Firebird is a dark romance/dark romantasy featuring a master/slave dynamic between the main characters, who are already in a relationship when the story begins. I found the story really interesting, and I’ll probably pick up the next book because I’m curious to see how the series develops.

While I enjoyed it, I do think the plot could have been a little more focused instead of leaning so heavily into the smut. That said, it’s still a solid story overall. I think the author did a good job balancing the master/slave relationship without making it feel exploitative. Malina, the female main character, came across as a strong woman, and I never felt like she was being taken advantage of, which is really important in a dynamic like this.

One thing I loved is that the main character is a dragon shifter and Malina is a witch — it added a really fun fantasy element to the romance.

I was lucky enough to receive both an eARC and an ALC (audiobook) so I could read along while listening. I absolutely loved the dual narration! Blair Dade and Kale Williams did a fantastic job bringing the characters' voices and emotions to life. I definitely recommend picking up the audiobook if you can!

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Bramble for the eARC and ALC.

I did not finish this book. Between the master/slave relationship (mentioned in content warnings) and the FMC being 17 at the start of the book, it was hitting too many of my ick so me to even get through the first chapter.

DNF at 90% I tried to push through but just can’t anymore.

I honestly do not recommend this book unless you like Dark Romance/Dark Romantasy. Also, if you’re okay with a slave/master dynamic.

Dragons in Rome seemed like a great book, but unfortunately this book isn’t for me.

I didn’t like all of the violence (including sexual violence). Please look up trigger warnings before reading.

Firebird by Juliette Cross is excellently narrated by Blair Dade and Kale Williams. I had both the e-arc and ALC for Firebird. I loved the dual narration and that is the only good thing I can identify about this book. The content warning are completely false. A slave cannot give consent that is inherent in the nature of a master/slave relationship. The SA by Cesear in a room full of people despite her 'wanting it' is still a SA. Again, the power disparity is what makes all of this wrong. This book is marketed incorrectly as well. The smut is cringeworthy. If I could give this 1/2 a star I would. I finished it so I could tell you the consent is not given in this book because it cannot be given. Thank you to Net Galley, MacMillan Audio and TOR Publishing for my advance copy.

A different take on the romantasy genre that is all the rage. Malina and Julian meet for the first time when things are relatively mellow in the Roman Empire and their connection is instant. When they find one another again, it is on a battlefield and Julian must save Malina from the warriors under his command. The thing about these warriors of Rome though, is they are dragons - Julian included. In the years since they have seen one another, Julian’s uncle, Igniculus, has turned the Roman Empire into something ugly and insidious.

Malina and Julian have a clear chemistry and the spicy scenes in the book are great. It took a bit to get into the story, but once I did I was hooked. Looking forward to this series continuing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

This book has a lot of popular tropes and I think fans of dark romantasy are going to have a blast. Be forewarned, this is a romance between a master and a slave so there's definitely some power dynamics at play here. It's also a very gritty Game of Thrones-esque world so checking trigger warnings would be a good idea before diving in. I personally felt like the author did a great job of balancing the power dynamic so that I didn't feel like Malina was being taken advantage of. I enjoyed the politics and the dragon shifter lore. I did want more emotional development though. The instalove is strong in this book and part of that is because our MMC is a dragon shifter but even so I needed more to fully believe in the romance. Lovers of alpha heroes and fated mates will eat this book up. I'm finding that fated mates only works for me if we get to see them develop a relationship as well. A mystical bond isn't enough for me to root for a relationship. I know there is a whole camp of people who go feral for this type of story though so I'm very happy this exists for them.

Cool concept, questionable execution. There were elements that I really, really loved--the overall premise, for example--that fell abysmally flat especially in the romance department. On the positive side, I did did find that the prose was good and easy to read and quite accessible. While the master-slave romance is something that will definitely ruffle feathers, I didn't so much as mind this as the lack of characterization and build-up that would've led for an interesting romance. It felt a lot like insta-love at times, which I'm not fond of. Additionally, the sex scenes were very poorly written.

Thank you for the ARC!

