Here are my thoughts:
1)The plot is as simple as the tagline, but the writing is really effective at dragging you down into the caves with the main character. It bounces between her current perspective, flashbacks of the character, and "recordings" detailing other encounters with dragons. And all of the pieces click into place for the ending, setting up the sequel.

I very much enjoyed The Fireborne Blade for its nostalgic feel. There is something very comforting about dragons regardless of the narrative or plot.
I think Bond has been able to find some harmony between info dumping and letting the story flow naturally but i do wish the overall book was longer and more fleshed out.

The Fireborne Blade is an impressive novella that swiftly establishes a compelling fantasy world full of terrifying dragons that possess mysterious powers (think dragon + eldritch force of nature and you won't be too far off), knights who hunt these beasts, and the wizards who assist them in this perilous task. The story focuses on a disgraced knight named Maddileh, whose impossible task that will deliver her redemption is to claim a cursed blade from a dragon's hoard.

An astonishing amount of ground is covered in this novella, from quality worldbuilding and character sketches to a narrative that takes some truly wild turns which left me excitedly turning pages until I hit the end. Talk about a story that loses the brakes when you hit the twist! Fantasy readers will like this short and sweet dive into another world.

I mainly selected the Fireborne Blade as it was sold to me for “fans of the six deaths of the saint” and I was OBSESSED with that short story. I feel like that was a terrible comparison and I didn’t get those vibes at all and I feel like that put me off on the wrong foot for the story from the start. However, I did really enjoy the story for what it was and had a good time reading it

The character is very Brenne of Tarth coded.

She’s going on a quest to retrieve a blade to regain her standing at court after a love affair ended badly. She’s kind of an unreliable narrator too with her memory being so faulty.

The chapters are interspersed with recountings from old knights about their brushes with Dragons. I did like this but sometimes I found them an irritating detour from the actual plot

The world created in the story is pretty effective. It relies on the readers general familiarity with the world of Kings and Knights and Squires then makes it feel original by adding the details about the mages and dragon histories.

I loved the end and how everything came about but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I felt the main character almost became a side character in her own story in the end.

The fireborne blade is a novella about a disgraced knight who must recover an enchanted blade to regain her honor, and her squire who's definitely not who he says he is.

I loved the worldbuilding centered around knights, and dragons, especially the dragon dead. I wish there were more info on them. They sound so terrifying.

I also liked the main character, Maddileh, aka a competent character who's *actually* competent. This woman is so brave, and so determined. She should be used as an example of how strong women *should* be written.I also LOVEDD the plot twist at the end.
Overall, 5 stars. If you liked Brienne of Tarth from ASOIAF, then you'll love this one.

Maddileh is a knight who needs to redeem herself. She will slay the notorious dragon White Lady in order to prove her worthiness, and will face many harrowing challenges along the way in this short fantasy novel. This story is full of really interesting history of dragons in this world, and the stories of knights who have taken them on. Maddileh is not always the most likable character, but she grows throughout and makes a great strong female main character to route for. If you are looking for an surprising and adventurous fantasy that is under 200 pages I would highly recommend The Fireborne Blade.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publishers for this eARC to review.

Finishing this story I’m primarily left with a feeling of not being as satiated as I would have hoped. I think the primary disappointment is that this is a GREAT story, written well, and yet…its potential is not fully realized. Because of this, I feel a teensy hint of resentment. I want this story again, but deeper!

I enjoyed the characters, the way the plot played out, and the messaging. However, the pacing, the switches in POV and timeline kept me at arm’s length from the characters. The stakes and the drama of the story took a while to get to. I wasn’t feeling the pull of being invested until about 30% in, but once I was, I breezed right through. I agree with other reviewers who felt that the investment wasn’t deep enough for the twist or the ending to have the impact it should have had, and that it felt very rushed.

I think this story is for fantasy fans who value legends, action, and magic itself over in-depth character development. Given I’m of the latter camp, I don’t think this one was a hit for me.

That all said, I think I’ll still keep an eye out for the sequel I’m hearing about to see if the next one gives me the depth I’m looking for!

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Maddileh, a knight, stands amidst a scarce few women in her profession of dragon slaying. A minor transgression compels Maddileh to restore her tarnished honor in the most spectacular manner possible: retrieving the legendary Fireborne Blade from its guardian, the fabled dragon known as the White Lady. Maddileh's narrative weaves dragon lore, doomed knights, a tale of sapphic love, and betrayals. You will quickly fall in love with her. I love that she is not interested in traditional general roles. I was instantly intrigued by her and the storyline. She provides an example of how you can desire to be something other than what society says you can be. Each character adds to the rich story. The story has added a few new, unique ideas to dragons. Not only did it focus on dragons, but it also had a paranormal and magical element. The writing made me feel I was reading a legend or a mythological tale. The ending was mind-blowing. I hope this storyline is continued through other books. One of the best-written female characters I have read this year.

I received an ARC audiobook copy from Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

It’s so much easier for me to devote time to novellas these days coz I can get the satisfaction of finishing something quicker, so naturally I had to read/listen to this one. It’s a well narrated audiobook, though it did take me a bit to get used to the accent.

