Everything I know is a lie.I’m an ordinary mortal girl. Lord Irrik is a depraved dragon shifter. King Irdelron is an immortal tyrant.In the disease ridden land of Verald, life is mapped out much like the established rings of our kingdom. Everyone has a role… grow.
But starvation brews rebellion.
When the king strikes, I’m captured by Lord Irrik. Instantly, I’m embroiled in a deadly game. One where I’m desperate to understand the rules.
Because nothing makes sense anymore.
Now, I’m not only fighting for my life . . . but a love that could be the key to my freedom.
What if the truth means you’re not who — or what — you thought you were?
Fans of dark fantasy, dragons, intrigue, and romance will devour this story. Scroll up and one-click now!
Due to thematic elements, this series is recommended for mature YA and up.
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I have to admit…I didn’t WANT to like this book for some unknown reason. But I did anyway. I read the whole trilogy and…the torture stuff in the first one is kinda hard…but it’s all worth it.
I laughed it up for the parts where she’s sweating in the farm fields and he’s just watching. I loved that he was playing so many different rolls and thinking ten steps ahead of everyone.
The thing with the nectar…SWOON.
I really enjoyed these books.
I don’t usually read YA Fantasy, but this one drew me in.
It’s been a long time since I picked up a series that I legitimitaly could NOT stop reading! This book kept me up until nearly six in the morning and I didnt regret a single hour of missed sleep!
If you are looking for an original story with AMAZING characters, look no further!!
Plot twist I never expected. Absolutely amazing! I reread this book alone 3 times and plan on reading it again when the newest addition come out!
I couldn’t put this down and ended up reading the whole thing in one day! It was so so great and just a really enjoyable story. Kelly St. Clare has found the sweet spot in writing binge-worthy novels with the perfect blend of complexity and ease-of-reading. I’ve read 5 of her books now and I’ve loved them all.
What an exciting new adventure these authors take us on! We’ve got a mad king who sparks a revolution, a dragon shifter and a brave heroine who is so much more than anyone expected…all of the elements necessary to build a world that is going to become so much more than we could have dreamed.
Ryn is just a girl who lives in a world run by a power hungry mad king. He’s killed off an entire species to gain that power, and now he holds the oath of a the only dragon in the land, one who is sworn to uphold the whims of his insane puppet master. When the Ryn is captured by the king and thrown into his dungeons, everything changes. But there’s so much more to the story, so much I’m not willing to divulge. There are tortures beyond what anyone could dream of enduring, and we see the strength this young woman truly has…maybe even her purpose in this frightening world.
I’ve never read anything by Kelly St. Clare, but this story has me instantly interested in her other works. And, I can tell you that this is a whole new direction for Ms Wagner. I didn’t know she had this lurking inside her mind, and it took me by complete surprise. It is exciting, terrifying and beautiful in an unnerving way. I was taken captive with the heroine and unable to escape. The world the authors built was stunning in it’s disturbing detail. But the beauty, innocence and strength of the girl’s heart as she faces the horrors in front of her kept me from turning away. This is what a real heroine looks like. I think the authors have outdone themselves, and this is going to be a wonder filled series of epic proportions!
Honestly, this one was strange for me. At first it dragged me right into the intrigue, then felt a bit slow, then sped up and grabbed me again. Overall though, I still give it 4 stars because despite the slow portions, I was still invested in the story and wanted to see what would become of Ryn.
I’m definitely going to continue the series – mainly because I have some thoughts on the slow burn enemies to lovers feel and I simply MUST see how that plays out.
This one is good for anyone who likes dark fantasy with humor – but be aware there are some graphic torture scenes (more so if you are a reader who visualizes the story in your head).
Great read!
This book is amazing.
I didnt see that coming with both main characters. Irrik own my heart.
Loved this series! The highs were mountain peaks and the lows were monumental, but always gripping and amazing. Great characters – strong, somewhat comical and fully relatable female lead against a confident, slightly dickish, yet delectable male counterpart. I couldn’t stop reading, definitely recommend!
This book was so much different than I expected it to be. I really loved Ryn! I really hated some things that were happening to her. I didn’t like Lord Irrik. But I was so excited for the chance being, and I just purchased the second book, so I can’t wait to see where this series goes!!
I knew nothing about this book nor the authors before reading but this book is DARK. It was a serious struggle for me to read. I’ve read several dark books before, but this one is seriously haunting. The concept is brilliant, the Drae creature is captivating, but it’s hard for me to truly enjoy such a haunting story. The characters have depth to them, so they’re well developed. I kept hoping for some clear beacon of hope, but only small ones came. I guess there’s hope by the end of the story. It’s intriguing, but I don’t know if I can stomach the gruesome torture again just to know what happens next.
