Typically, Macalister is a wonderful world weaver, using character driven themes to construct a story that leaves you spell-bound. In this however, I was a little disappointed by the way this character driven nature was misused. It didn't effectively dive into the characterisations of individuals, and left the meaning that the reader was meant to evoke as empty.

This is a first book from this author for me. I love fantasy stories like this purported to be. Frankly I was disappointed since I was lost and battled with trying to read the story until I finally gave up. I actually tried to skip pages and read ahead to see if I could get engrossed in the story so I could come back and pick up the threads of the story.
This book and story is not for me.

This was an okay fantasy novel. I have liked the author's historical romances in the past and was interested in her take on fantasy.

Fireborn was not what I expected. The story felt oddly constructed and the pacing was like an off beat tempo. I didn't particularly like any of the characters. It's a good idea at the core but in need of refinement. I want stories to captivate me, and unfortunately, this one did not. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

What an interesting book. It took me a minute to get into the story but once I was in, I enjoyed the story. I did find the shifts in person POV to be a bit confusing as there were no indicators as well as how much time had passed. The chapters just jumped ahead in time so I would have to try and guess how much time had passed. Otherwise, I did enjoy the quick wit banter and the small moments of romance that pops up during adventure stories.

This is not the Katie Macalister you know! Fans, beware. If you are looking a light read with humorous characters, hilarious situations, romance, and/or demons in dog form, don't read this book. Sadly, this is the first Katie Macalister book that I was unable to finish. I couldn't find an ounce of sympathy for some of the main characters... I didn't even like them. The plot seems to jump around without giving a lot of backstory. Details of the setting seemed sparse and confusing. And characters' actions left me shaking my head in confusion. Fans of Aisling Grey, turn back!

Title: Fireborn
Author: Katie MacAlister
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Deo was born to fulfill a prophecy and save the world. Allegria is supposed to be just a priestess. Hallow is just an apprentice without a master. That was before invaders appeared in the land of the Starborn, threatening the entire world.

Now Allegria has left the priesthood for a chance to battle the enemy and wield the power of the sun. Hallow becomes the leader he always dreamed of becoming. And Deo wrestles with the power of the invaders, a power he doesn’t understand. Together, the three of them are the only ones who stand a chance at defeating the enemy and saving their world.

I loved the characters in this novel! I empathized with all of them (except whiny, angsty young-Deo.) and loved watching their growth. This books has everything from romance to comedy to magic, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Katie MacAlister is a bestselling author. Fireborn is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Kensington Books/Rebel Base Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

I enjoyed this book. I wasn't hooked on it but it was good. If this is a series I will be reading the next book when it comes out.

I do recommend this.

I've read many Katie Macalister book and this one confused me a little. Her previous books have all been more of a paranormal storyline while this was a fantasy. The world building was a little muddled and left me wondering about quite a few things that were never explained. I liked the characters but they seemed shallow and again, not well developed.

2,5 stars. Not the best from Mrs Macalister. A light YA fantasy, perfect for fantasy beginners.

I looooved her Aisling Grey series. So I was excited about this one. But this had 0 of her humour or charm. This book took me a very long time to finish.

Deo is not very likeable but he is a part of a prophecy that will rid the world of some great evil... not very interesting.

Allegria is the best character in the book and most interesting, really the only reason to finish it.
The sort of cliff hanger ending was meh at best and is written to make you want to read the next book instalment. I, however, found the book to forgettable and will not choose to continue.

I received this book arc from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are my own.

We will not be posting a review for this book. Had 2 reviewers try to read this and both did not finish it

This book is bad. I really loved the Aisling Grey books, and liked the books about the other dragons in that universe. But the books I have read outside that world are lacking, this one the most. First, the writing is just not good. This doesn’t read like it was written by an author with over a decade of professional experience under their belt. It reads like a self-published professionally edited book. What I mean is the grammar is correct and there aren’t spelling errors, but the pacing and changing of narration constantly between first and third person was ridiculous.

There are so many time jumps in this book it’s crazy. Growth and development of characters could’ve been explored, instead, we have just skipped ahead. Why? I can’t fathom since this is supposed to be YA. So why not let us see our leads grow up and learn magic. I think that skipping is what kept me feeling connected to the leads. Because truth be told I never really cared about what happened to anybody.

Finally, the world building was awful. It was supposed to be a medieval type world, but there wasn’t enough description. It was too generic and not as clear as a place like Westeros or Middle Earth. Also, the cultural differences and roles weren’t properly explored. Why was a Preist becoming a warrior so crazy? There are plenty of fantasy stories with Warrior Priests. Aside from eye color and borders what made Deo’s parents so different?

Basically, a lot of the book just didn’t make good sense. If it turned out some newbie ghostwriter is really responsible for this and MacAlister just let her name be on the cover for sales I wouldn’t be surprised.

