Tag Archives: Claire Legrand

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand – a Review

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A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand – a Review

 

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Description:
Lady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She’s young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin—embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family—often forget Gemma exists.

Worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong.

Then she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan d’Astier. His family destroyed themselves, seduced by a demon, and Talan, the only survivor, is determined to redeem their honor. Intrigued and enchanted, Gemma proposes a bargain: She’ll help Talan navigate high society if he helps her destroy the Basks. According to popular legend, a demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families’ blood feud—slay the demon, end the feud.

But attacks on the Middlemist are increasing. The plot against the Basks quickly spirals out of control. And something immense and terrifying is awakening in Gemma, drawing her inexorably toward Talan and an all-consuming passion that could destroy her—or show her the true strength of her power at last.

 

 

Review:

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand is the first book in her new The Middlemist Trilogy.  Each book is expected to follow each of the Ashbourne sisters. We meet Lady Imogen ‘Gemma’ Ashbourne at the start, as she is the youngest sister of three Ashbourne sisters.  The Ashbourne family was anointed by the gods, blessed with amazing abilities.  Gemma is the only one who does not have magic abilities; instead, her body suffers from chronic illness from magic surrounding her.  Gemma is beautiful, and outgoing, but also lonely, since her sister Mara was taken away to the Middlemist, to be a guard protecting Rosewarren.  Her father and other sister, Farrin see how much she suffers, and tend to often forget about her; not to mention her mother abandoned the family many years ago.  

During a party, Gemma meets Talan d’Astier, a charming handsome man, who immediately forms an attraction to Gemma.  Talan is determined to restore his family name and business, and Gemma offers a proposal to help her defeat the Basks (enemies), and she’ll help him redeem the family honor and respect.  In a short time, both Talan and Gemma began to have deep passionate feelings for each other.  He was so sweet and caring, especially with his ability to take away Gemma’s pain.  Gemma will learn more about Talon that will cause her to lose trust in him, especially with a demon called The Man with the Three Eyed Crown having some control over Talon. Can she help him fight this evil demon and save him?

Gemma is kidnapped by evil necromancers, as she shows signs of coming into her powers, with her slowly winning the friendship of some of the Villa group, such as Phaidra, Lulath, Nesset who will help her escape and become part of her group.  What follows is the increasing attacks in the Middlemist, which brings Mara and Farrin into the mix to fight the attacks, as well as the Basks (Ryder & Alastrina), who also join in to help defeat the enemies, as well as the demon controlling Talon. 

A Crown of Ivy and Glass was a very good story focusing on sisterhood, romance, mystery, gods, demons and magic. I really loved Gemma and Talon together, as well as her wonderful sisters. The secondary characters were very good. The last half of the book was very exciting, especially when Gemma uses her powers to defeat the enemy, and fight the demon inside of Talon.  A Crown of Ivy and Glass was very well written by Claire Legrand. I look forward to see which sister is next, as well as Talon hiding from the demon, and when he may return.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Extasia by Claire Legrand – a Review

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Extasia by Claire Legrand – a Review

 

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Description:
Her name is unimportant.

All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain–an evil which has already killed nine of her village’s men.

She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove.

Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother’s shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?

 

 

Review:

Extasia by Claire Legrand is a stand-alone YA horror novel. I loved Legrand’s Empirium trilogy, and decided to read this book.  Extasia is set in a dystopian future where a small group of men have created an oppressively patriarchal, abusive power in Haven.  I must add on that after reading the last chapter of this book, I suspect there will be another book from this world.

Amity, our heroine, has waited all her life to be chosen as a saint, and today she will become the 4th saint of Haven.  She looks forward to stand with her sisters to fight evil; though in this book, evil is indeed the people of Haven. The punishment given to the saints is horrific and terrible, as the elders allow the people beat up the girls during ‘visitations’ based on their hatreds/unhappiness.

Amity has been getting strange vibes, and when two of the other saints convince her to travel to meet the witches, who proclaim that Extasia has been calling her. She begins to see creatures and wraiths; in a short time, she learns spells/magic and becomes very powerful. Is she supposed to protect Haven or are the Elders a cult, betraying and harming the girls?

Amity goes through a journey that changes her drastically; she begins to question what the Elders have done, and why are women always hurt, blamed and punished; and the men are allowed everything. Very heartbreaking. As Amity’s powers continue to grow, she tries to understand what she sees in ghost appearances, learning spells from the witches, and trying to stop all the vicious murders in Haven; but she knows that the lies the Elders used on them needed to be stopped, and perhaps the Devil is truly the safe one.

I liked when the 4 saints changed their names in the book created by the witches; Amity became Rage, Mercy became Vengeance, Silence became Sorrow, and Blessing (her sister) became Hunger.  The girls were great characters, especially Blessing and Silence; and I did admire many of the witches, even though they were murderers.  Amity had a boyfriend (really best friend), Samuel, who was nice and loyal to her. 

