3.5 stars

I think The Fireborne Blade was a really unique book. I really loved the overall premise and thought the world building was really cool. The chapters of journal entries were a really cool way to learn about the lore and the world without everything feeling too bogged down. Maddileh gave me Brienne of Tarth vibes and I loved her. The twist towards the end had my jaw on the floor. I didn’t exactly see it coming though I had a few suspicions. What lost me was the pacing. It would be interesting and fast paced and then would teeter out to the point where I lost interest. The writing was also a little too straight to the point, but that didn’t bother me too much. Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Than you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor for the e galley.

What a fun read!!
This novella was so good and adventurous, The characters dynamic was so solid. And the best thing was the format of this story. Some parts were the interviews and the other were like the real event. Solid 5 stars for me!

3.5 rounded up.

I enjoyed so many elements of this book. The dragon lore and the dragon-dead were fun and felt inventive (although I am a person who hasn't really kept up with dragon books since the 90's, so grain of salt), the in-world records of various dragon encounters were eerie and delightful, and I'm always here for a big lady with a sword.

However, the three strands of narrative (the in-world records, the flashbacks, and the present-day action) are braided together a little too unevenly for me. As much as I loved the records (they were easily my favourite part of the book), I felt like I was left with too much information on dragons and not enough on Maddileh. Her story felt underdeveloped, and with Bond going for intrigue in so much of Maddileh's current-day storyline, I felt like I barely got to know her in a way that would have made certain moments hit harder. I do hate to be the person to critique a novella for being a novella (I love novellas, short-form fiction is a gift), but this concept felt a little too ambitious for the medium and I think would have benefitted from more room to breathe.

All that said, I had a good time and will happily read more of Charlotte Bond's work.

Thank you to Tor Dot Com and Netgalley for providing a free digital copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I could not explain to you just why The Fireborne Blade irritated me to the extent it did. It was, unfortunately, just one of those books where, within a page or two, I’d set my mind against it. I say this like I can’t articulate reasons for it, but I can! I have reasons, although, as I said, why they irritated me so particularly here is harder to unravel.

The plot is a simple one: our main character, Maddileh, butthurt after a rejection from the man she loves, decides the solution to the fantasy misogyny she keeps facing as a female knight is to kill a dragon and steal the eponymous Fireborne Blade. She finds herself lumped with a squire she doesn’t really like and can’t remember hiring besides. And also there’s some brief flashbacks to what she’s been doing in the past six months since said rejection — which become important later.

Firstly, let’s take the fantasy misogyny. Oh, woop de doo!, you say, another fantasy book which can’t seem to envisage a made up world without this real world bigotry. And I do understand the desire to write books that tackle such issues but this one just didn’t do it well. It being a longer novella, there could have been time to develop something a bit more, but, with absolutely as much respect as it sounds, this author didn’t have the range. (And, honestly, the main character simply decided that she could solve fantasy misogyny by defeating a dragon (difficult task) and suddenly all the fantasy misogynists would respect her. Sorry, I must have missed the part where it’s that easy to erase misogyny (or any other bigotry in fact).)

Second point: the writing felt entirely stilted. It was clearly trying to sound fairytale-esque but it didn’t do it in a natural way. A lot of it, as a result, had me rolling my eyes and skimming just a bit quicker so I could finally be done. The plot is also interspersed with made up sources from this in-world book about hunting dragons which felt unnecessary (to the extent they were in it).

The reveal, when it comes, feels rushed and unearned, like the book was trying to cram too much plot into too short a space. I hadn’t come to care about any of the characters I was supposed to, so why would any of it matter to me? Further, the magic system seemed more like a bunch of hand waving, so they can do this now, magic rather than something bound with checks and balances. Again, a lot of this is a product of the book being a novella and lacking the time to flesh out much. That being said, I would hardly want to read a full-length version of this, as mind-numbingly dull as I found it. I wasn’t even inclined to read the sequel before the ending, which once again had me rolling my eyes. Deus ex machina much?

So, yeah. It turns out I am able to explain why this book irritated me. The perfect confluence of more minor things, compounding themselves until this: a one-star read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novella ARC.

My rating: 0.5 ⭐️
Spice rating: 🚫

This novella was honestly very boring. There was no world building whatsoever. Basically there’s a sword in a dragon’s den. Go get it. But you’ll probably die like everyone else. There’s no character building, no struggles, nothing. What hardship did she face? What was so horrible that she was shunned/shamed into risking her life for a sword to reclaim her honour? So what she fought off people? She’s a knight for goodness sake. Nothing is explained at all. Kudos to the author for giving it a go.