This review MAY contain spoilers.
Okay ya’ll, dark fantasy is kind of my thing now. This book is so deliciously dark. I truly wasn’t expecting the extent of the darkness that this book is comprised of. Even if I could pluck the stars from the sky and place them into a glass jar, the light from these countless suns could not even penetrate the darkness in this book. The depthless dark of the universe can’t even compare. It is staggering.
I just loved all the little components to this story. Mysterious and perplexing characters, political intrigue, magic, a torture crazy king, a rebellion, and questionable loyalties all get thrown into the potluck of this food day extravaganza. I liked that I was immediately drawn into the story at the beginning of the book. I was transfixed by the plot because it was hard to pinpoint what was going to happen. I was honestly kept on the edge of my seat picking apart the story as I read and trying to put the puzzle pieces together. The plot twists are insane and just extremely well done. The world-building is also well constructed. The maps at the beginning of the book helped as well. I was able to feel like I was in this world. It was a very real reading experience.
The romance definitely had me guessing as well. It had me totally baffled in the beginning. There were so many men in her life throughout the beginning that I had no clue which way was up. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of Ryn’s romantic match(es). I did have my assumptions throughout the book and I was able to dissect one of the plot twists ahead of time. The romance in this book is part beautiful and part devastating. I can’t really explain more because spoilers, but trust me…it’s worth reading.
I liked the character growth for the main character, Ryn. She was this mostly innocent girl that gets caught up in the politics and manipulations of her kingdom. She discovers that her life isn’t what she thought it was. She was lied to and betrayed by almost everyone. She endures mind games and torture at the hands of a twisted king, but she doesn’t let it destroy her. She rises up from her pain and grows from her experiences. Her character arc was actually quite moving overall. Lord Irrick’s character growth is surprising. Again, I can’t really get into that without spoilers, but his character arc is creative and interesting. We didn’t get to know the side characters all that well, but I will say that they all had a purpose in the story. They weren’t just thrown in willy-nilly.
Overall, I am so impressed by this book! I was taken hostage by this story from the moment I started reading. The characters captured my heart and the plot kept my brain buzzing with anticipation. I immediately started the second book in this series after finishing this book because I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next! I highly recommend this series! You will love the darkness, you will admire the strength of the characters, and you will praise the incredible plot twists in the story!
Blood Oath had me hooked. I loved the way the author told the story. As a reader, I found the story relatable in so many ways and the words flew off the page making me want to be part of the story. I was left wanting to read the next part of the series.
I fell in love with this novel very quickly, much like anything and everything else Raye Wagner writes. I was shocked with how much this book moved me and left me wanting more.
A really good book with unexpected twists and turns and numerous well-written, intriguing characters. There is undoubted violence – at times almost overwhelming me – and some truly evil villains. But a well-built, slowly revealed storyline with a brave heroine, who undoubtedly matures as the story progresses and a hero who is mysterious and confusing at times but understandably conflicted in his untenable role as the king’s hit man.
I’m definitely moving right on to book two. I love finding new authors and then realizing that the rest of a really good series is already available.
I jumped on this one when I saw the cover and instantly fell into Ryn’s world. The author’s do a good job of building their world, but also building a plot that will span beyond the first book. The intrigue is trickled through, building along with the tension to the climax. The prose is rich in description without slowing the pace. The subtle romance that builds through the first book promises to deepen in the second. I felt invested in Ryn’s plight and am keen to see how her story unfolds in the second book.
This was one of those books that the cover caught my attention first. Normally I go by genre, the title, then the blurb. A nice cover is just a pretty bonus. But this one made a hell of a statement. It really catches the eye. The blurb sealed the deal and I bought it. The next day I sat down to read and was amazed. The characters are complex, the storyline unique, the twists shocking. Lord Irrik was an enigma. King Irdelron is a super big sadistic a-hole. I mean straight up evil. A wonderful bad guy. Ryn is a girl dreaming of adventure where there is no chance of it. Until her mother’s secret is out. She then gets way more than she bargained for and her life is destroyed and remade many times over. Her growth and changes are all present and amazing. I read through in one sitting and added the next two books to my must-read list. This title was a solid five stars and the ending implicates it will only get better.
It took me a bit to really get into this story. But once I was in, I was all IN!
This book is dark and it deals with death and lots of torture. Kelly’s books I’ve read before (I love her so much), she knows how to write a magical story and has definitely managed to enchant me. I haven’t read Raye before, but that’s about to change.
This book is literary brilliance. I am awed by the story Raye and Kelly have woven with Blood Oath! Rarely have I found 5 stars so easily given.