Book Review: "Firebird"
Juliette Cross's romantasy is a powerful and sexy reimagining of an ancient Rome where dragons rule and where a witch joins with a Roman dragon to topple a corrupt regime.
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Warning: Full spoilers for the book follow.
As with so many of the other romantasies that I’ve been reading lately, Juliette Cross’s Firebird was the monthly choice of my book club. I knew as soon as I read the plot synopsis that this was going to be right up my alley. Enemies-to-lovers? Check. Ancient Rome but with dragons? Check. Lots of steamy sex? Check. I thought to myself: I am going to devour this book, and I am not going to feel a bit of guilt about it.
Reader, I wasn’t wrong. Though there are some parts of the book that have come in for some pretty severe questioning among the general public–more on that in a moment–overall I found myself riveted by this book, devouring the pages at an astonishing pace. When I tell you that it makes for addictive and compulsive reading, I am not messing around. Once you start reading this book, you are not going to be able to put it down.
When the novel begins Marina is living with her family in Dacia, where she happens to cross paths with the Roman soldier Julian. Though the meeting is brief, it’s clear that they are bound together through some mystical means, with the dragon inside him and the witch inside of her calling to one another. The two end up reuniting several years later, when Julian is busy bringing the hammer of Roman conquest down upon a rebellious group of Celts. As it turns out, Malina has been helping the group to push back the dragon warriors of Rome. Soon, they are admitting their feelings–both emotional and sexual–for one another and engaging in a passionate affair, even as Julian is also planning to bring about the end of his tyrannical uncle’s hideous and horrifying reign over Rome.
I will admit that it took me a bit to wrap my head around this world’s dragons, which seem to be both a part of and separate from their human counterparts. Part of it is just the physics and metaphysics of the whole thing. Are the dragons some sort of spiritual entity that inhabits the body and soul of the human host? Are they something else entirely? Is this a werewolf situation? I just couldn’t quite get a grip on the exact contours of this relationship. I’ve seen a similar conceit play out in other recent romantasies–I’m thinking in particular of Elizabeth May’s To Cage a God–and though it takes some getting used to, I think that it actually works. As long as you don’t think about it too much.
It’s not every novelist who could convincingly capture some of the nuances of life in ancient Rome while also threading it with magic and mysticism, but Cross more than succeeds. Though we tend to think of Rome as a city of marble, filled with beauty and pomp and circumstance, it’s important–necessary, even–to remember that both the Republic and the Empire were built on slavery and conquest. Firebird makes no bones about this, and we are repeatedly reminded of how deep the rot goes in the Roman state. After all, it’s not just Igniculus who is responsible for the horrors that afflict the subalterns of Rome; oppression seems to be baked into almost every aspect of the city and its culture.
When it comes down to it, though, the heart and soul of this book is the relationship between Malina and Julian. Theirs is a bond that is forged of not just mutual desire but something deeper. The witch that dwells inside of the former and the dragon that curls in the heart of the latter are destined to enmesh with one another and, while their human counterparts are obviously drawn to one another, it’s the supernatural element that really gives this dark and sinister romance its extra layer of bite. Fortunately, this is a dual point of view romance, which means that we come to know and appreciate each of these characters in their own right. They each have their own motivations and their arcs and their own struggles.
Now, to address the elephant in the room. This book has received quite a lot of backlash, due in no small part to the perception by some that this is a slave/master dynamic means that Malina can never really have any agency to choose whether she wants to be in a relationship with Julian. It’s made clear throughout the novel, however, that Malina’s status as a slave is merely a matter of convenience and that, in her mind and Julian’s, she’s as free as she was at the beginning. This means, in effect, that she has as much agency as any other dark romantasy heroine and, in my mind at least, quite a lot more than most. Indeed, by the end the two of them have managed to escape the confines of Rome and have made their way to Britannia, though it’s clear that this is only a reprieve and that it’s only a matter of time before the Igniculus or one of his minions finds them and brings vengeance crashing down around their heads.
Moreover, it’s worth noting that Julian’s entire story arc revolves around his desire to both depose his uncle and remake Rome from the ground up. Now, one can debate whether this is realistic, or whether he has put it off too long and been too complicit to ever be redeemed, but I think that he definitely has it in him to be a truly great figure. His heart really is in the right place and, as he shows time and time again, he really is willing to put his money where his mouth is, putting his own life at grave risk in his efforts to topple his uncle from his throne.
Of course, this is dark romantasy that we’re talking about, and so there are also all of the customary tropes. Julian, under the influence of his dragon, is quite aggressive and territorial when it comes to Malina, particularly when anyone shows even the slightest sign that they might be trying to horn in on his territory. This can become a bit cloying at times, but the sex scenes are quite (and I mean quite steamy), which helps to make up for it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be ravished by a powerful Roman soldier? Is that just me?
Fortunately for those of us who like our heroines to have at least some agency, Milina isn’t just some shrinking violet who is always waiting for Julius to come rescue her whenever she gets into a scrape. Instead, she’s a woman of remarkable abilities, and her empathetic gift means that she is more than a match for even the most powerful of dragons. She uses that power to excellent effect when she needs to, even going so far as to scare off a group of ruffians who threaten to harm someone that she cares about. She also has a heart of gold, and she extends the hand of kindness and compassion not just to Julian but also to the members of his household.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Firebird. It’s both satisfying in its own right while also leaving plenty of room for more stories set in this universe. I can’t wait to read the second volume and to see whether Julian and Malina are going to be able to bring about the end of Rome’s tyranny and usher in a more just and peaceful world in its place.