Firstborn

Firstborn #1

by M.J. Hastings

In this epic dystopian romantasy, one eldest daughter must fight for her survival in a world where birth order determines your fate—and defiance comes at a deadly cost.

The first children take up arms. The second children take up books. The third children are taken.

The Long Night is the final trial for Firstborn soldiers, and Bryn Ruelle must prove she can take a life—or face immediate exile. If she survives, she’ll graduate to defending the country’s borders against their magic-wielding neighbors. Bryn has never made a kill before tonight. By dawn, someone will be dead by her hands.

But when Bryn discovers a plot to kidnap the Lastborn, she must discern if the threat to her youngest sister is real, or merely a ruse to throw Bryn off her game. Her search for the truth forces her to work side-by-side with an alluring traitor-born enemy. As adrenaline and rage ignite a dangerous desire she refuses to name, Bryn must choose: her country, or her family? Her siblings, or herself?

A crossover fantasy perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and Fourth Wing.

Praise for Firstborn:

“I couldn’t put the book down.” —Ann Liang, New York Times bestselling author of A Song to Drown Rivers

“Dark, propulsive, and unflinchingly sharp.” —Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys

“[A] fierce, unstoppable heroine.” —Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author of A Thousand Pieces of You

“A riveting romance and twists that made me gasp.” —Julia Riew, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Tiger

Genres: Fantasy, Dystopia, Young Adult, Romance, Romantasy, Audiobook, Enemies To Lovers

464 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2026

About the author

M. J. HASTINGS is the oldest (and bossiest) of five sisters, which explains how she grew up to become an attorney, one who refused to have the imagination beaten out of her. She graduated from law school with honors and went on to serve as a federal law clerk and practice complex civil litigation. Her greatest education, however, was her childhood in rural Kentucky, which left an indelible mark on her life and her writing. M.J. lives in Louisville with her family. FIRSTBORN is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Aiden Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, propulsive, and unflinchingly sharp. "Firstborn" is a harrowing, deeply thoughtful fantasy that understands the allure — and the danger — of absolute loyalty. Hastings delivers a world that feels terrifyingly plausible. Truly a stunning examination of how nations manufacture enemies and heroes in equal measure.

[Amal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Goodreads keeps taking down my rating but I’ll just use the opportunity to reiterate that this is NOT YA and the publisher was very wrong to shelf it as such. There is an explicit open-door scene, themes like addictive sex, multiple power imbalance relationships (Professor/student, subordinate/commander, etc), extreme gore, cursing, etc. It’s technically labeled as 16+ but since bookstores would put it in their YA sections, kids as young as 13 would have access to it. This is no fault toward the author because she probably had little control over it!! But it’s very much a NA book and should have been published as such. Idk what the publisher was thinking 😭

Update: I finished this book after dnfing bc I wanted to give it another chance, but my rating stands. I don’t say this lightly, but this narrative and its implications felt racist. Im only talking about the text itself, not making any claims about the author since I don’t know anything about her. This is only my opinion based on my experience reading this. But I felt very very uncomfortable.

unfortunately, Bryn became worse as a character, very hard to like. There are other things I felt were done without much thought, and so themes of race/racism, oppression, military, blood relations, eugenics, and etc aren’t handled well. I can tell the author was trying to send a message and maybe her intentions were good, but it was done with very little care.

This felt like reading a white woman’s oriental fantasy of being with an ethnic man. Bryn talks down at Ash constantly, berates him, calls him a criminal even SPITS at him at some point due to a misunderstanding. I cannot explain enough why the image of a white woman spiting at a non-white man is problematic. Especially when she is written as the victim in that situation. Before that, she has thoughts about how she almost sullied herself by sleeping with him, and that mindset never confronted or challenged later on, even when she “officially” gets together with ash.

This can’t be an enemies-to-lovers story because the power dynamic never feels like it’s properly resolved. It just brushes on being an oppressed-and-oppressor dynamic.

Race aside, she is still a Firstborn, part of a class that actively oppresses and polices the Bastard class that he is a part of. She has arrested him and thrown him into prison in the past, she thought him a drug addict, she refers to him as an Arcanist and a Bastard in a derogatory way, almost slur equivalent, even in her inner monologues. And that’s fine if the text acknowledges it properly. But it never does. Bryn never apologizes or has enough self awareness to recognize how the propaganda has affected her, nor does she take the time to just listen without making it about herself somehow.

The narrative excuses all of Bryn’s past behavior without acknowledging how she’s benefited from the oppressive system, nor does she ever take responsibility for harm she’s contributed. Yes she was forced to become a soldier, but the narrative flattens the nuances it by equating it to the slavery, trafficking, and other exploitation other characters have faced. Two truths could exist at once, but the lack of care here makes the message come off as “actually, we’re ALL oppressed under the system.” Yes, but also no!! There are levels here!

She has looked down on them, has arrested them, has thought them inferior DESPITE originally being a part of that class herself. And that’s fine! The disillusion arc had potential to be very fascinating. However, Bryn is constantly written the victim in this narrative, is constantly comforted and coddled, and constantly thinking of herself. She never stops to consider how the only reason she started taking a closer look at the government was because her own sister got involved. She is immediately absolved for the harm she’s contributed.

Apart from that, images of whipping, handcuffs, etc also felt so oddly prominent throughout the book. Ash literally gets his name from the word “Lashes” since the “ash” was the only parts he could sound out since he was illiterate, and we have a scene where the second love interest literally whips Bryn’s brother in front of her. The love interest who is not written as the bad guy. Overall it felt like there was some weird racial play going on here. I don’t know how to explain it. The whipping felt…so specific. Especially with the context of “I’m only doing what’s best for you.” It serves no purpose but to make us feel bad for the mc because it doesn’t even present the person doing the whipping the bad guy. He is a love interest. The man responsible for whipping her brother and all the scars on her back is a love interest.

There’s more to go into but I feel exhausted. I really don’t like to say this lightly, but this, combined with so many other elements in the book, felt racist. Perhaps not intentionally, but still. It felt tone deaf and read as a white victimhood fantasy.

And I feel like I should mention that I am the eldest daughter. I’ve felt the rage, responsibility and resentment that comes with that. I know this is all supposed to be a large portion of that book. But even then, the phenomenon of being the eldest daughter is done poorly. It’s all done poorly.

As of rn I’ll keep my og review below:

—

Dnfed at 29%

I am genuinely sad that I am the first one star review for this debut novel. However, I think the author did something unforgivable.

I work at a bookstore and was grateful to get an advanced reader’s edition of Firstborn. While I didn’t finish, I took thorough notes in case I wanted to write up a staff recommendation for the customers. That being said, this review will contain spoilers and critique only in the context of the first 30% of the book. The rest I can’t speak for. So if you want nothing spoiled stop here! 🛑 ✋

I’ll start with what I liked:

- the siblings, specifically Asa since we got his pov more than Wren's. Imo Asa was a such compelling character and I genuinely felt for him. I wanted to hug him so bad, and his promise for revenge after the pyre scene (iykyk) was really really interesting. He has complex emotions and does cool nerdy stuff. I wasn’t a fan of the professor student-relationship bc of the power imbalance but that’s comparatively nothing compared to the other romance brewing 💀

Wren was also so so fun! I only got to one scene of her, but I love a good whimsical oddball character.

