A Vow So Bold & Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

 

"No one has tried to kill me, but this feels like an ambush all the same." A Vow So Bold & Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark & Lonely, covers the story of Harper, a heroine with cerebral palsy and an attitude problem, saving Rhen, a prince struggling under the weight of a cruel enchantress's curse. 

A Heart So Fierce & Broken, covers the story of ex-Royal Guard Commander Grey, searching for sanctuary and finding it with Lia Mara, the extra heir of an enemy kingdom. 

So we've got our characters a set up for the exciting conclusion, A Vow So Bold and Deadly. 

The Kingdom of Emberfall is split between loyalties; those who would be loyal to the True Heir, and those who remain loyal to Prince Rhen. It appears hopeless... how can they repel an invasion, if Rhen can't unify his own people. 

 Lia Mara, the new Queen of Syhl Shallow, is facing much the same problem. There are those who would have preferred the rule of her sister and resent Lia Mara's alliance with a magesmith. There's Grey, who is trying to reconcile his new identity as magesmith and heir to the throne of Emberfall, with who he used to be, man of action and obedience. 

 And dear God, what did you do to Harper? She went from fighting spirit to useless, whiny, hot head. It was the opposite of character evolution. She regresses to somebody less. 

I feel like a good story only needs one point of view. In the first two novels, we are offered 2 povs. The stories are told through the eyes of 2 different main characters. In this story, BK ambitiously gives us 4 POVs. I can see needing a narrator on each side of the border, but I think 4 was too much. Grey and Lia seemed to have the majority of the talk time. Our tortured young Prince was found once again between a rock and a hard place, but I felt like he did not get equal opportunity to explore his side of things. And Harper's POV felt wasted altogether. She stopped being the heroine who could overcome anything and started being a victim.

 I do think the overall tone of the book was great, if you liked the action of the sword fights, sweet whispers between young lovers, the death threats from enemies, with a touch of magic... This book maintained the level set by the other two. 

 I was dissatisfied by the ending. Lia Mara got everything she wanted. Grey got everything he didn't know he wanted. Harper only wants Rhen, and that's a bit of a problem because on top of the unaddressed PTSD he is apparently also depressed. And Rhen? Well, we can't make time to address mental illness so I guess we'll close out the book with him sad-sacking about his future. 

3 stars. It would have been better to do Lia Mara/ Harper or Rhen/Grey and not all 4. And it needed a much stronger ending.