So much love for this book and great anticipation for the sequel.

Firstly, a land with dragons, YES! I’ve always been drawn to stories that consists of dragons having a bond with humans. I can’t explain it but having a connection to such a regal creature just gives me a sense of wonder.

I also fell in love with the world building. Taking inspiration from Virgil’s Aeneid and Plato’s Republic, I was impressed with the structure of society, the government, and especially the politics in this story.

Besides that, I enjoyed the whole plot of this story which encompassed the past, present and future what ifs in detail. It includes stories, told in dual perspective, of the two main character’s childhood, their training, romances, politics and battles which I think was pretty comprehensive.

And of course, without a doubt, I have gotten attached to the characters, especially the two main characters, Lee and Annie. They have grown so much since the start to the end of the book. And yes, I am not ashamed to say that I wish they would finally come together into a romantic relationship at the end of this series. PLEASE!

I can’t wait to see what holds for them in the next book and the fierce war that they are about to face. I highly recommend this book to all fantasy geeks out there and I hope you love it as much as I do.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

448 Pages
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 15, 2019

Fantasy, Dragons, Teen & Young Adult, Dystopian

The Dragonborne are wiped out during the revolution in Calipolis except for Leo, now known as Lee. He grows up in an orphanage as a lowborn and becomes friends with a girl named Annie. They are now training to be dragonriders and completing to be Firstrider. When Annie receives a note requesting her to throw her competition by the Ministry of Propaganda, she gets angry and fights harder than ever and wins.

When information of New Pythos having dragons with fire becomes a reality, the possibility of war becomes imminent. The dragonriders must defend their city of attacks but because their dragons have not sparked, they are at a disadvantage. Truth about Lee/Leo surfaces and he must pay the consequences of his father’s crimes.

This is the first in the Aurelian series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story flows well and the characters are well developed. It is written in the present tense and in first person switching between Lee and Annie. If you like Eragon, Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, you will probably enjoy reading this book.

This was a fun book, and I enjoyed reading it for the most part. It did drag a little bit in some spots but made up for that wit the action and adventure it delivered.

A fantastic debut fantasy with incredible world-building, strong characters and even a bit of romance. Also, DRAGONS!! I'm so excited for the next book.

Ummm why are more people not talking about this book? It is AMAZING. Dragons. Slow burn romance. Loyalty. Life altering decisions. Dragon duels. Lee. Annie. LEE. ANNIE. DRAGONS. READ IT!!!!!

This is a young adult's book, ideal for those in high school, and possibly junior high. The age of the main characters is about 16 to 18, though it is difficult to remember that while reading through.


As in similar books, the youth of these characters is almost immediately overshadowed by the tremendous burden of responsibility they bear.


Many parts of this story reminded me of "Game of Thrones." We have very young people forced, by virtue of the difficult world they live in, to step into adult roles very early in life. Of course, "early" is a relative term, largely based on how long your lifespan is expected to be.


In Lee and Annie's world, the existing political regime is very young. After a revolution a mere decade before, the old ways of passing down rights and privileges from one generation to the next based on class have gone to the wayside...for the most part. The undercurrent is there throughout the book that perhaps the old regime was so clearly faulty because it had been around for so long that all of the issues were readily apparent to society. And perhaps the new regime is so widely accepted because it's new and the cracks have yet to become painfully obvious.


Lee is a person who straddles both worlds - the old and the new. The son and Heir Apparent to the old King, he was eight years old the day the revolution began. He watched in horror as his entire family, his whole way of life, was utterly destroyed in front of him. He alone was deliberately spared, though a few others are rumored to have escaped.



As Lee grows up in an orphanage, he befriends Annie. The two could not be more different, from their origins to their carriage to their accents. Yet they are so much alike in important ways that they become fast friends. They rely on one another. It's a friendship that causes them both a great deal of grief as they grow up, which was a surprise to me, reading the story. I have grown used to friendships between characters that are strong and true, and turbulent now and then for the sake of the story. It is so infrequent that I come across characters that are perpetually in turmoil over their friendship - and turmoil that is not even caused by romance! I thought this element brought a wonderful depth to the story.



This is a book that is geared towards young adults, but I happily ripped through the book in just a single weekend. I love the balance between both Lee and Annie being main characters. I thought the ending was utterly spectacular. Heart-wrenching, provoking, thoughtful. Absolutely perfect.



I look forward to reading everything else Rosaria Munda has written, because I feel confident I can have high expectations for every read and not be disappointed.

This was a fantastic debut! This book feature all the great things a YA fantasy should. The world building was great without being overly detailed. The characters were wonderful and all had plenty of depth. The twists and storylines were well done and the writing was great. I also loved that it didn't fall into all of the typical overused tropes that many YA books fall victim to.