This is a very typical old school dragon fantasy tale where the dragons have hoards, knights participate in tourneys and also become dragon hunters when called upon, with all the magic being the domain of the mages. The narrative follows our MC Sir Madileh across two timelines, mainly her quest to defeat an infamous dragon and acquire a very mythical blade. It’s fun and entertaining, with a gobsmacking twist I didn’t see coming. The story is also interspersed with older tales of knights and their encounters with dragons, and I found this part very interesting because these tales were the only world building we get here.

This book is quick and short and while maybe it could have been better if we got to know the world better or the characters were more fleshed out, it’s still pretty contained and enjoyable. It was only after I finished reading did I realize that there’s another book in this series. It releases this year, so maybe I will check it out.

Sometimes I forget my love of reading comes from those first few fantasy books I read in Junior High school. How lost I would become in these magicql worlds. This book brought back that love.


Thank you to. Tor Publishing Group | Tordotcom, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

♡𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
4 🌟
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𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 :
•dragons
•magic
•ya fantasy
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Sometime I just NEED a book to get straight to the point and just jump into the story or just get straight to the point and doesn't do all the world building, etc that can sometimes take 100 or 200+ pages. I highly enjoyed this book just because it got straight to the point, lol. This is my first book by this author, Charlotte Blade, and this book is book one in The Fireborne Blade series and I will more than likely continue the series. This audiobook read super fast, which I highly LOVE! I dislike a short reading audiobook. But this audiobook was everything I needed and more.
𝑰𝒇 𝒋𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝑴𝑬! This cover is definitely giving me Rhaenyra House of the Dragon vibes, #TeamBlack lol.
♡𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 May.28♡
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Thank you, Netgalley, and Tor Publishing Group for thr (eArc)-eBook for my honest review.

This was great! I love a fantasy novella and The Fireborne Blade effectively encapsulates a complete story with interesting characters, while introducing us to a new world. I also didn't see the twist at the end coming. It follows a queer woman who is a knight, on a quest to get a blade back from a dragon and reclaim her honor. It's told in a split timeline, and in the past we also meet a woman who is secretly being trained by a mage, even though women aren't really supposed to be. It's an adventure story about ambitious, talented women trying to make space for themselves in a man's world. Definitely worth a read! It's fast paced and fun, and the audio narration is good too.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of The Fireborne Blade, coming out at the end of May.

For me, this was kind of a miss. It tried a lot in just under 200 pages. The switching between the actual story and then some history lessons really didn’t work for me. The writing had lots of potential though. The ending was definitely promising, but a great finale doesn’t make a great book if all that came before was a bit boring…

Books like these are a good reminder that a talented author can accomplish more in 200 pages than a mediocre author can in 500. This is a very satisfying fantasy story without endless exposition, without meandering plotlines, and without a drawn out shoehorned romance.

Firstly, I appreciated the format of the story. The journal entries accomplished the task of building the world and setting the stakes through history telling. I really liked this take on dragons and how each dragon's death had different consequences.

Our protagonist is a bit of a Brienne of Tarth type character, which frankly I am 100% here for. I'd like more of those, please and thank you. You know something is up with her squire out of the gate, but I wasn't expecting where the story ended up going and I actually quite enjoyed the way everything wrapped up, despite not having all the answers.

I really recommend this for people who might be interested in reading more fantasy but are discouraged by massive page counts or multi book series. This is a good adventure story, involving magic, knights, and dragons.

Damn, was this book fun! If you like sword and sorcery fantasy with a hint of snark, this novella is for you.

Without giving anything away, given how many books I read a year, twists often don’t take me entirely by surprise. Yet, this book has a very fun and clever one that I did not expect.

Before this, it’s a quest novella interspersed with backstory in an interesting war. We have Maddileh’s story to take down a dragon, Maddileh’s backstory leading to the present, and interspersed with these, random stories of other knights successfully or unsuccessfully fighting dragons. What’s excellent about the latter is how they serve to broaden the worldbuilding, impart the danger of Maddileh’s quest, and were often funny.

What we don’t get is a lot of backstory on Maddileh herself before her “disgrace.” While I’m not fond of army “grunt training” chapters in any novel, I did wonder about that aspect of her life and her family as well. We also learn organically how the worldbuilding functions, most of it from inference, though I did want a lot more regarding the political or ruling structure of the novel. We can’t just assume every fantasy takes place in a medieval feudal setting, so more on that would have helped broaden the worldbuilding, as I wasn't sure who the order of knights reports to, whether there was one king or multiple, etcetera.

Tied to the setting, the novel also raises some interesting parallels between how women are treated in the novel and how dragons are perceived. We are meant to see the hunting of the dragons (especially how it is done) an unsporting and nonsensical, much in the same way women’s exclusion from magic and knighthood are depicted. The linking of these two was quite well done. Yet (and this is just me and has nothing to do with my review technically), while I am all for stories of women overcoming sexism and patriarchy, this topic is a bit overdone in fantasy. It just feels like an easy mark for the genre, given most Western fantasy is set in a Western-based medieval world where, we presume, women were thought of as lesser. As such, we have a slew of fantasy books of women breaking into male roles, so this concept is not new. Is it still a relevant topic? Yes, totally, but I just find it lacks subtlety. As I said, though, not really a flaw of the novel, just a “I read too many books” issue with me.

