I’m glad that of all things in this book I experienced, romance was not the central focus of this book. Books about the after effects of revolution and characters affected who survive the perils of such a world have to have a delicate balance to attract readers and with the plus of dragons, I feel this book did it for me. I know romance can be important, but it isn’t always necessary to have it. I want to say I feel like, just for a moment while reading this book, I was transported back to the concepts brought in the Dragon Riders of Pern, just a little, and I love that series. I look forward to the next book and how this world and the people within it grow, for better or for worse.

I am really disappointed it has taken me a while to pick up this book, and I am glad I did. It had many aspects I liked, fantasy, political intrigue, revolutions, and dragons!
The story was very meaningful, we follow two orphans, Annie born a serf and Lee born an aristocrat but pretending to be a serf, both dragon riders competing to become First Rider. Both main characters find themselves thrown into a revolution between the new regime and the surviving members of Dragonlord families wanting to reclaim their power.

I felt that this book was a slow burn, in the beginning it felt a little slow but I really enjoyed the interactions between the main characters and the side characters. I do think that it paid off in the end, when the plot began to pick up the pace. Can’t wait to see where the next book leads us, hopefully to more dragons!

Thank you, Net Galley and the publisher, for offering this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions in my review are my own.

This was an absolutely brilliant debut and I was completely captivated by it from start to finish.

The world-building in this book and the plotting of the story are fantastic. I loved how detailed linked everything was. One of the things that really shows a great fantasy read for me is when I feel like I have been enveloped by the story and I am actually right there living it. I got that with this book. I felt totally immersed in the story. I loved all the political points in the story. I love nothing more than a good story about differences in class. It always makes for a compelling story and Munda certainly knows how to seed this into her story to get the most powerful effects.

I loved how distinct the personalities of the characters were. Both main characters are complex in their own right and I loved how the author makes the getting-to-know-you part so intimate. When it comes down to it, Annie and Lee are opposites but they have shared experiences in their past that connect them. Many of their past experiences are the same even though they react to them differently. It was so easy to connect to Annie and Lee. Their emotions are so tangible in the story that it brings their characters to life.

Overall, this was an incredibly emotional tale about found family and the family that we ultimately choose. This is an unforgettable story and I am so eager to find out what happens next in this series. I applaud the author on a mesmerizing debut!

This was a case of one of the POVs not working for me and resulting in the story taking a toll. Additionally, the first quarter was a bit of a slower paced story building than what I would have liked.

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda is the first book of the young adult fantasy The Aurelian Cycle series. Told from multiple points of view this fantasy is one of young dragonriders dealing with a world with plenty of political intrigue with a small bit of romance added into the mix.

Annie and Lee are both orphans that were born into a world in the middle of a brutal revolution. Annie and Lee came from very different backgrounds in their world, Annie had been a lowborn while Lee had been an aristocrat but with the revolution everyone was eligible to become a dragonrider and status was based on their abilities leaving Annie and Lee both rising stars now.

To me Fireborne was one of those so-so young adult novels that the biggest downfall to me was the incredibly slow pace of the story. By the end of this one the action certainly picked up but I would have loved for that to have happen much sooner. I also felt the story could have flowed better between the characters sometimes along with needing to dig deeper into action.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'll read anything with dragons so combine this with saying it was also like one of my favorite sci-fi series, Red Rising, and I knew I had to read it. This was an in-depth high fantasy full of intrigue and shifting relationships recovering from revolution. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs because of the dimensions they add, especially in a fantasy like this one. However, my expectations might have been too high after expecting it to be like my favorite books and it fell prey to being a high fantasy that had a tendency to drag on. I liked the side characters better than the main POVs who were tied down in drama and miscommunication offenses.

I love dragons, but unfortunately there was little actual dragon content-- the aspect of who was given the opportunity to ride was more the focus of it than the dragons themselves. So if you're picking up this book for dragon battles, you're going to be disappointed. This book is centered around integrity, loyalty, friendship, atonement, and understanding, while dealing heavily with politics, hierarchy, and how war propaganda is so readily accepted.

I love how the riders could emotionally communicate with their dragons, one's emotions affecting the other's! It's both a strength and a weakness. However, the lack of interaction between them was very disappointing.

It's fast-paced, but there's very little world-building and when there is, it's shallow and vague. The one character who felt truly fleshed out was Power, a reoccurring minor character who felt real. Nothing really happened for about 90% of this story. And the last 10% of the book, where things really started to happen, felt super rushed. The 'villain' of this book was sort of interesting, but their treachery was something I could see from the first chapter.

The whole book felt like background noise to the Lee/Annie drama. Annie's character seems to revolve entirely around Lee, constantly offended, annoyed, or worried by something Lee did or for Lee himself. The war waged between them and their convictions are the main conflicts in this story. Their romance wasn't written in a way that mixed well with the story, I thought, though their connection is well developed and established. Their romance also feels pointless and unnecessary, aside from being there to create further tension, risk, and drama. When none of those things are needed, the romance is brushed aside like it doesn't even exist.