Solid YA fantasy novel! I really enjoyed these characters and the depth Ms Munda brought to life in Annie and Lee. Unlike some reviews I read, I was impressed that there was not a strong romantic aspect. I feel many YA novels focus on romance when there are so many other emotions to be explored.

In addition to the amazing world building, Fireborne is centered around friendship, integrity and loyalty. I am very excited to see Annie and Lee grow in future adventures!

Possible violence warning for younger teens.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the free book in exchange for my honest review.

[Review will be posted on 1/9/20.]

What a tense and wild ride this was! Fireborne is an amazing fantasy debut that looks at the period just after a revolution succeeds and asks important questions about politics in general.

"And as with God's the world quaked, to see them fireborne."

I love the way that the story unfolds, acclimating the reader to the world and the way that the regime has improved society over the last ten years. By the time talks of war began, I was rooting for the new regime that I really connected with Lee and Annie's actions. Is new always better? A regime called by any other name is still that: a ruling power.

This is an intricately developed world. There are a lot of terms, hierarchical names, and history from before and after the revolution, and I'll admit that it took me a while to get through the first 200 pages of the book. I was interested and engaged, but it did seem to drag a little bit and feel a little bogged down. After devouring the last half of the book in two days, I can say that it's necessary worldbuilding that pays dividends later and will probably make for a tight sequel. I was hoping that the finished copy would have a glossary included in it, but unfortunately, it doesn't.

I love these characters and will do anything to protect not only them but their dragons. Yes, there be dragons here! Annie and Lee are our two protagonists, with alternating perspectives. Both orphaned when they were young, they grew up together in the system following the revolution. Eventually, they came to train to be elite dragonriders thanks to the metals test and they are the top contenders for the top position when the book begins.

"For the first time in my life, the old wounds are useful [... T]he memories of weakness finally serve a purpose, and once used, they never hurt the same strength again."

Grief and the lingering healing from loss play a big role in the story. It's been years since the revolution, but Annie is especially haunted by the murder of her family by the old regime. I loved watching Annie start to believe in herself and allow herself to want things that she wouldn't have been allowed by birthright.

Do you like slow-burn, will-they-won't-they friends to rivals to maybe lovers? If so, then hoo boy, are you in for a treat! I might have a few KISS! KISS! KISS! notes in my book. It's kind of funny, but I actually connected more with Lee from the beginning up until about the 200 page mark, and I was completely the captain of Team Annie. She deserves the world and I just want to give her a hug.

"'I watched my family get taken by dragonfire at the age of six, and I learned to ride anyway.'"

With Annie and Lee being from polar opposite backgrounds - even though Annie doesn't know it - the reader is at once unsure of where their loyalties lie. The old regime was brutal and corrupt, and Annie knows first-hand what they were capable of. The revolution made things better for everyone, right?

The revolution provided Annie and Lee, as well as the entire society, the opportunity to rise above the station of their birth through the metals test. For the first time, the lowborn are given the chance to fly for the dragonriding fleet and protect the city. But privilege still exists, despite the new regime's best efforts to make things better for everyone. Those with more resources are still more likely to succeed. Classism still permeates the class golds and how they look at everyone else. Those who come from the lower classes and test gold are frowned upon as if they were "new money." As if their place has less value because it wasn't passed down from a long line.

Overall, I really enjoyed Munda's debut fantasy Fireborne! She has brought Plato's Republic new life with a cast of characters you can't help but adore (except for Power, he can choke), touching on the intricacies of classism and the nuances of rule you can't help but debate. This one will make you feel things, but will also make you think, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes epic fantasy!

**3.5 Stars**

Fireborne was a slow, political fantasy centered around the effects of a revolution and the following regime. With dragons, dragonriders, and two categorically different main characters, Munda developed a richly dense and divided world for the two to find their paths in.

I loved having two characters from such painfully opposite backgrounds find heart and a home within one another; how their similarities were just enough to combat the rising stack of reasons why they should never be on the same side. Their subtle connection was what truly drove the story and made their respective paths—both driven by two stark kinds of anger—easier to fall into and get behind. They truly made the story what it was and were my main reason for enjoying it.

And while I liked the worldbuilding, dragons, and political intrigue, there was a pacing issue that dragged the plot to a snail’s pace. The focus on the mundane everyday things oftentimes made it feel like nothing happened for pages and pages, but because I was so riveted to these two character’s journeys, I spent much of the story waiting for more to be revealed—just to receive little bites here and there. That constant ebb and flow of plot progression made maintaining my attention a chore, sadly. Having a better balance between action and information would’ve made the story so much more inhalable.

Being the first book in a YA fantasy series by a debut author, my hope is that much of the building and info-dumping is finished and will leave more room for action and plot in the next book. There is such potential with this world, Munda’s storytelling, and Lee and Annie that I am holding out hope I will fall in love with what will happen in the second installment.

