A review by justagirlwithbooks
A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

3.75

"One poor choice shouldn't undo a thousand good ones."

Oh man, there's a lot to say about this book, but for that, I need to go into spoilers... But the non-spoiler summary is that this book felt rushed at the end, and I didn't enjoy Lia Mara's pov, which is a shame because I liked her in the last book. This finale as a finale of a series felt rushed and unresolved, probably due to Brigid Kemmerer planning a sequel series with Forging Silver into Stars. I don't know if I'm going to read that book or not. Now, onto spoilers...

All these characters are flawed, and they all made choices,  some of which, I don't agree with. Grey's development felt OOC to me. I get that he's upset with Rhen, but did he really have to be upset with Harper, too? Speaking of Rhen, he deserved a better ending. I wasn't picking a side in this book, I didn't choose team Grey or team Rhen, I just wanted everything to be OK. I couldn't help but feel for Rhen after everything he's been through. And I don't like how Grey became King in the end, because it doesn't make sense: he's inexperienced, he said it himself. A similar situation unfolded in We Free the Stars,  but in that book, althoughI didn't like it, it made sense. In this book, it would have made sense if Rhen and Grey's roles were reversed at the end, because Rhen has done so much for his kingdom. I also really enjoyed Rhen and Harper's relationship development, because it felt realistic after everything they've been through.


This book definitely could have benefitted from an extra 50 pages like A Curse so Dark and Lonely and A Heart so Fierce and Broken had, to help the pacing issues. The writing was good, but the pacing fell flat at the end. I was expecting this book to be better than it was, so I'm a bit disappointed. 
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