I appreciate NetGally giving me the opportunity to review this book.

In my opinion, this is book that sensationalized slavery, fetishized non-white characters, and adults having relationships with minors.

I do not think this book should have been published.

Firebird is a gripping ancient roman romantasy that will have you hooked and on the edge of your seat from the very beginning. The book was very fast paced but not at any point of the book was I confused or didn't know what was going on, which I really appreciated. The world building and plot were incredible. The narrators had great voices and rally fit the book, they made the reading experience even better. I truly enjoyed this book so much that I preordered the special edition so that I can display it on my book shelf. This was my introduction to Juliette Cross and best believe I will be reading more of her work. 10/10 will be recommending to all of my book besties

Malina is a Dacian dancer who once met Julian when they were younger. He is a Roman General and dragon shifter who finds her in a situation where he can save her from harm. The only way for him to do it though is to make her his slave and bring her into his household. So there’s that. She’s a sort of witch with empathic senses and he has a grand political plan. By 50% they are on the same team.

This book has a bunch of cool elements like dragon shifters in the Roman Empire, witches, talismans, and dancing, but it still feels like something is missing. Or at least that we haven’t yet scratched the surface of this world. I think if you like political intrigue mixed with dragon shifters then you might like this. The narrators Blair Dade and Kale Williams did a very good job bringing the characters to life. They added to the story for sure.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

Intriguing storyline and impeccable characters that made me desperate for more! I can’t wait for the second book!

I was so excited about this book; the premise sounded excellent. A dark romantasy set in ancient Rome with dragons? Incredible premise!!

HOWEVER

This was so bad for so many reasons. Typically, I don't like to yuck anyone's yums, but:
𖥔 There is an EXTERMELY unbalanced and uncomfortable master/slave relationship and the enslaved FMC is of a minority race
𖥔 He falls into insta-lust when she's a minor and he's a full adult man in a powerful position
𖥔 During one sex scene she comments how "she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to." ... because she's his slave!!!
𖥔 As a minor she is described as so tiny and petite but also that she looks older than her age because she's so curvy and petite

Things I took issue with that are more-so my opinions:
𖥔 The smut scenes were cringey at best, uncomfortable and consentless at worst
𖥔 The plot was boring and predictable!!
𖥔 Her power was the power of ... dance
𖥔 I found their relationship wildly unbelievable. Chemistry where. Common interest where.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC.

Please note, this rating is based on the content of the book and not the performance of the ALC.

This books is not for me. This book features a MMC who enslaves a woman…. Who is a minority. At one point he is attracted to her when she is a minor as well. I could not get past these two facts and it made the rest of the book rough. Any relationship between a “master” and a “slave” would not be positive as the “slave” could not consent. Just a not.

Firebird
By Juliette Cross
Narrated by Blair Dade; Kale Williams
3.5 ⭐️

*This book has a prominent slavery dynamic that will not be for many readers regardless of how morally noble the MMC reveals himself to be. I didn’t find slavery to be romanticized. It made me wholly uncomfortable as it should.

So, the Holy Roman Empire is most definitely not my Holy Roman Empire. Nor is a slavery trope. I don’t gravitate to most of the themes in this story, and yet, I still liked it overall. I really liked Malina, the dragon shifter concept/execution, and the mythology of different cultures within the Roman Empire. Julian/Julianus doesn’t do much for me beyond being a dragon shifter at this point. The fact that he excused his compliance with the status quo is a huge negative for me. His character may develop into something more I suppose. His BFF that concocts a revolution with him has more charisma to me than he does. I was also lukewarm on the plot overall. It didn’t lean far enough away from “terrible leader and his terrible minions, must over throw them” for me. I wanted a bit more from Cross in that department. I enjoyed the audiobook. I like the dual narrators (thank you!) and think they helped me stay present in the story. I’ll likely stick with the series at this point and reevaluate after book 2.

