Firebird
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Standard 30-day free trial
Buy for $20.24
-
Narrated by:
-
Blair Dade
-
Kale Williams
-
By:
-
Juliette Cross
An instant New York Times bestseller!
House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy.
A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
An unforgiving world where dragons rule Rome.
Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive 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.
The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her.
Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality…and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle’s machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself.
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.
Content Warning: Firebird is an adult romantasy novel that contains dark themes, including slavery in Ancient Rome, which may be uncomfortable for some listeners.
A Macmillan Audio production from Bramble Books.
Listeners also enjoyed...
Continue the series
People who viewed this also viewed...
Great narration and story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Writing: 1
World building: .5/1
Characters: .5/1
Themes: .5/1
3/5
Spice: 2/5
Audiobook: 4/5
I'm not even sure I have any thoughts worth putting down. Not sure I jive with the politics and slave-owning. The whole roman-based fantasy was also a wash for me. I did not really feel immersed.
I just wanted it to end.
The narrators carried me through. They were good. Dual narrated.
I'm not sure I will continue this series. I'm 50/50. The book is cool though. It's got a dragon on the sprayed edges. It took way to long for me to read. Between final projects for my grad program and board meetings, I did not find myself ever wanting to pick this up. There are better romantasies out there.
He owns her so she can be free??
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Be warned that some of the imagery and violence in this novel is beyond disturbing. The author shows the debauchery of Rome.
The ending let me down (but not in a catastrophic way). It felt like the novel promised that the FMC's gift would help the MMC achieve his "goals" in a spectacular way. One of the FMC's temple visits similarly telegraphed that there would be a big event. But in the end, what actually was achieved didn't require her gift at all. The MMC could have pulled that stunt at any point in the story, with the same (or better) outcome. From a political perspective, the MMC (and the world) might be better off if he had never met the FMC.
It felt a bit dumb that the simple stunt at the end was overseen by a goddess. The relative insignificance of that event didn't warrant that kind of supernatural presence.
(I listened to this story a second time immediately after finishing it. The second time around, I stopped with 4.5 hours left to go. That's when the ending begins to fall apart for me. Too scattered. Too painful. Too disgusting. Without any payoff that would justify delaying the end. The story is basically over at this point. I don't feel the need to experience the last 4.5 hours again.)
Other criticisms:
The "please help me take a bath" scenes feel a bit cringe. I would have preferred less spice. The way the spice between the MCs is written undermines the sweetness of their relationship. It ruined the mood for me. The tropes and terms employed during spicy scenes felt inconsistent with the rest of the novel. As if the language had been lifted from somewhere else, and inserted by the author as a "mandatory" element of this romantic fantasy story.
At times, the novel feels a bit preachy. It overtly comments on social problems in an immersion-breaking way. Some of the stuff the FMC says during her social justice outbursts doesn't even make sense. She condones the brutal, indiscriminate murder of innocent civilians as long as the marauders are engaged in a "rebellion" against Rome. The MMC doesn't challenge this lack of morals. He too doesn't want to kill the marauders who ransacked villages. Even though, when you spend 2 seconds thinking about it, it is obvious that this brutal band of killers likely wouldn't be any better than Rome itself.
Several characters kept talking about rebuilding Rome's government, without spelling out how that new system might work in practice, and what the downsides of certain changes might be. As a result, their idea of "revolution" feels a bit childish to me. Their core idea is "Just kill all of the worst people and install better ones." It is hinted that both the MMC and FMC would allow conquered territories to break free - that they support violent rebellion against Rome's military. They never talk about how far they think Rome's borders should retreat. They don't talk about problems caused by power vacuums, infighting between people groups, etc. Maybe the author will cover these ideas in sequels.
Despite my criticism, the novel still deserves a solid 4-star rating. I look forward to the sequel - which will likely follow a different couple.
My biggest fear about the sequels is that the MMC and FMC might stoop so low as to join (or lead) a group of marauders that lays waste to villages - all in the name of rebelling against Rome. I've seen another book series take this baffling and horrifying path of misguided "moral superiority".
Hopefully the author will take a more nuanced approach. It sounds like we know who killed the FMC's family. Both the MMC and the FMC might have to grapple with that in future novels. Maybe there will be more than 2 factions over time, more than just Rome and "everyone else".
One of the better stories
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved!!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a quick read for me. It features an enemies-to-lovers arc set against a backdrop of the Roman Empire, with dragons and gods adding a mythical twist. The story is a very slow burn, which may appeal to some readers. I did really enjoy the attention to detail in the deluxe book cover—it’s beautifully done. That said, the story didn’t quite hook me enough to continue the series.
The detail to world building.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.