“With that greatness came arrogance, and with that arrogance corruption, and with that corruption downfall.”

Alright, where are my dragon fanatics at??? Let me hear you ROAR because oh my first protector, was Fireborne an insane ride!!!

I don’t even know where to start…

Okay. I do. I want to start with how REAL Annie and Lee are written. This isn’t about morally grey or compelling characters. I could feel the journey they both were on. Every decision they made, how they felt afterwards, the progression from naive exuberance and optimism to a battered, tarnished, weary adult realism. It all was so incredibly well done. And not just Annie and Lee. All the characters. I could pluck any of them from the pages and put them in real life and they would plausibly function in our reality.

Which leads me to my next favorite thing. I had absolutely no idea where I wanted the story to go. What decisions did I want Lee or Annie to make? I have no idea! I seriously could not wish for one outcome over the other because I FELT THEM ALL IN THE DEPTHS OF MY HEART!!! Oh Rosaria Munda, you enchantress you. I had to completely submit any freewill, any expectations, any preconceived notions, and all of my fictional desires. She was completely in control and I had no choice but to submit to her will.

That’s what makes this book pure fucking magic.

“It’s strange how you can fight your way to a door, even through it, without thinking about what lies on the other side.”

Fireborne is described as Red Rising meets Game Of Thrones and oh boy, was this as intense as that ride sounds. Like both series, Fireborne is wrapped in the grey subtlety that political intrigue generally resides in. This isn’t a good versus bad, right versus wrong, but more a scale of ideals, weighed and measured and bitterly fought over. The psychology behind rebellions and regimes is woven into the plot so intricately, it’s difficult to unwind and unravel the black and white morality of either side.

That’s not to say there isn’t a right or a wrong, just that Munda presents each argument from the perspective of humanity, forcing the reader to see and understand that good for some is bad for others, and vice versa. This is a realistic complexity I love in a book. I want to think. I want to feel. I want to sink into the depths of characters and muse over the triumphs and tragedies of both sides. I want to immerse myself in a completely human experience and Fireborne does all of that.

“It leaves me wondering, at this ability I seem to have, of convincing others of things I can no longer convince myself.”

If you want to be swept away, immersed in a world that is recognizable but far away, grab this book. Also, there are dragons! Did I talk about the dragons?! I know. I loved so much about this book that dragons somehow made it to the bottom of the fucking list. Like, who am I right now?! Anyway. Just read this book. It’s fucking amazing.

Thank you Bookish First and Penguin Teen for including this book in their weekly raffle!