🔥 Firebird by Juliette Cross 🔥
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

This book had me hooked from the start! The lore at the beginning of the book instantly pulled me in and I found it very hard to put down!!! With Firebird, Juliette Cross delivered a perfect mix of swoon-worthy romance, intense action, and just the right amount of spice. The chemistry between the main characters? Absolutely fire!!! Soooo much tension and so much longing that I found myself kicking my feet and giggling throughout most of the book!

The world-building was immersive without being overwhelming, and I really enjoyed the balance between romance and plot. The only reason this wasn’t a full 5 stars for me was that the pacing felt off in some areas, mainly towards the end. The story built up every well throughout the book but the ending felt slightly underwhelming and rushed. However, the sneak peek for the next book had me gasping out loud!!! I cannot wait to read book 2!!!!

If you love a steamy dark romantasy with high stakes, forbidden romance and a storyline that keeps you on edge, Firebird is definitely worth picking up!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC!

I was SO excited for this book! Dragons, Ancient Rome, the Roman Empire with all its power struggles, corrupt generals, and, of course, the usual treatment of women (aka they don’t count at all). Add in fantasy elements, and I thought this was going to be amazing. Spoiler: it wasn’t.

Our protagonist has the power to feel and control other people’s emotions. Things happen, and she gets “saved” by a Roman general who makes her his body slave to protect her (because, of course, he’s not bad. OF COURSE).

Obviously, since this is a romantasy, we already know they’ll end up together, but when I tell you I did not care at all, I swear I’m not lying. Their interactions made zero sense. One moment, he’s acting like a normal person, and the next, out of nowhere, he’s all “You’re mine”. And I usually don’t mind that dynamic, but not when it happens so early in the book with no proper relationship buildup. He calls her “my fiery girl” at chapter 11 (36% in). SIR, SHE’S NOT YOUR ANYTHING.
It's basically Insta-lust disguised as fated mates. They kiss ONCE, and he’s already like, “I love you, you know that?” What in the what???

I also hated the constant nudity and sex descriptions. And I read spice, I’m not against it AT ALL. But this? It was too much, too often, too close together. It gave me the biggest ick.

And the plot? I just didn’t care. The book focused more on politics, world-building, and a grand plan that was built up throughout the entire story… only for it to lead to an extremely underwhelming payoff. I get that it’s a series, so some things have to be left open, but the way this book wrapped up made it feel like nothing was actually resolved. And when I saw “96%” on my Kindle, it made me feel like I wasted six hours for nothing.

By a certain point, I could tell this was going to be a disappointment, but I pushed through to see where it went. Then at around 68%, I just started skimming. It was too late to DNF, but I also didn’t care anymore.

And the dragons. I wanted DRAGONS. Not a weird possessive voice in his head and two seconds of “Fly on me even though it’s forbidden.” I feel scammed.

Pretty sure I won’t be reading the next one, even though Trajan seems like a better character than Julian. But I don’t think I can get over everything enough to enjoy the sequel. Bummer, I was really excited for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was engaging, fast paced, but I wish the romance wasn't so insta-lovey.
I liked the worldbuilding and I loved the concept of the Roman Gods being dragon shifters

Firebird is my first book by Juliette Cross but it won’t be my last. I was hooked from the very beginning.

This book follows Julianus Dakkia and Malina. Julian is a powerful dragon-shifting general in the Roman army and the nephew of the emperor. Malina, on the other hand, is a Dacian dancer who has special powers of her own. While the romance was a little insta-love for me I did really enjoy it.
The book takes place in Ancient Rome and it has master/slave dynamics. I was very interested in the world building. And I enjoyed the writing. I am very excited for the sequel.
Thank you to Netgalley and Juliette Cross for this ARC

I've seen loads of people raving about this book, and saying it's going to be THE Romantasy of the summer...

I enjoyed it. It was okay. But it wasn't one of my favourite reads this year.

I think for me, I didn't connect to the characters. They just fell a bit flat.

The things I did love though, was the fact that the man and the dragon were two separate things. The dragon co-inhabited the body, but it had its own personality. That was kinda cool.

And I loved the ending - it's actually one of my favourite things in a series (although I did guess it was coming)

I'm not sure if I'll read book two, but I'm not ruling it out either.