- The magic system! The rune system is sooo cool, especially with how it’s activated by blood. Connecting symbols through lines and containing the magic in a circle is an amazing concept. There’s also a theme of magic vs. science: there’s Arcanist magic which is bad and the Dursti Craft which is good. But what’s the difference really? The book sets up a fascinating exploration of that.

- the POVs! I’m a sucker for an ensemble cast and imo, Hastings does pov switches well.

The following are my critiques:

Bryn: I was excited to see a badass protagonist who's rough around the edges and top in her Firstborn soldier class. Mean and tough fmcs are cool to me. However as I kept reading, I couldn’t understand how Bryn was cast as the top Firstborn people bet on. She was registered 5 to 1 for most likely to kill the most bastards (the marginalized group) and surviving this hunger games-esque trail they have to go through to graduate. But there’s a disconnect for what we’re told vs. what we see. The reasons:

1: We never get a scale of how many Firstborn soldiers there are. There’s more then ten, but is she the best of 100 firstborns? 50? 20? The 5-1 odds don’t tell us anything, so it’s hard to know how impressed we should be that she’s at the top. EDIT I was wrong, there are three hundred!!! Literally says so in the first sentence. I guess then part of it is that we don’t feel that scale, especially in the long night. The scene where her and ash meet, it feels very empty despite there supposedly being 300ish firstborn soldiers on the prowl and thousands of bastards in hiding. How were they able to maintain their secrecy with no one finding out/overhearing?

2: Scale issues aside, what metric are people going off on while casting their bets? We quickly learn that Bryn secretly hasn’t killed anyone and that's treated like an irregularity, implying that other firstborns in her class have killed. So that eliminates kill count. It’s not because of her looks bc we’re told she’s “slight” and doesn’t look strong. So is it based on grades? On how many spars she's won? That was the assumption I was going on but it’s never been confirmed in the text itself. We don’t get a sense of what the firstborn training was like and so the entire foundation for the worldbuilding here feels…empty.

3: Then there’s Bryn herself. The more we follow her, the less I was convinced that she's actually the top Firstborn. It was small things at first, like her not noticing when someone was following her, and easily letting a man pin her down against her will, and etc. But what really broke the immersion was that the first time we get the opportunity to see her strength in action, to see WHY she was the one everyone betted on, we were disappointed. Tasch, a school bully, was literally about to kill her and WOULD’VE if the second male led didn’t step in and stab him in the back. I’m not saying that she should’ve been all cool and clearheaded that moment, but if we’re told she’s the best fighter, then I’m expecting her to be the best fighter. We don’t actually see her in action until over 100 pages in. There’s a major disparity between what we’re told and what we see.

And maybe this is prescriptive, but the narrative could’ve benefited from not having her be the number one. Bryn's pipeline of bastard-turned-Firstborn would’ve been enough to set her apart. But if she had to be #1, then readers are expecting to see why, to witness it for themselves rather than being told by the text.

Apart from that Bryn was…fine. There was nothing that set her apart from other fmc’s I’ve read. I liked that she cared about her siblings—there was a moment in the novel when she was about to kill a group of men but faltered when she heard they were brothers, and I loved that. But other than that…she was just fine.

Enough about that. Let’s get to the romance.

Love Interests:

1. Oberst is creepy.

Okay so let me get this straight. He’s in his late twenties (27-28) and she’s twenty? Okay. Okay, fine. This is a different world, I can suspend my disbelief and—He’s her commander?
Hm. Okayyyy. Okay. Worse but. Well, he became her commander when she was 18 so that’s—He’s known her since she was 12/13?
Someone call the police.

I kid you not, the vibes emanating from this man were DARK and not in a sexy way. He’s weirdly obsessed with Bryn for no given reason, and at one point implies his attention toward her started from the moment he saw her.

“He’d watched her grow from a scrap of a girl to a woman, pushing her harder than the rest” (93).

Excuse me?? And he's whipped her brother and sent her to the lashes in the past (but don’t worry guys, he didn’t do it himself he just had other other people to do it) and we’re supposed to root for him?

Weird power imbalance aside, his inner monologue was hard to get through. We get a chapter going into his backstory, and objectively it’s very sad. The part about him “being too inconsequential to bother with, not worthy of the death delivered to his family” (92) really got me. I felt bad for him in that moment.

But a character's backstory doesn't compensate for the character themselves. It’s not the way to get us to like him. Readers make judgements based on what a character does on page, how they interact with the world and the people around them. And what we see here is a man having creepy thoughts about his subordinate, with no real substance behind his yearning other than because he’s the morally gray male love interest and she’s the fmc.

I chose my words as carefully as possible. “I really need to get to the Great Hall sir. Is it possible—"
It took all of a second for Oberst to spin me around and pin me against the wall with such force that the wood behind me groaned in protest. His arms held my shoulders like a vise; I couldn’t have moved if I’d tried. “Have you taken leave of your senses, Ruelle?” Oberst asked quietly, his breath tickling my fave as he leaned toward me. “The highest honor that can be bestowed upon a soldier, and you question it..."

(42)

Pinning her against the wall felt very violent and unnecessary, especially since he was grinning and scoffing just a page ago. Moments after this he’s says “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What’s wrong?” Apart from the fact that you just slammed her against the wall?? Honestly, his character felt inconsistent, making him come across as both immature and volatile.

Maybe it would be more forgivable if there was chemistry between these two, or if at least we see why they would care for each other at all. But instead we get weird dialogue and off-putting horniness. He feels like the boss who’s always asking you to come into his office, only to stare at you for an uncomfortable amount of time before finally getting to the point. And it’s always something that could’ve been an email.

2. I liked Ash a little more. My first impression was…well it was better than Oberst’s, but I’ll get to that in a second. Because I haven’t too far I am willing to give the author the benefit of the doubt with my initial thoughts because there’s a section that really intrigued me:

"They say our blood is still too sullied with that of the Arcanists. To sleep with an Arcanist is to sleep with the enemy…yet those who do say the pleasure is so great, they don’t care…They say it’s why we do well in the brothels. It’s our natural calling." His expression darkened.

(65)

I LOVE this. It sets up a fascinating discussion on “othered” bodies, the why’s and how’s behind why they get hypersexualized in imperial contexts. I mean look at our world, with black women being overly sexualized, the BBD and this colonial narrative that black and brown men are these animalistic, sexual beings that white men need to beat down in order to protect their white women. There’s Othello, Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin (historically speaking, she’s dressed as a sex worker), the disposable black girlfriend trope and SO MUCH MORE. I won’t get further into all of this but when looking at colonial history, there’s a dark pattern between how “othered” bodies are regarded. In the colonizers eyes they are both “dirty” and “desirable” because they provide an escape from strict social norms that permeated Europe at the time. If you want to know more I highly recommend reading Edward Said’s Orientalism. It’s amazing.

But going back to Firstborn, at first I was annoyed that Ash was set up to be the "ethnically ambiguous (“olive-skinned”), hyper-sexualized love interest from the oppressed class", but I’m really holding on to hope that that quoted section above marks the start of a larger discussion on “othered” marginalized bodies rather than falling into the harmful stereotype itself.

Okay. Now. Speaking of othered bodies, I’m going to talk about why I stopped reading:

Vida’s death was unforgivable.

