Fireborne Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1) 
Author: Rosaria Munda 
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dragons
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Synopsis:

Seraphina meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that's full of rivalry, romance... and dragons.

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.

From debut author Rosaria Munda comes a gripping adventure that calls into question which matters most: the family you were born into, or the one you’ve chosen.

Fireborne is the first book in a new young adult fantasy series that will leave readers begging for more. This is one of the rare books where I can't really find fault with any aspect of the novel - I pretty much liked everything. There were a few things that stood out to me though. The plot isn't completely fresh and unique - it's pretty much impossible to find that in any genre anymore - but the author puts her own touches and twists to make it stand out from the others out there right now. The world building was very well done - to the point I could just close my eyes and picture myself right alongside Lee or Annie at any moment during the story. I loved learning about how the society was before and after the Revolution, what caused the Revolution, and the other intricate details the author uses to bring this world to life. 

Secondly, the characters were fantastic. I really liked both Lee and Annie. They were both very interesting and realistic. I loved learning all I could about each of them - their pasts, families, possible futures, and everything in between. We really get to know Lee and Annie throughout the book because the author uses the first person point of view to tell the story - from both characters' perspectives. I love the first person and almost always prefer it to any other writing style, and this book was no exception. I feel like the reader gets to know the main character(s) on a much deeper and more personal level this way. We get to go inside both Lee and Annie's minds to discover all their secrets, memories, hopes and fears, dreams, innermost thoughts, and everything in between. I really felt connected to each character separately because of this writing style, which only brought the book and the characters themselves alive before my eyes. There is the mystery third person narrator who pops in every once and awhile and tells us bits of information and scenes from the past that will go on to influence the story. I liked that the author added this bit of mystery to the story and also appreciate that it helped to set the scene and gives the reader information that they'll need to understand coming up in the story. This was an amazing first book in what promises to be an adventurous and adrenaline-filled new series. I'll definitely be waiting for the next book to come out. I very highly recommend this novel to fans of YA fiction, fantasy, paranormal, historical fiction, and those that love great world building and, of course, dragons.

 

Rosaria grew up in rural North Carolina, where she climbed trees, read Harry Potter fanfiction, and taught herself Latin. She studied political theory at Princeton and lives in Chicago with her husband and cat.

For book recs and updates, follow her on instagram: @rosariamunda

Prize: Win (1) of (2) copies of Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1) by Rosaria Munda (US/CAN Only)

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