Maddileh has been disgraced, no thanks to the man she thought loved her in return. In order to reclaim her honor, she’s decided she must slay a dragon and bring back a token that will make her a legend among men: the Fireborne Blade. She’s convinced that this long-lost sword resides with an ancient, powerful dragon known as the White Lady. Armed to the teeth (with dragon fire-resistant armor, to boot), she sets off with her squire, a former mage called Petros, who also has something at stake in this particular dragon hunt. His sister, Saralene, has been taken captive by the White Lady, and he wants to reunite her with their family.

As readers may guess, Maddileh is, indeed, a knight in shining armor who successfully defeats the White Lady and manages to reclaim the Fireborne Blade, but there is a completely unforeseen (by me, anyway) plot twist that forces Maddileh to stay behind. The last 30 or so pages of this book had me white-knuckling the book and trying to finish the story as quickly as possible. All I can say without spoilers is that this book screams female rage and revenge and I absolutely ate it up!

Bond is excellent at her craft and this is an excellent read for those who are fans of dragons and powerful female characters. The structure and pacing were particularly stand-out for me, as we got lots of flashbacks of Maddileh before her quest, during, and then brief interludes of old knights (alive and dead) telling tales of their own dragon quests. The interludes were a personal favorite, as they dispensed lore through the lens of other storytellers and old records. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this series, which is due to be released in October!