The Reckless Oath We Made is a beautifully unique story - really unlike anything else. At the start of the story - Zee learns her sister LaReigne is missing. LaReigne volunteers at the local prison and 2 prisoners escape - taking her and another volunteer along with them. Zee is convinced her sister wouldn’t have gone willingly and wouldn’t have left her 5 year old son. She is determined to find her and get her back.

The story is told through many perspectives and I loved getting to see them all as it went. The core question through this book is about how far you would be willing to go for the people you love the most. What would you do to save your loved ones - even if that saving meant dying yourself or spending life in prison? What if you had to leave someone behind to save someone else?

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for the free advance copy to read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Sorry for the delay in my review, life has gotten in the way.

If you've never read a book by Bryn Greenwood, your'e seirously missing out.
We read her last book in my online book club.. and it was a huge hit. it stayed with me for a long time and i still recommend it.

this book is no different. i can't wait to share it with all of my friends.

“𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. 𝙸𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚒𝚗’𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚊 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚃𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚍𝚞𝚖𝚋 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛.”

-𝙱𝚛𝚢𝚗 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙾𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚆𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚍𝚎

Bryn Greenwood creates the most intense, hard hitting, unusual but original love stories I’ve ever read. With well developed characters that you can’t help but fall in love with, and writing that is so good, you find yourself completely immersed in whatever story she tells.

In The Reckless Oath We Made, Zee is basically on a drug run, with suitcases full of weed, and traveling with her six year old nephew because her sister hadn’t shown up. From there the story gets better and better as we meet Gentry, an endearing character that will stay with me a long time. Speaking in old English, vowing to be Zee’s “champion”, and talking to the voices in his head, he has a form of autism, but feels a compassion with Zee to protect her.

I could not put this book down, and as much as I loved Greenwood’s previous novel, I knew that was a lot to live up to, but I fell in love once again.

*I read the physical book and also listened on audio and it was phenomenal and highly recommend!

*Thank you GP Putnam and Randomhouse for the gifted finished copy for review. I loved this book and all opinions are my own.

I got so excited when I saw that Bryn Greenwood was giving us another book! I still think about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things often - it was one of the first 5 star books I read while rediscovering my love for reading as an adult. I was blown away by the unique story and incredible writing, so my expectations for The Reckless Oath We Made were really high. And it did not disappoint!

The idea of reading Middle English made me nervous and I was worried that there would be too much of a Renaissance vibe, because that's just not my thing. But I'm so glad that I gave this book the chance to wow me. There's a good amount of Middle English, but it works. After I warmed up to it, I enjoyed the charm and whimsy that Gentry adds to the story. His playfulness surprised me and I actually laughed out loud a couple times.

Greenwood knows how to write real, damaged, misunderstood characters and I am HERE for it. This is a wonderfully original take on the boy meets girl concept - featuring a literal knight in shining armor, plus drug dealing, prison gangs, castles, kidnapping, hoarding, jousting and murder. Yes, yes to all of it. I love her imaginative storylines and the crazy, unexpected places she takes her readers. Her writing is intoxicating and always leaves me with a new perspective. The Reckless Oath We Made is enchanting and I'm so happy I got the chance to read it. Count me in for whatever Greenwood comes up with next.

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

My first book by this author, but ready to read the one that she wrote before this. While, I faced a lot of extreme emotions reading this book, I found it to be so utterly riveting and beautiful. The author knows how to work your emotions in a way that leaves you questioning things you had believed in. Beautiful, haunting, and absolutely compelling. A must read!
Will make sure I highly recommend!

Bryn Greenwood continues to amaze me with her writing. It simply blows me away every time. I picked up this book not knowing I wouldn’t be able to put it down until the end. A great read!

I really liked Gentry’s character, but it was hard to follow his Middle English and it exhausted my brain. Zee and Gentry are flawed characters that you root for, but I wasn't invested in their story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ebook to review.

I had a hard time with this book. I feel like it might have been me and the timing in which I read the book but it didn’t quite meet all the expectations that I had going into the book.

I love Bryn’s work but this one fell flat for me.

God this woman can write. Her first book was amazing. A book that has stayed with me. I think this book is the same. The author knows and can express the pain of living in poverty, of difficult and less typical relationships, or pain and love. One if the main characters is an autistic man who speaks only in old english and likes to sword fight. The other is a woman who does what she needs to in order to survive. Their relationship is the story with a lot of other family drama along the way. though i will confess to getting annoyed some with how he spoke this books is once again beautifully written. Loved it.