After a slow start Fireborn takes off and keeps you riveted. This isn’t typical light hearted Katie MacAlister this is epic fantasy. This is trudging through the detritus of war. Dealing with the politics of prophecy and gods. It took me awhile to warm up to the characters but by the end I liked them and wanted to see them succeed. Great world building. Cliff hanger.

I do love a book with good dialogue, and Fireborn is a perfect example of what I love. The lingo used in the dialogue perfectly enhanced the bantering and flirting.

What do I love about this book? The humor, the eccentric characters, the madness, and most of all I loved Hallow! He was such wonderful, loving and funny character. He was the reason I was up late at night flipping the pages.

I cannot read a Katie MacAlister book without a smile on my face and I hope book 2 comes out soon! I need more Hallow and Deo in my life.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, so I could give an honest review.

I'm a fan of Katie Macalister and I always enjoyed her book. I had quite high expectations when I got this ARC but unfortunately they were not met.
I DFNed the book at 30%. I found that the characters and the world building were underdeveloped and the plot seemed a bit inconsistent.
I really wanted to love this book but it wasn't my cup of tea.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

DNF @ 30%. For me this book felt very childish, and not in that it was written for children, but the world building (or lack of it), the characters/relationships (superficial), and dialogue (often cringe worthy). Just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.

DNF at 40%

I first want to start off saying that I am a longtime lover of Katie Macalister books. She is hands down one of my favorite authors, and thus I jumped at the chance to start reading this book as soon as possible. I tried, I really tried and could not become engaged in the story, narrative, characters, or anything. I am not sure I can specifically point to one thing that was an issue, but more of a combination of things I did not like or it felt unsettling. Firstly, the shifting narration style and POV on the top three characters (Allegria, Deo, and Hallow) was jarring and confusing to follow. The sex scene that I read before DNF was awkward and uncomfortable. The dialog did not flow as her usual character-driven stories do. It all felt forced and unnatural. This is a shame because like I said, I love her books, but this was a hard miss for me.

I WAS REALLY ROOTING FOR THIS ONE, SADLY, I WAS DISAPPOINTED

I have read a lot of MacAlister's paranormal romance books and I especially loved her Aisling Grey-series. So naturally, I had high hopes for this one. I was expecting more of the humour, the romance and the paranormalcy, but what I got was a awkward, stilted, half-baked fantasy mess.

WHAT I DID LIKE

Deo and the goat: That's it. That's all I liked.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

Shifting narrator: There are three MCs in this book - Allegria, Deo and Hallow. They all three have their own chapters, narrated from their point of view. But here's the twist - Deo and Hallow's chapters are narrated in the 3rd person while Allegria's is narrated in the 1st person. But here's the real kicker - there's absolutely no reason for it! It adds nothing at all to the story, it only served as an irritation for me.

Smut scene: I love a good smut scene if it is well done. Usually MacAlister does them good. But not this time! It was so cringeworthy and awkward I could hardly get through it even if it was only a couple of pages long. Don't believe me, just read the following quote. You might be tempted to think that it is a joke, but nope, it was serious... Cringe!

"You don't have a fever in it [Hallow's penis], do you? Does it need doctoring?"
- Allegria to Hallow

Relationships: If you want to do a character driven fantasy novel, the relationships between the characters are of the utmost importance. Sadly, they were completely underdeveloped here. I especially wished that Deo's relationship with his father, Lord Israel, had been explored further. It would have been key to understanding and sympathizing with Deo.

Shallow worldbuilding: When it comes to fantasy so much depends on world building. So when a world is as shallow and undeveloped as this one, it makes the story hard to follow and it becomes hard to sympathize with the characters and understand their motivations.

Timeline: Time and time again the story jumped way ahead in time without any explanation of why or what happened in the meantime. It made the book feel incredibly rushed and garbled.

Plot: There was really so little to the plot, the best words I could use to describe it would be fragmented and incoherent.

DNF at 10%

I was really intrigued by the premise and the prologue was definitely one the most well crafted beginnings, but the story was all downhill after. There was no hook for me, nothing to keep me interested in the book. I was contemplating continuing anyway, because this was a review copy, when the main character straight up sexually assaulted this girl and it was pushed aside like it was nothing. That did it for me. I'm sorry, but I don't think this was my cup of tea at all.

e-ARC provided by the publishers through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a rather serious story told in a very lighthearted manner. It has a dash of mystery, a little romance, and a fun plot that keeps everything moving along quite nicely. The good guy is probably good, but he might be wrong. The bad guy isn't actually bad and may actually be right. The priestess is strong-willed, stubborn, and headstrong. She also might be wrong, but she could be right. For such a dramatic story, I was surprised to find myself giggling out loud several times. The characters are fully realized and manage to experience a good deal of growth in rapid time. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.