I read and enjoyed the first novella in this series, so it was mostly a given that I would check out this next entry. That said, I definitely would have picked this one up based on the cover alone. I mean, for heaven’s sake, one of the lead characters is cuddling some sort of magical cat creature! So, without further ado, let’s dive into the review.

This was a romp of a ride! It’s a short little adventure tale that packs in a lot of action and lore within a limited page count. While I enjoyed the dragon lore we got in the first entry (and could have wished for a bit more of it here), I also liked the shift into a more Greek-inspired tale. Adventures through the land of the underworld are always a good time, and this one tied in nicely with some of the events and reveals at the end of the first book.

Like the first book, I enjoyed the way the author played around with storytelling format, imbedding numerous folktales throughout the story through different perspectives. And, like the first book, I was surprised to find that some of these entries were almost my favorite parts of the entire book! Not that I don’t enjoy our main characters and their story, but given the short length of the story, there’s isn’t a lot of complicated character arcs to be found there. Which isn’t bad, but it also means that I wasn’t heavily invested in them either. I enjoyed following their tale, but I also enjoyed simply learning more about this world. And, of course, I loved the cat dragon. Was it perhaps a bit of a bone throne to fantasy-lovers? Sure. Did I mind it at all? No, no I did not.

Overall, this was a fun duology. It didn’t break any barriers within the genre, but it was also the sort of beach read fantasy that I think will appeal to many readers who want to escape on a fun adventure but not commit to a massive tome. Fans of the first book will likely enjoy this one, and I definitely recommend this duology to all fantasy readers looking for a fast-paced adventure tale following two fantastic leading ladies!

Rating 8: Adventure, romance, and a dragon cat, what more can you want?

Link will go live on The Library Ladies on Oct. 18

I did like this one better than the first novella, but I feel like the 2 could have been combined into one novel and fleshed out more. Then it could have been incredible. I did connect to the characters more in the one and cared more about their journey.

Thank you to the publisher for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this! It was much fun to spend more time with Saralene and Maddileh and to see them grow individually as characters and together. These novellas have been such a wonderful surprise and I can't wait to whatever Bond does next!

<i>I received this title as an ARC on Net-galley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you Tor for the copy!</i>

<b>Thoughts</b>
Maddileh is back and struggles the events of the previous novella and while also dealing with the possibly that dragons might be more than the stories she's been told. The core of this story is the truths and myths of folklore and stories and how they rarely showcase the whole story. I liked seeing all these legends scattered throughout the book and how they compared to the challenges Maddileh and Saralene faced during their journey. The mutual pining between Saralene and Maddileh was so sweet to see. Before there was even a confession between them their love and care for each other was palpable. I loved their relationship a lot! I also love dragons so the inclusion of one as a main champion in this was very nice.

b>Format:</b> Ebook

<b>The Rating</b>
I give this book a <b>4/5🌟 rating.</b> This was a fun and interesting tale that really reminded me of why this classic elements of fantasy are so beloved.

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TL;DR: Not as good for me as book one, but I enjoyed seeing more of this world.
Source: Netgalley! Thank you to the publisher!

Plot: A somewhat familiar, go into the underworld and find something/save someone plot. Not super enthralling.
Characters: A new character introduced was my favorite by far. I actually got tired of being in our other characters minds, large page long monologues were frequent.
Setting: The underworld and the ideas there were actually really fun! I quite liked how the world was setup.
Magic: Fairly vague honestly, dragons = magic? A bit more on details would have been nice.

Thoughts:

I was a huge fan of the Fireborne Blade so I was excited for The Bloodless Princes, but this one didn’t quite hit. The first book balanced the ‘source materials’ of the world with the story itself well but this one felt like there was far more as far as textbook entries. I also found the inner monologue of our two characters drawn out. There were a couple pages where we’d just get a solid brick of information inside their minds, one long paragraph over a page. It was a bit draining.

The newest character introduced, the little white kitty on the cover, was the best part for me and I genuinely wish we’d gotten more with her. I wish we’d gotten more just in the moment on this one. More of whats happening to the characters, less inside ramblings, more world.

This missed for me sadly, I’ll probably continue the series (if there is more) but this definitely slumped for me. I still really recommend the first but as of right now you could probably just skip this on.

