Robert Thrax is a dragon exterminator who hates his job (he secretly loves dragons and has a real affinity with them) and dreams of being anything else. Princess Cerise of Bellemontagne turns away dozens of eligible princes every month, until Crown Prince Reginald of Corvinia catches her eye. But Prince Reginald never meant to court the princess; he was only out adventuring with the king's valet Mortmain, looking for a suitable task to prove to his father he is eligible to inherit the throne. When the three meet up, Mortmain hatches a plan: Reginald will learn from Robert how to kill a dragon (or perhaps Robert will kill the dragon and Reginald will take the credit).

But their dragon-killing adventure goes tragically pear-shaped, and they realize that there's something behind these new, huge, murderous dragons...the wizard Dahr, who King Krije killed (but not permanently, it seems). Dahr has big ambitions and is out for vengeance, but he's no match for Reginald, Robert, and Cerise.

Royalty, dragons, some dry humor (the valets' negotiations were hilarious) and not one but two love triangles (Ostvald-Elfrieda-Robert and Robert-Cerise-Reginald) make for a satisfying fantasy with the feeling of a classic.

See also: Terry Pratchett, Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede, The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

Quotes

...but sincerity has a way of trumping circumstance... (40)

There's just something upsetting about getting what we want. (Queen Helene to Cerise, 95)

It was like picking their way through a nightmare, and soon enough even the quiet praying stopped. (122)

"Fear cannot breed where there is action." (Reginald, 124)

"[He is] neither what he thinks he is, nor what he dreams of being." (Dahr re: Robert, 167) ( )