Reading long anticipated books is always a little scary. As much as I really look forward to them I also worry that maybe, just maybe, I’m expecting too much from a book and author and am doomed to disappointment. Book 4 of TA White’s Firebird Chronicles was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and blew all my sky-high expectations out of the water.
I discovered TA White’s books via a recommendation from another all-time favorite author(s), Ilona Andrews. I fell into her worlds and in love with her writing. My all-time favorite series of hers though is the Firebird Chronicles. It’s space opera sci-fi/fantasy/romance all in one and I am totally here for it. There’s the “found child and family” trope and a slow burn romance that is funny and not sickly sweet at all.
The main character is Kira Forrest, a human woman (or is she?) who is a very reluctant heroine. She tries to blend into the crowd but can’t seem to prevent herself from helping those in need. Her life changes after she saves the life of two children who are part of another race called the Tuann. From there we are introduced to alien races, space adventures, alien world adventures, funny drones and giant dragon-like creatures called the Luong.
Kira’s back story is tragic and we slowly learn more about her childhood and early adulthood as the books go on. In spite of the sometimes heavy theme of war, the books are not dark and heavy at all. TA White does an excellent job of balancing the heavier themes with hilarious dialogue and close relationships between characters.
The cast of surrounding characters are so well fleshed out and just as memorable as Kira and help show her character development book by book.
This fourth book goes straight into the last book’s cliffhanger and then just keeps going. A number of big questions are answered and there is a lot of action with the serious moments balanced out by witty banter and laugh out loud moments. For those who haven’t read the previous books, this is not the book to start with. Although each book has its own story arc there are overarching stories that run through all four books and starting on the fourth book will do the series a disservice. Here’s the reading order below:
- Rules of Redemption
- Age of Deception
- Threshold of Annihilation
- Facets of Revolution
Five star read for me- I finished the book and had to force myself not to go back and read it again right away. Highly recommended!
romancefangirl 