Neri
The Oath by Jillian Bondarchuk
I would like to thank Jillian again for sending me an eARC of The Oath in exchange for an honest review. I am so glad and grateful to be able to review these books and finding my place in the book community. So, without further ado…
The Oath is the second installment in Bondarchuk’s The Grey Tower Chronicles, a series of standalones. However, I really do recommend you read the first one because although they deal with different characters, they are interconnected and might be difficult to understand if you don’t.
In this new book, Malcolm “suffers” the consequences of his promise…. he is running out of time and he needs to find Vanora’s daughter as soon as possible. Cora “always knew she’d die a spinster”. She’s lived away from people for most of her life but when a rather good-looking stranger arrives harmed to her house, she will find herself bound to him in more ways than one.
“Passions and prejudices clash, magic balances life and death, and both must choose between holding on to guilt and past injustices, or embracing the happiness they both deserve”.
TRIGGER WARNINGS
- Violence
- Torture
- Human trafficking
SPOILERS AHEAD, BEWARE!
It was a good book and a nice continuation from The Shield and the Thistle; in fact, I liked it slightly more than the previous. I feel like the author’s writing keeps improving with each novel and they feel very light and entertaining.
I really enjoyed reading about Cora and I found her story the most interesting of them all. It was great to see her open up to people and feel comfortable with her new family. Her story with Malcolm was very sweet and I loved the way both of them connected.
However, I felt like it was too quickly and rushed. Just like with the first book, the novel felt a bit anticlimatic because of the quickly resolution of the issue and how predictable the “bad guy” was. I would have loved to see how the problem was delved further and I was expecting to see Cora full-on power kicking some ass. Don’t get me wrong, I loved how she protected her clan, but it seemed she was always the damsel in distress expecting her knight in shining armor. Besides, as an enemies to lovers novel, I was expecting to see more hate between both of them rather than falling for each other for their looks very early on in the book.
I enjoyed Bondarchuk’s writing style and her depictions of the sexual encounters. However, there was something that felt a bit off when Cora and Malcolm first have sex. It is Cora’s first sexual relationship and some of the descriptions the author used didn’t convince me.
Goodreads: goodreads.com/book/show/59456920-the-oath
Instagram: @jillianbondarchuk