2025 is the year for Roman romance, apparently! This one is a darker romantasy where Roman patricians are dragon shifters who use their fearsome fighting powers and fire-breathing abilities to expand their empire.

Set closer to the fall of the Empire, Caesar oversees strict laws prohibiting miscegenation and encourages violence, rapine, and slavery (even more so than his predecessors). Julian is a Roman legatus and Caesar's nephew who is working from within to end the regime. Malina is a Dacian "witch" who his dragon recognizes as their fated mate. When she's taken prisoner and enslaved as spoils of war, Julian saves her from the slave market but puts her to work in his household.

Cross walks a fine line with her world building, making Julian a "good" Roman revolutionary. He still owns slaves and outwardly supports his uncle's regime, including attending orgies at Caesar's palace and serving as general in the Roman army, conquering "barbarian tribes." Malina is appropriately wary of her new "owner," but since she's an empath and can sense his true feelings AND they're fated mates, it's understandable to see why she falls for him.

I quite liked this book, with its fast-paced revolutionary plot marrying well with the enemies to lovers/fated mates romance. Do note the darker themes of this one, including threatened sexual assault (not between leads), plenty of bloody violence, and references to incest, slavery, and more. I'm usually pretty sensitive to these themes, and while this definitely walked up to the edge for me, I ended up devouring the book.

I'm looking forward to the next entries in the series! This one has a HEA for the main couple and good resolution with one of the main antagonists, but the revolution will continue for the full series, so don't expect a conclusion to every plot point.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Thank you Tor for the eARC but unfortunately this book is not for me. After reading it a bit and realized it was a master and slave love situation, the book is simply not for me. It also needs some trigger warnings.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Bramble for an eArc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*

This was an incredibly fast read with an interesting world set in a reimagined Rome. The nobles in this world are dragon shifters. This is a very tough read, you have to be comfortable with a romance/relationship between a master and their slave. This is not slow burn at all, the enemies to lovers, hate to love is over very quickly and the spice happens within 100 pages. This is not a story for me, it was at times very hard to read. Please be aware of violence against slaves, SA detailed on page, extreme misogyny. I don't like the relationship that is being explored here. I know this can work for some but I just can't buy that you fall in love with someone who burned down your entire village, and killed thousands of innocents including your family. Even if he's plotting against the more vile emperor. Just not for me. Also, the writing is incredibly cringey, how many times can I read the word cunny...

I received an advance reader copy an exchange for an honest review.

NO SPOILERS!

A Roman dragon shifter and a powerful witch? Sign me up!

Even After reading Fourth Wing, Delicously Dark Fairy Tales, and the Kit Davenport series I’m still loving dragon and dragon shifter stories. I never tire of them so keep them coming.

Firebird is a dark Romantasy set in a Roman inspired world with powerful dragon shifter houses led by the cruel and corrupt Caesar.

My main critique would be there’s so much world building, info dumping and character soup at the start of this book. I found it hard to care at first, but eventually it found its groove.

Julian and Malina have an Insta love, fated mates relationship that I wish had been more fleshed out. Sadly, the fated mates trope can lead to a lack of relationship building.

Also some of the dialogue can be a bit cringy, especially during spicy scenes.

Firebird has a master/slave dynamic that might rub people the wrong way even though he doesn’t treat her like a slave and she doesn’t act like one. It didn’t bother me because I’ve read so many books with that trope. But keep it in mind if it’s not your thing.

I did enjoy the political intrigue so I’m excited to see where the story goes from here and I will be picking up the next book in the series.

Okay so this premise had me and I needed to know more about this book! I loved the concept, the idea of it, and the characters in their own spaces. This is a book that teeters on romantasy and a little bit of dark romance. You've got the dragons, the magic, and at the same time there's a pretty heavy master/slave dynamic, that you really have to take in stride in this book.

This is a book space that I didn't necessarily think I'd expect to see master/slave dynamics, but I was intrigued. I didn't love it, but I found it curious & I'm excited to see where book two takes us in this storyline! Mind the triggers in the beginning & buckle in for the ride!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!