Vida is Bryn's best friend who got ousted from the Firstborn soldiers into the Bastard class because she couldn’t handle the sight of blood. She’s good at decoding runes and she is a woman of color. She’s described as having “light brown skin, dark, intelligent eyes and hair black as night” (52).

Reading that as a woc, I had to brace myself because I felt what was coming. There’s a trend in some romantasy books where the poc best friend is always killed by the fmc’s enemy: Nehemia and Adena are the first to come to mind (again, iykyk).

And of course, Vida’s no different. She doesn’t make it past 30% and we know nothing about her other than what I stated above: She was cast into the oppressed class because she couldn’t handle blood, and she died while helping Bryn decode a secret message. She was bullied and looked down upon by the other Firstborns, to the point where she couldn’t even interact with Bryn in public. And we get only two scenes with her. We don’t know her desires, her fears, how she feels about being cast out and what she plans to do moving forward. Nothing. There’s no evidence to provide they’re actually best friends.

She is not a character, she is a tool. A stepping stone for the white female lead to move ahead with her arc of saving the world or ending oppression or whatever.

And what’s worse is that she doesn’t even get the dignity of dying on page.

And I didn’t need to feel the dead pulse beneath her neck to know that whatever lived within Vida had slipped away while I ran

(103)

Vida died sometime between Bryn finding her, Bryn carrying her, and Bryn stumbling and dropping her body. There’s no final breath, no seeing the light fade from her eyes, nothing—she was alive one moment and the next she wasn’t.

But see that’s not even the worst of it.

Killing off the poc best friend? Amateur hour. However, M.J. Hastings makes the choice to have her white female lead mutilate the brown body of her best friend.

Bryn stabs Vida’s body repeatedly, violently, tearing her flesh until she is unrecognizable so that Bryn could disguise Vida’s body as her own, allowing her to fake her own death.

I don’t have the words for this. It was triggering. Vida’s body is destroyed and used as a prop by the woman who called her a friend, and no amount of tears and apologizing from Bryn could justify that. Even in death, Vida won’t be mourned as herself because all of Dursti thinks she’s Bryn as she’s being thrown into the pyre. Her death was not her own. The person who was “Vida" was erased completely.

And you might argue that these are just characters and that none of this is real, but any girl reading this who looks like Vida, who could identify herself in that brown skin and those dark eyes, would also see herself dying that same violent death. We read to escape and to live these epic lives, to fall in love and save the world, so why is it that the girls who look like us always end up a causality when we’re supposed to be living in a fantasy?

And this is a discussion for the entire fantasy/romantasy genre as a whole, not just this book. But the only thing I can say now is that I am very disappointed. I wish the author all the best in her writing career because getting a book out there is a big deal! I just won’t be reading more in the future.

[Iffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. This is book 1 in a YA dystopian romantasy trilogy that has a really interesting premise in which your birth order determines the role you play in society. The book takes place in the context of two warring nations and is filled with corruption, politics, and hidden agendas. All of that is good and dandy but I had quite a few issues with the execution here.

Firstly, this should not be considered a YA novel because there are some very explicit, very open door scenes. (Though the writing style was definitely YA so that didn’t really make for a great combo).

Secondly, I really struggled with the writing it felt quite underdeveloped. The characters all fell flat and it was difficult to pinpoint where their motivations were coming from. Because of this, much of their actions and emotions felt forced and lacked believability. The world building and magic system also felt clunky and wasn’t that intriguing in my opinion. The plot twists were decent enough but the ending felt rushed and didn’t keep me hooked enough to want to continue the series.

Overall, this story had a great premise but turned out to be a missed opportunity.

[Fatima Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dystopian novel I simply couldn't put down!

I didn't expect to become so attached to a universe with a context that affects me so negatively (which only means the book was so well-written that it made me believe it was real). As the firstborn, I would certainly die in the context the book expected of me (and my sister probably wouldn't succeed as a midborn either; it would have been easier to change the birth order).

Before continuing, I wanted to thank NetGalley and Stonefruit Studio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I need to start by saying that I don't believe this book is for every type of reader, mainly because the focus is more on world-building, magic, and politics... In other words, it was the perfect book for me, and it came at the right time I found the pacing perfect, the characters captivating and complex, and, above all, the dystopian world completely believable. As I mentioned before, as a firstborn, I couldn't live in that world, and I was very impacted by Bryn's story precisely because of that.

It's important to emphasize that this is a debut novel, and I'm generally very critical of those because I like the idea of ​​being able to offer feedback to the author so they can improve. However, aside from one aspect of the love triangle (I won't mention names to avoid spoilers, but those who have read it will probably understand what I mean) bothering me quite a bit, and not feeling any chemistry between them, I can't think of any reason to criticize this book.

I didn't expect to find themes so well handled beyond those presented in the synopsis, and among those that surprised me, the strongest was prejudice. With a dynamic between an oppressive government and a part of society being oppressed, it's fascinating to see how the author masterfully addressed the prejudice stemming from this. At every moment I feared that someone might harm Bryn purely because of this, and the misinformation spread about her and her siblings.

The dystopian aspect isn't as intense or graphically violent as one might expect in a dystopian novel, but the context of the universe and the war that created this authoritarian government makes it clear that it is indeed a dystopian universe, and you feel just as apprehensive as you would if there were violence on every page.

For now, in this first book, I felt that the romance was a subplot, and we didn't have a true romantasy, but I believe the plot is heading towards becoming a full-fledged romantasy in the sequel.

Finally, I want to say that I loved reading it and highly recommend this book to everyone who loves fantasy, romantasy, or simply a dystopian novel. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Reading vlog: https://youtu.be/SZ4kq-jD1Bs
Review: https://youtu.be/tbuYklaKbj4

[khiara ˶・₊ hiatus]

thank you so much to Stonefruit Studio for sending me this ARC!

3 stars, rtc!

[Tina ♥ Bookaholic · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Schon seit längerem hatte ich wieder einmal Lust auf eine richtig spannende Dystopie, wie es sie früher gab. Daher war ich sehr gespannt auf dieses Buch, das im ersten Moment wie eine Dystopie klingt. Doch so richtig ist sie dann doch keine, obwohl sie diesen Vibe versprüht, was ich richtig cool fand. Denn eigentlich spielt die Geschichte in einer anderen Welt und hat auch Magie in sich, obwohl diese verboten ist und die Menschen dafür verfolgt werden. Eigentlich klingt das nach High Fantasy, ist es aber auch wieder nicht, da das Buch wie eine brutale Dystopie à la Die Tribute von Panem oder Divergent geschrieben ist. Diese Mischung hat mir wirklich gut gefallen.

Nur am Anfang hatte ich ehrlich gesagt Probleme, mich in der Welt zurechtzufinden. Es gab viele Informationen und Zusammenhänge, die erst später Sinn ergeben haben. Dadurch war ich zunächst etwas erschlagen und musste mich erst einmal orientieren. Mit jedem Kapitel wurde es aber besser und irgendwann war ich komplett in der Geschichte angekommen.

