I'd bought a copy of this book on a whim at a library sale, not really expecting anything other than a typical fantasy story. Before I started reading it, however, I looked through the reviews, which gave me something of an idea of what I was getting myself into.
(Proceed with caution: Spoilers ahead)
The writing itself is actually really good, and before long I was flying through the pages and surprising myself at how often I'd laughed. Still, once I got to the sexual parts, my enjoyment was taken down a few notches.
That's not to say I'm prudish, but the way it was portrayed in the book seemed silly to me. I realize the sex was supposed to be a big part of what the author wanted to write about, but it would have been perfectly fine without much of it, I think. And it wasn't only how often it came up, but how consistently great it was. Sure, this is a fantasy novel, but having it be a bit more realistic wouldn't have hurt. (And of course, at the end, the heroine loses her virginity and it was nothing short of amazing. In a perfect location, no less.) That sort of thing yanks me out of my suspension of disbelief and sends my eyes rolling almost out of their sockets.
The plot was also sort of meandering, especially around the middle, and the ending felt somewhat rushed. It came as no surprise that Aria was a missing princess, or that she'd be reunited with her long-lost lover, or that she wouldn't end up becoming a sacrifice and instead was saved by Persephone and almost got laid by Eros. The actual nitty-gritty parts of the story were great, but it seems like, as a whole, it was only a so-so book.
And for some reason I thought that the author was a woman the whole time I was reading Firebird. It actually wasn't until I had finished the last page and flipped to the author bio that I realized otherwise. At least all the stuff about the sex makes more sense now.
A pretty fun read overall, but not really satisfying.