Absolutely love this storyline. It is unusual to find a story that builds upon Roman history/background, and I really like how this story incorporates that kind of theme. The development of the relationship between the FMC and MMC is fantastic as well, with delicious tension that builds within the story. Definitely worth a listen!

Thank you for the ALC of Firebird! This fantasy set in a fantasy Rome was certainly different, with dragons as rulers and the slavery and persecution of others. I had truly high hopes for this one, however I did have a few issues with the writing itself making this closer to 3.5/5 stars. The narrators really helped me enjoy the book, both doing an excellent job! I think I would recommend this one as an audiobook more than to be read physically. There were certain word usage that felt unnecessary (was quim and funny really needed when it also uses many other terms for it? 😬) and I am not entirely fond of fated mates myself.

Overall a solid start, different than many other dragon shifter romances that I have read. I enjoyed the fantasy elements and how it worked and hope we get to see more of the magic in the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Juliette Cross for the opportunity to listen to this ALC!

First let me start by saying this book does not come with trigger warnings. If dark romance and topics aren’t your preference this book may not be for you as it has a master/slave dynamic. If you’re ok with all of that this book may be for you.

Firebird is a slow burn, fast paced, medium spice, dark romantasy. it’s set in Roman times that I found refreshing for this type of story. The FMC, Malian, is a feisty, witch with a kind of magic that’s based off Madusa. Minus the clueless, sometimes annoying, whine about everything personality we sometimes see in these types of books. Not hating on that, just nice to have a character like Malian. The MMC, Julianus Dakkia, is a Roman general dragon shifter. He has the whole possessive, touch her and die vibe going on and he falls first 🥵🫠
At first this felt like it was going to be enemies to lovers but, it was more of an insta love. I would have liked the relationship to have been more in depth with some angst or a fight to be more like equals. Especially with Malian being the bad ass, stand up for herself, fierce FMC she is. It’s also described as House Of The Dragon meets From Blood And Ash. It does have politics, war, violence against women and dragon shifters. But, other than just having those things in the story it’s totally different from those in my opinion. That being said, I still loved this book!
This ALC was narrated by Blair Dade and Kale Williams. They did an amazing job portraying these characters! Their voices complimented each other so well and suited the characters perfectly. I felt all the emotions from them and they kept me engaged the entire book.
The world this book takes place in, the plot twist I didn’t expect,, the uniqueness of it all, was really good. It has the potential to continue into something great with how it ended. So I’m hoping we learn more about the politics, Gods, and Madusa type magic in the next book. As well as more about the dragons and their history. I found all of those things very unique and interesting. The side characters played vital parts in this book and I’d love to learn more about them too. I think Malina and Julianus are going to be amazing together. I can’t wait for book two! This is the first book I’ve listened to by Juliette Cross. Looking forward to discovering more books
from her.

I don't quite know how I feel about this book. I really wanted to love it but I feel like if fell a bit short of my expectations. The slave/master aspect was not my thing and it just seemed meh for most of the store. However I am curious about what may happen in the second book.

I was not expecting the master/slave aspect to this book but I enjoyed the listen otherwise. If you like dark fantasy, dragon shifters, fated mates, touch her and you die troupes then you will like this book!

I really liked the narrator and her proper pronunciation and the emotion she was able to convey throughout the book.

I absolutely loved this audiobook! I have already preordered the special edition and passed along the praises to my book club. I thought the narration was so good and the story itself..I can’t wait to see how it ends up! Thank you for allowing me to review!

What do you get when you have Roman mythology mixed in with a dragon-shifter romance? You get this book, of course, it would be weird if I started going on about a different book. This book has two POVs, our first is the titular Firebird, a Dacian dancer who was given a gift of perception or intuition. Not only can she sense the emotions but she can influence them as well. She is bought by a Roman General after being captured and the Roman General is our second POV, Julianus. All Roman Generals are Dragons and Julianus is the nephew of the emperor, the current Caesar. Malina and Julianus have met before and they always had a connection but of course, this book is all fated mates and insta-love, though it does take a while to get there. Amidst all of the romancing, the heart of the book is overthrowing the government and secret plots. As well as learning about the gods, myths, and world that the author is creating. Not only are there dragon shifters, but the Roman gods are also dragon shifters. There is a hierarchy and dragons are on top and the plebs (normal people) are on bottom. Anyone who is a traitor is killed and their head is placed on a pike.
I thought the story was really interesting, the cast system, the mythos, the way the dragons worked in human/halfskin/dragon. This was a pretty good start to what appears to be an epic series, plus that epilogue, I had a feeling but was still surprised. The narrators did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. I always love a dual narration. Dragon Romantasy is quite popular right now and if you're looking for a different type of dragon fantasy filled with familiar mythology and a bit of spice then this is a fun one to dive into.