Firebird has a lot of great elements that I loved. However, I need to start by mentioning that this book has some dark and triggering elements that readers need to be aware of before starting, so make sure to check trigger warnings. When I started reading, they weren’t as readily available as now, so that did affect my enjoyment to some degree as I wasn’t in the headspace I would’ve been had I known. The darker themes make sense in the context of the story. Many of the themes are uncomfortable, but they’re supposed to be that way. This also features a fated mates scenario, but it was a little too insta lust for me. I also struggled with it based on the master/slave dynamic between the two MCs. I did find the dragon shifter aspect to be interesting. I also really enjoyed the magical lore and world building as well as the political intrigue. I had both the ebook and audiobook for this. The audiobook was narrated by Blair Dade and Kale Williams. I thought they both did really well with the narration and bringing both the characters and world to life. Their narration also helped keep me focused on the story. I do plan to continue the series to see how the story develops in book two.

Overall rating: 3.5⭐️

I really liked the world building and the dragon shifters. The only thing I didn't like was the spice in this book. I really love spice but in this story, it felt weird. I didn't like how he called her vagina "her cunny" and the writing felt YA.

I think this book would have been much better if it has been YA.

4.5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💫

“We might burn for what’s to come.”

Firebird is the first novel in the adult romantasy series, The Fire that Binds. Written in first person dual POV, the story follows Julian and Malina, a witch and a dragon from vastly different backgrounds brought together by circumstances of fate after a chance encounter.

Years later they meet on the battlefield on opposite sides of the war - Julian as a Roman general and nephew to the emperor and Malina as a witch aiding the Celts. Yet a connection exists between them and Julian's dragon saves her knowing she is his. Malina is suspicious of this Roman general who is known for his fierceness but she senses secrets lurk behind his eyes and as she carries his secret talisman she realises the secrets he hides may change everything.

In a world where dragons rule and a cruel emperor seeks to dominate all, Malina and Julian must decide whether they fight for the bond that grows between them...or collapse under the burning world.

I devoured this book over a plane ride! I could not get enough!

Malina is a mortal gifted with powers of emotional persuasion. A dancer by trade she has lost everything under the Roman empire. She demands justice and challenges the powers that be. She is curious and methodical and an easy character to fall into. I also found her capacity to love and sacrifice to be powerful.

Julian is a powerful dragon in his own right and a male who plans for the long term. Meeting Malina changes everything and his acceptance of this was something I was obsessed with. He loves with such power and is desperate to find a way forward. You can see what he has had to endure and even he recognizes his privilege here.

There are additional side characters that really drew me in from the adorable Stefanos to the gruff but kind Kara. They helped highlight aspects of this world and gave us windows into who Julian is.

This book does contain spice. I would say 2.5 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. This novel is a slow burn romance as these two enter the story with a pretty big power imbalance. We get to really see these characters find common ground and I loved how smooth it felt. The romance is an instant connection and grows more powerful as the story progresses. Spice starts with some foreplay before we really get into this in the second half (around 55% mark). The spice is romantic and explicit with some dirty talk and lots of play. I felt it worked for the passion that grows between these, too.

“Before you came, all of this was easier.”
“What do you mean?”
“I never cared about losing my life.”
“But now you do?”
No…I care about losing yours.”

The story itself follows Malina as she attempts to rebuild her life after once again losing everything to the Romans. As a slave she struggles under the shackles...until she realizes Julian is not the master she thinks. Meanwhile Julian is playing a knife's edge game in the forum of Rome that could burn his world down and seeing Malina again forces him to change things. As this is a series there is the additional overarching story around the emperor and his war as well as the rebellion that is building. We get a taste of this plot in the story and I am very curious. This appears to be interconnected standalones as this story does end off happily for now. What I enjoyed the most about this story was how much these characters worked together. There are these beautiful intimacies between them, a sense of urgency to act, court intrigue, action, and very careful games. I had an absolute blast and cannot wait for book 2!