4.5 Stars

'Fireborne' is the first book in a new young adult fantasy series that will leave readers begging for more. This is one of the rare books where I can't really find fault with any aspect of the novel - I pretty much liked everything. There were a few things that stood out to me though. The plot isn't completely fresh and unique - it's pretty much impossible to find that in any genre anymore - but the author puts her own touches and twists to make it stand out from the others out there right now. The world building was very well done - to the point I could just close my eyes and picture myself right alongside Lee or Annie at any moment during the story. I loved learning about how the society was before and after the Revolution, what caused the Revolution, and the other intricate details the author uses to bring this world to life.

Secondly, the characters were fantastic. I really liked both Lee and Annie. They were both very interesting and realistic. I loved learning all I could about each of them - their pasts, families, possible futures, and everything in between. We really get to know Lee and Annie throughout the book because the author uses the first person point of view to tell the story - from both characters' perspectives. I love the first person and almost always prefer it to any other writing style, and this book was no exception. I feel like the reader gets to know the main character(s) on a much deeper and more personal level this way. We get to go inside both Lee and Annie's minds to discover all their secrets, memories, hopes and fears, dreams, innermost thoughts, and everything in between. I really felt connected to each character separately because of this writing style, which only brought the book and the characters themselves alive before my eyes. There is the mystery third person narrator who pops in every once and awhile and tells us bits of information and scenes from the past that will go on to influence the story. I liked that the author added this bit of mystery to the story and also appreciate that it helped to set the scene and gives the reader information that they'll need to understand coming up in the story. This was an amazing first book in what promises to be an adventurous and adrenaline-filled new series. I'll definitely be waiting for the next book to come out. I very highly recommend this novel to fans of YA fiction, fantasy, paranormal, historical fiction, and those that love great world building and, of course, dragons.

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda is a riveting novel full of dragons and political intrigues, revolution, slow-burn romance, and centers two individuals of different backgrounds who face heart-wrenching decisions to either save or let the new regime born in blood fall.

Power did not correspond to worth.

Told in a dual perspective, the story started nine years after a bloodthirsty revolution, where the Dragonborn families, the triarchy or royalties, were taken down on their throne. Now, everyone in Callipolis receives education, and they receive resources more fairly compared to the last governance. People are selected on the basis of their ability despite where they came from. Lee and Annie are dragonriders-in-training, and they are competing to become the Firstrider. Growing up in the same orphanage, Lee and Annie develop a strong friendship and loyalty to each other.

Vengeance and birthright.

A new war is brewing when Callipolis receives news that the survivor of the Dragonborn families have been building their own army of dragons and are determined to take back what had been theirs. Would Lee betrayed the new regime to join and exact retribution for the deaths of his own family, even when he believes that the new regime is better? Should Annie protect Lee’s past even when it meant risking her future? “If losses are inevitable, where would it be better for them to occur?”

It is impossible to put this book down. The plot is fast-paced. Although this novel has some similarities to other fantasy novels, there are unique elements and qualities that made this book shine. This book will not only make you think, but it will also test your sense of morality and make you feel such conflicting emotions. The cost of leadership, the weight of decision making, and choosing what the less evil are discussed in this book as well. I love how consistent the world-building is. I really like how the dragons are not just for “decorations.” They are smart creatures, companions, and also a weapon of destruction and war. Also, the characters are all complex, interesting and well-developed. I really like Lee and Annie’s chemistry, even when sometimes they both frustrate me.

Overall, Fireborne is an exciting novel, and one of the best debuts I read this year. I cannot wait for the next book, and I highly recommend this book!

5 stars!

I'm definitely regretting putting off this arc now that I've actually finished it. I wasn't expecting much from this, to be honest, but this book was amazing nonetheless.

Not many fantasy series are set after the revolution has already happened and generally focus on what leads up to it, with an assumed happy ending. This book shows that a revolution isn't an instant happy ending for the characters, society, world etc., and rather recreating the entire world to a new vision, without falling back on to old habits, is incredibly difficult. This book spends most of its times pondering questions of morality, whether that be in society itself or in the relationships between certain characters. It asks questions that you can never fully answer, and seems to fit the gray morality most fantasy worlds function in, rather than trying to paint things black and white. Fireborne does this so well, especially in the juxtaposition of the old society vs. the new. The main characters, due to their high role in society as dragon riders, are constantly forced to make tough decisions regarding these two societies, and have to try to navigate if the post-revolution society is actually even better than the one it forced out. It's extremely fascinating to read.

The characters themselves are also full of depth and layers, from the main characters to the side characters. Even they generally exist in between good and evil, depending on which perspective you view them through, and it seems to reveal the reality of the world, that no one is all one thing and sometimes hard decisions have to be made. This is especially shown in the relationship between Annie and Lee, dragon riders who grew up and trained together yet always a tension between each other, as Lee is secretly the son of the old Dragonlord who killed Annie's family. Their navigation of this power dynamic, and whether it still remains or not, is integral to the unraveling to the story and is overall well-written. There are other characters as well that seem to play on readers' sympathies at different moments, until later truths are revealed and things are uncertain once again. This entire novel is constantly asking its readers to engage differently with each character, and the process is a tough, yet interesting one.

