ebookreview | Entries tagged with series: the fire that binds

Firebird (The Fire That Binds #1) by Juliette Cross

Genre:
Romantasy, Fantasy, Romance, Dragons, Adult, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Magic

Publication Date:
April 8, 2025 by Bramble

Page Numbers:
400

Read/Finished Date:
May 12th, 2025

Rating:
5/5

Premise:

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.

Firebird is a fantasy with some dark themes, including elements of master/slave relationship, attempted sexual assault (not between MCs), and dubious consent (not between MCs). Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note.

Review:

The first book in a series (duology?), is set in Ancient Rome, where dragons are the ruling class and humans are considered slaves. I had heard a lot about this book, both negative and positive, and I tried to weigh both perspectives together. I want to read a book that might offer something amazing about ancient places like Rome and its influence across Europe. While we get this, it appears more in the form of dragons taking control of the Senate, the throne, and the world.

Before I begin this review, let me perference this DRAGONS, GODS, and the ANCIENT ROMAN EMPIRE, SIGN ME UP! By now, I am pretty sure you know I love anything and everything historic, including this novel. This gives us an inside look into the oppressive, patrician world belonging to the ancient Romans. Our two main characters meet briefly, where Julian gives Malina an aureus, saying that Lady Fortuna smiles upon her. While Malina doesn't believe in the Roman Gods, she takes the coin anyway and keeps it close to her. When they meet again on the battlefield, Julian learns that Malina is a witch with the ability to manipulate emotions.

Julian and his dragon are smitten with Malina, and his dragon refers to her as "my treasure." I love that we get bits of the dragon talking here and there, but I wish we had more of it. I would love his point of view more than Julian's. LOL

In all seriousness, I loved this book so much that I was able to read it entirely in one day. The story was engaging and kept you invested firmly in the lives that are spread across the pages, and this is not only with the main characters but also with the secondary characters.

But don't listen to both the good and bad, let yourself make the judgment. For me, this book was well worth the pre-order and spending an entire day in bed reading.