Das lag vor allem auch daran, dass ich meine Zeit gebraucht habe, um mit Bryn warm zu werden. Sie ist wie Katniss, nur noch kälter und abweisender. ^^ Teilweise war sie wirklich ein richtiges Arschloch und wie sie ihren Bruder behandelt hat, ging für mich gar nicht. Mehr als einmal wollte ich sie am liebsten schütteln. Aber je mehr man über ihre Vergangenheit erfährt, desto verständlicher werden ihre Mauern und ihr Verhalten. Und genau diese Entwicklung hat mir dann wiederum mega gefallen.

Zusätzlich zu ihrer Sicht bekommen wir auch immer wieder Einblicke in andere Figuren. Das war für mich völlig ausreichend, obwohl ich von Asa ebenfalls gerne gelesen habe. Was ich allerdings interessant fand: Wir lesen aus Oversts Sicht und merken sehr deutlich, wie viel Bryn ihm bedeutet, obwohl er eigentlich bis zum Ende zu den Bösen gehört. Gleichzeitig bekommen wir aber keine einzige Szene aus Ashs Perspektive. Das hat mich die ganze Zeit grübeln lassen, ob er wirklich der Love Interest wird oder ob uns die Autorin hier noch eine Überraschung vorbereitet. Ich bin jedenfalls gespannt.

Was den Plot angeht, konnte mich das Buch ebenfalls überzeugen. Vor allem ab der zweiten Hälfte wurde es richtig spannend. Es gab einige Wendungen, mit denen ich überhaupt nicht gerechnet habe, und spätestens gegen Ende war ich komplett hooked. Da ist so vieles schiefgelaufen, dass ich wirklich Angst vor dem Ende hatte. Und genau dieses Mitfiebern mag ich bei solchen Büchern.

Ein paar Kritikpunkte habe ich aber trotzdem. Die ganze Sache mit der Langen Nacht und dem Aussieben der Bastardkinder ergibt für mich einfach keinen Sinn. Warum sollte man die eigenen Leute gegeneinander antreten und sterben lassen, wenn ein Krieg gegen einen mächtigen Feind bevorsteht? Wäre es nicht sinnvoller, alle kampffähigen Menschen auszubilden und gemeinsam gegen einen Feind kämpfen zu lassen? Das hat für mich dieselbe Logiklücke wie manche Auslesen in anderen Fantasybüchern (wie in Fourth Wing) und hat mich die ganze Zeit beschäftigt.

Außerdem war mir bis zum Ende nicht ganz klar, wer oder was diese Bastardkinder eigentlich genau sind. Sind es Arkanistenkinder ohne entwickelte Magie? Liegt es an ihrer Herkunft? Oder einfach daran, dass sie arm geboren wurden? Dass ich mir diese Frage nach einem ganzen Buch noch immer stelle, fand ich etwas schade.

Dennoch mochte ich das Buch wirklich gerne. Nach dem etwas schwierigen Start konnte mich die Geschichte immer mehr für sich gewinnen, Bryn hat eine starke Entwicklung durchgemacht und die Wendungen haben mich mehrfach überrascht. Und genau deshalb sitze ich jetzt hier und hoffe, dass Band 2 ganz bald erscheint. Denn dieses Ende hat mich definitiv neugierig auf mehr gemacht. Und das bitte schnell! 😀

[Karly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that we are getting more dystopian books! This book was so interesting, i loved the concept of the first born child going to train to be apart of their army, the second goes to school, and the third gets taken. Immediately that drew me in. Bryn is our FMC and she is a firstborn, so she’s been in training since she was young and now must pass the final test. However on the night of the final test so much goes down and she ends up discovering that her sister, a last born, might have been taken.

Literally so much more unfolds in the last 15% of this book, my head was reeling. This book is marketed as a mix of hunger games and fourth wing, and I’d say it does have elements of those books but also can stand on its own. You get multiple POVs in this book, which I always love because it helps me connect to more characters. There is romance intertwined in this story, but the plot is the main focus for sure. The plot twist at the end actually made me gasp, i didn’t see that one coming!

I’m excited to see where this series will go and what Bryn will do in the next book. She was really a great FMC and I’m hoping we will get even more of some of the side characters!

Thank you to Stonefruit Studio for sending me an advanced copy!

[mo • lesmotsdemo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 rounded down for Goodreads and Netgalley.
I have a few issues with this book.
I’ll start with what I did like: the dystopian plot was relatively engaging and so was the world-building. Ultimately, it was overshadowed by what I didn’t like.
The characters were not fleshed out at all. Even Bryn, who seemed to be the main character, was one-dimensional. Her siblings were not well-developed either, and the other characters lacked depth as well. Also, I found it weird to have one point of view in the first person narrative and all the other ones in third person. Some « reveals » about these characters were painfully predictable, and there were too many tropes used. There was ongoing misogyny in this book, and it bothered me quite a lot (as it should). Male characters were powerful and celebrated while female characters were shamed and insulted. The whole romance plot was the main issue here. First of all, this was absolutely not a young adult novel. It’s completely wrong to sell this as a YA book considering its content. This is a new adult romantasy book. It was insta-lusty and contained explicit sexual content. The language was also sometimes quite vulgar and topics discussed were more adult.
It will appeal to the romantasy readers who love books with more male characters than female characters and an abundance of popular tropes. I am not one of them.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.
Thanks so much to netgalley & Stonefruit Studio for the advanced readers copy of Firstborn.

♡ you were never the bird, you were always the sky ♡

This book was a RIDE. And the ending set up so well for book 2 which.. WHEN IS THAT HAPPENING?
I didn't see any of the twists coming, because well.. they were twisty. Bryn is a badass and turns out little miss wren is as well. This book reiterates how much love can truly conquer and how far some of us are willing to go for those we hold dear.
As the oldest sister of 3, I relate so hard and my heart swelled through this entire journey.
There's action, there's humor, there's love and so much mystery yet to be explained.
Give me book 2 ASAP.

[Jessica ❥˚♑︎ · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

⋆˙⟡ ── ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ 3.5⭐️

𝗘𝗧𝗔: ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘓𝘊.

Shortly after finishing the ARC, I received the ALC from Netgalley! I originally intended to immersive read, but it was a privilege to get a chance to listen to this book and see how the VA (Saskia Maarleveld) performed the story and the different characters. I found myself enjoying it more on audio and would totally recommend doing an immersive read if it is in your budget/your library has both available. Where I initially found myself losing interest midway through the read, listening to it kept me engaged more the entire time. Overall, my opinion of the storyline remains the same, but it was a much more enjoyable experience listening to it the second time around.

-----------

ⓘ 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊.

Dystopian is my favorite genre, so when I got approved for this arc I was amped. Birth order determines your fate? Feminine rage? Immediately count me in! The premise is great: the firstborn take up arms, the middleborn take up books, and the lastborn are just..taken. But why? That’s what Bryn, the firstborn, wants to discover as she weighs her obligation to the war effort against her moral obligation to uncover the threat against her lastborn sisters’ kidnapping. Forced in a reluctant alliance with her enemy, Bryn is faced with being labeled as a traitor as many lies and deceptions are revealed that threaten her beliefs and allegiance.

This is told through Multi POV in a unique way. We don’t necessarily jump POVs each chapter but sort of ping pong real time during major events, which is cool.

Now, I must say. This started off so good, but I started to care less and less as the story went on. It’s such a plot-forward story, which is fine, but it’s the execution that I found some issues with.

