Fireborne

I almost never reread books but today I reread this one so I can binge the whole series when the final book comes out in a few days. Been awhile since I read this (almost exactly 3 years) so it was as engaging a read the second time. I love the character work done here because the Lee/Annie relationship is fascinating and what really drives the book for me. The writing has a maturity rarely seen in YA, and it's criminal this never got more popular.

Now to see if the rest of the series holds up!

This book is amazing! I loved it so much.

Nine years ago there was a bloody revolution that left many orphans behind. Two of them grew up together in an orphanage and mourned all they had lost.

Before the revolution, only Dragon Lords (highborn) could be dragon riders. In this new world, any class can test to become a dragon rider. Lee and Annie will never forget the day they lost their families, but becoming dragon riders would allow them to help protect this new world they believe in.

I loved the characters, the dragons, the politics, and everything else about this book. I am very sad that I will have to wait until March for the next one.

If you're like me and love fantasy and aren't a romance fan, this is for you.

Touches on some incredibly thought-provoking and challenging topics. I came into the story with no expectations and ended up crying at the end. When two sides both have their evils, how can you choose which to side with? I loved Lee, cried with him, empathised with him. I didn't love Antigone (and I think Annie is a blasphemous nickname for such a unique name - but I've never liked the name Annie), but I came to respect her and her decisions in the end. The themes the author wanted to explore were well-executed, and incredibly impressive for a first book. I'm not a fan of dual POVs and am still not, but I think in this case, it lend rather than took away from the message the author wanted to convey.

I think the most disappointing thing was that dragons weren't really integral to the story - you could take them away and replace it with any other element and it would continue to read the same. Labelled as a fantasy, but doesn't really take advantage of fantastical elements.

I didn't love the story, but I think I will with re-reads. Fingers crossed that the sequel remains within lines of expectations.

7.5/10

This was good, but I don't really get the people who don't read YA often but say “oh but Fireborne barely feels like YA”. This is clearly a YA book. And that's not a bad thing -but the people I know who love it are always acting as if it's an exception to something and to be honest, I don't see it. It's just a book that is both good and YA. Those exist.

Because of that, though, I didn't love it. The YA stuff just kinda grates on me. Why are the leaders of the dragonriders for an entire civilization teenagers? Because YA. Why is there so much pining? Because YA.

That aside, there were some really good aspects to this. The dragons and the lore were cool, and I thought the book handled politics and characters relationships much more nuanced than I was expecting. I also really liked the last quarter or so. This is a book I would have absolutely loved if every character was 3-5 years older and acted accordingly, which isn't a slight against the book.

I read this book because of Elliot Brooks' YouTube and Instagram channels. She is always raving about this book. And boy, am I glad I did.
I will start by saying that I was OBSESSED with dragons growing up. I had a ton of books on dragons and I was always rereading the Eragon series (until it got boring). This book is a very political fantasy, where the Dragonriders are the most powerful people. The book starts at the end of a revolution, where the old regime was overthrown for their cruelty and greed, very similar to the French Revolution. The leader of this revolution spares one of the sons of the old ruler. Flash forward about 10 years and this boy is in school to become one of the Dragonriders. No one knows his real identity. He befriended a girl in his orphanage, and they are trying to help build this new country.
I loved all of the characters in this book so much. Lee and Annie's friendship is so incredible to learn about as you read. It is ever changing and evolving. The politics are incredibly rich and engaging, while not being too “Game of Thrones”-y. I could read about these characters eating breakfast. They are so interesting and complex. I cannot wait for the second book to come out. I already preordered it.

60% and I was thoroughly enjoying this, I just realized at the last part that I'm not really invested in the characters, maybe Lee, Power, and Crissa but other than those three not much. However, I do think this book is very well-written and plotted objectively and I also do think that this is YA political fantasy at its finest.

dnf'd at 110/432. too juvenile for my tastes - there's literally a line on page 71 which introduces a character as “...a pale, balding, bespectacled man in his mid-thirties”. MID-THIRTIES?!

i didn't like either of the protagonists, and i didn't understand why they liked each other either. there are a lot of characters (with what felt like try hard names - there's a dude named Power LOL) and terms (re: classes and dragons) introduced from the get go without any real distinguishing traits or explanations. i also found the perspective swapping between the protags within chapters confusing. i don't mind getting my exposition delivered piecemeal but when the writing doesn't draw me in, i don't look forward to the delivery.

DNF ~ 30%

Fireborne just isn't pulling me in, and I'm really sad about it. A lot of the BookTok girlies were calling this ‘young adult Fourth Wing' and while I can somewhat see why they say this, it's a very disappointing comparison. Fireborne felt more like 90% teen drama and angst, 10% dragons, magic, and everything else. Idk. May be revisiting this someday, who knows.

I can't hardly wait to post this review. I think this book is criminally underrated.
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.
This book caught me by surprise, really, way exceeding my expectation. It restore my faith to YA books after a series of dissapointment I experience with YA books lately.
The way Rosaria wrote the dynamic relationship between Lee and Annie didn't even start as romantic one, but platonic love instead. Friends-to-lovers trope even my least favorite trope, but I feel like Rosaria wrote Lee and Annie's story JUST FOR ME. I could feel the emotions of both characters, my heart