I was recently lucky enough to win a giveaway on Instagram that included a copy of Rachel Rodilosso‘s Bound by Blood and Oath.

Possessing magic is a crime, but so too is waging a war against the king she was born to protect…

Vera’s only wish is to live a quiet life without the magic that took everything from her, but when a new decree by the king she was born to protect brings his soldiers to her town of exiles, Vera is forced to step out of the shadows.

Wracked with guilt and anger, Vera swears to avenge the fallen. To do that, Vera enlists the help of the mysterious War King, the leader of a ruthless sect of Forsaken hellbent on causing the crown as much suffering as the crown has caused them.

Vera soon discovers that the War King is not who she thought he was, and the more she gets to know him, the harder it becomes to keep not only her forbidden magic in check, but her heart too.

As old scars resurface, she must learn to embrace the magic she was taught to fear before she loses everyone she swore to protect.

This took me a long time to finally get interested in. The beginning is slow and maybe even too long. Past the halfway mark, however, the plot picks up, and I became more invested. Despite that, I think this was only an OK story. The writing is fine, and I liked the characters well enough. But there’s nothing particularly new or interesting here. Vera’s reluctance to use her magic (an essential plot point) didn’t really hold up to scrutiny. Was her history really any more traumatic than the rest of the Forsaken? And everything happened too quickly and too easily. I liked it enough to read another Rodilosso book, but not enough to rush out and find one.

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