Book Review: Fireborne (The Aurelian Cycle #1)

Fireborne
Rosaria Munda
5/5

I'd like to say, before actually reviewing, I love dragons so much and I'm kind of biased towards loving anything with dragons. That being said, this book provides a unique twist on dragons, I saw the author saying that she had been influenced by the events of the French Revolution and she really created a beautiful blend.

Annie and Lee grew up together, I mean after both of their families were destroyed by the events of a revolution, and now they are competing for the leader of the new, citizen-led dragon fleet. They both  have tragic pasts, both of them watched the demise of their families- Annie by the fire of the dragonlord who was supposed to protect them, and Lee, being the son of a dragonlord, as the consequence of their revolution. Now they have a Divergent-style testing system where every citizen is supposed to get an equal chance, with those permitted to be chosen by a dragon at the very top.

There are a lot of political issues here. I love books that examine the intricacies of a post-revolution society, and it was especially interesting because dragons were involved. There were huge questions of morality and characters who were just trying to do the right thing. I think it was great too because even the characters who were mean, I couldn't really hate them because I feel like we were provided a little of everyone's perspective despite it being in the voices of Annie and Lee.

Lee was great and all, but Annie really surprised me because she was just an amazing character. She had issues with public speaking and she pushed through them. She doubted herself, but she didn't wallow in it or allow it to overcome her. She was also intensely loyal and I loved that. There were points when she questioned her loyalty, in a natural way, but she persisted and stood up for what was right. I love that she was so smart and so special but depicted in a way where she came across as average, there was a great mix of extraordinary and ordinary.

I would recommend this book for anyone who loves political drama, and of course, anyone who loves dragons. I do hope that the dragons get some more page-time in the next book in the series, but I'm ok with where it was in this one. I'm so excited to see how things pan out and can't wait for the next one.