This was a great introduction to the Cinder Spires universe, and a fast-paced story concerning a Warriorborn and the perilous mission he's given.

Benedict is summoned by the Spirearch himself and sent to Dependence to retrieve a Very Important Bag. Of course, this is not an easy task, so three other Warriorborns are going along. Except the three are criminals who were caught and put away by Benedict himself. The deal is, Benedict has to come back alive, and then the three will be set free.

Of course, this is not an easy drive-thru retrieval, because there are deadly things waiting for them in Dependence, and the whole team is soon in mortal danger.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

As far as I'm concerned, Jim Butcher can do no wrong.

He's such a versatile author. He excels at world-building and character development. He always plots such exciting books, but I feel like I would still devour his books if he described Benedict Sorellin-Lancaster or Harry Dresden going grocery shopping.

Grab this novella. It almost feels too short.

While this novel offers plenty of action and fast-paced storytelling, it also deepens character relationships and tensions within the Cinder Spires universe. Butcher’s has a talent for blending thrilling battles, charmingly characters, and a richly immersive setting that leaves just enough mystery to entice readers into the broader series. Great read, but not one necessarily for the classroom setting.

I requested this, thinking it was a new Benedict story, but it's actually something I've read already (maybe I should have read the whole description before requesting). The Subterranean Press edition coming out in December will be an illustrated hardcover, which I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on.
This is a short Benedict adventure that sets things up for book two. People who have already read book two will enjoy getting the scoop on Benedict's mission from his point of view.
I like Benedict a lot, and I enjoyed the alliance he formed for this mission. There was potential for sleaze with the "going into season" stuff, but I'm glad it didn't go very far. I wasn't a fan of that part of the plot.
Jim Butcher sure likes his kitties. I loved meeting another cat clan in this novella.

This was a wonderfully done entry in the Cinder Spires world, it uses the concept that I was hoping for and was hooked from the first page. I thought the characters were used perfectly and written in that way that I was looking for. It had that element that I was expecting and thought Jim Butcher wrote this perfectly.

I do enjoy an appetizer to ready my appetite for the main course of the next novel in a series and Warriorborn set my appetite in anticipation of the main course of the second novel in The Cinder Spires. This novella also filled two of the desires that I had after the first novel in the series, that is, I wanted to see more of Benedict and more cats. Benedict takes a central role in this short story and new cats are introduced adding further dimensions to the cat characters in this series. True to the prior novel, this is a fast-paced action adventure that reads very quickly. If the goal was to leave me wanting more, than it succeeded. To clarify, this story didn't feel incomplete, but I was definitely ready for the series to pick up the next novel where this story left off. I'd call it a great read for anyone who liked The Aeronaut's Windlass.
I received access to an eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Subterranean Press) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.