I'm always apprehensive over books that get compared to one of my favorite series (Red Rising), however, Rosaria Munda's Fireborne is a fantastic ride that mixes my favorite things together, epic love and friendship, fast-paced action, and killer quotes! Fireborne left me wanting more as soon as the last page ended.

The beginning of this story left me feeling rather dubious, as it appears so one-dimensional and predictable. Somewhere along the way, I found myself drawn into this post-revolutionary story that just happens to contain dragons. I love the characters and their inner conflicts to do the right thing for the greater good, their compromises along the way, and the strength of character they display. What started slowly ended impressively, and this is another series I am excited to see continue.

My Review: This book sounded so intriguing, I don't think we get enough books that take place after a revolution, that difficult time with changing views and power struggles. This was a bit of a slow story to read, even for being a fantasy book with dragons and a decent amount of action. It did get a bit confusing with the flash backs and different points of view. With that said once I was able to really settle in and fully immerse myself in the story, I really enjoyed it. I loved the way Munda brought in blood family versus found family and the differences of class both before the revolution and after. The conclusion is satisfying and could be read as a standalone but I want to know more because you know there is more coming.

My Rating: I really struggled to get into this book, it was slow moving with a lot of jumps in point of view and flash backs. It didn't quite deliver on what it was compared to but it is still a solid debut fantasy. I wish it hadn't been so focused on the romance element that wasn't even really a romance. With that said it was still a good book once I was able to find the time to really immerse myself in the world and story. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.

I think I'm the only person who couldn't get into this book. I tried and tried but it just didn't grab me. I had to DNF it. So disappointed.

A brutal revolution had swept through the country, leveling the playing field for the chance to test into the dragon-riding class of rulers. Annie was born to highland farmers, executed by dragon fire, and Lee is the son of the Dragon Lord, who was murdered by revolutionaries. The two grew up in the same orphanage and were close friends. Both had trained for years in order to take the dragon-riding test, and both will be forced to chose the family of choice or the family of blood.

This is the first book in the Aurelian Cycle, and there is plenty of political intrigue and politics as well as lore and world-building to set up the series. The story alternates between Annie's and Lee's stories, with flashbacks of the revolution. What we think we know of the revolution is seen through their eyes, as well as the difficult choices that they face as they have to face off against classmates for the honor of being first in the class, and they also struggle with memories of death and the class warfare that isn't entirely gone. Annie has to face the people that don't believe she's worthy, that she's only tied to Lee because of infatuation, or that she is simply the poster child of a serf risen to glory to elevate the new regime. Rumors also abound about Lee, for whom many lessons come far too easily.

There is a lot of nuance in this book, and it treats the characters all with great respect. There are flashes of history that really give the story weight, like differences in accents, languages, even depth of bows given in public. The horror that the people had gone through, the new class creations and the inevitable comparisons to the Dragon Lords are given the proper gravitas. Children are being given responsibilities that they really shouldn't be, and it's up to them to save the people of their island as best as they can. And isn't that the way of it? The leaders can have their ideals, but when starvation is imminent, they aren't willing to sacrifice themselves as readily as the unskilled workers. War dehumanizes on so many levels, and we see it in these teenagers of different backgrounds.

This is a fascinating story, and one that doesn't give easy answers or outcomes. It ends neatly at the conclusion of this novel, but I know there is far more to come in future novels of the Aurelian Cycle, and I look forward to reading it.

I REALLY enjoyed this one! This book could have gone in one of two ways: It could have been awesome, unique, and well-executed; or it could have been a stereotypical and unoriginal fantasy book about dragons. I am SO very glad that this book was the former because it is THRILLING, ENGAGING, and POLITICAL and I needed that in a YA fantasy!

Those who know me know that I am a huge fan of dragons, I have always loved them- but I've had issues in the past finding books that keep me interested when it concerns dragons. My FAVORITE YA book that has dragons in it is The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli. Never in my life have I read a book like that that kept me entranced from page 1 to the end, and it's because it was a bit of a different take on dragons than would fit into a typical mold. The other dragon book [series] that I loved isn't YA- but amazing nonetheless, is A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan. Again, it's because it was a totally new perspective of dragons I've never seen before, one where they scientifically research dragons and the way it's told by way of Lady Trent is just EXCELLENT. Now we are here, at FIREBORNE, which has earned it's way up to the top three of my top three dragon series. It is a unique, imaginative, beautiful, and exciting story that reminded me a bit of How to Train your Dragon meets Divergent, except mostly not for kids and a lot more "grown up" stuff such as treachery, family legacies, and the bond between friends and family.