Thank you NetGalley, Juliette Cross, and Macmillan audio for an audiobook ARC. (Also purchased with my own money 💸)

DARK Romantasy with spice. Roman mythology.
For the dark romance girlies who like fantasy, it’s Master/salve so if you’re sensitive to that this book isn’t for you. I enjoyed the story and underlying plot. The spice was good. The ending definitely set it up for a the next book but it doesn’t end on a crazy cliffhanger.

wow! this was such a pleasant delight. i went in blind and honestly binged it in less than 24 hours! the audio was extremely well done. the narrators brought this book to life. such a unique book that felt very fresh and entertaining. there were some moments where i felt the romance was a bit rushed… i was hoping for a bit more yearning or pining. it felt like we jumped right into them becoming mates. i wish it was a bit of a slower build up to that. over all had a great time!

I unfortunately did not connect with this book. I was excited that there were magic and dragons but the whole body slave thing made me feel icky.
I am still grateful to have had an opportunity to read this early.

This book has an interesting take on fantasy romance. It is set during the Roman Empire yet in an alternate universe where dragon shifters exist. It starts with a dancer, Malina, who captures the attention of the nephew of the emperor, Julianus. Years later, he comes across her in a battlefield, her life in danger; Julian shifts into his dragon form to save her. Julian and his dragon form find that Malina is their bond. She becomes his slave, who only takes care of maid-like duties, meanwhile finding each other as fated mates during time of war.

I’m not going to lie, I loved the idea of this story but it was just not for me. I had a hard time letting go of the actual history, and seeing them as dragon shifters. The political intrigue was so intricately rooted into the Roman Empire and it was fascinating to read. Another thing I had difficulty with was the slave aspect. It may be part of history, but I did not like how she was his slave and it really felt like she had no choice as I did not see their relationship blossom as naturally. I did not find that had any chemistry making it harder for me to believe she made this choice for herself. I’ve seen other ARC reviews that absolutely loved this book, and I can see why, but again, I am not the target audience for this book.

Firebird is the first book I've read/ listened to by Juliet Cross, and I have to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit! As far as the narration goes... Absolutely amazing! Blair Dade and Kale Williams are both masters of their craft. I heard the emotion in every word and felt like they connected with the charters and the story.
As far as the story itself goes, there are a couple of things I think could have been fleshed out a little more. The first is the world building. It's just not "quite there." I also struggled a little bit with the ease at which the MFC acquiesced to the " tether " with the MFC, even though he's supposed to be her master. She was smart and seemed to examine how she was feeling and what her reactions were before acting on them, so I struggled a bit with that. But I did enjoy her personality. Also, I am a huge sucker for dragon shifters, so I was absolutely hooked finding out the MFC and many of the main characters were shifters! Who doesn't love a dragon shifter who is uncontrollably in love?
I would rate the spice rounded up to 3 out of 5.
I appreciate the advanced listener copy from MacMillan Audio

Maybe this is on me but I had no idea that this was a slave x slaver.

I never rate books that I DNF but this made me so so uncomfortable. I feel like the marketing needs to be MUCH MUCH clearer. I only made it about 15% before I had to stop.

I think this was a good fantastical retelling of Ancient Rome. That being said, be warned that slavery is a major part of this story, and rape is heavily implied.

Malina was a decent FMC to follow. She had a relatively well-founded backstory, and I think what we're missing from it will come up in the next book(s). As far as romantasy FMCs go, Malina strays a bit from the norm. She's not a stabby FMC if that's your thing. It isn't mine, so I found her to be refreshing. By no means is she meek and submissive, though... she just takes her time to plot before striking.

Julian, however, is your typical romantasy MMC. Tall, dark, and morally grey. Honestly, I don't really have much to say about him. Not super memorable in terms of book boyfriends.

The plot contains a lot more political intrigue than battles. If you're like me and love court politics, you'll probably enjoy this. If you're more of a blood and gore type person, you will get your fix, but you may be left wanting.

Will I continue the series? Unclear. But the book did its job and entertained me in the moment.

This will be the next big dragon book!! This story had me hooked since the prologue and it was incredible. I was originally nervous about the slave master/slave dynamic but it really wasn't an issue because Julianus never acted as a slave master.

I am glad that Malina was portrayed as feisty but she didn't act reckless. She was smart and calculating. I wish the plot had moved further in regards to the political maneuvering, but I understand this is just the beginning of the series.

