Review: A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re alll doing well. I am happy to say that I am officially on summer break now. My last day was on Friday and I’ve finished my first year of high school completely online. It was definitely weird, but I still had a fairly okay year.

After reading the last line in A Heart So Fierce and Broken, I was so mad that I had to wait a whole year for the next one to come out. This book drove me insane. . . in a good way.

Title: A Vow So Bold and Deadly
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Series: Cursebreakers #3
Page Count: 408

Synopsis (spoilers for previous books!)

“Face your fears, fight the battle.

Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone—even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.

Fight the battle, save the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and a dangerous enemy returns, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreaker series.”

Content Warnings

knives, whipping and flogging (mentioned, recounted), mutilation (cutting out tongue, loss of eye w/ permanent scarring), fire and explosions, blood, graphic violence, gore, torture (graphic, recounted, on-page), attempted suicide (mentioned), PTSD, massacre, sexual assault, death of loved one (recounted), ableism, miscarriage (mentioned)

There are no spoilers in this review for AVSBAD. However, there are spoilers for previous books.

A Vow So Bold and Deadly is a action-packed and romance-filled ending to the bestselling Cursebreakers series.

“I’m confident in my strengths but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about my weaknesses.”

This story follows all four of the main characters–Rhen, Harper, Grey, and Lia Mara–and takes places shortly after AHSFAB ends. Relationships between Emberfall and Syhl Shallow are strained, to say the least. They’re on the brink of war, and all the characters are caught up in the mess of it. Each of them is dealing with their own personal struggles from the second book and trying to navigate this chaos makes it even harder. As Grey’s deadline draws nearer, Rhen, Harper, Grey, and Lia Mara have to choose if they’re willing to risk their lives to stand for what they believe in.

I did not know what to expect when reading this book. I loved the first book, but the second disappointed me. I was actually kind of hesitant to read this, but I did and I’m so glad of that. I can’t believe this started out as a simple retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This world has grown so much and expanded to become something entirely new from what it was.

“You once told me that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.”

The characters were the main drive of the plot. First there’s Rhen, the traumatized and PTSD-ridden prince. He messed up very badly in A Heart So Fierce and Broken, and I’m glad this book had him reflect on his actions and make him realize that what he did wasn’t right. Harper still remains our fierce and impulsive heroine. I’m glad we got more scenes with her in this book. I feel like her one chapter in the second book wasn’t that much. I know it was Grey and Lia Mara’s book, but I wish she appeared a little more.

Lia Mara, the sweet queen of Syhl Shallow who believes that violence isn’t the solution to every problem. I thought she was in the right mind to not have violence and bloodshed be the answer to everything. However, I feel like she came off as slightly weak. And for some reason I can’t explain, she sometimes annoyed me. Yes, violence is not the answer to everything but neither is kindness and peace talks. There are some things that will involve fighting and I think Lia Mara wanted Syhl Shallow to be so unlike how it was with her mother ruling that she tried to push out any suggestion of fighting with Emberfall. And finally, we have Grey, soft spoken but dangerous and who is most definitely my favorite character. He grew so much in this book and I think he finally found where he belonged. His and Lia Mara’s relationship grew a lot in this book and I love them together.

“Maybe I’ve been like my father, too. He wasn’t trying to make poor decisions. Neither am I. I just want to help people.”

This book focused so much on relationship building and I’m really glad of that. I practically devoured Harper and Rhen’s sweet and romantic moments together. Even with all their disagreements, they still were kind to each other. However, they didn’t let each other’s opinions get in the way of what they believed was right. Grey’s friendship with Harper was so good, I love their relationship.

A Vow So Bold and Deadly was narrated by all four characters and Brigid Kemmerer did this so well! The character voices were all very distinct and I had no trouble figuring out who was narrating. Rhen and Grey’s voices were very calculating, with so much planning going on in their heads. Harper and Lia Mara’s were slightly more. . . abstract? I guess you could say.

“It’s okay,” she says softly. “Scars mean you survived something terrible.”

It did feel like the book could’ve been wrapped up slightly better, though. Near the end, there is said to be some political problems in Syhl Shallow and we never find out what happens with them. I also want to know what happens to some of the side characters like Tycho, what he does after AVSBAD.

Also, this is just something I noticed which I thought was interesting. In Syhl Shallow, which is a two word name, a lot of the people there also have two word names: Lia Mara, Nolla Verin, Karis Luran, Clanna Sun, Ellia Maya. Over in Emberfall, a one word name, they’re all one word names: Harper, Rhen, Freya, Jamieson. Grey and Tycho weren’t originally from Syhl Shallow, so they fit into Emberfall’s name category as well. I thought this was a clever way to separate the countries.

“Trust is built by action . . . I should have trusted you when it most mattered.”

A Vow So Bold and Deadly was an amazing conclusion to the Cursebreaker series. Though a few things could’ve been wrapped up a bit better, I still highly recommend it.

My Rating: 4/5 dragons

Have you read A Vow So Bold and Deadly? Is it on your TBR?
Chat with me in the comments below!