Lightbringer
In Claire Legrand’s Lightbringer, Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. 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.
It's funny how I’ve felt about each book in this trilogy. I loved Furyborn but didn’t enjoy Kingsbane that much, and by the time I finished Lightbringer, I thought it was a great way to end this series. Out of the two queens, Eliana was my favourite. She grew so much from the first book all the way to the end. I’m glad she found a way to save her mother, and the future, from Corien. She managed to convince Rielle to defeat Corien, giving Eliana the chance to grow up where she was meant to.
Defeating Corien did have its downsides, though. Eliana’s little brother never existed, or at least not by the time Legrand ended Lightbringer. And Eliana and Simon’s relationship in the other timeline never existed, either. Yet Legrand did hint that the two had a special bond, and who knows? By the time Eliana grows up, she and Simon could have a romantic relationship again. It would just look much different from the one they experienced in Kingsbane.
Rielle’s decision to leave Audric and Eliana was sad, especially knowing how devastated Audric would be by her choice, but I think it was best for Rielle. She was suffering, and she stayed as long as she could for Eliana. Her decision to close the Gate and cut off magic was interesting, and I suspect there’s room for another book that would explain what problem she saw in the future that would require all but her daughter’s magic to be gone.
Lightbringer was an epic finale to this high-stakes fantasy series.
Lightbringer Rating: ★★★★
It's funny how I’ve felt about each book in this trilogy. I loved Furyborn but didn’t enjoy Kingsbane that much, and by the time I finished Lightbringer, I thought it was a great way to end this series. Out of the two queens, Eliana was my favourite. She grew so much from the first book all the way to the end. I’m glad she found a way to save her mother, and the future, from Corien. She managed to convince Rielle to defeat Corien, giving Eliana the chance to grow up where she was meant to.
Defeating Corien did have its downsides, though. Eliana’s little brother never existed, or at least not by the time Legrand ended Lightbringer. And Eliana and Simon’s relationship in the other timeline never existed, either. Yet Legrand did hint that the two had a special bond, and who knows? By the time Eliana grows up, she and Simon could have a romantic relationship again. It would just look much different from the one they experienced in Kingsbane.
Rielle’s decision to leave Audric and Eliana was sad, especially knowing how devastated Audric would be by her choice, but I think it was best for Rielle. She was suffering, and she stayed as long as she could for Eliana. Her decision to close the Gate and cut off magic was interesting, and I suspect there’s room for another book that would explain what problem she saw in the future that would require all but her daughter’s magic to be gone.
Lightbringer was an epic finale to this high-stakes fantasy series.
Lightbringer Rating: ★★★★