Roman Empire for the Ladies? Maybe, yeah. Set in ancient Rome, but with a magic/dragon twist. Malina is a Dacian dancer who catches the eye of a Roman general, Julianus Dakkia. He bestows upon her a special talisman before they part ways and he returns to war. Fast forward four years and Julianus once again finds himself crossing paths with Malina, of all places, on a Roman battlefield and her life is in peril. Instinctually, Julianus shifts into his dragon form to save her. Now she is his. Malina is taken as a slave to serve Julianus in his home as his Body Slave. Soon though, they find that there is much more to their relationship than Master and Slave. Excitement ensues. With evil emperors, plotting generals, forbidden dragon riding, and "steamy" sexy time, this story captures quite a few of the more commonly seen fantasy tropes. I have to say, it's a bit predictable but the storyline is interesting enough to continue reading.

What did I like?
The ancient Rome setting.
The shape shifting humans to dragons concept, as opposed to the more commonly used "separate entity dragon that bonds with a human". In this story, the human IS the dragon.
The scattering of humans bestowed with magical gifts from the gods.

What didn't I like?
It was predictable. But hey, sometimes that's a good thing.
The last hour or so (I listened to the audiobook) was painful and rushed at times. I felt like the submission deadline was looming and so it was finished in a hurry.
The sexy time scenes were over dramatized and less believeable. If I didn't know any better, I'd think an "alpha" male from the 80's wrote them. It was like I was reading an "It happened to Me" letter to the editor that mags like Penthouse used to have. <insert eyeroll here> What I'm saying is, that I didn't get drawn into the scene like I have with some other stories. I found myself rolling my eyes and wanting them to get it over with so the storyline would continue.

Overall, I was engaged enough to continue. But then, I don't like to DNR either. Would I read the next book? Maybe. As I previously mentioned, I really liked that it was set in ancient Rome. But am I clamouring for the next book in the series? Not really, no.

A bit about the audiobook narration:
The female narrator was enjoyable although a bit over-dramatized at times for my taste. I did NOT however, enjoy the male narrator. He sounded forced much of the time and his emphasise on some words, especially during intamate moments, became inappropriately laughable at times. I mean really, how many times can you say c#&K in one sentence before it starts to sound ridiculous and funny?

I loved this thrilling fantasy from Juliette Cross. While I’m a fan of her Stay a Spell series, they never quite reach the level of a favorite for me. I hoped for more from her in Firebird, as it is being packaged and pushed very differently, as a major fantasy release rather than a minor serial. I loved fantasy worldbuilding set in historical Rome. The incorporation of gods and dragons and witches is fascinating and well done. The tension had me worked up enough to need to put the book down several times. (or as Joey Tribiani would say, I had to put it in the freezer) I hate when books in a fantasy series really only give the reader half a book. While this is the obvious beginning of a series with a story that will continue, it does NOT end with a badly done cliffhanger. It has a satisfying enough ending for it to feel like the author gave us a fair story, yet still make me eager for the next installment. The narration by Blair Dade and Kale Williams was excellent.

3.5 ⭐️

🐉Dragon shifters x Ancient Rome
🏛️Politics
🔥Rebellion
⚔️War
❤️Fated mates
💪🏽Possessive and protective MMC
🐦‍🔥Strong and powerful FMC

I was drawn in by the cover and after reading the description I was even more intrigued.

I would definitely consider this a dark
romance 🖤

The master/slave dynamic was rather off putting. I do wish that it came with trigger warnings because I had no idea that was going to be a theme in this book. While it is done well, I can see how some would rather not read a book with this aspect.

If you’re going to read this book, I do think that the audiobook is the way to go. The dual narration and the way the narrators brought the characters to life and exemplified emotion made it an easy listen.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Juliette Cross for the chance to listen to this AudioARC in exchange for a review 🖤

This audio was AMAZING!! I loved both the female and male voices, they really made the story come to life! I have a special connection to Medusa so I loved this idea that Medusa and her sisters were given powers, that then passed to other women, to punish evil men. I can’t wait for this book to release simply so I can read it again!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this ARC.

Firebird by Juliette Cross is soooooo good. Comes out 4/8. If you haven’t preordered it, you should. It’s got dragon shifters, set in Roman times, different kind of magic system, slow burn romance, and 🌶️.

Would definitely recommend.