This was a quick and easy read which was a nice break from some of the super long books I’ve been reading lately. I enjoyed the headstrong female main character proving her worth and attempting to redeem herself as a knight.

Overall I thought this book was fine. The build up to the twist was a bit lackluster and didn’t hit as hard as I had hoped then the ending felt rushed. Some of the interludes telling tales of other knights’ experiences with dragons were a fun way to world build in such a short book and I thought it rather clever.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I can appreciate a good female driven narrative, especially in a piece of traditional fantasy. In 2024, I can't say that's its very revolutionary to place a female in a traditional male role, in a knight. Still, I suppose I have a soft spot for a strong female driven narrative.

I found this one fine but not exceptionally memorable or unique. I like a strong woman, but that alone does not make a story feel special anymore.

I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy traditional fantasy narratives and aren't necessarily looking for anything out of the box.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A fun, fast-paced firecracker of a story. I tore through this in one day because I genuinely couldn't put it down.

Maddileh is a knight in disgrace. The reason she's in disgrace isn't really important - she's a female knight in a deeply misogynistic fantasy world that would have seen her torn down no matter what. In an effort to restore her reputation and position, Maddileh embarks on a desperate quest to slay a dragon that cannot be killed "by any living man" and claim the legendary, cursed blade the beast is guarding.

This book rotates between three distinct parts: Maddileh's perspective as she descends into the lair of the dragon she intends to slay, flashbacks to her preparations for this journey months before, and excerpts from in-world texts that chronicle the (mis)adventures of other knights who successfully slayed dragons past. The bones of the story and its darkly magical world are very familiar, making it an easy book to pick up. But if the overall composition is a familiar canvas, then painting in twisted little details is where Charlotte Bond shines. There's a lightly comedic edge to the horrifying elements slipped into the worldbuilding: magic orbs working as timekeepers that chime at inopportune times, soot-eating lizards that are no big deal at all except that if they bite you it'll rot the flesh from your bones. I love when I can tell an author had fun with their world, and the experimental creativity on display in the Fireborne Blade really delighted me.

One thing that this book does exceptionally well, particularly for a novella, is laying the groundwork for its climax. From the very first scene, the puzzle pieces are being dropped into place. However. If the climax was a meticulously crafted and thoroughly foreshadowed work of excellence, the fallout and resolution are... a bit slapdash, to put it mildly. The pacing of the book breaks into a frantic sprint to wrap everything up around the 90% mark of the story, and here it would have immensely benefited from more page space. There are elements of the magic system that sorely needed introduction earlier in the book in order to avoid feeling overpowered and overly convenient. The focus on time spent setting up the conflict vs complete lack of time spent setting up the final resolution leads to an ending that feels random and stretches suspension of disbelief.

I truly hate to say it, but I'm going to echo what a lot of other reviewers are saying - this would have been OUTSTANDING as a full length novel. It is a very good novella. But its potential if it had more time to dig into the characters, their backstories, and the developing interpersonal relationship(s) between them? Plus more time to explore the worldbuilding and pace that climax and resolution a bit more evenly? I almost feel robbed in spite of how much I still genuinely loved this.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the e-arc!
I was really excited for the promise of this book, but unfortunately this ended up not being for me. Usually I like multiple povs or books that cut to different timelines or texts but in this instance, I think it kept taking out of the story to give me more information or background knowledge. It ended up with a bit of a disjointed feel to the reading.
I did enjoy the characters and the world! I love the different dragons and the magical elements throughout the story. Maddileh was an interesting character even if I wish we got more details about her as a person.

This was an interesting little novella about a dragon-hunting lady knight, focusing on one specific dragon hunt. There was some very cool worldbuilding surrounding the dragons, although I would have liked to see the world as a whole fleshed out a little more (though I know this is hard in a novella). A little bit gothic and a few horror elements which I found interesting. I found the overall plot a little slow, and I didn't really feel like I knew where it was going for most of the book but I did enjoy where it ended up.

For lovers of Brienne de Tarth, dragon lore, and a gritty gory adventure.

This is a pretty straightforward quest fantasy about a disgraced knight trying to win her honor back by defeating a dragon and securing the ~fireborne blade. But there is also dragon centric historical snippets interspersed throughout, some duel timeline play, & a lil fun twistiness at the end.

If you're looking for a novella with a classical fantasy feel but with a dash of the feminist agenda, give her a go.