First off..dystopian it is, but the romance seems..forced. I just wasn’t buying it. It seemed convenient because of the proximity. And while not a love triangle, there’s definitely some questionable feelings and motives between more than two people. Second, the reveals were..meh. I just wasn’t excited about them; they seemed very “we need a twist.”

As a debut, the bones are there. There’s a lot of action and it’s a fun adventure. Its just seems a little messy, and I don’t think I care enough to explore where the story goes from here.

Also, this is definitely a book where following along with the map is helpful. So if you love a map, this is for you!

[poor_unfortunate_me · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dizer já, que este livro é para quem gosta daquelas Distopias tipo Hunger Games e Divergente, ou até o Shatter me. Uma vez que não são livros que me despertaram muita curiosidade este acabou por ir pelo mesmo caminho. Vi muitas vezes a palavra romantasy associada a esta história, e fui com a ideia que ia ler fantasia, mas acabou por ser Distopia pura e dura.

Para mim, Firstborn é uma leitura de 3 estrelas: um conceito ambicioso e interessante, com um mundo enorme, relações complicadas e um romance de que gostei, mas que, por vezes, me deixou perdida no meio de tantas peças em movimento. A Bryn podia ter tido mais desenvolvimento e eu teria gostado de um pouco mais de clareza ao longo da história, mas há aqui o suficiente para me deixar curiosa quanto ao que vem a seguir. Talvez por termos tantas personagens, e saltar de tanto pov em pov me tenha ajudado a desligar da história. Quer dizer, temos literalmente o pov de uma personagem, que só aparece uma vez, caído do céu, e sem necessidade…para que? Sinto que a estrutura deste livro podia estar melhor. Reduzir a duas, era o suficiente!

Não adorei este, mas também não odiei. Fiquei intrigada. E, às vezes, isso é suficiente para me fazer pegar no livro seguinte, veremos o que virá.

Este é o primeiro de uma trilogia!

[Bookphenomena (Micky) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Headlines:
Romantasy with an epic fantasy feel
Fresh world
Great world-building

Firstborn was an immersive read that grabbed my attention very early on in the read, made me care about the main character and those around her. Bryn was a fierce female lead, trained to be the ultimate soldier and there did not seem to be a soft centre. When the 'trial' part of the story started, it went a completely different direction to what I was expected and I wasn't sorry about it.

The alliances made by Bryn were mostly reluctant and very unexpected. The storyline kept me on my toes, lots of twists and character development that I enjoyed. The world-building was great, the world itself felt fresh, and there was a mixture of show and tell to understand how magic worked, the different cultures and those in opposition with one another.

Bryn's characterisation bought my alliance. I loved the 'love interest' and all the charactersiation was well crafted.

I'm looking forward to seeing where these characters and story go. Definitely pick up this excellent debut.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the eARC.

[Stephanie Wingfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I.AM.OBSESSED. withthisbook. It was so different from any other dystopian magical book I've read. Firstborn is an epic dystopian fantasy about a world where birth order determines fate, and one young woman who must choose between her family and her country.

Going it alone doesn’t mean you’re stronger. Sometimes it just means you’re alone.
..............

Books can be burned. Libraries can be raided. But they haven’t found a way to destroy our memories.
..............

There are no heroes in wars,” he said, eyes glittering. “There are only survivors.”
..............

The reckoning is coming, and its teeth will be sharp.”
..............

What do you think we’ll find in the west?”
“The worst thing of all,” he replied. “The truth"


Thank you Stonefruit Studio and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Aleesha Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstborn by M.J. Hastings
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
Out: 9-1-26 with Sourcebooks Audio

The first fantasy I ever listened to was Alchemised narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, so I thought alrighttt, lemme do it again! Her voice just BELONGS in fantasy. The ability to flip between male and female characters cannot be stated enough, and she kept the pacing spot on. I did have to slow myself down to 1.3x because between the worldbuilding and the amount of notes I was taking during the first half…my brain was WORKING lol Wren has this soft, young but intelligent sound, while Brynn is much more complex and Saskia actually evolves her tone as Brynn grows. The “no…he’s a student” scene defending Acer and that ENTIRE last hour?? Whew

I originally picked this up because of Saskia and the older sister storyline, despite being SCARED of the romantasy label 😂 Okay so BOOM: magic vs. nonmagic, a toxic bomb, tracked magical bloodlines, people literally being raised to kill, and a world giving me Game of Thrones vibes with Citadels, the Vale, wolves and a Wasteland. I like the dystopian and scientific magic vibe this had! Brynn has been raised to kill, but when the Long Night finally comes, she realizes she can’t slaughter innocent people. Meanwhile, her little sister Wren is taken and Brynn basically says alright BET, I’m OMW!!

There is romance and one spicy scene, but it was well done and never took over the story. Poe was easily one of my favorites because he’s funny asf, and “Don’t cry, little dove. They killed me a long time ago” almost took me OUT. Apparently I have my first fantasy series to impatiently wait on now because THAT ENDING....smh ill be waiting!

[Kisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstborn gave me major Divergent meets The Hunger Games vibes, with a political fantasy setting, a well thought out plot and some really interesting twists.
The romance takes a backseat to the larger story, which I actually liked. It's there and adds something to the book without taking over the plot. I think there was supposed to be the beginning of a love triangle, but one relationship stood out so much more to me that I didn't even really consider the other possibility until very late in the book.
I was much more invested in the political elements, twists and figuring out where everything was heading. It is a complex world with lots of characters and different roles but it makes sense as the story progresses. It can feel like a lot in the beginning but it all came together.
And THAT ENDING. This is exactly the kind of ending that guarantees I'll be picking up the next book immediately.
Thank you to Libro.fm, Stonefruit Studio and Sourcebooks Audio for the ALC.

[Stacyfrancesreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god. I didn’t realise how much I was going to love this book!

Firstborn is a dystopian romantasy, brimming with morally complicated characters and darker themes, such as war and forbidden magic. Bryn is our FMC, who has been honed for war. Having been trained as a soldier, she believes she knows all about the enemy. Only, the further Bryn travels from all she’s ever known, the more she realises that nothing is quite what it seemed.

And THIS is how you write a character slowly questioning everything she's been taught.

“My head knew they were Arcanists, but my eyes saw only people. The thought unmoored me.”

Bryn is a Firstborn soldier who has been trained to survive above everything else. Capable, stubborn, and having built her walls sky-high, getting to see the foundations of Bryn’s worldview gradually begin to crumble was incredibly satisfying.

The change doesn’t come suddenly in one massive revelation. Rather, it’s a slow unravelling as, time after time, what she’s been taught to believe is challenged by the reality she experiences: seeing the “enemy” she’s supposed to fear living peacefully, or witnessing an eight-year-old boy forcibly removed from his parents because he’s come into his magic.

“So this is how it's done. That's the enemy we're waging war on. An eight-year-old boy.”

Bryn is forced to confront the possibility that what she’s taken at face value for her whole life might actually be a lie.

Which is the perfect time to discuss Poe.

The man. The myth. The Legend.

What an absolutely incredible character he was.

He somehow managed to deliver both the deepest and most profound quotes in the book, and the most ridiculous things that would have me laughing out loud.

“Do you still believe you're the hero in this story?”
“Do you believe you are?”
“There are no heroes in wars. There are only survivors.”