Extasia was a very dark and violent story line. I did not know what to expect when I started this book, but surprisingly, Claire Legrand managed to pull me in from the start and despite all the evil, I ended up really liking this book.  This is a difficult review to write, as saying too much more would be spoilers; you really need to read this to understand it all.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Lightbringer by Claire Legrand – a Review

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Lightbringer by Claire Legrand – a Review

 

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Description:
In this epic finale to the Empirium Trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claire Legrand, two queens, separated by a thousand years must face their ultimate destinies.

Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. Separated from Audric and Ludivine, she embraces the role of Blood Queen and her place by Corien’s side, determined to become the monster the world believes her to be.

In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire’s capital as a broken shell of herself. Betrayed and abandoned, she fights to keep her power at bay—and away from Corien, who will stop at nothing to travel back in time to Rielle, even if that means destroying her daughter.

But when the mysterious Prophet reveals themselves at last, everything changes, giving Rielle and Eliana a second chance for salvation—or the destruction their world has been dreading.

 

 

Review:

Lightbringer by Claire Legrand is the 3rd and final book in her Empirium trilogy.  I waited with high anticipation for this final book of this trilogy, and am happy to say that LeGrand did a masterful job of ending this to our satisfaction. Refresher: The theme of this trilogy revolves around two heroines, Rielle and her daughter, Eliana; one destined to be the Blood Queen (who would destroy the world) and the other to be the Sun Queen (who is the Queen of Light and Salvation).

Lightbringer picks up immediately after the cliffhanger in Kingsbane, where Rielle fully embraces her role as the Blood Queen, even though she is now pregnant.  Her powers, with help from the controlling evil angel, Corien, continue to grow to unstoppable proportions, opening the gate to allow the bad angels to wreak havoc on the world.  Legrand gives us amazing look into Rielle as she descends into the darkness as the madness controls her.

Eliana, whose POV is in current time, a thousand years after Rielle, has been captured by the Emperor (Corien), who uses his powers to invade her mind, causing her to suffer badly, but she is determined not to give in to him despite the horrifying pain.  She also is filled with hatred to Simon, who betrayed her with Corien, leading to her capture.  Corien wanted Eliana to use her powers to allow Simon to bring them back to the time when Rielle was alive.  While Eliana suffers, she begins to hear a voice talking to her, and teaching her to do things to enable her escape. Who is this person, the Prophet?  I loved Eliana, who was strong, independent, powerful and a true wonderful heroine.

At the same time, Audric (Rielle’s husband, who still loves her despite her terrible deeds), has escaped his territory taken over by an evil cousin, and eventually will gather friends to help him fight Corien.  We do get a few other POV’s, such as Audric, Ludivine, Simon, Navi, Jessamyn & Zahra. 

The last half of the book was an amazing and epic climax that kept me glued to my kindle, unable to put it down.  There was so many things happening, you couldn’t blink or you would miss something.  All these characters from Eliana to Rielle to Audric and all the secondary characters played a major role in all the pieces falling into place, changing the end game as Rielle and Eliana story reaches its climatic ending.  To say too much more would be spoilers, and this is one ending you need to read.

Lightbringer was an intense, exciting, emotional and wonderful ending to this fabulous trilogy, with major twists along the way.    It was such a great finale, and I loved how Legrand pulled it all together so seamlessly, as well as being a befitting ending.  Well done by Claire Legrand, as Lightbringer was a terrific conclusion.

Reviewed by Barb

Owned copy

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Kingsbane by Claire Legrand – Review & Giveaway

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Kingsbane by Claire Legrand –  Review & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
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.

 

 

Review:

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand is the 2nd book in her YA Fantasy Empirium series.  When we left off in Furyborn, Reille Dardenne managed to come through her trials to prove that she is the Sun Queen, though we knew from the start that she was indeed the Blood Queen, and gave birth to a girl; a baby she handed off to Simon ( a young boy) to bring her to safety, away from the evil angel, Corien. 

Eliana Ferracora is in fact, Reille’s daughter (1000 years after her death), and she is just learning about her powers and who her mother really was.  In Kingsbane, we continue the story in the past about Rielle prior to her death, leading up to her being the Blood Queen.  In the present, Eliana must learn to how to use her powers, as well as accept her destiny to save the world and be their savior as the Sun Queen.

To understand a bit better the theme of this series:  Many years prior to Rielle’s time, there was a Prophecy that claims sometime in the future the evil angels locked away for centuries will return and wreck havoc across the world, and two women will rise; one made of Blood and the other of Light. A Queen of Blood and Destruction and a Queen of Light and Salvation; hence the Blood Queen and the Sun Queen.  Kingsbane continues the two pov’s of the past with Rielle, and the present with Eliana.