3 out of 5 Flying Cats

My first introduction to this world was through the audiobook of the Fireborne Blade. Listening to it at work as it took me quite literally into a different world. Once I finished it, I had such a strong need to continue and dreamt day and night about reading The Bloodless Princes ASAP.

In The Bloodless Princes, we continue with our two main characters some time after the events of the first book. Maddileh haunted by dreams of the dragons lair and voices speaking to her, Saralene met with the challenge of an old enemy coming back to claim what was his. All which takes the pair on a journey of death where they seek the help of the Bloodless Princes. Which let me take a moment to say I love the small lore drops that happen throughout the book, some contradicting the same story told from different views. The story of the Bloodless Princes and the Dragon Smith being my favorite through out many books thus far.

It is a short adventure, and I appreciate our main characters getting the help of someone from the first book.

My one wish? That it had been longer, or continued into a third book. The first book did so much with so little in terms of book length that I felt it was giving us world building and the start of character development in such few pages. This second book started out in a similar way, but quickly became a story of "Beginning, Middle, The End." with a happily ever after twist. And when you do something like Maddileh and Saralene did at the end, you expect there to be repercussions and more story to tell.

It was a short adventure, and I enjoyed my time in the beginning, though I am not left with a need to read more with the knowing that the story appears to be at its end for this duology.

This was a great novella and lovely sequel. Was happy to see more of the characters and plot was also interesting. Just wish it had a little bit more romance .

4 stars.

This novella takes place immediately following the events of The Fireborne Blade so I don't want to say too much as these books are so short. I was a little disappointed that we were much less focused on the awesome dragon lore we got a glimpse of in book 1 and instead pivoted to a more Greek-inspired vibe, but I just really enjoy the characters. And even though I wanted more dragons, this was still a really fun sequel and the series just is not getting the hype it deserves.

Thank you to Tordotcom for providing me a review copy via NetGalley.

I liked The Bloodless Princess a lot more than The Fireborne Blade even though it took me much longer to finish both of these books than usual (because fantasy!). Anyway, it was an intriguing read. The author’s writing was descriptive and immersive, which made it so easy to visualize the settings and characters.

The story delves into a world of political intrigue (which was done well) and explores the myth behind the creation of dragons and the world as we know it in the book (one of my favorite parts). It's a classic fantasy, and I mean it in the best way, with supernatural elements (my another favourite thing about this book). However the pacing was uneven at times, some sections felt like such a drag while others were slightly rushed to my taste.

Overall, it was a solid read with an interesting plot and strong main characters, totally worth a read if you fancy sapphic fantasy with a touch of political drama. As for me personally... I'm not much into political intrigue (enough of this bs in real life), but add dragons, women, magic, and myths... and voila, a powerful concoction to infuse my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book.

What's the oddest way you got a job? Well unless it was by hijacking your murderer's body, and his boss, after dealing with a dragon than you probably have it easy. "Bloodless Princes" by Charlotte Bond is out October 29,2024.

The world is a better place. The High Mage was replaced by Saralene and Maddileh is her champion. Sounds good right? Except the old High Mage had somethings in place that are going over poorly with Saralene replacing his body... When the human lore runs out of answers they have to turn to a source that is going to be a bit awkward to communicate with. The White Lady, who they are rather glad is only mostly dead.

Reasons to read:
-More of this world!
-Deeper world building with stories of how the gods and the afterlife work here
-And the dragon's place in things
-That's not a bad deal
-Great team up time

Cons:
-I would take a longer book, but always appreciate a total package that doesn't overstay it's welcome. But if more is coming I'm only kinda feral for it.

I love a good story involving an underworld, and this was no exception! With good characters and an interesting plot, it was a quick but fun read!

I'm so excited about Bond's writing! This was a solid follow-up to Fireborne Blade, and I'm not sure if there's more coming, but I would LOVE anything else set in this world. Her worldbuilding has been so well-thought out and entertaining, and her characters and their dynamics are so fun. I thought the pacing of the dual narrative here was enjoyable and easy to follow. The excerpts of stories and scholarship about dragons and their legends were such a nice touch. I adore fantasy narratives where the dragons are important companions - this really hit that spot for me.

A delightful follow-up to what was one of my favorite fantasies this year. The writing and worldbuilding are both strong, but my favorite parts were the folktale interludes that spoke to ever-changing nature of oral storytelling. I’ll be on the lookout for this author’s future work.