Poe has lived a pretty traumatic life, but I loved that he had real emotional depth, in part due to both his sense of humour and arrogance. He and his body have both been used by others for some seriously nefarious purposes, and there is a moment when Bryn realises how much Poe’s willingness to sacrifice has been taken for granted. That really got me.

But don't worry. He's still Poe.

At one point this man is philosophising about the nature of war and truth; the next he's worried about dying in a vegetable avalanche or issuing instructions involving "sweaty Arcanist sex.”

The RANGE. 😂

And then there's Ash.

I loved the way his relationship with Bryn develops because beneath all the attraction, banter, and tension, there's something much more interesting happening between two people whose ideas of belonging are almost complete opposites.

Bryn has learned that the only person she can truly depend upon is herself. Ash has spent his life searching for somewhere he doesn't have to hide.

“Because you don't know what it's like to look around you and not have a single place you belong.”

But my absolute favourite thing about Ash is that he never treats Bryn as something broken that he needs to repair or rescue.

“You were never the bird. You were always the sky.”

EXCUSE ME. 😭❤️

That line says so much of what I loved about Bryn’s journey. Her entire life has been shaped by others telling her what they needed her to be, whether that be a soldier, a weapon, or a survivor, and Firstborn asks what happens when Bryn herself gets to decide who she wants to become.

There are some seriously complicated relationships in this book. I'm looking at you, Captain Oberst…

Oberst trained Bryn. Moulded her into the weapon she became for the Firstborn. She hates him for parts of it, but their relationship also has an undercurrent of affection that neither of them will admit to. It was so well written because you were never sure whether to love or hate him.

“Because you're my favorite. Because I don't want to hunt down the Bastard foolish enough to kill you.”

There were moments involving these characters towards the end that absolutely bloody HURT. I'm saying nothing else. 🔪😭

Firstborn forces you to ask questions about the “truth”: who controls it? Who benefits from keeping it hidden? What happens when everything you’ve built your identity around collapses? Does discovering the truth actually free you?

“What do you think we'll find in the west?”
“The worst thing of all. The truth.”

Discovering the truth doesn’t leave Bryn magically healed. In fact, it has rather the opposite effect.

“You died.”
“Part of me did.”

Firstborn isn’t a story about Bryn emerging unchanged from everything she’s been through. She’s forced to accept that parts of her have been broken along the journey, and she must choose what she wants to create from what’s left.

And THAT brings me to one of my favourite pieces of writing in the entire book:

“I rearranged all the fragments into someone greater than a girl forced to survive—into a woman who had lived...”

😭😭😭

That distinction between surviving and actually living ended up being one of my favourite parts of the entire story.

There's a phrase used throughout the Citadel: bon mort —essentially wishing someone a good death. It's completely normal in a world where these characters have been raised for war.

So when Ash tells Bryn:

“Don't do that. Don't say goodbye.”
“Well, what should I say?”
“Say bon vet.”

—live a good life—I was DONE. 🔪❤️

Don't just die well.

Don't just survive.

Live.

This was the perfect conclusion to Bryn’s journey throughout this first book.

The majority of twists caught me COMPLETELY off guard. For those that I had guessed, the way things worked out still had enough emotional or narrative weight to land, and keep me from feeling that everything was too easily figured out.

And that ending?

I BLOODY KNEW IT.

I KNEW IT.

And I was still staring at the final page like WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE ENDING THE BOOK THERE?! 🤯

No spoilers, but those final three words have potentially blown the entire story wide open, and I desperately need to know what happens next.

Thank you so much to Stonefruit Studio, and M. J. Hastings for sending me a beautiful copy of this book. All opinions are my own honest thoughts.

[shreya‎ ‎ ‎ ⋆‎ ‎ ‎ drained. ‎ ‎ ⑅‎ ‎ ‎ ֺ]

dnf'ed (i didnt know what i was getting into until.. i started it) i dont wanna tank the review specifically because this book wasnt for me, so im not gonna rate it.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀☼⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

⌗ ρrє-reαd ⭑.ᐟ
⤷ ᯓ im so internally grateful to have received this arc, especially with how bad my feedback ratio is right now, so safe to say im really excited! plus its a dystopian book which makes this all the more better!

𓏲⋆ ִֶָ ๋𓂃 ⋆ also like lets all take a moment for this gorgeous, stunning cover ?? 💗

[Chira · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Saska Maarleveld, and her narration likely helped this book quite a lot, but this story is an under-edited mess. It's your generic dystopia with a segregated society for ambiguous reasons following a way-too-recent war for everyone to be this fanatical. In this way, the Fourth Wing comp makes sense.

The main problem is I never got a good sense for any of the characters or the world. Characters would be described as cruel or with cruel expressions one moment and then a few scenes later, described as too kind or heroic. They all changed to whatever they needed to be in that scene, in that moment, and it meant that none of them really made any impact because even the most basic foundation would be switched just a few pages later.

The world doesn't make sense either - I have no grasp of what sort of world this is, what sort of technology they've got, what sort of norms we're working with. They eschew magic, but technology seems to work on runes (but there's still sweat-wicking fabrics, sports bras, and regular bras, but also large military capes and cloaks). There's a focus on knives, but then halfway through someone mentions being scared of the sound of bullets and suddenly there's guns. But only used by the protagonists - there's a line that says the arcanists have no need for guns, but with zero followup or explanation why (or why if they have no need for guns and don't seem concerned about other people having them why.......they're used at all). There are cars but everywhere also seems within a close enough distance to walk, which then brings into question how big either of these countries are. Durst (sp?) seems to consist of one city, a military outpost, an "Oval" of indeterminate size where the "bastard-born" are kept and worked as slaves (again, apparently the war was less than 20 years ago), and whatever the hell "the wastes" are. Oh, and enough space for a hidden encampment as well.

My biggest problem is perhaps how much I don't believe in the main conceit of the story - that they've somehow finagled it so that people only procreate three times, that this is normalized enough, that they've codified that firstborn are more athletic, secondborn smarter, and lastborn (because remember, no one has more than three kids) are a big question mark. Again, 20 years. Less than a generation. THEN, how it fits into the seemingly queer-normative world Hastings suggests, except we never see anyone trans or non-binary, or even hint at how that might be enforced in a forced-birth society. THEN there's the idea that there's just. Brothels. A whole district of them, and again, no indication as to how population control is enforced - this would've been a great avenue to showcase how governments can't be trusted! How things are unfair! Nope. Even when we start to get to the bottom of the conspiracy, the villains take a moment, literally unprovoked and thinking they're unobserved, TO MONOLOGUE EXPOSITION AS TO THEIR DOINGS THE PAST TEN YEARS.

The "romance" is potentially even worse, absolutely underdeveloped and weirdly forced into a triangle for no reason I can see other than I guess people thing romantasy needs a love triangle.

[becca🪴💫📖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!!💫

I had suchhh an amazing time with this one!! It had HUGE hunger game vibes which I absolutely loved and was one of the things I heard that convinced me to pick it up in the first place and I am so glad I did!!

I think that the overall pacing of this book was done super well. We were able to jump into the story rather quickly while also getting a good overview of the magic, world, and political system in the book! I also really enjoyed the multiple points of view throughout this story. I don’t typically enjoy more than two POVs, but it can work so well in a story if done right and it was handled really well in this one!!

