If you think having one dragon around messes up your life, imagine what it’s like when a second one shows up.I’m Val Thorvald, assassin of magical bad guys and tenuous ally to the dragon lord Zav.He still calls me a mongrel and thinks I’m a criminal, but he healed my wounds after we fought those dark elves together. That’s progress, right? Maybe one day, he’ll deign to use my name. Not that this … use my name.
Not that this is my primary concern. I’m busy with a new assignment. Nin, the awesome lady who makes my magical weapons, has a werewolf problem. Specifically, sleazy loser werewolf competitors who want to drive her out of business. Or worse.
Normally, a couple of werewolves wouldn’t be a big deal, but these ones have powerful allies. And then there’s that new dragon.
It turns out he’s one of Zav’s enemies, and he wants to use me against him.
I don’t know why he’s picking on me—it’s not like I mean something to Zav—but somehow I’ve gotten stuck in the middle of dragon politics. If you think that sounds like a nightmare, you’re right.
If I can’t figure out a way to help my friend with the werewolves while keeping these dragons from tearing me apart, we’re both going to end up flatter than the deck chairs when Zav lands on the roof of my apartment building.
Pick up Battle Bond, and continue the adventure today!
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Battle Bond is book two in the Death Before Dragons series by Lindsay Buroker. It’s full of fast-paced action and non-stop adventure that will keep you coming back for more.
I’m hooked!! Book one grabbed me and I couldn’t help put pick up the next book and the next. I like the direction things are going and how we learn more and more about Val. The world building is well done and the character development is just right. I also can’t get enough of our tiger side kick.
Battle Bond picks up immediately after the ending of Sinister Magic.
Val is a kick-ass heroine who’s hardworking and sarcastic. She’s got the best sidekick in her fury friend. I really like Val! She has doubts and fears just like all of use. She’s got quirks, heart, and isn’t perfect. All this makes her more human and relatable.
This time around a dragon has come to Earth to harass Zav. He’s nothing like Zav and has kidnapped children all in his twisted desire to put Zav off his game. Val ends up in the middle of this game between dragons. As for the dragons we still don’t know about their politics, but I’m sure that will come to light as the series moves on. Besides the case for work in the missing children, Val also takes on a pro-bono case for her friend Nin who is being harassed by a pride of big cat shifters.
For all of Val’s bluster, she cares, a LOT. As the story progresses we learn that things aren’t finished with the dark elves and that she’s going to end up in the thick of things again as she tries to do the right thing under some very difficult restrictions; especially the ones that the government has put on her.
Last, this book does hint at an eventual romance between Val and Zav. I’m not sure if I want this to happen or not. Zav doesn’t see Val as much more than a lesser being and that dragons are superior. At times you think he sees her as more, but then it’s right back to the lesser being.
Battle Bond is the same breakneck-pace as the first book with a few pauses added in, but for the most part it’s go go go. Val has to learn to navigate the magical and mundane in this world as things are changing.
Rated: 4. 5 Stars
Lindsay Buroker never disappoints! The whole series is wonderful, can’t wait for the next book!
Battle Bond is the second book in the Death Before Dragons series. Val Thorvald is a government-hired assassin specializing in taking out deadly magical creatures, but she’s starting to second guess her shoot first ask questions later method of operations. When Nin, the woman who makes Val’s magical weapons, asks Val for a favor, she finds herself pulled into a world of twisted shapeshifters and deadly dragons. How will Val manage to get out of this one alive?
“Cool factor” is something that urban fantasy can do really well, and Lindsay Buroker certainly accomplishes with her Death Before Dragons series. Want a snarky heroine who shares a psychic connection with a magical tiger? You got it. Traditional fantasy races like elves and dwarves plopped into a modern-day setting alongside shifters and dragons? Got that too. A magical weapon named after a character from the princess bride? Lawn ornaments that come with defenses against the supernatural. Check and check.
But the great thing about Battle Bond is it goes beyond cool factor. The storyline is exciting and funny, and Val is a multilayered heroine that you not only route for but feel for. Add in a romance that ends up being a lot more compelling then you might expect, and you have a real winner. The next time you find yourself looking for an excellent urban fantasy book, I would start with this series.
She just gets better and better!
Always a treat when Smartass characters meets a snarky author. Not too sure who is steering the jeep, but the ride is excellent
Ok, my whole family is caught up in CORVID-19 insanity (two hospitalized for other reasons, who we cannot visit, and 1 tested positive and in quarantine though no overt symptoms so far). Thank God for good books. It’s what’s keeping all of us sane. Battle Bond: An Urban Fantasy Dragon Series (Death Before Dragons Book 2) is a particularly good one, as I expected since book 1 was so fantastic – and I know that I can count on anything written by Lindsay Buroker. Highly recommended for fun … and sanity saving
Excellent second book in the series. It starts almost right after the first book, with references to and the aftermath of the first book playing part in the second, influencing the plot — and probably the subsequent books as well. Val is as sarcastic and kickass as ever, but her sessions with the therapist are starting to have a hold. She even goes to yoga, although that doesn’t end well. Zav is his arrogant self, but through other characters it’s given to understand that dragons are perfectly capable of relationships in their human (or elf) form. There is some buildup to that in this book, but nothing major yet.
The plot is full action from the start. A new dragon shows up, killing humans, and both Val’s boss and Zav want him gone. And a group of shifters is harassing Val’s weapons supplier, so she’s helping her too. Neither task is going well, and Val gets her ass handed to her many times before everything is solved. Luckily she heals fast. However, the way she deals with the dragon causes a rift between her and Zav, which might spell trouble for her in the future. I’m eagerly awating to read what happens next.