Series: The Aurelian Cycle #1
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on October 15, 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 448
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Annie and Lee were just children when a brutal revolution changed their world, giving everyone—even the lowborn—a chance to test into the governing class of dragonriders.
Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn’t be more different. Annie’s lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee’s aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.
But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.
With war on the horizon and his relationship with Annie changing fast, Lee must choose to kill the only family he has left or to betray everything he’s come to believe in. And Annie must decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fireborne is told from the alternating POVs of Annie and Lee. Both are told in the third person, present point of view. In addition, each chapter opens with a peek into their childhood from Lee’s perspective, plus one that makes us question everything a certain character believed in.
The alternating POV is useful for rounding out the world. Annie and Lee come from completely different backgrounds, and they have different ways of viewing the world. Annie is a former serf and a girl, neither of which would have been allowed to be a dragonrider under the old regime. Lee comes from the ruling class and has always believed he would one day be a leader of his people. Both are top students and excellent dragonriders, yet they have different ways of viewing the world because of who they are and how they present themselves.
Annie reminds me of Vin from Mistborn. She starts off hesitant and unsure of herself, and she doesn’t feel worthy despite her natural talents. However, she has a burning anger within herself. If she unleashes herself, she will be a force to reckon with. Lee is more calm and collected; he likes to stay in control, which is reflected in his dragonriding as he doesn’t allow his emotions to spillover into his dragon. This changes when he’s forced to confront his past and take a side.
I enjoyed the dynamics between Lee and Annie. While the synopsis makes it seem as though they are a thing, they seem to have a mutual agreement not to acknowledge their feelings for each other, likely because of the complications due to their family backgrounds (or rather, Lee’s family background) and their shared trials dating back to their time in the orphanage. There were times I wondered if they would ever acknowledge the tension between them or if they would end up with other partners. Having finished the novel, I’m getting strong YA vibes, so I have a ship in mind. We’ll see how it goes.
The synopsis is misleading (through no fault of the author). From the synopsis, I believed that Lee’s ancestry will cause a rift between him and Annie and that the tensions between the old regime and new regime would play a large role in this novel. However, the majority of this novel is spent on ranking competitions among the top dragonriders and on revealing the flawed systems of the new regime. The threat of war is only propaganda until the end of the novel, and even then it feels like the first shots are only fired at the novel’s end.
While this novel moves as a slow pace, I enjoyed learning more about the world through the characters’ experiences and seeing them struggle to reconcile the new regime’s ideals with the harsh realities of rulership. It raises questions on what makes a good ruler, how a new regime can successfully implement its ideals, and whether one is in the right to usurp the old regime. For example, is it okay to overthrow the old regime if you resort to some of the tactics they used during a time of hardship? I even found myself questioning the leadership of the new regime.
By the novel’s end, it seems as though various powers are beginning to make their move. I’m looking forward to seeing what Rosaria Munda brings us next in The Aurelian Cycle!
Additional Thoughts
- The world is richly built with various class systems, within both the old and new regime. Multiple languages are spoken, ancient texts are studied, and government systems and propaganda are portrayed along with other elements.
- The novel seemed to be building up to Annie stepping into leadership. This was especially apparent during the times of crisis in which Annie takes the lead. While I understand why Lee made the decision he did in the end, the way it’s handled felt forced. He’s always felt like more of the natural leader even when he doesn’t believe in himself.
- Lee’s choice at the end felt inevitable. While I would have liked to see more conflicts leading up to this (through familial relationships and internal dialogue), I’m interested in seeing the repercussions of his actions, both internally and externally.
- Power’s character: At this time, I can’t grasp his intentions or why he would make the sudden shift in character that he does midway into the book. That said, his behavior is interesting, and it seems like there is more to him than has yet to be shown. I’m definitely interested in seeing more from him.
I recommend this book if you enjoyed…
- An Ember in the Ashes: the dynamics between the leading characters are similar, military student life, and flawed regimes
- Starcrossed romance: although Annie and Lee have romantic tensions, their backgrounds keep them from being together (more as a psychological barrier).
- Dragon bonds: dragons and their riders share a bond. Not to the extent of reading each other’s minds and engaging in play together, but they can share emotions.
Dani @ Perspective of a Writer says
GAHHH I didn’t love this as much as I hoped. I did love the will they or won’t they between Annie and Lee and I thought their back history really worked for that. But there wasn’t enough dragons for me. We learned so little about them and then the battles were between allies more than between enemies. But the regime and all was well setup. Great review Crystal.
Crystal says
I agree that there was less of the dragon riding than I expected. What I enjoyed from this book came more from the world building and intrigue than the dragons and action. It’ll be interesting to see where Rosaria Munda takes us from here!