I was really happy to get a copy of this from Tor via Netgalley. This came across my radar because CL Clark read it and I follow them on Goodreads and I love dragons so it was immediately added to my tbr.

I really enjoyed this and all the different elements of this story. I like how we were given information from two different types of flashbacks - the main character's actual past actions, and then historical documentation from previous dragon slayers, and the way both were contributing to the worldbuilding. I look forward to seeing how it continues in the next one, as there are quite a few revelations and events to still be explored.

As a read, it was easy and quick. The characters were good, with room for more exploration available in the future, as well as a potential future relationship - which I’m glad the author didn’t decide needed to be included in this book. The story had enough going on that a relationship wasn’t necessary.

I really liked the twists of the book too. The first was great, and I definitely didn’t quite see it coming though I knew there was something up with the squire. And the second was one that was both quite obvious but so very satisfying to see played out. It’s definitely become a favourite and one I’d recommend anyone who likes fantasy books that play within the genre.

What's the last story that was wildly different that you expected?

In "The Fireborne Blade" by Charlotte Bond it should be a classic story. Go into a dragon's lair, kill it, dip, life is great. But some things aren't adding up. A tiny slight caused her to be sentenced to go after The White Lady, a legend among dragons, to atone. Her squire has a lot of magic and doesn't behave like one trained for the job. But Maddileh is a badass and is going to do her job.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC! Out May 28th, 2024.

Reasons to read:
-Competent characters dealing with bs
-The fact that every other chapter is an account of what happened to other dragon slayers and the fallout was incredibly interesting for me
-Comeuppance!
-Very different take on "normal" dragons
-Oh that's a really good reason to be upset

Cons:
-In what world is that behavior acceptable???

Hannah Jane (inkdrinkerhana)
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The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond
The Fireborne Blade
by Charlotte Bond
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Well, that was an unexpectedly quick read. I had a lot of expectations for this book. The cover screams epic fantasy vibes, but it ended in an okay read.

First of all, I think the story itself had a lot of great potential to be expanded into a lengthy novel. The lore and the world-building in this one should have been explored deeply. It is easy to understand but has enough complexity to construct a more immersive storytelling.

I'm not saying that I don't like it. I think this 100+ pages of a book is interesting to read. It has enough information for magic system, history, and world-building to run a story. It has impressive plot twists that I never saw coming. And it maintain to keep my attention in able to finish the book.

I just wished that there was more from it. More world-building, more action, more character dynamics, and much more story than it already has. As what I said, it has a great potential to be a well-crafted and become a much complex fantasy story.

Overall, I did find it interesting, though I am not quiet satisfied with it. But if you're looking for a book with a good foundation of storytelling, I recommend this one.

An incredibly enjoyable, short read. This novella follows the knight Maddileh—one of the only women in her line of work—as she attempts to retrieve the Fireborne Blade from the infamous dragon, the White Lady. It switches between her perspective and a handful of short tales reporting on past knights' lives and their encounters with dragons. While this novella is absolutely enjoyable, I found myself, at times, wanting more from the story—the characters, the worldbuilding, and the magic. It's not too action-packed, but, with the short page space, it accomplishes a lot. Often, though, I found myself wishing for a little more nuance. With that being said, the ending certainly made up for what I felt was lacking. It was everything I wanted from the story. Certainly a fun end. This novella is really easy to fall into, and I would definitely recommend giving it a try.

Thank you to the NetGalley team at Tor/Forge for this egalley in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book; It's a stunning work of grimdark high fantasy with a sapphic lead! I often feel like dragon fantasy misses the mark because it presents dragons as accessories to humans. They are subservient and domesticated, not feared. Charlotte Bond's dragons are shrouded in myth and have beautiful, glittering names. In a world where women are seen as unworthy of practicing magic or knighthood, dragons represent a similar concept of 'Otherness' that terrifies patriarchal, imperialist cultures. They are something to be conquered. I think Bond does an excellent job at managing this tension, and I enjoy the lore/history of the world that is slowly revealed throughout the story.

I do think there's a typo on p 86 in my e-galley (chapter 16) where it says "They saw no dragon, which worried Maddileh no end". Shouldn't that say "which worried Maddileh to no end?"

