A Vow So Bold and Deadly (The Cursebreaker Series)

What a god awful piece of garbage this was. I am so PISSED at how she wrapped up this series. Book 2 was bad but I loved book 1 enough that I kept going hoping she would bring Rhen and Harper back to the forefront and do their story justice. Instead she trashed Rhen’s character and mad Harper into support piece in lieu of her new BORING ass character Lia Mara. She even ruined Grey’s character from book 1; he was a completely different man by book 3 and it wasn’t for the better. I am so disappointed that this series turned into a gigantic let down.

to start this off i dont give low star ratings lightly i enjoyed the first book of this series immensely for man reasons chief among them is this i have read many a books and i have not encountered such an accurate representation of what its like for someone to have what i have which is cerebral palsy and harpers character as well as rhen and the others pulled me in and didnt let go xD now ofcourse theres differences between my cp and harpers but regardless all of that is what drew me in to this world and after the first book i eagerly awaited the sequel after what had been revealed so nods when book 2 was announced and then released i planned to devour my way through it but i was left feeling disappointed becuase of what i heard about it the focus went away from rhen and harper and went to grey and lia mara not to say rhen and harper werent in it but it still feels like they got massively shafted now im not oppossed to storys or series having books with many Pov's but it has to be done right and so after hearing and eventually reading book 2 i felt alot of things disappointed pissed and just well meh lol to name few now in book 3 we got more of harper and rhen as well as lia mara and gray but it still felt massively out of wack/balance and while grey and lia mara got a more concrete and certain ending things were kinda up in the air for rhen and harper and the overall book ending/series ending just felt wrong or off or incomplete id like to hope for another book to hopefully give both couples and the series overall a better complete proper full ending but we probably wont get that. in the end though while i like grey and lia mara well enough though gray more so then her my favirotes will allways be harper and rhen :(

This was an interesting series for me because I LOVED the first book, disliked the second book and thought this one was ok. I loved Harper, Rhen and Grey and the romantic tension the author created between the three of them. I never cared for Lia Mara’s character and cared for her relationship with Grey even less. In the third book, I really enjoyed all the parts with Rhen and Harper and I thought we got to know Rhen even better. I also thought the end was rushed and Harper’s POV was non existent in the final chapters.

I have to say Vow was my favorite of the trilogy! I loved so many things about it! The inclusion of all four POV’s, the seamless progression of events using the POV’s, the juxtaposition of the evolving relationships, the horrifying parts, the romantic parts, the ending!I could go on and on but the true mark of a great series is that you still want more when the final page is read. And, even though it ends well, I could read about these characters for forever! I’m already looking forward to a reread!I highly recommend this trilogy to anyone who loves retellings, well fleshed-out fairytale worlds, chivalrous heroes, feisty heroines, and one nasty enchantress!

“Yield to yourself. Yield to forgiveness. Yield to happiness. Yield to this moment. It’s not hers. It’s yours. It’s mine. It’s ours.”•Read to finish the Cursebreaker series and also if you’re Team Grey•I read the first two books of this series within a couple of days & have had this 3rd book since it released in January. I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it! I loved ACSDAL I shipped Rhen and Harper and I loved Grey. I liked AHSFAB. Lia Mara won me over, the drama broke my heart, but I had major concerns over the pedestal that Grey is put on. Because of that (and the general lack of Rhen/Harper in book 2) I have been SO SCARED that I’d be disappointed with the finale. My fears were not unfounded, but it could’ve been worse.AVSBAD honestly doesn’t feel like much of a finale unless Grey is the only character you care about. I even like Grey, but he was clearly written to be the undisputed hero to the point that all the other main characters suffered. Even Lia Mara is reduced to a spineless ruler who just wants to bang her boyfriend. Rhen and Harper have been my day one faves and you would never believe that the first book was about them. I was glad we got more of their perspective this time and their scenes together and with Lilith were BY FAR the best of the book. But their ending is lackluster at best. I wasn’t satisfied with Harper’s finale, but it wasn’t nearly as unsatisfying as Rhen’s. He truly deserved better.But honestly, they all deserve better. The final showdown with the “big bad” was cool, but painfully short! (Especially considering some of the repetitive nonsense that filled so many of the middle chapters.) I’d love a 4th book where Rhen gets redemption and happiness, where Harper finds her place and peace, where Lia Mara is strong and respected, and where Grey is knocked off the pedestal and is actually challenged as a character.

I should have stopped at the first book. With everything that was built up I expected more than this conclusion.I feel sorry for Rhen and everything he has been through. He was not supposed to be the target at the first place for the curse to be on him. He is constantly tormented and even when Lilith is gone he’s left with permanent scars and a huge existential crisis from losing everything he was taught to become/fought for. As life is looking up for Grey and Lia, things continuously worsen for Rhen. Also, I looked for more from the relationship between Rhen and Harper. Grey and Lia have what they want, what about Rhen and Harper? Their relationship does not seem to develop to another stage.I don’t think anyone deserves what Rhen goes through. It didnt give me any hope that after all the traumas and struggles one goes through there would be better days. Especially not the character that the first book of the trilogy focuses on and got me hooked to this series.I wish I had stopped at the first book and imagined Rhen’s life will get better after all his pain with the curse and finally found Harper, when Grey found his own freedom and settled with Lia, either of them cared about politics and power at first anyway.It was an OK experience for me although I do think some details can be shortened. So much tension and anticipation were built for the climax of the series. However when it came to it, there was not much happened at all. Rhen seemed so defeated and Grey, after so much emphasis put on his ability to use magic, could not manage to kill Lilith himself. Also the dagger seemed a bit unhelpful... Many parts of the book made it sound like so much was happening but nothing actually happened at all. The ending made me question what I just read.It seems like one bad decision can mess with thousands of good deeds you have done after all.

I adore this world and the characters, and it was nice that in this third book all four of the lead characters get to share their own voices. We get to see as much Emberfall as Shyl Shallow, and there is a lot of build up the long threatened war. It did feel a little slow to get going, which is how I felt during the second book as well. There is a lot of political talk, which doesn't seem to achieve a lot, until there is one HUGE moment that changes everything about half way through.Grey is still my all time book bae, he gets to be surly and moody as normal here, but we also see his gentle loving side. I kind of felt a bit like Rhen was screwed over a bit with this book, he just gets the raw end of the stick with every little happiness, and where as I wanted to punch him in book two, I just feel really sorry for him throughout Vow. For me the weakest part of the book is Lia Mara, I just found her to be lacking, and when compared with Harper she just felt so weak, and I was kind of urging her sister to annihilate her and take the throne herself.... Harper manages to be kind and compassionate without being weak, and she is still super strong and able to stand up for herself and Emberfall.As always with the series, there are some amazing side characters, too many to really mention but Isaak and Tycho remain firm favourites, and of course Zo. My favourite moment was definitely Isaak and the kitten!! To go with all these wonderful characters, there are of course some seriously brutal deaths!! One or two may have made me gasp out loud in horror. Lilith is back and she's showing her true wicked colours, and actually she did actually manage to make me shudder a couple of times through this book. I think previously I've just found her mildly annoying, but she's basically now completely and totally insane.I definitely enjoyed this one more than book two, and its a clear four stars from me, but I did feel somewhat despondent at the very ending, it just didn't feel like the ending the series deserved. I could ramble for ages about why I feel like that, but I don't want to fill this with yet more spoilers.

I completely agree with most of the reviews around this final book although the author has left it open....I loved Scary Grey from the start and was always more down with him than Rhen through all the books. In this final instalment we see his character change and whilst I wasn't keen to go down this path I was relieved in the end. The final meeting between Rhen and Grey felt a bit deflated especially given all that was at stake and all the build up to this. Equally, the ending left me feeling that Rhen had been totally cheated of his story and future. Harper is the 'Go to' girl and once more this was proven. Lia Mara....well, I was wishing for a coup as she becomes more annoying as her story continues even agreeing with other reviewers in wishing her sister stepped up into a leading role.A final book to lets see if Rhen develops into a role that he can thrive in rather than being set aside please....

'A Vow So Bold and Deadly' is the eagerly awaited final book in Kemmerer's 'Cursebreaker' series. Whilst technically young adult novels, I have found them equally enjoyable for adults and not really distinguishable from many an adult fantasy novel. I loved the first two novels and was very excited about this crowning instalment. It's a good read which I enjoyed and found hard to put down, but it doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessors.The old adage 'if you want peace, prepare for war' is proving true at the start of the novel, which picks up from where the second book left off. Lia Mara, the new queen of the kingdom of Syhl Shallow, is determined to rule with compassion and eschew violence. Her populace find this incomprehensible. What's more, her boyfriend Grey has given his half-brother Prince Rhen, currently ruling the neighbouring kingdom of Emberfall, sixty days to yield the crown before he invades with Lia Mara's army. Meanwhile, in Emberfall, Rhen and Harper are isolated, persecuted by an evil sorceress, and are shortly to go to war with their former friends, relatives and allies. The novel follows these four main characters, with chapters from their different viewpoints, as they try to negotiate the politics of power as well as facing the various threats sent their way.As the third in a trilogy, it's not the place to start reading, so go back to the first novel ('A Curse So Dark and Lonely') and start there. Like all the books, it is easy to 'get into' and very compelling. Full of events and twists and turns, it's hard to put down. It's also a proper tearjerker, particularly with the set up of friends on opposing sides. Readers who fell in love with the trio of Rhen, Harper and Grey are likely to find, as I did, it hard to reconcile them being at war with each other and will feel the emotion of that strongly.Despite having enjoyed it and recommending it, I felt it lacked some of the excitement of the first two books. This might seem odd in a finale, which should usually save the 'big battle' for last. And there is a big battle. But because I knew the book would conclude the series, I felt like I knew the likely ending before I started, and that did reduce the excitement and tension for me somewhat. In the first two, it wasn't really clear how things would exactly turn out, and in fact Kemmerer put in some pretty good twists, especially in the second novel. So it may be that Cursebreaker is that rarest of things - a trilogy where the second book is the strongest. That said, it is still a good conclusion and I wouldn't necessarily have wanted it to end in any other way. I also note that there is scope here for a fourth book... I don't think that's the plan, but who knows? Certainly if Kemmerer ever did decide to revisit Emberfall, I would be keen to read the result!

I love this book, it is the third book in the curse breaker series. The book came in great condition and delivery was extremely fast! I am very happy with it. Totally recommend buying it from here, plus the plot is great, however, you need to read the ones before to understand the situation and make the read less complicated and more enjoyable.