Review Detail

I’ve always enjoyed Kelly St. Clare’s series and I’ve always enjoyed Raye Wagner’s as well, but together, these authors are pure magic as one voice united to tell a story you won’t soon forget. (Book hangover inducing, but rest easy, the sequel, Shadow Wings is coming very soon!)

What I loved:
That cover! Gorgeous! And I am happy to say the story wholly lives up to the lure of the beautiful cover art.

The characters.
Ryn is the kind of heroine I have come to expect from both St. Clare and Wagner, yet she has a quiet strength and sass that sets her apart. Humorous and witty, she takes her challenges in stride and learns to stand on her own two feet.
Lord Irrik. Yummy. If you loved Jovan from St. Clare’s Tainted Accords series, you will have a new favorite when you meet Wagner and Clare’s Lord Irrik. Dark and dangerous with a mysterious past and a hidden vulnerable side, Irrik is one handsome and broody dragon shifter I’d like to meet.

The story.
Ryn’s journey is full of twists and turns you won’t see coming, and breathless moments that will keep the pages turning long past that “just one more chapter” vow.

What I didn’t love:
A bit of a slow starter for me. While Blood Oath is one of the better fantasy books I’ve read for 2017, it did take me a little while to get into the story. Around the fifth or sixth chapter, the story really begins to take off. I promise you’ll be hooked.
I also struggled with some of the names and places. I realize fantasy names are typically unusual and can be difficult to pronounce. There were a few names that I continually stumbled over and that tends to pull me out of the story (because I just can’t not back up and get it right).

The bottom line:
As an author and editor, I struggle to fall into a story and actually finish it. It is incredibly difficult to let my reader mind just let go and have fun. The highest praise I can give a book is when it is effortless for my author mind to fall into a book and I’m able to remember what it is like to read for the pure joy of it. Blood Oath was that good and I cannot wait for Shadowed Wings.