This is a novella that should've really worked for me, but, in the end, I was left feeling disappointed. While I didn't mind the perspective shifts, accompanying those perspective shifts with timeline shifts left me feeling confused and underwhelmed. The twist - woof. While it might've worked for some readers, I just felt the buildup was not adequate for the payoff. Ultimately, I think this would've worked better as a novel than a novella - there are some interesting bones here, but it's lacking the development (due to the short page length) to let these ideas really shine.

First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

As soon as I saw Greekchoir's review, I knew I had to read this one.

The Brienne of Tarth vibes are REAL. And for that reason, especially as I feel like our MC here actually got her comeuppance in the end, I really enjoyed this book.

I do understand it likely has the possibility of being polarizing; it isn't perfect, it is a little "stereotypical" of fantasy (men not taking women seriously for any reason in anything important), and I think the author really experimented with the format here (and I think that could fall flat for some).

But for me, I really enjoyed the format and the story. I don't know that I could have kept with it for another 200 pages, but since this book is fairly short (really a novella), I made it through just fine.

I am also really surprised that the setting and prose kept me busy enough that I knew something hinky was going on, but the "twist" I truly didn't see coming. That is super rare for me, as someone who often says my superpower is guessing the next line in a movie or figuring out the "twist" almost right away. I'm not saying it was exceedingly clever; I was just too focused on other things to sus it out.

Overall an enjoyable read, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series - The Bloodless Princes.

This novella didn’t quite work for me. To begin with, each of the nearly two dozen chapters of 170 some odd pages means that each was painfully short and the PoV changes fairly rapid. Not a fan. Add to that the six (6) info dump chapters presented as parts of a reference called “The Demise and Demesne of Dragons” that was used to wedge in most of the world-building and the four (4) flashback chapters that are needed to give the plot twist its punch, and you are left with a short story that simply tries to do too much in very little space … which is a shame, because what world building there was I found interesting for the most part. To be fair … a lot of readers might actually see this as a plus. At any rate, what is left is not enough to actually develop the characters, especially given that my initial reaction to all them was fairly strong dislike … so we are left with trope based caricatures that make the whole work feel like RPGLit (Not my favorite genre). I can’t help but wonder if this would have been better as a full length novel … the pieces are all there, just left undeveloped.

The basic story is a knight on a quest to retrieve a magic sword from a dragon (killing said dragon in the process). From the interwoven encyclopedia the reader is left with the impression that this is a fairly common pastime for knights, if quite dangerous. In this particular case, the knight is a woman who apparently disgraced herself over some imagined slight and thinks this legendary sword will return her into the good graces of the king … not exactly sure how that is supposed to work, but then again, I don’t really understand the whole motivation of the knight here to begin with … it comes across and a super contrived and poorly constructed plot device. Of course … every knight has a squire, even disgraced knights … but this squire is a tad off from the beginning, so it should come as no surprise this because an important factor at the end … which frankly seemed a bit rushed and deus ex machina to be honest (might have avoided that with more room to build up the final conflict, but then again, maybe not). There are some stylistic choices that didn’t seem consistent to me as well, and that detracted from the over all quality of the book, making seem like a debut story …

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheFireborneBlade #NetGalley

This was a fun read! It was a quick tale, with just enough detail to keep me engrossed. If you like dragons, girls, or knights, this should keep you entertained for an evening or two.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

I really liked this novella! The story was told in an interesting way (mixing up the past, the present and historical records), the MC was enjoyabe and I liked how thr plot was wraped up. I just wish for a couple of more sapphic scenes, but overall - recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy to review!

I really really REALLY loved this novella, and I don't touch them often due to them never filling out their pages with information. However, it was able to put me in this amazing world with the magic system so easily. The story played out so well that I would easily to anything for other 300 pages of this world.

My complaints? Not long enough (but that is just me) and I don't like how this is suppose to be a queer book (Goodreads as put it as such) , but Maddileh looks at a girl for a second and that is all. Hopefully, the sequel will bring us more into any relationships she may have and more adventure!

I absolutely LOVED this novella!! It's so hard to find a fantasy novella that feels like a fully realized world, but Bond accomplishes this so skillfully in The Fireborne Blade. The novella was neither too short or too long, and everything was wrapped up well enough that I think you could read this as a stand-alone, even if it seems to be the first in a series.

Strongly recommend, and I plan to buy my own copy in the future too!

I didn't think I was a novella girl and yet, I am!
I didn't expect the way the story is told and that was a pleasant surprise.
It's queer, there is dragons, what else do you want?