This is my first Juliette Cross book and it will not be my last! Thank you Bramble for this arc!

this one didn't work for me. Majority of the story was based around a romance I didn't care about. I found it to be very much insta-love and that never feels like a super strong foundation or something I want to root for. I didn't really care for either MC and thought there was just no development for their characters. If I didn't read the chapter headings I genuinely couldn't tell who's voice/perspective I was reading from half the time. I think conceptually an ancient roman fantasy with dragons sounds great but the execution left me confused and honestly, wishing it was longer so more things could have been fully fleshed out instead of half way done and lacklustre.

I really enjoyed this book. The author had a really compelling writing style that made me just binge this book. Great characters and building of this world. My biggest complaint is that the romance seemed too easy to me. However, I would recommend this book who don't mind a slave/master relationship.

Personally, even though she is the slave and he is the master, he wasn't awful to her at all. Nothing close to what you hear from other dark romance books. It's just what they happen to be because of circumstances. I feel like the world in which our 2 main characters live in is the darkest part of the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of the ebook and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The story’s mythology is unique with a roman backbone. However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I adore fated mates and usually am completely on board. I think that the fated mates felt more like an instant lust situation. I am not sure if it was a lack of chemistry between the characters or if the distraction of the brutal world and master / slave power dynamic made authentic love hard to see. I appreciated that Julian hated everything that Cesar and his empire stood for.

I’d be remiss not to mention that this story has many aspects that are gory, painful to read and delves deep into slavery. There is also much abuse of power with sexual assault from side characters on page and focuses on master/ slave relationships for the majority of the book. It wasn’t listed in any of the marketing or description but needs to be included.

I so wanted to love the book especially with the unique magical system. A good comparison would be Game of Thrones where the world was cutthroat and lethal with a love story at the center. I felt uncomfortable while reading much of this and probably wouldn’t have picked up the book if those content warnings had been included.

The cover is exquisite and the final copy will have beautiful sprayed edges. Bramble sent me the physical copies and they are just as beautiful in person. I chose to read via audiobook from Macmillan Audio. These narrators; Blair Dade & Kale Williams did an excellent job bringing the world come to life. Very grateful for the gifted book, this is my honest review.

Thank you to Bramble for an e-arc of this book.

I didn't realize the dynamic (master/slave) of this book when I requested it, but after I saw some posts on social media I did. The dynamic isn't necessarily one I go for or totally avoid. I love Roman history (it's very intriguing) which is one reason I was interested in this book. I did like that it was a mix of "historical" but really kind of went its own way overall. I think giving it the background of Roman was helpful in grounding the story in a way that worked.

Juliette Cross's writing is addictive and easy to read. I think I powered through the first 30% without putting it down because I was intrigued. She brings the world to life, and made it feel vibrant and believable. Again, I think that was helped by the fact she has it set in a place that was real, and essentially just modified some things to make it work for fantasy.

I loved Mina as the FMC in this book. I liked that she was a complicated character with complicated feelings. She was honest with herself, and I don't always see that in FMC, often they're in denial or recriminating, and Mina didn't feel like that at all. Honestly, her nickname was perfect for her. Such a wonderful character, and one I can't wait to see more of.

This book was told from two POVs, Mina and Julian. I liked both POVs, although I think I did enjoy Mina's a tad more. But that is usually the case for me.

This book is definitely dark romance/dark fantasy/dark romantasy. While it's not pitch dark like a lot of other books are, it is there simply because of the theme of the book. There are definitely very dark and bloody moments in this book, so I can definitely see why they said for fans of "House of the Dragon" because this book also has a very political element to it between family. That was actually one of the best parts of the book, I really do love a good book that has fantasy politics. And even better, this book has dragons. Shapeshifting dragons as well.

In other words, this book nails several things that I really love in a book. I will say this book is not going to be for everyone, especially if the main dynamic makes you uncomfortable. I did think the author in many ways did try to balance that out,

I can't wait to see what happens next in this series!

Dragon shifter “fanfiction-esque romance”, but make it ancient Roman with lots of political intrigue and fighting.