I started reading this on my Kindle, but then the Audiobook was released and I ended up finishing it on there. If you are an audiobook reader/listener, I would definitely recommend giving this book a go. It is just as entrancing as the novel itself and they picked perfect narrators.

The world of Callipolis was beautifully written and the world building was absolutely gorgeous. The bond between dragon and it's rider was super interesting to explore as well. I don't really want to write too much more because I just want you to experience this one for yourself. Definitely on my recommends list for the year!

The reason it doesn't get a full 5 stars from me, as always, five-star books needs to make me laugh out loud or cry- which unfortunately this one didn't- but I don't really think this would be the type of book to do that anyway. It's awesome no matter what! Grab a copy, borrow from the library, get it from Audible- just get this book in your hands as soon as possible!

Thanks again to Penguin & Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for my honesty!

I didn’t really like this story. Too politics heavy. I may give it another shot down the road but overall, meh

It does have a very slow burn romance and it’s political all things I generally enjoy but it couldn’t save the this. I went in with preconceived notions based on the descriptor that there would be action and dragons. We get very little in the ways that I had hoped. Reading about the events after the fact instead of witnessing and experiencing it alongside the characters is what makes it compelling and endears the reader to the characters in the first place.

Bottom Line Up Front
In the aftermath of a bloody revolution, a child from the former ruling class escapes the carnage into an orphanage. Now he and the girl he grew up with are part of the new country's dragon-riding military, and they're competing for #1 best dragon rider while in the neighboring country, more survivors of the revolution are gearing up to start the war all over again.

Despite the grand and country-sweeping scale of the danger involved, most of the book is narrowly focused on the internal struggles of the two leads coming into power and learning bad things about the new regime and also I AM NOT OKAY AFTER READING IT SOMEONE HELP ME I HAVE SO MANY EMOTIONS

Emotions that I felt: 164564564545/10 All of them. All the emotions.
Times my babies caught a break: 0/10 I'm pretty sure they didn't even get to sit down at any point, SOMEONE HELP MY BABIES
My need for Lee and Annie to kiss more: ∞/10 I refuse to feel shame over this rating

The first layer of angst

Look, there was this revolution, right? And it was bloody. It was BLOODY.
And so was the oppressive regime they were revolting against, so, ya know, good thing those guys are gone.
And Annie and Lee are like "HOLY SHIT Y'ALL I WATCHED MY PARENTS DIE" but his was from the revolution and hers was from...well, his family.
So, ya know, there's a bit of tension there.
But they also have the lusty eyes at each other.
BUT NOT UNTIL THEY'RE OLDER, DON'T GET WEIRD.
Look, it sounds bad put that way, but please believe me it's the bestest romance-that-isn't-quite-all-the-way-to-romance I've read in a long time like the slow burn is unbelievable but their feelings are 100000% believable and you're just going to have to trust me on that please read it

The second layer of angst

And they ride dragons, right? Which is awesome!
I mean these dragons are basically slightly telepathic horses, but whatever, still awesome.
And all the previous dragons died in the revolution, so this new crop of teenager dragons born after the regime change are the ones they got, which is why all these teens are competing to be the head of the dragon riding force.
And now it's Lee and Annie, up against each other for the #1 spot.
And he's all "I've wanted this since I was born" and she's all "I'm a serf and scared of my own potential" and then they get complicated after that because y'all shit happens and there are feelings.
I didn't even know who I wanted to win, I kept flipping back and forth.
When one of them finally did win I was like WHAT, AAAAHHHHHHH
and also MY BABIES
and also WHY, I AM GUTTED, I WANT TO HUG BOTH OF THEM, WHY DID THAT HAPPEN
Was that a spoiler? IDK, sorry.

The third layer of angst

So this new regime is kind of fucked up
More than kind of, it's really fucked up.
I mean, it's not feudal lords murdering people and stealing their stuff fucked up, but...uh...shit happens in this book.
Like, 50% of what I wanted to save my babies from was just the shit that is this world.
And now they're entering the top levels of gov't because, ya know, leader of a whole branch of the military, and shit happens, y'all.
And my babies were not ready for that and I was not ready for my babies to get even sadder.
Thought provoking stuff, though. Thumbs up.
I was not ready for how fucked up that one guy is. You know. That one. Well, you will know after you read it. Why are you still reading this? Go read the book!

Layers 4-7 of angst

are all shoved into the last ~20% and believe me when I tell you that I WAS NOT OKAY save me lord that was such a wild ride like I was not ready and I'm on the other side of it and still not ready why and how dare you


Will I read this author again? Psh, obviously
Will I continue this series? GIVE IT TO ME NOW I WILL SLAY A MONSTER FOR THE NEXT ONE ASAP

I kept starting his story and starting it again. I just couldn’t get into the story. I couldn’t visualize what was happening in the story. I couldn’t relate to the main character or what was going on in his life.