I overall really liked all of the characters in this. They were all complex and very intriguing and by the end I had love for so many of them. Poe…I absolutely ADORE him and would have loved to read from his point of view, but I am so excited to hopefully see him again in the next book. I thought Bryn and Ash’s relationship was very sweet, although I wish we saw a bit more development. I do think that is something we will get into more in the second book maybe, which I can’t wait to see!

I reallyyyy liked seeing the way Bryn and her mindset changed/developed throughout this story! We are introduced to her as a character who doesn’t like to care about or get close to people and it was heartwarming to see the friendships she made throughout the story where she learns that sometimes caring about people can be worth it.

Now, the couple of things I will say I did not love were the love triangle and one or two of the chapters in the end. I understand that we do need to learn more about what is going on, but I don’t love when it is just all lain down simply for the sake getting all of this information to the reader. I also did not really like the whole love triangle. The one side of it I truly did not even like the character and never felt anything between them, so scenes involving him in the end just did not appeal to me.

As I said, I overall had such an amazing time with this one and am throughly impressed with this debut novel! I cannot wait for the second book!!

initial review:
4.5!! oh…🫪🫪i will have to gather my thoughts later

[Lucy A · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 ☆

“‘There are no heroes in wars,’ he said, eyes glittering. ‘There are only survivors’”.

♫ | now playing
WONDERLAND by neoni

⋆｡༄⋆ overall thoughts :
Alright guys, buckle in for this review! So starting off, this book kinda hurt my brain but that's just because it's fantasy and my brain is at capacity. But, after the worldbuilding aspects, I was REALLY getting into this story. There were high stakes, REAL enemies to lovers, it was epic. This book also was trying to display the importance of family/sibling relationships, which I think could’ve been done better, but hey, this was M.J. Hastings' debut novel and it was pretty stinkin’ good. (side note- I met her at YAMidwest and she was so pretty and she even signed one of my new tote bags!) Anyways though, this book’s romance storyline is one of the best I’ve ever read. This has everything I could want. That being said, this is marketed towards 16 and above. I don't care about what your personal thoughts about spice are in adult novels, but everyone should agree that spice does not belong in YA novels. If anyone else out there has read the Shatter Me series, specifically Ignite Me, then you should know what I mean when I talk about chapter 55. Chapter 40 in Firstborn was worse than chapter 55. I do not know the full extent of the spice, because as someone who is trying to not allow lust into their heart I skipped once it crossed a boundary for me. Also, at some point but I can't remember when, the plot just got boring. It was most likely after the spice scene, when I was contemplating DNF’ing. I just lost interest, and the plot wasn’t gripping anymore.

↳ 🎧 bryn+ash :
i wanna be yours
eternity
fine place to die

⋆｡༄⋆ tropes !
enemies to lovers
antagonist turned ally
secret identity
dark secrets
evil beings

✶⋆. Still pondering why this was being sold at a YA book convention

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free e-arc of this book.

For more in-depth thoughts on this book, I would look at Amal’s review of Firstborn! https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Coleen Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this book! I was hooked from the very beginning and honestly didn’t want to put it down. The story is incredibly fast-paced, with so many twists and turns that just when I thought I knew where it was going, something happened that completely surprised me.

I loved the dystopian world, the characters, the danger, and especially the tension and romance woven throughout the story. There was never a point where the story dragged—it just kept getting better.

That ending!! I already need the next book. Definitely one of those books that leaves you wishing you could immediately start the sequel. Highly recommend for fans of dystopian romantasy.

[Sarah’s Literary World · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstborn really set the scene for the series!
You learn a lot about the world, the politics and the magic. I loved how plot focused it was with an intriguing romance subplot and love triangle 😏
OH and the pacing was PERFECT! I really struggled to put it down!

My favorite thing was probably the world-building. The Firstborn/Midborn/Lastborn concept made the story so unique and intriguing! I really was glued to my book, eager to learn everything there is to know.

My girl Bryn sees things through! She’s brave, probably a little bit impulsive but she also has such a big heart. I wanted to hug her SO many times 🥹
As an eldest daughter, it was easy to relate to Bryn’s character and I really loved seeing her evolution throughout the book!

The banter? The tension? The attraction? I was giggling and kicking my feet over these too.. But with that ending I am really questioning everything..

I was so smitten with Poe’s character! I’m really hoping we’ll get his POV in the next book 👀

Even though I’m so excited to see where the story is going, I am DEFINITELY SCARED, considering what happened in the last 15%..
That ending was truly CRIMINAL and got me so emotional 😭.

When I read the last page, I literally screamed: “WHAT THE HELL. FUCK NO. OH THIS IS GOING TO GO SIDEWAYS. Definitely not the 3 words I had in mind… THIS ENDING IS INSANE” and put it in my notes so.. I fear need book two IMMEDIATELY..

Thank you so much Stonefruit Studio for the arc, I’m eternally grateful! Please put me on the list for the next book if there is one, I need it ASAP. 🫣🫶🏼

[Ash’s Book Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐4 🌶️1.5

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did! This was such a unique take on dystopian. In this world your future is determined by your birth order. And magic is forbidden. Firstborns are trained as soldiers to fight a war against those who wield magic. And that's what our FMC is, a firstborn. But the real plot of this story centers around our main character, Bryn trying to rescue her sister, in this world where you are supposed to cut ties with family. She goes on this mission and risks everything just to find her.

A large chunk of this book is an adventure and I love a good adventure story! My favorite character was probably Poe, his sarcasm added some humor and lightheartedness to the serious situations they were in. The twists that were dropped at the end have me excited for book two. Overall I really enjoyed this story and this world!

If you like Dystopian with forbidden blood magic, enemies to lovers romance, adventures, a corrupt government, rebellion and plot twists then definitely pick this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Stonefruit Studio for the eARC!

[Erika Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very strong opener to a new series, I can't believe how quickly I was hooked. I haven't read a dystopian story in a long while, but I really loved this and I can't wait for book 2! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

[Stéphanie Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Firstborn is one of those fantasy books that slowly pulls you into its world until suddenly you're fully invested in the characters, the politics, the magic, and everyone's future. One minute you're casually reading a chapter before bed, and the next you're looking at the clock wondering who thought 2 a.m. was an acceptable time to make life choices.

One of my favorite things was the worldbuilding. The whole concept of Firstborns, Midborns, and Lastborns is incredibly well done. It's not just a title people carry around. It affects their entire lives, how they're treated, what opportunities they have, and how society functions. The more I learned about this world, the more fascinated I became.

I also really enjoyed the magic system. Instead of feeling like traditional fantasy magic with spells flying everywhere, it felt more like scientific innovation and technological advancement. Magic is used to improve and shape society, and I found that approach incredibly refreshing. Basically, if you're expecting someone to yell a spell and make a chicken explode, this isn't that kind of fantasy.

But honestly? Bryn was what made this book for me.

She has this attitude of, "I don't care if I die trying, at least I tried." Meanwhile I pull a muscle sneezing and reconsider all my life choices. Bryn is brave, stubborn, impulsive, and refuses to stand by when something feels wrong. There were so many moments where I wanted to shake her and wrap her in bubble wrap at the same time.

