Firstborn by M.J. Hastings: Why I DNF'd at 58%

Author: M.J. Hastings

Publisher: Stonefruit Studio

Rating: 2★

I know content warnings aren't for everyone, and plenty of books carry some version of this list. But since Firstborn is tagged as YA, I think it's worth flagging clearly for readers and parents deciding whether this is the right fit. Since I didn't finish the book, this list includes what other readers have flagged.

Content Warnings: Death of a parent, slavery, homophobia, trafficking, kidnapping/abduction involving minors, rape/sexual assault, graphic violence including whipping or physical punishment, sexual content, death, violence, excessive swearing, unhealthy relationships, and a professor/student relationship.

A dystopian romantasy that sets up a compelling family mystery, then buries it under one dimensional characters and a heroine who never grows.

Firstborn at a Glance

Rating: 2★ (DNF at 58%)

What it's about:

Bryn Ruelle, a Firstborn soldier in a dystopian society organized around birth order, searches for answers about her Lastborn sister's disappearance, with occasional chapters from her Secondborn brother's perspective.

Why it didn't work for me:

Flat, trope heavy characters, a lead who never develops, and a world that somehow both over explains and under explains itself.

Good for readers who enjoy:

Romantasy with a dystopian backdrop, but who are more forgiving of thin characterization than I am.

Where the story lost me

My biggest problem was Bryn. Sixty percent of the way through a book is a long time to spend with a main character who hasn't changed at all, and Bryn hadn't budged an inch. Worse, she didn't even feel consistent from scene to scene. Her personality seemed to bend around whatever the plot needed her to do next rather than the other way around, which made her hard to root for and, honestly, hard to like. I found myself rolling my eyes every time she talked.

She wasn't alone in this either. Most of the cast read like a checklist of familiar tropes rather than actual people. Ash was the one bright spot for me, the only character I was consistently interested in, but one good character can't carry a whole book.

The writing didn't do the story any favors

Some of this might be colored by how frustrated I was with Bryn, but the prose and voice didn't land for me either. The book shifts between first person and third person for different POVs, and that switch was jarring every time it happened rather than feeling like a deliberate stylistic choice.

The worldbuilding had a similar problem. There was a lot of info dumping, paragraphs of exposition about the caste system and the politics behind it, and yet by 60% I still didn't have a real grasp on how this world actually worked. That is a frustrating combination: too much explanation and still not enough understanding.

A note on the age category

The open door sexual content alone is enough to push this out of YA territory for me. YA as a category generally keeps sex off the page or fades to black, and this book doesn't. Add in a professor/student relationship, which carries a power imbalance that YA publishing typically avoids featuring as a romantic dynamic, and the unhealthy relationship patterns elsewhere in the book, and this reads much more like New Adult than something meant for teen readers. The violence, the death, and the amount of swearing only add to that.

It doesn't help that this book is being pitched as Hunger Games meets Fourth Wing. One of those comps, Fourth Wing, are adult fantasy series with plenty of explicit content of its own. Leaning on comps like that while still shelving this as YA sends a mixed message, and pointing that out isn't me being a prude. It just means the marketing and the actual content aren't lining up, and readers and parents deserve to know that before they pick it up expecting something YA.

If you're an adult reader who enjoys romantasy with mature content, none of this is necessarily a dealbreaker. But if you're a teen reader, or a parent handing this to one because it's shelved as YA, I'd take a closer look first.

Final thoughts

I wanted to love Firstborn. The bones of the premise, a missing sister, a fractured family split across a caste system, siblings uncovering the truth from different angles, are the kind of setup I actively seek out. But a strong premise needs characters worth following, and Bryn's lack of growth combined with a supporting cast full of tropes made it hard to stay invested. Add in jarring POV shifts and a world that felt both over explained and under explained, and I made it to 60% before deciding I was done.

I'm rating this 2 stars, reflecting a DNF rather than a completed read. Readers who are more forgiving of thin characterization and are mainly here for the romantasy elements may still find something to enjoy, but this one wasn't for me.

I received an advance copy of Firstborn from Stonefruit Studio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.