Nov 11

Nov 11 Lightbringer (Empirium, #3)

Author: Claire Legrand
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

***Description is spoiler for Furyborn and Kingsbane***

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.

TL;DR Review

Lightbringer isn’t perfect, but it is the sweeping, exciting, heart-wrenching conclusion to the Empirium Trilogy we’ve been waiting for!

For you if: You read and loved Furyborn and Kingsbane.

Full Review

“Love is the one constant force that no violence or despair can diminish. We must hold onto the light of this truth, even when the world grows dark. Especially then.”

I’ve been waiting for Lightbringer since the moment I finished Kingsbane, which ended on a huge cliffhanger! And finally, a few weeks ago, it landed in my hands — all 600 pages of it. And now, friends, I’ve experienced the exciting ending we’ve been waiting for.

I’m not going to recap the plot because I don’t want to spoil the first two books, but here’s the 1,000-foot view of the series: We have two main characters, 1,000 years apart: Rielle, who has more magic than anyone else, and Eliana, who fights her way through the world that was created when Rielle fell.

Lightbringer itself was great. I do think that it could have been shorter, and the pacing in the first half frustrated me a little. But the ending was worth it. So good!!! My heart!! I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you liked the first two books, I think you’ll be happy with this conclusion.

If you like to read adult fantasy series about characters who love big, fight hard, and bleed for a better world, then this is the one for you. READ IT.