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

Who doesn't enjoy a sapphic fantasy with swords and dragons? This was really well-written and I cannot wait for more in the series!

This was a fun story about a pretty badass female knight fighting a dragon (and winning the girl?).
Really liked the chapters that told the story of past knights and the dragons they fought. I would've liked more worldbuilding, but overall it was a fun and engaging story with a twist I didn't see coming. Will definitely pick up the sequel!

[3.5/5] THE FIREBORNE BLADE appears to be the first novella in a series of its namesake. It jumps between recorded history, the recent past, and the present to tell the tale of Maddileh, a female knight in a man's world. After being scorned by her lover and publicly shaming herself, she embarks on a quest to retrieve the Fireborne Blade from the White Lady, a powerful dragon. In doing so she hopes this difficult task will place her back in the King's favor.

Given the fact that Maddileh is a female knight in a patriarchal society, it's no surprise she experiences misogyny. She feels comfortable in her chosen role as a knight, but this clearly breaks with gendered job role norms and makes men uncomfortable. This sexism is also present among mages, or those with magic in their blood who train to access and use it. Society deems that only men can become mages. I appreciated this aspect of THE FIREBORNE BLADE, which creates some depth in the story. It's not just a tale about a knightly quest to kill a dragon. It also makes a point to highlight the inequality between men and women.

I also liked the bits of history included every few chapters. The author includes accounts of dragon or dragon-dead (ghosts) encounters to provide the reader with a better understanding of the world of dragons and mages. I liked how the tone changes with these chapters to one that felt more academic and detached. However, I also felt these chapters were unnecessary. What the reader learns from them could have been described by the characters during the present-day quest. It almost felt like an exhibition to show that yes, there is more to this world, but there was some uncertainty about how to weave it into the actual story. As a result it felt a little jumbled and disjointed. The story itself is rather fast paced, but the jumping between academic history and Maddileh's own recent past slowed it down.

The official synopsis also mentions the inclusion of sapphic love. I would categorize it more as brief spurts of desire. There is no romance, only a recognition that Maddileh has a physical attraction to a woman so that the readers knows Maddileh is bisexual. Fantasy romance lovers should look elsewhere. The focus is definitely on Maddileh's quest to "redeem" herself in a male-run society.

Finally, I liked the plot twist, which gave some life and energy to THE FIREBORNE BLADE. Throughout the novella the reader can easily tell Maddileh's squire has something to hide. But is it innocent or nefarious? I'm not one to include spoilers, so you'll have to find out for yourself.

Overall, THE FIREBORNE BLADE is a fast-paced dragon tale for those who prefer less lore to wade through. Maddileh sticks to her clearly defined and uncomplicated goal: retrieve the Fireborne Blade from the White Lady. I feel that the history could have been interwoven more with the current quest. But the story as a whole will momentarily sate a reader's desire for dragon-related content.

Ahoy there me mateys!  This novella is very weird and I enjoyed it immensely.  The awesome cover got me.  Be aware that it is the first in a series with a twist ending that I found a bit abrupt but ultimately fun.

The main character of the story is Maddileh, a female knight in a misogynistic world.  She is disgraced and to win back her place must obtain a magical blade and kill the White Lady dragon.  The dragons are fierce and deadly.  I loved the way the dragon magic worked and how scary their lairs were.  I loved Maddileh and was rooting for her.

The Demise and Demesne of Dragons is the name of a scholarly book dealing with dragons and written by mages.  These short tales were interspersed throughout the novella.  I wasn't sure what to think of them at first but they grew on me and I found many of them to be funny.  A lot of the world-building comes from these sections.

This book was described as a Sapphic romance.  There is not a lot of focus on this element.  Perhaps in the next book.  I am interested in finding out what happens next!  Arrr!

I really enjoyed this one, both plot-wise and tonally. I thought the interludes from the Demise and Demesnes of Dragons were a great way to world build without having to stray away from the plot and I also enjoyed the chapters focusing on Maddileh's past for the same reason. Maddileh was a very interesting protagonist with a rich backstory and I thought her determination was admirable. There was also a plot twist that I neither saw coming nor expected at all! Overall, although the ending felt a bit muddled for me, I thought this was a great read and will definitely check out any more books to come in this world.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this! A darker novella than I expected, with some horror elements interspersed with serious moments, The Fireborne Blade is an adventurous story with a protagonist to root for. It took me a bit to see how all the pieces were connected, but when I did, those twists had me screaming! This was excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.