The bloodless princes

Bond ramps up the action in this far more successful follow-up to The Fireborne Blade. It's been three years since Maddileh went into the dragon White Lady's lair and saved her lover, Saralene, with both of them coming back from the dead by commandeering the bodies of Petros and Hosh. Now, Hosh attempts to reclaim his life by trading places with Saralene once more. As Hosh becomes more daring in his efforts to resurrect himself, Maddileh and Saralene return to the White Lady's lair to seek her assistance. The dragon proposes that Maddileh burn Saralene's body to cut her ties with Hosh, sending her to the Gravelands, or the underworld. Maddileh and the dragon must then descend into the Gravelands to negotiate with the princes who rule it, reclaim Saralene, and use the Fireborn Blade to forge a way out. Bond expertly expands the lore of her series and ties up the loose ends that frustrated in the first book. Series readers will be satisfied. (Oct.)

This novella unravels the ending of the previous book in the series, The Fireborne Blade. The dragon that Maddileh believed she killed is only sleeping. The evil wizard Saralene believed she killed is only mostly dead and is attempting to steal her body, magic, and throne so he can be an even greater tyrant on his next try. It's an attempt that Maddileh must prevent at all costs because the kingdom can't afford another round of oppression, and she and Saralene haven't managed to work past their own fears and societal expectations to get the happily-ever-after they've already earned. So Maddileh follows Saralene down to the afterlife to get her back before death becomes a permanent condition for both of them--and learns that her assumptions about the dragon and the evil wizard aren't the only things she has to unlearn before she can take the road out of hell. VERDICT This gender-bent tale of knights and dragons takes the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, turns it into a sapphic romance, and adds a layer of unpacking what has been learned to find the shining truth within, with the bittersweet assistance of one very lonely dragon.--Marlene Harris