A Vow so Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3) - Review

A Vow so Bold and Deadly (Cursebreakers #3) - Brigid Kemmerer

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 magical scraver by her side. As Grey's deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and an old enemy resurfaces who could destroy them all, in this stunning conclusion.

The longer that I think about this book, the more I debate my opinion with myself. I hate being uncertain about the endings of books, unable to wrap up my own thoughts into coherent words, but I’ll try. After reading the first two books within the Cursebreakers series, I highly anticipated the “conclusion”. I believe it’s the most excited I have ever been to read a book, in fact it’s one of the few books I have preordered, let alone read almost as soon as it came through the door. Whilst I want to keep this review mostly unbiased and explain both sides of my debate over this book, I will say straight off the bat that I was disappointed with it. I originally rated it a four stars on my goodreads, but truthfully I’m not sure what I would rate it.

Firstly, I was shocked how long it took for anything major to happen within the plot. For the first 150ish pages, all that happened was conversations between Harper and Rhen, and then Grey and Lia Mara (accompanied with a couple of assassination attempts, but even they felt lackluster). I understood the need for this, especially on Harper and Rhen’s side since the last book focused mostly on Grey and Lia Mara. The rebuilding of trust and relationships was imperative to the ending, however I couldn’t help but feel like it lasted forever. There’s nothing wrong with a build up of intensity, but there was nothing to work with here. Harper and Rhen seemed to have the same conversation over and over until he eventually decided to give up everything he had spent two books working towards, whilst Grey walked around Syhl Shallow and Lia Mara worried about how to rule differently to her mother.

I find it inconceivable that Rhen would give his kingdom up so willingly, that he wouldn’t try for some sort of truce with Grey or at least try for an agreement. He endured his curse for so many years and broke his friendship with Grey in fear of losing it, almost jeopardized his relationship with Harper and literally whipped a child, only for him to hand it over after a few harsh words from Harper. I know that Lilith’s tampering interfered with this decision also, but with her death at the end of the book, surely it would have made more sense for Rhen to fight for his kingdom harder than ever. I truly don’t believe it should have taken Grey’s persistence for Rhen to agree to help run Emberfall.

The part that frustrated me most about this book, was the amount of questions it left at the end. This book could easily lead into a 4th with the amount it left open-ended. Whether the author intends to release something else within this universe, I’m unsure (and honestly, I’d still read it regardless), but I was under the impression that this novel was intended to put the story of Rhen, Harper, Grey, Lia Mara and everyone else to rest, but so much is left unsaid. The anti-magic cult referenced throughout the entire book that just...doesn’t go anywhere, Iisaak’s son who seems to take to Grey for about ten seconds before telling him to get lost, Tycho being reserved for 90% of the book only to find out he doesn’t want to kill people because he’s a child, only for him to become a “great” soldier, the majority of Syhl Shallow despising Lia Mara as well as her sudden pregnancy, which felt like a very unnecessary plot point and the fact that Harper seemed to doubt every decision she made throughout the entire series. The plot of this novel would have been fine if it hadn’t been left so open ended. I have no clue how it can be perceived as an ending with so many questions still forefront.

Despite my frustration towards part of this book, there were equally as many parts that I loved. I loved the gradual rebuilding of Harper and Grey’s dynamic that was much more compelling than any of the other characters. I enjoyed Grey and Rhen reuniting again with a similar dynamic than before, but with a deeper understanding. The presence of Lilith throughout the whole series and how her torment brought intrigue and mystery all the way to her eventual demise. These are all great factors that would have made this novel amazing if it weren’t for my previous complaints.

Overall, I do still love the Cursebreakers series, although I don’t see myself reading this part again anytime soon. I wasn’t a huge fan of Rhen’s character being completely diminished within the second book and the confusion it brought within this one, too. Essentially writing the main character as morally grey is always a risk, one that has worked in novels such as A Court of Thorns and Roses with Tamlin, but the confusing redemption Rhen had made everything messier than it needed to be. I truly wanted to love the ending to this series, but I can’t get past the glaring plot holes and messy ending, as much as I would love to.