Oathbound by Tracy Deonn Review
***SPOILERS AT THE BOTTOM***
First thing I want to note is that this was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025. I absolutely LOVE The Legendborn Cycle series. If you haven’t read it, I can’t recommend it enough. In a very quick summary, it is a King Arthur retelling with a young black FMC, Brianna Matthews aka Bree, as the protagonist. If you want to read more of what I thought about the first two books, you can catch up on my other reviews here: Legendborn & Bloodmarked reviews.
Legendborn was focused on character development with basic magic/world building within with a simple plot to help readers get a basic understanding and get comfortable with everything (it can still be difficult and confusing at first with all of the character’s different lines/hierarchies and abilities). Where the first book mostly took place on a college campus, Bloodmarked then expanded the world to outside the school and introduced a new round of characters. We meet the greater hierarchy and expand on the magic system and the greater plot. Now that you feel comfortable with the world, magic, and characters, Oathbound takes you on a rollercoaster ride through a hero’s quest.
One of the things I appreciate about these books is that they throw you right into it. Oathbound picks up right where Bloodmarked left off. It’s another fast paced book with a LOT going on all at once. Where the first two books everything is from Bree’s POV, in Oathbound, it expands to other characters POV, which I really enjoyed! This makes it easier to follow the multiple different story lines going on at the same time and helps develop other characters and their arcs.
This book also dives deeper into the magical lore and history of the “older” characters (trying not to spoil things...) Some of this I had to re-read a couple of times to make sure it made sense and I fully understood how it all intertwines, which just shows how well thought out Deonn has developed this world. There is a level of expansion in this book between characters, locations and sub plots that sounds like you could get lost or forget where you left off, but Deonn does a great job keeping it organized and makes you just want to keep reading.
Plot aside, Deonn continues to deliver a masterclass way of writing and educating in greater subjects like black culture, racism, sexism, queer relationships etc. in a perfectly balanced subtle yet not so subtle way. Subtle enough that nothing is forced in or out of place, it reads natural and simply woven into the story, yet not so subtle to where you can't see or ignore it or mistake the point in what is being said.
I mostly listened to the audiobook, but would listen/read when I could. I really enjoy the narration of the book. Like the first two audiobooks, she does a great job expressing the emotions of the characters and it really makes you feel the impact of the scene.
I have given this series 5 stars in the past and what is more impressive is that each book is just as good if not better than the last. I know this series is popular, but I still feel like it’s still under hyped. I am already itching for the next one!
Keep scrolling down for a review with spoilers, if you’re stopping here. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
.
.
.
.
.
*****SPOLIERS BELOW*****
.
.
.
.
.
Okay, this book really turned up the volume on the plot! There were so many turns I don’t even know where to start…
The fact that in the first half of the book Briana spends her time with Erebus as the Shadow King and letting him take her soul (though we don’t really find out till later that was what it was) was a fun side quest. It was an interesting journey and I enjoyed learning more about Erebus and getting to know his wards, Zoe and Elijah. You knew they were going to eventually hit it off, but my only concern is now that Bree and Zoe are so close and Alice is half dead, is Zoe introduced to just replace Alice as her BFF? It seems almost a waste to keep Alice in this limbo to only have her die at the end but I guess we’ll see what happens.
Also, can I just say I’m LIVING for William and Lark’s relationship arch!!! The slow burn on this one rivals Caleb and Seth from Zodiac Academy and they were my absolute favorite! William is my dark horse underrated favorite character that is right up there with the main three. The love the kindness and heart that he has and how he helps ground the characters. He is basically like chicken soup, comforting and healing. If anything happens to him in this series, I will riot (not really, but prob would never read another book of Deonn’s books to avoid more trauma…) hurting William would be the equivalent of killing a dog in a book. I just won’t read it…
Seeing Nick more as Lancelot in this book was really enjoyable! I liked the idea that each Scion gets a different version of the “sight” and how he can basically break down ether to its molecular level and see how it works to break and manipulate it. I’m curious to see how they will expand upon that in the next one. I am also obviously concerned at the bond Lancelot and Arthur have where he is bonded to step in and stop Arthur if needed.. I’m sure something will happen at some point, otherwise why bother explaining that whole part of the bond, but that is one part I am not looking forward to..
The reveal with Sel being Erebus’s son at the end and him putting on the crown as the heir was a really great way to end the book. I wanted more of Sel in this book but seeing how he is tied to Briana’s root and blood mark was really interesting and I’m curious to see if he could potentially break it for her and if he has any other new abilities in the next book. I did enjoy Sel spending time with his mom and the banter between the two, but happy he was able to reunite with Nick and Briana at the end. I particularly enjoyed the last line, “But here we stand, a King, a knight, and a Prince. What… shall… we… do?” It was a great line to end with.
With that I’ll end it here. Did you read Oathbound yet? What did you think?! Would love to hear your thoughts!
Till next time, just keep reading :)