Rielle continues her journey to prove to she is the Sun Queen, and in doing so must collect the castings of the saints. Wherever she goes, she has her love and the future king of Cedaria, Audric and her trusted friend (and secret angel), Ludivine traveling with her.  I really liked them in Furyborn, as they are what holds Rielle together, to prevent the evil Corien from pulling her to his side. The evil Corien was very powerful, not only a voice in Rielle’s head, but also appearing to her in her dreams.    I also adored her Dragon, Altheria.   But Rielle has her issues controlling her anger, when she is faced with others not believing in her, causing more dissent.

Eliana continues to grow into her power, accepting with each passing day that though she has her mother’s powers, but she is not evil, and is indeed the true Sun Queen.  I loved Eliana, even though she may have been stubborn, she eventually was ready to rise up and help all those she loved.  In time, she was a tough and terrific heroine, and was willing to put her own life on the line to save others. 

There were a wonderful cast of secondary characters for Eliana too; Simon, Remy, Zahra, Navi, Harkan, and those who began to believe in her.    Kingsbane was an intense and wonderful continuation of this fabulous trilogy, with a major surprise twist at the end.  This can be considered as a cliff hanger; making it a difficult long wait for the final book in this trilogy.  Kingsbane was another excellently written book by Claire Legrand, with quite a few surprises that had us holding our breaths, as well as leaving us hanging.    Now we wait impatiently to see if the Sun Queen will rise up and save them all.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

Claire Legrand is graciously offering a paper copy of KINGSBANE to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

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7. Giveaway runs from May 20 to 24, 2019

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Furyborn by Claire Legrand – a Review

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Furyborn by Claire Legrand – a Review

 

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Description:
Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world…or doom it.

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.

 

 

Review:

Furyborn by Claire Legrand is the first book in her new Empirium YA fantasy series. Furyborn starts off with a bang, as we meet the feared Blood Queen Rielle, who has just given birth to a baby girl.  Knowing that evil wants her baby, Rielle gives her child to a young boy to take her away and protect her; feeling the  anger of the evil being coming, Rielle takes her own life.  What a way to start and grab our attention.  Furyborn follows two women, one in the past and one a thousand years later, with both women being extremely powerful and destined to either destroy or save the world.

One Pov is Reille Dardenne (before she became the Blood Queen), as we learn about her and her two best friends, Audric and Ludivine.  Rielle has always had secret powers that her father and trainer would teach her how to control everything.  When she comes across Audric being attacked, Rielle comes to his rescue using her hidden powers, which will change her life forever. 

The Prophecy claims that sometime in the future the evil angels locked away for centuries will return and wreck havoc across the world, and two women will rise; one made of Blood and the other of light. “a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction’.  The King and his court are disturbed by the revelation of Rielle’s powers, with some threatening to have her killed.  She is forced to prove that she is indeed the Sun Queen and loyal to the kingdom by undergoing seven trials of different elemental magic, of which she must complete every one, or be executed.

Eliana Ferracora is a bounty hunter (1000 plus years after the death of Rielle), also known as the Dread of Ornline.  Eliana has been trained by her mother to be an assassin and bury her feelings within, and do what is expected of her as a bounty hunter for her kingdom .  Eliana protects her family, as she needs the money to take care of Remy ,her brother and her mother to survive, and forces herself not to let what she does consume her.  When her mother disappears, Eliana is desperate and agrees to help Simon, one of the leaders of the rebellion, in order to find her mother.  Eliana is an amazing fierce and tough heroine, though her stubbornness was annoying at times.  Eliana has the ability since she was a child to self heal, but had no idea why.  Though there is no romance between them, there is a bond that will develop between Simon and Eliana and she will learn the truth about whom and what she is.  

What follows is an intense exciting dark and intriguing story switching between two time periods separated by over a 1000 years.  Rielle will fight with help from her friends, Audric and Ludivine to survive her violent trials, as well as from the angel who helps and makes her even more powerful.  Corien, the angel is truly the villain in both time periods.  It was amazing to see Rielle fight and rise above the terrible challenges for each elemental magic.

Eliana will become part of the rebellion in order to survive, protect Remy and find her mother; she will also come to understand the role she will eventually have to play. In a desperate attempt to save Simon and the rebels, she will learn more about her inner powers. 

Claire Legrand does a masterful job creating the two main characters, as well as many of these fascinating characters (Simon, Remy, Audric, Ludivine, Navi, etc).  The storyline between the two women flows seamlessly and keeps our interest throughout this complex world. 

These two women are fierce, strong, with flaws and weaknesses, and both very different, but their spirit is enduring.   Two storylines a thousand years apart, that weave together flawlessly that surprised me how well Legrand wrote this.   There are some surprises along the way, and though we know what happens to Rielle in her time, the book leaves off with Eliana stepping up into the role she was destined to be.  Furyborn was very well written by Claire Legrand, and has us impatiently waiting to see if the Sun Queen will rise and save them all. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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