Week 21 Reviews: The Fireborne Blade, The Bloodless Princes

From Goodreads:

Kill the dragon. Find the blade. Reclaim your honor.

It's that, or end up like countless knights before her, as a puddle of gore and molten armor.

Maddileh is a knight. There aren't many women in her line of work, and it often feels like the sneering and contempt from her peers is harder to stomach than the actual dragon slaying. But she's a knight, and made of sterner stuff.

A minor infraction forces her to redeem her honor in the most dramatic way possible, she must retrieve the fabled Fireborne Blade from its keeper, legendary dragon the White Lady, or die trying. If history tells us anything, it's that "die trying" is where to wager your coin.

Maddileh's tale contains a rich history of dragons, ill-fated knights, scheming squires, and sapphic love, with deceptions and double-crosses that will keep you guessing right up to its dramatic conclusion. Ultimately, The Fireborne Blade is about the roles we refuse to accept, and of the place we make for ourselves in the world.

From Goodreads:

Orpheus meets A Natural History of Dragons in a tale of death, honor and true love's embrace.

It seemed the afterlife was bustling.

Cursed by the previous practitioner in her new role, and following an... incident... with a supremely powerful dragon, High Mage Saralene visits the afterlife with a boon to beg of the Bloodless Princes who run the underworld.

But Saralene and her most trusted advisor/champion/companion, Sir Maddileh, will soon discover that there's only so much research to be done by studying the old tales, though perhaps there's enough truth in them to make a start.

Saralene will need more than just her wits to leave the underworld, alive. And Maddileh will need more than just her Fireborne Blade.

A story of love and respect that endures beyond death. And of dragons, because we all love a dragon!

My Review:
I had such a great time reading these books! The audiobook of the first book just sucked me in, and I was just lucky enough to already have gotten the 2nd book (though I didn't know they were connected when I requested them, funnily enough) and I just had to dive in, and they were both so good! 

I loved the way that these were told, with these two characters, but then also having some tales and recounting, the first of knights killing various dragons, and the second, various legends It really helped build out this world, and were so interesting to read! 

The twists and turns of Fireborne Blade, oh, they were so delightful to read! That we had the different timelines, and when they came together with that reveal, that was so shocking to read! I utterly loved how that all played out, it was just so clever! 

But that ending of Bloodless Princes? That was so good and unexpected! Though did they leave the sword behind or bring it with them? Either way, their future afterlife prospects don't look good as is right now! Honestly, here's hoping that the Allfather and Allmother find someone new to rule over the underworld, or I'm pretty sure they're going to be in trouble!

I'm not sure if there's going to be more in this series. I mean, I would love for there to be, and so far each story has wrapped up pretty nicely. But I want to spend more time in this world, so I really hope we get more stories! 

Loved reading these stories and I would love to have more!  

Author: Charlotte Bond 
Series: The Fireborne Blade #1, 2
Read: May 18th, 18th, 2024 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Books! 
Publisher: Tordotcom
Expected Publication: May 28th 2024, October 29th 2024

The Fireborne Blade:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Bloodless Princes:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars