Oath Taker: Kingdom of Runes, Book 1

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I don’t know if it was the cover or the description or the fact that I’ve had some pretty mediocre reads lately, but I didn’t expect a lot from this book. However, I ended up quite enjoying it! The world is interesting and I think the author built it well. I didn’t give a full 4 stars because there were some parts of the characters’ backstories that didn’t feel very fleshed out to me and there was never much opportunity for the plot to slow down in order to explain some things.Also—I was both surprised and impressed at the author’s lack of using romance in this book. It was mostly about friendship and one’s own identity. It was kind of…refreshing. Now was there a little bit of romantic tension? Yes, but nothing that seemed unrealistic. The emotions Haven occasionally felt towards the potential romantic interests were very natural for being around characters described as beautiful, but dangerous. She is surprisingly restrained and I was so thankful I didn’t have to suffer much second hand embarrassment as she navigated those touches of attraction here and there. The romantic interests were also very reserved which was different.

Oath Taker by Audrey Grey is the first book in her new series – Kingdom of Runes. In this fascinating book the author introduces readers to a world where light magic is forbidden and dark magic spells death. A curse hangs over the land, and any who hold magic are taken by the Shade Queen and destroyed by her daughter on a full moon. Haven, the main character, is saved by Prince Bell as a young girl and decides to dedicate her life to him as his protector. But their lives are about to change. Prince Bell is abducted by a Shade Lord, and Haven is determined to save him and break the Curse that binds the lands if she can.I am an avid fan of Audrey Grey and let me just say this…this book does NOT disappoint. It was so hard to put down, and when I absolutely had to I couldn’t stop thinking about…what happens next?! Haven is one of those characters that both gets on my nerves and one that I rooted for the whole way. LOL! I love her dedication to the Prince even though…I hate to say…he’s a bit of a weakling. I hate to say that I was a bit disappointed in that fact. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I can understand it to an extent. The path that he is on is not the one that he would have chosen for himself, and it shows. Acheron is an engaging and interesting character. The author gives us little hints and teases at his past…where he came from, but she keeps most of it shrouded in mystery. Stolas is another interesting character for me. Honestly, he’s the one that I find myself quite drawn to. Both of these men are arrogant, but I love that there is more to them than meets the eye.There honestly isn’t much that I don’t like about this book. As I stated earlier I have this love/hate thing going on when it comes to Haven, but I understand it. I find myself disappointed in her when she allows her own selfishness to take hold and blind her to the potential consequences of her actions. I saw this several times in this book and her knee jerk response was always “she didn’t think.” In the realms of sounding snarky…that much was obvious. But I like that at the end of the day…all of this is thoroughly planned out by the author. She’s making Haven as real as possible, and so Haven is very flawed.I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. It’s an exceptional story and I loved every minute of it. Prepare to be teased with the ending! Yes, there is a bit of a cliffhanger. It’s nothing too intense…unless you read the preview for book two. I refrained…just barely. LOL! But I am eagerly anticipating the next book in this series. There is a bit of romance and I am eager to see where it goes…and whom with as well. If you are a fan of this author then I highly recommend you grab this book!

The ending was good! However the entire beginning and middle was extremely hard to get through. I know world building and references to build such world are needed. But I hate when authors over explain things especially details. It is also frustrating when they try to name every single person (non MCs), object, sword, building etc. sometimes a dagger can just be a dang dagger. Or fear can just be fear, it doesn’t need a overly explained three page reference.Another thing that had me re-reading A LOT of the scenes was the chaos of them. It was hard in several moments to imagine what was happening as the writing was really choppy and mixed with more overly exaggerated inner monologues.All in all the book is still worth 4 stars for the story, but I hope the lengthy inner monologues aren’t so annoying in future books.

Seventeen-year-old Haven is sworn to protect Prince Bellamy, her best friend, and spends her nights hunting monsters. When a monster takes Bell, part of a Curse in the land, Haven must ally with the immortal Archeron to try to save him. Struggling to understand her light and dark magic, Haven wishes to be more help along their journey, but despite her desire to break the Curse, magic comes with a price…The story engaged me from the start. I liked Haven and Archeron, though Bell felt a little flat and weak. Stolas was a wonderfully creepy character.I needed more world-building and character development throughout the book though—about the land, the magic system, the curse, and Haven’s backstory.At the 20% mark I was still a little disoriented, wondering what the main conflict/quest of the book was going to be.The overall pace of action was good; I easily read through to the end. But unfortunately it just… ended.This book kicked off a lot of conflicts and alliances that I am sure are explored in the rest of the series and eventually resolved, but there was no single quest, problem, or story arc in this book that came to a satisfactory resolution by the end. I’m a little bit curious what happens next but likely won’t continue the series based on my experience with book one.

This is the first I've read by this author and I am quite impressed by the writing. There are vivid images drawn from the word building of the creatures that wander the Neatherworld and you can just see the horror of how the shadow queen looks and feel her darkness. I can't quiet make out Haven tho, she co.we across as very young almost a child but I don't think she is supposed to be which makes her confusing as she is also the female lead. I am looking forward to finding out how Havan's mission turns out and what she actually is.

Such a brilliant read with a funny, flawed and awesome MC who just happens to be a girl! The plot is full of twists (and dare I venture potential lovers?!?!) and the overall world is absolutely absorbing! Off to read number 2!

Great start to a new series. The story line and characters are good.Bell was a little annoying and some parts lost me slightly but overall a great book. I’m looking forward to the next book.

It ends on a cliffhanger. Thats the only annoying part. The actual book is great but feels like i just read half the book not whole book if that makes sense. :/

So joyed his book, enthralling characters who capture the imagination quickly. Can't wait to continue the story in book 2 Curse breaker.