Firebird
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
An instant New York Times bestseller!
House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy.
A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
An unforgiving world where dragons rule Rome.
Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate.
The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her.
Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality…and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle’s machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself.
As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.
Firebird is an adult romantasy novel that contains dark themes, including slavery in Ancient Rome, which may be uncomfortable for some readers.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Firebird is a thrilling collision between historical fiction, a steamy love story, and full-on fantasy. Where else would you find a nephew of Julius Caesar who can turn into a dragon? That’s Julianus, a Roman general who first meets Malina while she’s a dancer, and their magnetism is amazing from the start. When they meet again years later, the Romans have slain her clan and she’s been forced into servitude, but she rightly senses that there’s more to Julianus than meets the eye. Plus, you know, all that heat. In this first book of her Fire That Binds series, Juliette Cross maintains an acrobatic balance between details that make Firebird feel like a genuine slice of history and high fantasy elements, like Malina’s status as an empath witch and the Romans’ tendency toward dragon alter egos. And the romance turns deliciously steamy in parts of the story. Whether you’re after a sexy period piece or something mystical and magical, Firebird fills the bill.
Customer Reviews
Dramatic and edgy
FIREBIRD is the first instalment in Juliette Cross’ adult THE FIRE THAT BINDS paranormal / fantasy romance series. This is dragon shifter and Roman General Julianus ‘Julian’ Dakkia, and Dacian dancer Malina’s story line.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Julian and Malina) set in 53 BCE, FIREBIRD follows in the wake of the rescue of our story line heroine. Approximately four years earlier, Dacian dancer Malina would come face to face with dragon shifter General Julianus Dakkia but Rome was at with everyone, and the dragon led armies were gaining control. Fast forward four years, Malina would find herself a rescued slave of our story line hero, a dragon who knew Malina was his fated mate but Mulian’s uncle, Emperor Caesar had declared no marriages between Romans and slaves, and Malina was about to become a pawn in a much larger game.
The world building focuses on the Roman empire’s conquest of Europe; the dragon shifters who ruled the battlefields and the skies, and the betrayal between ruling houses as Malina becomes fodder in a game of winner take all.
The relationship between Julian and Malina begins as slave and master but Julian had never intended for Malina to become a permanent slave. In an effort to protect her from harm, Julian must declare Malina a slave, until such a time he can claim Malina as his own. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate and intense.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, energetic and some questionable secondary and supporting characters including Trajan, dragon Prefect Ciprian, Emperor Caesar, as well as several household slaves-Ivo, Stefano, Ruskus, and Kara. The requisite evil has many faces.
FIREBIRD is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, dragons and armies, acceptance and love, set against a backdrop of the Roman Empire at a time when slavery and war were endemic. The premise is dramatic and edgy; the romance is fated; the characters are determined and destructive.FIREBIRD ends on a happily ever after-for now.