Fireborne

By: Rosaria Munda

Narrated by: Christian Coulson, Candice Moll, Steve West

Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Fireborne is everything I want in fantasy." (Rachel Hartman, New York Times best-selling author of Seraphina)

Game of Thrones 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.

©2019 Rosaria Munda (P)2019 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

"Breathless action." (Publishers Weekly starred review)

"This series opener thrills with dragon action, from aerial tournaments to wartime battles...a near-perfect work of high fantasy with wide appeal." (Booklist starred review)

"From the beginning, this book pulls readers in...full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes." (Kirkus starred review)

"Thought-provoking and full of social and political intrigue." (School Library Journal starred review)

Thrilling and thoughtful!!

This story is so gripping! With lots of action, twists, some romance, and a thoughtful challenge to what is fair and just that keep you extending that sleep timer (or at least I did). The narration took a moment to adjust to, however the emotion is written so well in this story and they really delivered in the end. Also really liked that romance was present in the book (loved every bit) but still secondary to the action and main plot of the story.
Loved it and can’t wait for book 2!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautiful written

I loved this book. The characters are well developed and nuanced. The writing beautiful, and the story intriguing, suspenseful, and unpredictable.
I originally thought it was a fantasy book but I think it falls into the dystopian category. Although labeled as young adult, it is a sophisticated read- much of the plot coming from Plato’s Republic. I’m an old adult and found it to be an extremely satisfying read. Narration was good, and it can easily be listened to at 1.25. The narrator for Lee started out slow, but he ended up being quite good.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic book

Fireborne was fantastic! The clever writing and story telling giving hints of a world that is not was it appears to be. The readers are great and normally I don’t like books with multiple readers. Looking forward to the next to.

entertaining and great storytelling

The story draws you into a new world where dragons are equivalent to the magic of Harry Potter. The character stories are deep, interesting and develop over the course of the book. At times it feels a bit overbearing, and the heaviness of the topics are palpable. Overall a great entertaining listen!

This is how it’s done.

Buying this one felt like a gamble. It hadn’t been reviewed much or in great depth, but I’m so glad I gave it a try.

I haven’t given 5 stars to a book in a long, long time. Munda’s debut YA novel is truly flawless. It moves quickly without ever feeling rushed, and deftly builds its world and characters along the way. It evokes the same youthful righteousness, faith, and fierce sense of belonging and becoming that made Hogwarts truly magical. Both the politics and relationships against this backdrop are messy, human, and compelling. Even the roles and responsibilities given to these young characters is, for a change, actually believable; the author has built the society and its moment in history to make all of this possible.

There is just something so satisfying about fantasy that feels real. Nothing in this book feels forced.

The ending, similarly, feels like an appropriate pause for a breath—no clumsy cliff hangers here. Still, I’m excited to see where this awesome new author takes the Guardians next.
For now, this first installment is truly a treat. Enjoy.