Rated 4.5 Stars

Firebird was a highly intense read filled with action and adventure, twists and turns, sexy times, senate politics, intrigue and so much more. I loved it dearly. I found it to be very interesting and entertaining. It held my attention from start to finish -I read it in two sittings. It was one of those books I couldn't wait to get back to. The creation myth, lore, world and magic system were awesome. I loved how they were incorporated into this Roman Empire inspired story. I can't wait to visit this world again especially after reading the first chapter of the next book. The wait to next year might just end me.

1 star

It took me way too long to read this, so I'm gonna keep it short because this book made me furious.
1. How deceiving is the blurb that it doesn't mention this is an slave/owner book (because I'm not calling it a "romance"... gross) also there isn't a trigger warning page or even a link to it and I get arc readers get "unfinished books" but we deserve (for our mental health and considering it isn't mention in the blurb) to know if the content of the book might be triggering for us especially because within the first 10% of the book we get a gang-r🍇 scene. I do hope the final product gets a TW list.
2. The hero has zero redeemable qualities. Can't root for a slave owner. And did I mention he also has child s/Aves? I had the best time reading that *eye twitches*
And 3. This is a romantasy and (even if we brushed away the fact that she's his slave) I didn't buy their romance? It felt forced, and there was no real chemistry(?) Also, the spice... their power imbalance made it not enjoyable.
Again, I had many issues with this book, but I know a lot of people will love it, so I'm going to say this just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic book to read. I have never read anything like this before and it was brilliant. Romans, dragons, magic, spice, what more could you want. Nice to read something different. Great, likable characters.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan | Tor Bramble for providing me this book in exchange of an honest review*


This was the first book of Cross I've read, and I liked it. I can't say my mind was blown but it was an enjoyable read. I hate insta-love (although I love insta-attraction) and the romance in Firebird was an insta-love but it was...interesting. Some of the smut should be eliminated, in my opinion but I other than that it was...ok.

Thank you Juliette Cross, Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC!

The marketting and advertising of this book set me up for the wrong expectations while reading this book. Like many of the new fantasy book, it has all the popular tropes but I personally felt that it wasn't written well. The romance part was not done well. It was more of 'insta love' and 'fated mate'. Ofcourse, these two tropes are sometimes fun to read about but the execution did not justice to it. Overall, it felt like the romance, world-building and characters lacked depth. The premise was strong but the writing execution was done poorly.

Wow what can I say about this book? I think it's going to be the next big romantasy on tik tok. I honestly couldn't put it down. Please read this book you will not be disappointed.

This was my first Juliet Cross book and I absolutely loved it. I was super excited to read about the setting of this romantasy with the combination of dragon lore and Roman soldiers. I really loved the intricate world building that this book brought. The action with the gladiator pits and the spice was also impeccably done not being overwhelming.

Overall, I loved the characters. I love Julianus who on the outside as the conqueror comes across as “the villain” at first due to his status in the Roman army but we quickly learn just how much of a gentleman he is and how protective he is of our FMC, Malina. I loved Malina’s spitfire personality compared to her status. This book also had great side characters. I really loved Stefanos and Trajan.

The only thing I didn’t care for was the ending. There was so much action built into the last 10%. I just wish there had been more closure as far as the first book and those characters. I felt that we missed some of the things that have gone on. Hopefully this will be cleared up in Book #2.

The sneak peak for the next book was probably the biggest shock I had..I can’t wait to read it. Overall, if you love a good solid Romantasy this book is a win.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for the eARC of this book. I look forward to more of Juliette’s books.

I love Juliette Cross books so I was so excited for this Romantasy, set in a Roman inspired backdrop. I really enjoyed Firebird and it did not disappoint!
I love a dual narrative and it was nice getting to know both Malina and Julian. The dragon lore was interesting, particularly the 'half-skin' aspect and I've not seen it in a Roman setting before, which I enjoyed!
I did struggle a bit with the slave/master dynamic between the two of them and a bit of the instalove but do find that makes sense when it comes to fated mates.
This was an enjoyable Romantasy and I'm looking forward to more in the series, especially after the sneak peek - I need to see the next couple's story now!

I really enjoyed this book, I read the whole book in 24 hours I couldn’t put it down, it was captivating from the start.

The setting and plot of the book were really interesting and unique.