Overall, I can't wait to see what book 2 brings, and I'll definitely be picking it up as soon as it comes out!

I thought this book started off really well! I also liked Annie and Lee's character and thought they were well-written. I even liked Power even though he is the villain of the story. Moreoever, I liked the buildup that leads to the end, and the second half of the book was gripping, exciting and unpredictable!

However, few things could have been written better. For one, I felt like the pacing and the timelines were not smooth. Time slowed down to detail in a few pages, and just sped up past weeks on other parts of the story. Also, there are some characters who appeared in the story who we really did not get to know much about I couldn't connect with them.

Apart from that, this was an interesting read and I am keen to find out what happens in the following books.

This was an absolutely phenomenal and adventurous read, I was blown away. It's on my top favorite reads and I'm a Rosaria Munda stan now. For those that know me, they know one of the biggest reasons I enjoyed this book so immensely is because there are dragons in it. DRAGONS! And dragon riding! It transported me back to when I was obsessed with dragons as a kid and wanted a dragon to go on adventures with, and there's just not enough books with dragons out there (do not shout GRRM at me). I want more!

This was a really fun read but it didn't draw me in quite as much as I was hoping it would. Characters were good though and the plot was interesting.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for the free book in exchange for my honest review. I honestly cannot get enough of this book. Who would not want to read a book about dragons? The world-building for this book is well done and I could not be more amazed.

Review copy provided for coverage consideration in Book Riot - I ultimately did not cover this book.

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

This book grabbed me immediately, but as it moved slowly afterward, was a little difficult to stay with it. However, the first part was so well done, I had to continue. I have to tell you, I am very glad I did. So stay with it. It’s worth it.

The story encompasses a history of the world’s past and the present with hopes for the future. It is not told in a dry, history book style, rather it is told within the structure of the tale. We learn much from conversations between the characters as they go about their business. The explanation of how and why the government exists now are necessary to understand the hopes of the future ruling leaders.

The characters in this novel are real, interesting, and are part of the new way of governing and choosing leaders. A world in transition. The leaders earn their positions by merit, proving themselves worthy and capable of making good decisions. We see some very young people learning those skills. The hope being they will carry their lessons into the future.

Some characters are willing, and are hopeful for the future, others – well, we all know those kinds of people. Thus, we enter the conflict of the story. This conflict is exceptionally well presented. The author is greatly influenced by Plato and Homer, but his execution of the tale is totally understandable, balanced and filled with characters that make you cheer, despair, hope and fear for them. I highly recommend this book to family and friends and to you readers out there.

If you haven’t heard of this book yet (seriously are you living under a rock?!?) I am here to enlighten you!! Fireborne tells the story of two dragon riders (yup my favorite...dual POVs!) Annie and Lee, best friends since their days in the orphanage both were chosen by DRAGONS to be their riders. But each have their own obstacles to overcome to earn the spot of top rider and it will not come easily. Fireborne is filled with beautiful world building, dynamic characters and a little bit of romance!! I also absolutely love that Rosaria is a Chicago based author!!! (I saw what you did with Starved Rock there). This book was incredible and I cannot recommend it enough!

I feel like this book was such a waste of potential. There’s DRAGONS, and the riders can emotionally communicate with them. I wanted WAY more emotion and personality from the dragons, but in the end they’re basically just tools instead of powerful sentient creatures. There was zero depth to them. I saw another reviewer mention that Harry Potter was more excited about his broom, and that the dragons didn’t seem to be important to the story, and that was just so spot on and something that really bothered me. The dragons may as well have been brooms. What is it with “dragon” books not having hardly any ACTUAL DRAGON INTERACTION in them?! I mean, don’t get me wrong – there were plenty of dragon appearances. But there were very few REAL dragon scenes. They were almost always present, but not engaging to the story at all. They were just there. There were only a few action scenes featuring the dragons, and almost all of them were just training and tournaments. I'm afraid I was horribly bored.

There was a glaring lack of any plot or action – there were a handful of action scenes, and the rest was literally all world, politics, and character building. The world was relatively interesting, but honestly wasn’t all that special other than having dragons. And despite being heavy on character building, I didn’t give one single crap about any of the characters. They felt so bland to me! If I hadn’t listened to the audio, I wouldn’t have been able to even tell them apart.

It was hard to know what to really think or feel about this novel. It was very well and excitingly written, and tackled some enormous, confusing, difficult issues. But it wasn't really clear on what side it came down on on many of those issues—I suppose because it's only just the start of a series. We'll have to wait for sequels for final verdicts.

This book felt a bit too typical YA fantasy at times leaving me bored at times. It was a bit predictable. The characters annoyed me quite often. I did appreciate that there wasn’t a lot of romance. I don’t have much to say about it. There’s nothing I overly loved or hated about it.