A review by sarahmsklar8
Fireborne by Rosaria Munda

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense

4.5

As someone who has read quite a bit of young adult fantasy and often finds it more miss than hit, this one definitely hits. I tend to find YA leans way too far on the young side, with 17 year old characters that behave and think like 12 year olds, but I found Fireborne much more mature. It was The Romanovs meets the Targaryens, fantasy with the political intrigue that insights such mixed loyalties. The world building was fleshed out enough to be thorough but not overly complex where the build encapsulated the plot. The characters in this book are also fantastic and complex, with layers of backstory to fuel their motives. The small amount of the romance sub-plot thrown in doesn't overshadow or cheapen the plot. It is a sprinkle of young human attraction while managing not to come off as angsty or immature. These days, I have such wild adoration for a YA fantasy book that does not force romance or "spice", which I think lends to some of the lower star reviews. Booktok has plagued the community with an incessant need for spice that is unjustly sabotaging good YA books.

 I highly recommend this book to all ages, but if you are an older reader who still enjoys YA, don't let the Y in YA hold you back from this one! While it is definitely a YA book, I could easily see shelved in the (new) adult section.