It was really easy to fall into this world with the world building and magic system, it wasn’t over complicated and I liked the whole mates aspect as it was more of a refreshing new take on ‘fated mates’

I have just ordered the special edition of this book from Waterstones

This is a Dark Romantasy that does have a a slave/master power imbalance and the spice is definitely a lot darker than some popular Romantasies, but if you’re good with that kind of story then this could definitely be for you!

This isn’t exactly a masterpiece but it was a fun read and I had a good time all the way through. It’s what I’ve come to expect from romantasy books and it didn’t disappoint.

The characters are well rounded and I loved the idea of a dragon shifter and all that entailed.

The world building flows nicely as you read, and being in an ancient roman setting was a nice twist from other romantasies.

Overall I can understand that it won’t be for everyone, and be prepared for some dark themes, but it was a decent read for me and I enjoyed it.

I definitely had a great time reading this book! I love both dragons and Ancient Rome inspired books and i loved how the author wove these two elements together! It was definitely a fun spin on Roman’s history and aristocracy system. As an italian, it’s always nice to find some latin words (some of which we still use today or know anyway) in fantasy books and i also appreciated Malina’s cultural background, even if i wish we’d seen something more of Dacia.

Julianus was also a solid mmc, i liked his moral integrity and his solid choices, how he already had his solid set of values and didn’t need the heroine’s intervention to see the truth of other’s sufferings. His duplicity with his uncle was pretty cool, i love characters who can play a role while keeping a straight face and hiding their true thoughts/intentions! I also enjoyed some secondary characters, especially little Stefanos as well as the mention of the gods and how dragons originated from them!

What I didn’t enjoy was how little Malina and Julianus’ relationship had developed before they got together, i wish we’d seen more of a buildup in their relationship.

But if you love romantasy books, then this is a perfect read for you!

Thank you to netgalley and Bramble for an early arc, all opinions are my own!

Great book with interesting storyline however I found the some of smut scenes took away from the experience due to the frequency of them

Let me start by saying, I think lots of folk are going to love this. It’s a quick, easy read that hits all the usual notes for a beloved romantasy.

Unfortunately, it simply didn’t hit those notes for me personally. I just couldn’t vibe with the master and slave dynamics. I love me some dark romance and I often love a morally black/enemy love interest but I just can’t get down with a romance where the power is so slanted right from the off. I probably wouldn’t have picked this one up had I known this prior.

That said, if you don’t have any issues with a master/slave dynamic, you might well live this one. Dragons, enemies to lovers, a bolshy FMC and a touch her and die MMC.. Like I said, it has all the right notes to be loved.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan/Tor Bramble and Juliette Cross for this eARC. My review is my own honest opinion.

A book that i have to agree with everyone that when this will be out, it will be your next romantasy obsession

It is quite engaging, fast paced, i absolutely love the blending of roma empire history and dragon lore, you don’t see something like this everyday.
I enjoy the way the romance/ relationship between the main characters started, it transported me in a roman empire inspired tv series.
I found the the mix between romanian language while talking about a province in the roman empire ( because there’s no written dacian language) was nice but i wished for more than a word and more like whole sentences.
Overall it was a nice experience i loved the little sneak peek for what to come and im so excited for it

This book is out on 8th of April, be sure to pick this up
I have a feeling it will be everywhere
Thank you to the author for the arc

A conqueror captivated....
A witch prophesied to save them all....
A world where dragons rule Rome...

Yes!!,......I needed this book, the first time I read the synopsis I knew I was going to love it and it instantly became one of my most anticipated books of the year, and as I sit here with a huge smile on my face after finishing I can absolutely say this story surpassed all my expectations!

Ms Cross this book is "chef's kiss" it makes my little bookish heart happy!!

"One day, your gift will turn the tide of war. It will help vanquish the enemy. It will strike fear into the hearts of fierce, dangerous men."

Firebird is dark and steamy, it's every romantasy lovers dream, but if your not used to reading dark romance and are expecting lovey dovey, unicorns and rainbows please go in carefully this is an historically set timeline with a master/slave dynamic.

I loved this book, the story kept me hooked the whole way through, the writing is good but can we please stop with the word "cunny" i just........NO 🥴, the storyline is strong and the characters are amazing and can I just give a round of applause for Malina 👏👏👏👏 we have a FML that has a back bone and a sassy mouth!!!.......love her!

All in all I really enjoyed Firebird and after that ending ( yes I'm looking at you Juliette Cross) I can't wait for Bloodsinger

" you are wise as you are beautiful, little firebird"