I know multiple POVs aren't everyone's favorite thing, but I loved them here. Getting inside different characters' heads helped me understand their motivations and made the world feel so much bigger. Every perspective brought something valuable to the story, whether it was politics, family dynamics, personal struggles, or seeing the same events through a completely different lens.

And can we talk about the romance for a second?

Because for the longest time I genuinely thought, "Okay, maybe we're not doing this." Then suddenly it was THERE and I was kicking my feet and grinning like an idiot. The romance definitely takes a back seat to the fantasy plot, but when it shows up, it does not disappoint. It's one of those romances that sneaks up behind you and says, "Surprise, you're emotionally invested now."

The ending was probably one of my favorite parts. It wraps up enough to feel satisfying while also leaving me with about a million questions. What happens next for Bryn? Her siblings? The civilians caught in the middle of everything? I need answers, M.J. Hastings. Respectfully. Immediately.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be over here waiting for the next book and pretending I'm being patient.

=> Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! Reading this before release was amazing, but now I'm stuck in that awkward phase where I need everyone else to read it immediately so I can talk about it. Please hurry. I'm running out of ways to yell into the void.

[Reya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryn Ruelle is a Firstborn, trained to be the best soldier in her academy. But when her sister is taken, she ends up forming an alliance with an enemy to find her.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, although it took me a while to get into the story. I found the first couple of chapters very info-dumpy, a problem that repeated itself towards the end when we find out the way of it all (oh, how my skin crawls when I see an "as you know..." in dialogue).

I did really like the main characters (I would have loved to get Poe's POV), and Bryn was a good heroine. I agree with others, though, that it would have been nicer to keep the same tense for all POVs. But the best part was the worldbuilding and magic system. It felt original, and I liked reading a dystopian book with something to say beyond the government=bad that we often get in YA.

The romance didn't fully convince me. I never believed Bryn and Oberst were in love-it actually felt kind of creepy to me how he seemed to be obsessed with her after treating her like shit for years lmao. And her falling for Ash was too quick for my liking. I was under the impression that they hadn't known each other for longer than a few days (sorry if it is mentioned that more time passes, it certainly doesn't read like it), and yet they go from lust to love in a few pages. I would have enjoyed it more if their love had developed after they get to Bryn's sister.

Overall, it's a really interesting foundation for a duology, and I'm excited for book 2!

3.5 stars rounded up

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'd at 26%. This book is a bit of a mess. I was intrigued by the initial premise: that firstborn children are taken from their families to be trained as soldiers. Then, we also learn that secondborn children are also taken to become magic users, essentially and last born and just taken, period. No one knows what's going on with them. So then of course you're thinking, what happens if you have two kids? Like how long do they wait before they decide that's the second born or the last born? What if you have 4 or 5 kids? The book tells us that people are forced to have only three children, which strains belief.

Putting that aside, the world building and characters don't do much. I made it a quarter of the way through and still understood absolutely nothing about the world. The author throws a lot at you, but it's not substantial or coherent. The book has you following in first-person POV with Bryn, then suddenly it goes to third-person POV with Asa, her younger brother. It's jarring and clumsy.

The pacing is strange, we're told over and over that this is the last day before this event for Bryn, but it keeps going on and on. I quit after I realized I just don't feel engaged at all. Reading other low reviews, I think I made the right choice. There could have been something interesting here, but it wasn't executed well.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dangerously addictive. I could not put this book down.

M.J. Hasting has put together a devastating debut dystopian fantasy novel. This book is fast paced with a unique social divide based on birth order. Not only that, but also a divide on what side of the land you were born on. Are you a true Dursti or an Arcanists, one who has magic in their blood? This book follows Bryn who is a Firstborn, born to fight and kill, and how far she’s willing to go for her sibling.

I loved this book. I have never had so many jaw dropping moments and tears in my eyes over a book.

This upper YA/ NA book has multi POVs, however it was not over whelming. The main POV stayed with the main character Bryn. And the character development Bryn had has to be one of my favorites. Everything she goes through and how far she pushes herself is top tier to me.

The romance felt more of a subplot to me, but I was invested in all the relationships between characters. And I’m very interested to see how these relationships grow OR change in the next book… I’m eyeing someone suspiciously.

Structure like Fourth Wing, action like the Hunger Games, and a romance like the early 2010 YA books gave us.

Five stars.

If you liked silver elite, you’re going to like this one too.

[Reading Gems · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

NET GALLEY ARC
4.5 star read

This is an amazing debut!!! Wow!

Birth determines your place within the world.
Firstborn - a soldier
Midborn -the academic
Last born - are taken
A war is being fought against those who wield magic. Or is it?
In a kingdom so against magic, they do like to twist it so it’s not technically the magic they are so against.
The people have been told it’s magic that is the evil.
Bryn discovers the truth.
Bryn is a firstborn, her brother Asa is midborn, and her sister Wren is a last born.
The journey Bryn takes is one that’s personal and changes everything she’s ever known. Not only that, it changes her.


It’s full of vengeance, violence, and action from the very first page.
The world building is complex, yet it’s immersive and intricate. The five POVs give a full experience of every part of the world as the characters are in different areas. It makes it feel complete and helps understand the way the things are working together, which further enhances the fullness of the world building.
Some POVs aren’t as rich and full as others, but Bryn’s was great! I loved reading about her and her development.

The romance is a great touch and adds a softness to Bryn. The love triangle is subtle; it doesn’t overwhelm the story. I loved the fact that we got to experience the inner dialogue of each character; it brought more depth to the romance. This is definitely more of a plot first, romance second read. And I loved that! There is spice, but I don’t feel it was needed; it wasn’t bad though.

I need to say, Poe is an amazing character, I loved him!! He’s witty and my kind of petty. He was a great addition to the story. He is definitely a standout character!

The magic system is interesting, and I felt it had a feel of the Shadow Hunters as runes are a key component.
The book is gripping, and the second half is addictive; I struggled to put it down.

Divergent, Cassandra Clare, Hunger Games, and Fourth Wing fans, you’ll love this!

[Haley ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank Netgalley and Stonefruit Studio Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

I was SO FREAKING excited to start this one. Dystopian young adult series… I mean come on & that cover!!🤩

I wish I was able to keep that energy throughout the book. Starts off so strong, world building, getting to know Bryn & the background, & also what in the world firstborns even mean

For me, if fell flat with pacing about 30% in. I felt I was chugging along barely making dents & it’s not that it was bad. I was just ready for *something exciting to happen*.

Little background without spoilers:
- firstborn (told to fight at the frontline against arcanists)
- second born (train in school to build weapons or objects / things that can help the soldiers)
- third born (taken and *sacrificed* to prepare at the last defense against the arcanists - only no one can confirm because they are never seen again)?

Bryn (main character) is a firstborn- has to finish the “long night” where she takes her first kill - only she doesn’t think she can kill someone. Then BOOM right before - she’s told HOLD UP your sister is about to be taken & her mother’s dying wish is to keep her safe.

My ehhs about it
- love triangle seemed to be going on (but felt so left field I didn’t even know how to feel about it)
- Bryn is told to protect her sister but also has absolutely no relationship with her (weird)
- Bryn gullible & a bit naive thinking she’s all high and mighty

I loved the idea and concept and may pick up the rest of the series. It was a fun read when the action and spells were going back & forth with answers coming together. Just very slow pacing for my liking with the love situation not really doing it for me.