🐉 THE BLOODLESS PRINCES by Charlotte Bond 🐉
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

In a world inundated with movie-esque, thick and sometimes bloated fantasy books, The Fireborne Blade series by Charlotte Bond is giving me the short, punchy TV serial interludes I need.

Despite its length (clocking in at a full 8 pages shorter than The Fireborne Blade), the second in the series The Bloodless Princes provides more depth and worldbuilding than its predecessor, giving the reader a better insight into the wider fourteen realms, its under and over worlds and its beginnings.

This increased attention to the world and its inhabitants does mean that this entry is lighter on plot than the first one, but that does not mean the plot suffers. Another quest, this time the stakes are even higher for our main character Maddileh and her new found friend and lover Saralene. With a climax as sudden as as satisfying as the first book, I do not feel like it was rushed or that I was cheated.

What Bond manages to do with the characters with such a compact story is remarkable, told through the same means as before, oral tradition interwoven seamlessly with entries into a different book this time around, one centred around tales chronicling the formation of the world as we know it. Stories that seem unconnected but are just as important to our protagonists as ever.

To summarise, this is a short punchy novel, dealing with themes of both love and loss in a way that does not belie its length, experienced by characters who have grown on me. There’s also a dragon cat, so…

4.5 stars rounded up

This was a great conclusion to this fantasy novella duology! I love how it played with format and included in-world folktales from different perspectives. It explores how history looks quite different depending on who gets to frame it. But we're following our two heroines from the last book, this time into the underworld along with a smart and snarky dragon companion. It's fun, queer, and adventurous. What more could you want? I thoroughly enjoyed it. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

A fascinating world with characters you absolutely root for, especially Mienylyth the dragon who is also an adorable cat. The myths and anthropological documents interspersed were a great look into a world with conflicting mythologies which is not something you see as often as I'd like in fantasy novels. My only big issue was with the timeline and pacing which sometimes felt weirdly slow given the urgency of the plot but at other times felt like everything was just jammed together.

This was adorable! A sweet, short fantasy with lovely worldbuilding and the feeling of a fairy tale.

Nice story overall! I liked the setting, characters and plot. Short, but interesting and funny. Loved the dragon/mythology tales. I would recommend the book!

An audacious plan to break a deadly curse leads Maddileh and Saralene into the underworld, alongside a talking cat that is far more than it appears.

I liked the first novella in this series, The Fireborne Blade, and hoped to see more adventures with our two heroines. I did not suspect I would get my wish quite so soon!

Saralene is now the High Mage, but the former holder of the title (recently deceased) has other plans for her. With her trusted companion, the brave knight Sir Maddileh, she must travel to the domain of the eponymous princes and find some way to prevent her imminent demise. Along the journey, the two will also face a perhaps greater challenge—their feelings for each other.

Instead of the faux academic papers about dragons we had last time, this book breaks up the narrative with some short folk tales from the perspectives of both the humans and the dragons. The same events are seen quite differently, and the fun juxtaposition of the two feeds neatly into the story.

Despite the high stakes, this book feels slightly lighter in tone to the first one, particularly with the running commentary of their new feline companion. Which is not a complaint by any means!

If this is all we get with these characters, the book provides a satisfying conclusion to the tale, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if we got more of these bite-sized tales every now and again, much like a fantasy equivalent of the Murderbot novellas by Martha Wells.

Recommended, alongside the first one.

Thanks to Tor Publishing for the early review copy.

Thank you for this ARC, I feel so lucky to have read it so early!

I loved this! I am a sucker for a tale of powerful women, especially with DRAGONS!
THIS is what should be the most popular Dragon book at the moment and not the ACOTAR copy and paste knock-off that is Fourth Wing!
Bond write her protagonists as believable women within her sprawling fantasy backdrop, which I love, as I often find most women in fantasy book today seem to be exact replicas of themselves. I'd gotten to a point in fantasy where I was considering giving up the genre after every book I've read recently has been exactly the same. This book series/duo has brought me out of that slump! I would have loved to have had more pages as it is a lot shorter than the first but I'm very grateful to have a continuation of the story before the next full length novel (please write another).
I hadn't read the first one before receiving this copy so I promptly purchased on amazon and binged in one sitting!

I urge anyone who loves REAL fantasy books but is sick of always reading about men, to buy this book and live your powerful lady fantasy!