Firstborn (Deluxe Edition)

LoveReading4Kids Says

October 2026 Debut of the Month

“The Long Night begins with flesh and ends with blood, the Sisters liked to say, as if their prose rendered the occasion mysterious and beautiful”. But the way Bryn sees it, once the Trial of the Long Night was underway, “I’d be naked before lunch, and dead by dawn”.

Such is the arresting opening of M.J. Hastings’ Firstborn, and such is the fiery, forthright nature of its protagonist, who finds herself facing the ultimate conflict between remaining loyal to country or family, and between saving herself or her siblings.  

Living in a dystopian world in which the government sorts people into how they will serve their country (Firstborns will fight, Secondborns will become wise and learn to work anti-magic, Lastborns disappear at the age of thirteen), Bryn is about to enter the fray of the Long Night, the final trial for Firstborns.

To succeed, she must kill. Success means being posted to defend her country. Failure means exile. Into this already nightmarish scenario, Bryn makes a discovery that sends searing shockwaves through her veins, and compels her to form an alliance (of sorts) with an enemy who also boils her blood, in ways she never imagined possible...  

With a bigger backdrop of generational bloodshed, blood magic, and blood song, Firstborn is a feisty firecracker of a novel that fuses YA dystopia with magical romantasy (romantopia?). Think sizzling enemies-to-lovers tension, plus battles of body and heart, and all packaged as a glitzy deluxe hardback.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About Firstborn (Deluxe Edition)

DELUXE EDITION-a stunning hardcover featuring stenciled edges, two full-color custom maps, and a foil cover!

Read the full description

Find This Book In