Engaging and immersive. This is a recommended purchase for collections where medieval/dragon fantasy is popular.

This was such a cool novella! I was expecting your typical knight and dragon story with a feminist/sapphic twist, but it ended up being so much more. I don't want to go into too much detail, as I think it's best to go into this not knowing too much about it, like I did, but the plot twists are absolutely incredible. I loved Maddileh and Saralene, and the ending of the book hinted at some really interesting worldbuilding to come. As of right now, there's a sequel listed on Goodreads that's coming out in the fall, and I'm so excited to go back to this world.

I've read 20% of the book and I stopped... I clearly was lost in time track, I didn't understood where it was going... Plus I did not found this epic fantasy and dragon adventure I was looking for in this book. I mean the cover and all made me want it and all I had was a kind of introspective and judgemental thing after the adventure. Or the story of two people talking about everything else but what I wanted during they journey.

Charlotte Bond has done something many authors try to do — create a unique dragon slaying knight tale.
The Fireborne Blade follows Maddileh, a disgraced knight who needs to redeem herself. She’s stubborn, which is necessary as a woman in a male-dominated field.
The White Lady, an ancient and powerful dragon, is suspected to have the legendary sword. She’s clever and out of hibernation — pretty much a guaranteed death for any knight who enters her lair.
This novella is rich in lore about magic, politics, and mystical beasts. I found myself rooting for Maddileh and wanting to savour the journey she took. I wouldn’t quite call this book feminist, but it certainly shows how women work when the odds aren’t in their favour.
The Fireborne Blade is a new-found classic I will be pushing onto all of my fellow fantasy readers.

I’m always going to be a sucker for a lady knight, so reading this book was a must for me. Overall, I had fun. The pacing was a little stop and go, but that didn’t trouble me too much. I really enjoyed the interspersed selections from The Demise and Demesne of Dragons, I could’ve read a full sized novel’s share of these. And I enjoyed the weird little cast of characters as well. As per usual with novellas, my main pointless complaint is that I want more of this world — give me more dragon facts!

This is like “Dragon Fantasy for Dummies” and I don’t mean that in a rude negative way AT ALL. Merely saying this is a simple, straight forward dragon fantasy with no world building. Not a whole lot of detail. 200 pages of pure dragon fan service (the classic kind that like to hoard treasure!) that was comfy to read. Will work for many, won’t work for some.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel.

Sadly this novella wasn't for me. I struggled a lot with the plot and pacing. It just didn't feel like there was much going on, and I didn't feel particularly invested in or connected to the main character. She felt like she was at arm's length the whole time. I would expect a novella to go by pretty quickly given its length, but this one was a struggle to read unfortunately.

Interesting twist at the end; however, I did find myself have to reread a few chapters because I wasn't paying attention. The flashbacks took me out of the story and even though I skimmed them I didn't feel like I missed crucial information? I could be wrong. I did enjoy the characters and the story itself though. Dragons are love, dragons are life. The lore surrounding dragons was interesting for sure!

Posso falar que "The Fireborne Blade” foi uma descoberta incrível logo no comecinho do ano? Eu estava esperando uma história rápida, tipo quest principal com algumas side quests e pronto, sem muitas enrolações — e é isso mesmo, mas com algo a mais.

E olha, é incrível como a autora fez muito com tão poucas páginas! A história não reinventa a roda, mas traz novas formas de contar algo que já vimos várias vezes. Aqui temos a personagem principal, Maddilleh, uma cavaleira que tem a missão de matar um dragão e recuperar uma espada poderosa. Essa é a premissa principal.

Confesso que, achei o começo um pouco confuso, não sabia muito bem o que estava acontecendo, mas em 10% já estava familiarizado com a escrita ágil e imersiva da Charlotte Bond, a autora não perde tempo em criar barrigas ou descrições que possam ser “desnecessárias", ela vai direto ao ponto e toda a construção do mundo e da personagem vai acontecendo conforme os fatos vão acontecendo.

Preciso dizer que, a partir dos 50% o livro vira uma bala, com acontecimentos que me deixaram de boca aberta a todo o momento e quando eu achava que a história iria para um lado, ela pega um lado completamente diferente. Foi uma surpresa muito boa!

This was one of my anticipated reads of 2024! Happy to say that I quite enjoyed it. Compelling characters and interesting thematic work.