but I wouldn’t have done this if not for the book club, so the level of understanding needed was an issue for me.
Despite this, I really love Kingsbane so much. While I react to books a lot, even during my reread when I knew what happened, things I said included:
– (loudly) F*CK
– *unintelligible screeching noise*
– WHY?!
– NOOOOOO
and more. This is such a captivating story that I could never bring myself to leave alone. I thank Claire Legrand for a truly amazing experience and the Sourcebooks Fire team for organizing the book club and bringing me to reread what’s published of the series.
I would recommend this book to people who love dark fantasy. As I believe I mentioned in my review of Furyborn, I could definitely see similarities to The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert and something about it also gives me the same feeling as Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan (I’m starting the sequel tonight). Furyborn and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas got me out of probably my biggest reading slump to the date, and I’m so grateful to have heard of these. The final book in the trilogy comes out October 13th, Lightbringer, and I can’t wait to see what Legrand does next.
I would rate this book…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5.
The Fiction Feature 