I did see some other reviews that said the ending was too abrupt. I can see their point, but the swiftness of it worked for me. I think drawing out the story would have taken away from the twist, but I also see how the quick-paced resolution left some unanswered questions. Then again, this is a novella (I’m assuming a novella series) so it’s highly possible these will be fleshed out later.

All that aside, the novella is fun, sometimes funny, and full of interesting concepts. I look forward to the next one!

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, for the chance to read and review this ARC! 

Honestly, it's been a while since I read some good fantasy, and with this book only at 176 pages, it felt like an excellent place to try to get back into things. The shorter length was appealing as it allowed me to dive into a new fantasy world without committing to a lengthy read, especially given that I am not that crazy a fan of dragons, even though those seem to be in fashion this year.

Despite its short length, this book strikes a delicate balance between engaging the reader and building up the setting. Including brief chapters recounting past knights' tales was a brilliant touch.

The female characters were interesting enough; there wasn't much emotional investment on my part, but the writing and plot were enough for me to keep going. While I would like to read other books in the series, I do feel like a bit more on their development would have been good.

While the author stayed away from stuffing in tropes, a cheap tactic used to get readers in, and instead relied on her plot( which is fantastic), the representation of sapphic love in the blurb was a little misleading. Our main Sir Maddileh is bi, but that's all we get in this book. We don't see her interested in anyone, which is understandable given what happened to her. If you're looking for sapphic love or romance, we get none of that. However, there's potential for improvement in future installments, which is something to look forward to.

While the book was a satisfying read overall, I couldn't help but feel that the ending was rushed. A few more pages could have drawn out the climax, providing a more fulfilling conclusion.

Overall, I leave this book a well deserved 4 stars!

The Fireborne Blade is a gripping fantasy novella following a knight on her journey to reclaim her standing and honour

The way the story itself is told was super cool and engaging - we flit between multiple timelines and voices, we mostly focus on Maddileh on her journey to retrieve the fireborne blade, but we also see her 3 and 6 months before the commencement of her quest, and also have chapters from pieces of a book and past knights. I really enjoyed this and it meant that we could learn about the world without the narrator needing to info-dump all at once.

I did really enjoy learning about the world and the beginning of the quest, and liked the way the characters are set up and made to act around one another.

However i do feel as though this suffered from being too short, the book being a novella meant that the plot twist, reveal and subsequent revenge did not have enough time on the page and it felt like it was just being thrown at the reader with no further exploration or depth. By having no lead up to these events they came out of nowhere and didn’t seem to have past story to back up and make sense of these sudden changes.

The dragon lore within his was engaging and my favourite part of the book, and i wish we could have had more time with the actual dragons rather than the journey itself to the dragons.

First and foremost I like many others love a good dragon story so I was so excited to crack into this one.. and it lived up to my expectations. I loved the lore about the dragons and especially the parts of the book that were excerpts from the dragon and demesne they were what I needed to get me into the story more. Hearing all the tales about dragons being slayed and the awful things that happened had me on the edge of my seat concerned about our main character. Who might I add is a badass female knight in an obviously male dominated world loved that about her.. only issue I had was how short it was I could have been happy with another 100 pages lol but hey there is a second book coming out later this year so can’t complain too much

⭐️ - 4

This was a good, old-fashioned dragon adventure and a great time.

The Fireborne Blade follows Maddileh, a knight on a quest to steal a legendary blade from the lair of the infamous dragon, the White Lady. It’s a very classic set up but there are some unique worldbuilding elements in this that kept it from feeling stale.

I love classic fantasy quest stories, they just feel really nostalgic to me, so that was great for me. The characters were fun to follow and the magical elements were very cool.

My main criticism of this was that I think it was just too short! Maybe it’s because I’m used to like Tolkien and Sanderson but this just felt a bit rushed to me. There was a lot of really interesting stuff happening but I felt like we didn’t have time to fully explore it or get to know the characters enough for it to have the full impact. I just wanted more!

That said, I think this would work really well for anyone who generally reads YA fantasy and wants to give some adult fantasy a go.

I also want mention that I’ve seen a lot in the marketing for this about the romance but there’s not really a romance at all in this. I know it’s planned to be a series so maybe there will be more in future books but in this first book there’s like nothing but a few longing glances, just in case that’s something you were specifically looking for.

So, I think this book would work great for anyone who wants a fun, classic fantasy adventure with a bit more of a modern twist. It could be a good pallet cleanser in between heavier reads as well. I had a great time with this and I will definitely be picking up a physical copy because that cover 😍

I tried really hard to get into this book, though it caught my attention a few times throughout the book, I dnfed at 46%. Just something about the characters never really caught my interest but possibly story line could’ve used something a bit more interesting. Plot of story definitely had potential for a fantasy book.