I feel as the story progresses there will be more to it and more life-changing events will take please. This is a first book so it is a lot of world building mixed in with some romance and character development. The spicy scenes were well done then the fighting scenes were action packed very descriptive I loved it. Looking forward to the next book and seeing what she does with this world. I really enjoyed the Roman influence throughout the book. I also had the privilege of listening to the audio narration of this book and then audio narrators to the fantastic job. They brought the characters to life put lots of dramatization into their voices and the things that were happening. I really enjoyed it.

Overall I really enjoyed the narration of this book and could not stop listening to it. I thought that Blair and Kale did a good job with displaying the emotions the characters were expressing. I also thought Kale did a really good job of somehow changing his voice to an unlikable voice for characters that I ended up not liking. Both Blair and Kale fit as the FMC and MMC voices and I did not once doubt the connection between the characters.

As for the story itself, it enjoyed the fictional and fantasy aspects that were brought to the Roman Empire. I would not have thought about dragons and Rome being a good pairing but it really worked in this story. The magic system was unique and that is sometimes hard to find within fantasy/romantasy.

All-in-all I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thank you so much Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the free audiobook.

I’ve read many of the other works of Juliette Cross so I was familiar with her range as an author. This book however had fantastic world building and use of Roman gods/goddesses that feels very epic fantasy vs the more new age romantasy. I loved the character development and the book felt very well paced for all the information a new book in a fantasy series must convey. I love that there was no cliffhanger just for shock value that is getting overused in other books imo. She tied up this chapter of the story and left us wanting more with where it ends. Well done! Can’t wait for the next one! Narration was great and kept my attention and did not leave me having to replay entire segments to follow the story.

Unfortunately this one was just too over the top for me. I found it a bit icky, with the clear unbalanced power dynamic taking away from the romance. I also found the writing and descriptions just too corny and like i said - over the top. Not for me.

I'm still trying to process if I like this one or not. I thank you for the Arc audiobook, The narrators were great. I wasn't expecting the master/slave part and how often it was used through the book. Overall, I like that Julianus was different from others. I say if you like dark fantasy, dual pov's, dragon shifters, fated mates, touch her and you die troupes then read it for yourself.

Dnf

I just cannot get into this. I fear the slave/slaveowner romance is not for me. Idk it’s giving me the ick so bad. And why are we trying to make the mmc seem like an amazing person even though he still has slaves ✋

I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Listeners Copy to this book through NetGalley and I was captivated from the first sentence. I loved the book/story contents as well as the dual narration! Dual narration gets me every time and these narrators killed it. Narration can make or break a book and I loved these two together. I loved every single aspect of this book, and I need the second book because I gotta know what is gonna happen. Trust me… you’re gonna wanna bump this bad boy up your TBR once it releases on April 8th

Feral Rating: 5/5 🦝🦝🦝🦝🦝
Spice Rating: 3.5/5🌶️🌶️🌶️🫑
**Please trigger warnings as there are darker aspects to this book that may be sensitive to some readers.**

What you can find:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Fated Mates
- Forced Proximity
- Dragon Shifters
- Gods & Prophecies
- Magic & Witches
- Spitfire FMC
- Tortured MMC
- Roman Empire Vibes with a Twist

Muddled Summary:

All from one bold moment, one dance, one coin, they’ve been connected. The moment she danced front of the general in the emperors army fate had changed things. Years she held on to this gifted coin, years he was on her mind even after their parting, until one fateful day years later on the battlefield there she was.... aiding the enemy as their witch. Noticing her in danger instincts took over the general his inner dragon surged and its form took shape taking her away to somewhere safe. He knew in that moment, that everything that had been so carefully planned had changed. They both knew it, and fate did too.

**Thank you Netgalley for the eArc**

Okay the beginning of this was good. The world building wasn’t intense which I expect with romantasy. I enjoyed the fact that he was a dragon shifters. Malina was a great FMC.

I didn’t love the dynamic of their romance being captor/slave. There was an odd dynamic between the two characters.

Other than that, it was okay just not for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🐉 Dragons + Rome + Spicy romantsy = WIN

Thank you @macmillanaudio for this ALC of Firebird by Juliet Cross. I don't even do Roman Empire settings normally, but this romantasy completely won me over!

The dual narrators brought this world to life with such distinct voices and emotion - they perfectly captured Malina and Julianus's journey together. Having different voices for their perspectives added so much depth to the storytelling.

The vibes we're tracking:
🔥 Meaningful slow burn that delivers
🐉 Dragons ruling Rome done RIGHT
💫 Character development that feels earned
⚔️ High stakes that kept me invested

What really elevated this book was how Malina and Julianus's relationship develops. Despite being a powerful Roman general, I particularly appreciated how Julianus gives Malina space to make her own choices and gradually get to know him. Their connection feels genuine rather than forced, building toward something that had me completely invested.

The worldbuilding strikes the perfect balance—rich enough to be believable but never overwhelming the characters. Cross has created an alternate Rome that feels both familiar and magical, with dragons and magic woven seamlessly into the narrative.

I'm already eager for book 2, as the ending left me with questions I'm desperate to have answered. This is truly a 6-star read that I'll be recommending widely. I've already downloaded The King of Wrath in both ebook and audio formats.

Add this to your Goodreads immediately and request it at your library. Even if Roman Empire settings aren't typically your preference, this romantasy might just change your mind as it did mine.

I'd like to preface this review by reminding everyone that when I get an ARC/ALC of a book, I do my best to avoid reading other reviews before I finish the book myself. I try to go into the book as unbiased as possible.

In this instance, I wish I had read fellow reviews. Reading the plot summary, there is no indication whatsoever on the biggest trigger of this book, and the basis of the romance - that it is a master/slave dynamic. I can't even call it a captor/captive dynamic, since they use the terms master and slave continuously throughout the book, the FMC has a collar and is bartered in a trade at one point. The only indication of this being a dark romantasy is that it states "dark romantasy" at the summary's beginning. It doesn't speak to whether it is dark by tone or dark by topic. In this case, it is dark by topic. The summary in fact says that the FMC is saved by the MMC, and a few mentions other belonging to him. This is all standard verbiage in romantasy and in no way indicates the type of master/slave dynamic at the focus of the book.

After about 50% of the book when I just came to terms with it and continued on, I did my best to look at the book objectively. Had I known what to expect, would I have thoroughly enjoyed it? Maybe a bit more, but not by much. I wasn't a fan of how much intimate scenes happened under that dynamic, and not when they were equals. I did feel like the relationship and the world building as a whole reflected the historical time frame (to the best of my knowledge, anyway). I quite enjoyed it being set in Roman times, as this isn't an overly popular time frame for historical romance, especially historical romantasy. I also had a bit of an issue with the pacing. I felt that the first 75% was pretty evenly paced, and then the last 25% felt like someone said "okay wrap it up, we need to get this done". Everything was happening all at once and big bang boom the book was done.

Overall, I would recommend this book to folks who are looking for this type of dynamic and in this type of historical setting. Going into this book fully informed is critical and I do not believe the marketing was done appropriately. Having listened to the audiobook, I can vouch for the fact that there were no trigger warnings at the outset, but I cannot speak towards if they are provided at the beginning of the written formats.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

So going into this I was very intrigued. Roman Empire meets dragon shifters?! Of course I was hyped. And while I don't love the master x slave trope I didn’t hate it in this story. I did enjoy it and thought the premise was extremely interesting.

4 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A really fast paced enjoyable Dragon shifter romantasy set in Ancient Rome, the comps to GoT are accurate but also this story was just fun to read.

I listened to the audiobook which I think enhanced my enjoyment but I would've love the story in any form as it is was exciting, action packed and romantic.

Malina and Julian were perfectly portrayed and the slave/master aspect was explored with the uprising of slavery in the time of Julius Caesar. I'm really rooting for Tradeus and Lila which is what I think the addition of her as a new character POV at the end of the book is going to add. I'm looking forward to the plot of the uprising continuing further and can't wait for the sequel!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Duration: 11 hrs 18 mins
Narrated by Blair Dade; Kale Williams
Publication Date: 04.08.25

"My firebird was my end and beginning.
No joy could surpass this belonging, this bond winding us into each other."

Dark Romantasy
Dragon Shifter
Dual POV
Touch Her & Die
Hidden Magic
Roman Mythology
Fated Mates
Forbidden Love
Slave x Master
Forced Proximity

Book Overview
A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
A world where dragons rule Rome.
From the moment Roman general and nephew to the emperor Julianus Dakkia laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate. But he and his dragon know one thing: she belongs to them.
Malina can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality. His warrior prowess cannot be denied, yet they don’t reveal the secret he hides. All Malina knows is his protection and gentle touch. And she cannot deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his.
As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

“Firebird” by Juliette Cross was a phenomenal ALC. I was completed immersed into this world/ story. The character development was great and truly helped you find the right emotions for each one that the author was hoping you’d feel. Like the FMC, Malina, was brave, strong, stubborn, magical, and so much more. But it’s so ease to love and relate to her.

The world building was imaginative with vivid imagery. I loved the creative retelling of Medusa. Ancient Roman, magic, dark theme, slave/ master romance, war, death, survival, and dragon shifting, ummm, yes! The spice was also tastefully written and didn’t feel forced.

The audiobook was great. The narrators made it easy to be able to follow along with the story. Definitely would listen to other audiobooks they narrate.

Overall, this was a great novel and I can’t wait for the rest of the books in the series. I highly recommend it. Please remember that this is a dark romantasy and there are some trigger/ content warnings.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan for this ALC.