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Fireborne (THE AURELIAN CYCLE) by Rosaria…
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Fireborne (THE AURELIAN CYCLE) (edition 2019)

by Rosaria Munda (Author)

Series: The Aurelian Cycle (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
5721841,336 (4.12)16
Fantasy. Science Fiction & Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:"One of fantasyâ??s best series." â??Booklist, starred review
Game of Thrones meets Fourth Wing 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 everyoneâ??even the lowbornâ??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 yo… (more)
Member:calthereader
Title:Fireborne (THE AURELIAN CYCLE)
Authors:Rosaria Munda (Author)
Info:G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (2019), 448 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
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Work Information

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda

  1. 00
    The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (bibliovermis)
  2. 00
    Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (humouress)
    humouress: Young adults, a generation after a rebellion, in a military college learning to ride dragons they are chosen by and telepathically bonded with and preparing to fight a war against other countries with flying mounts. (Be aware that Fourth Wing does have casual swearing and detailed bedroom scenes which Fireborne doesn’t.)… (more)
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» See also 16 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 15 (next | show all)
* I got this book for review from the publisher*

I really loved this russian inspired dragon themed novel. This book was such a strong read. I really loved the duel POV in this story and loved how their realtionship developed throughout the novel, Lee and Annie realtionship was unique and was such a strength of the novel. I also found the structure of this book to be so fun. I also really loved the dragons in this novel and it was such a fun book to read. I thought the ending could have been more expanded one, but this book was such a strong political fantsay novel that I really enjoyed. ( )
  lmauro123 | Dec 28, 2023 |
* I got this book for review from the publisher*

I really loved this russian inspired dragon themed novel. This book was such a strong read. I really loved the duel POV in this story and loved how their realtionship developed throughout the novel, Lee and Annie realtionship was unique and was such a strength of the novel. I also found the structure of this book to be so fun. I also really loved the dragons in this novel and it was such a fun book to read. I thought the ending could have been more expanded one, but this book was such a strong political fantsay novel that I really enjoyed. ( )
  lmauro123 | Dec 28, 2023 |
I love a good dragon novel! The narrators in the audio are fantastic!

Lee and Annie rely completely on each other. They live in a world remade after a bloody revolution that occurred when they were both children. After both of their families were murdered, they were in the same orphanage, which is where they met. Lee protects Annie from the bullies, making sure she eats. They are now competing for First Rider, as they are the best dragon riders. Atrias leads the new regime, saving Lee as a child. Lee and Annie believe in the opportunities this new regime allows. People test to discover their abilities and wear wristbands that symbolize their class. They've risen from orphan to the elite dragonriders.

You also meet the other dragonriders and some of their families as you learn about the new society. You'll begin to see that the society isn't perfect although no society is. Both Annie and Lee are determined to provide and protect this revolutionary society. Only Annie knows who Lee really is. His father was the dragon lord who killed her family. Atrias saved Lee, formerly known as Leo. Lee's beliefs have slowly shaped by knowing Annie and other orphans. Being amongst the people allow Lee to see more than merely the powerful people's view of the world. Lee is a natural leader whom everyone believes should be the First Rider. He is looked up to for his skills, his demeanor, and his intelligence.

This novel is the first book in a trilogy, so you know that eventually there will be problems with Lee's past--if it comes out. Problems ensue, leading to book two. ( )
  acargile | Dec 20, 2022 |
{First of 3; Aurelian Cycle; fantasy, dragons, politics, ya, young adult} (2019)

This story is narrated, in the first person, from the viewpoints of two people. Annie and Lee are dragonriders, two of only thirty two teenaged riders on immature dragons since dragons and the dragon rider houses were exterminated in the bloody revolution meant to rid the land of those who ruled by might and fear of their dragons. When dragon eggs were found, a new corps of riders was formed to protect Callipolis and now they are all competing to become First Rider. Lee and Annie are the strongest contenders and we have no indication of who will win - or who we want to win. They grew up together in an orphanage but come from opposing backgrounds; her family were serfs under the old system (something she still occasionally struggles to live down) who were the most oppressed by dragon riders. She lost her family to dragonfire and he lost his to the revolution and both bear the scars of the past.

This story shows us, through Lee's and Annie's teenage eyes, of how the country has settled, or is still settling, into its new groove about a decade on from the revolution and how it deals with new crises such as attacks from overseas or a famine and how these affect the protagonists and their friends personally.

I liked this book, so much so that I read it twice this year so I could review it properly but I'm finding it hard to do it justice. I think the easiest way to introduce it is with this quote:

Before the Revolution, the dragons of Stormscourge House—of my family—were known for terrorizing the countryside; but in even older days, they were our island’s greatest defense against aerial invasion.
“They told us to fire low,” says Cor.
“Not that low. It’s risky for the audience.”
Our dragons are immature, barely horse-size, and can’t yet breathe fire. But the smoke they produce can still burn.
Crissa and her skyfish, long, slender, and pale enough blue to blend with the morning sky, circle above us. “You want to impress the people,” she calls down to Cor. “Not roast them.”
Cor waves a hand. “All right, all right . . .”
The fleet is still in training, dragons and riders both. Known now as Guardians, the new regime’s dragonriders are lowborn, commoners, even former serfs. No longer the sons of dragonlords.
Except for me, though I’m the only one who knows that.
Because in the wake of the Revolution, to be dragonborn is to be wanted for dead. I was born Leo, son of Leon, dragonlord of Stormscourge House and Drakarch of the Far Highlands—but, since the orphanage, I’ve been Lee. Not even the First Protector, who saved my life and then welcomed me, without recognition, into his Guardian program two years after that, knows the truth.
That a Stormscourge tested into the meritocratic dragon-riding program designed to replace everything his family stood for.
Even though I know I’m lucky to be here—lucky to be alive, lucky to have escaped the orphanage—memories of the old life have a way of intruding and twisting. Especially today, as Pallor and I circle above the Palace arena, open to the public for the first time since the Revolution. The old regime had tournaments here, too. Tournaments I watched my father compete in, dreaming of the day it would be my turn.
I lean forward and rest a gloved hand on Pallor’s silver-scaled neck as his wings, translucent in the morning light, tighten in a dive. Pallor is an aurelian, a smaller breed known for being careful and maneuverable, and the aurelian formation for today’s ceremony is the only one complex enough to require coleaders. I can rehearse alone, but to do the thing properly, I need—
Annie. There she is.
Another aurelian, this one amber-toned, has emerged from the cave mouth at the base of the arena, and on her back rides my sparring partner, Annie. She and I have trained together for as long as we’ve been in the Guardian program, and we’ve known each other since the orphanage before that.
It’s a past life’s worth of memories that we’re both pretty good at not talking about.
“Annie!” Crissa calls with a cheerful wave. “There you are.”
“Lee’s been flying like an idiot out here without you,” Cor says.
Pallor and I fire ash downward. Cor dodges the stream with a bark of laughter.


There are rumours that some of the dragons and riders from the old dragonlord houses escaped to New Pythos and will return to avenge themselves. Lee reconnects with his favourite cousin and is torn between the family he thought he had lost forever in the massacre of the dragonborn and the new Callipolis that he believes in. I like Julia Stormscourge; she wanted to be part of a male-only profession (in the old system only men rode dragons) and not only did she go out and break barriers to achieve that, she rose to the very top.

I love the way Munda describes Lee's memory of how he and Annie were Chosen to become dragonriders.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her forward, past all the great, beautiful stormscourges that he’d always dreamed of flying. Barely looking at them, because all he could focus on was the feeling of the girl’s shoulders shaking as he led her on. “They won’t hurt you, come on . . .”
And then it was over: He hadn’t been Chosen, but it didn’t matter, suddenly it didn’t matter at all—
“See, we’re done, it’s done—”
He turned to her, desperate to see the look of despair gone from her face, ignoring the plummeting feeling of his own. He was surprised to see something else. Instead of staring at her feet, the girl was looking up. Past him.
He followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at an aurelian, and that the aurelian was looking back at her.
He’d heard it said before that a kind of magic came with a dragon Choosing you—that the dragon bound you to it, that you formed a connection that was deep and full of an old magic. His father had always told him this was simply a myth, that it was a matter of imprinting and that there was nothing mystical about it.
But he couldn’t help thinking, as he watched the girl’s face transform, that he was seeing something unearthly. The girl who, a moment ago, had been cowering against him now released his hand as if she had forgotten it. She took one step toward the dragon, then another, never taking her eyes off the dragon’s face. When they stood nose to nose, she stretched out a hand and laid it between the dragon’s eyes.
The boy was so entranced that he didn’t stop to wonder what was nudging him until he turned to acknowledge it. Then he looked up, into a pair of great, liquid black eyes, and everything around him stood still.


After the revolution entry into every profession, not just that of dragon riders, is based on aptitude and merit; so dragons can bond to commoners rather than just the members of the three hereditary dragon rider families. Although this seems ideal, Munda shows us hints that this is still a flawed system; for instance there is a Ministry of Propaganda and a Censorship Committee - why would you need those in a perfect society? She shows us, through Lee's and Annie's eyes, both the pros and cons of the meritocracy (whether our protagonists see them or not); it has improved the lot of most people but some people lose out (such as those with dyslexia who don't do well on the aptitude tests) and, strangely, families who were wealthy previously don't seem to have changed status. And when famine threatens, the 'old methods' (which Annie's family suffered under and against which the Revolution was fought) are used to ensure all the food is collected 'for the greater good' - although the distribution is still weighted by status - and it is the young dragonriders who have to harden their hearts and enforce those methods. Munda says in her afterword that some of her ideas come from Virgil's Aeneid and Plato's Republic although I‘ve not read either of those to be able to compare.

I thought this book was really well written, both the story and the ideas it explores. Although the protagonists and their peers are teenagers they have to deal with issues beyond their years and they all, of course, handle them differently (there was one resolution, in particular, that broke my heart). I'm looking forward to reading the next books in this trilogy; in fact I enjoyed this book so much that I bought it and Flamefall for my own shelves.

BB from @curioussquared

(March & August 2022)
4.5-5 stars ( )
  humouress | Nov 22, 2022 |
This book is so good! I loved the characters and the worldbuilding was well done ( )
  musicalbookdragon | May 23, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 15 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Rosaria Mundaprimary authorall editionscalculated
Coulson, ChristianNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Moll, CandiceNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
West, SteveNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Fantasy. Science Fiction & Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:"One of fantasyâ??s best series." â??Booklist, starred review
Game of Thrones meets Fourth Wing 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 everyoneâ??even the lowbornâ??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 yo

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