Bryn Greenwood has the enviable talent of being able to develop interesting characters, relationships and story lines and all are present in The Reckless Oath We Made (and readers may be happy to learn that the relationships in this book aren’t as disturbingly dysfunctional as in All the Ugly and Wonderful Things).
In her new book, Greenwood takes us to a world in Kansas where the characters are dealing with a wide range of challenges: mental illness, autism, incarceration, drugs, financial difficulties, and determining what is and how to do the right thing. Amid all the serious themes, we see glimpses of Greenwood’s wonderful sense of humor:

In talking about women who have relationships with men in prison: “Some women really like lifers, because you always know where they are.”

And, then, my favorite: “My people are citified white trash. We’re more familiar with opening dented cans of off-brand Spam from the food bank than skinning varmints.”

As others have mentioned, one of the main characters speaks in Middle English. It was a little disconcerting at first, but definitely gets easier as the story progresses. IMO, it’s not a reason to pass on this interesting book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the opportunity to read The Reckless Oath We Made..

I loved this book so much. I can not do it justice with a review since I find myself trying to compare it to All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, which I also loved. Bryn Greenwood's ability to write love stories set in tragic circumstances without imparting judgement on the characters is so amazing and I just don't have the same way with words to tell you how much I love it.

Let me start with what you've probably already heard and that is that one of the POVs is written in Middle English. Yes, it does take some getting used to and I probably missed some things in the earlier chapters, but I was able to get used to it and didn't find the switch nearly as severe towards the end of the book. My least favorite POV was actually that of a child since I found it to be the least authentic. As with ATUAWT, there are multiple POVs throughout the book, but I felt that TROWM favored two of them more than ATUAWT things.

I found the topics covered in this book to be less controversial than ATUAWT, but some might still find them offensive. The thing that I appreciate the most about Greenwood's novels is the chance to get inside the head of characters whose lives are so different from mine and I definitely got that here with Zee and Gentry. I recommend going into this book with an open mind (much like ATUAWT) because it's such a beautiful story about loving people for who they are and not expecting them to change.

Thank you so much to G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Bryn Greenwood so I was beyond excited to get The Reckless Oath We Made! I knew once I started this book I was not going to be able to put my kindle down and let me tell you that is exactly what happened! Bryn writes a unique story that left me floored at the level of connection if felt with the storyline and characters.

This is the second book I have read from Bryn and let me tell you two things... one it’s def not the last and two she is becoming one of my favorite writers!

Absolutely brilliant book! Zee is struggling to survive since a motorcycle accident left her leg and hip in tatters. Gentry, a young man with an interesting presentation of autism, believes he is Zee's champion. Zee tolerated Gentry, even likes him, but when her sister is taken hostage during a prison break, Zee finds that Gentry really is her champion. As Zee searches for her sister, she grows closer to Gentry and meets his family. But when she enlists Gentry's help in extricating her sister from the prisoners, things get complicated. THE RECKLESS OATH WE MADE is just a great story, beautifully told.

A captivating and utterly unique story that had me glued to my kindle. Honestly, I have struggled to put my thoughts into words. I felt this story, and these characters have earned a special place in my heart. When I hit the end, I found it hard to say goodbye to them. Bryn is two for two with me. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.

I will preface this with saying that this novel is so completely different from her first one, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, but in the best way. I was drawn into this story from the very first page. Greenwood knows how to hook a reader and keep them engaged throughout the entire story.

She explores so much in this novel, but it doesn't feel too busy. Zee only wants to do what's best for her nephew when his mom goes missing - even if that means supporting them by taking him on a drug deal. Gentry is Zee's hero, who just happens to speak in Middle English. At first, I was weary of this, but it added so much fun to the book, and was very easy to follow. Zee also has to deal with her mom's hoarding. I loved how this novel captured this topic accurately. It showed how hoarding is just more than collecting stuff. 

I loved this book. I enjoyed the characters. I did not figure out the plot, which is always fun. I only wanted there to be a little more at the end.

Bryn Greenwood became absolutely one of my favorite authors and even though I had a difficult time with this book, her style, her characters, and the complexities of her storylines are just mind bendingly amazing! I will read each and everyone of her books to come! Try it, this may be something you enjoy. She is a brilliant talent.

Thank you, thank you as always for the opportunity to read for a fair review.

I wanted to like this book, but there were a couple things I couldn’t get past. Firstly, this book turned out to be a romance. While unconventional, a romance nonetheless. Unfortunately, I’ve never been much of a romance fan. Secondly, Gentry’s character thinks he’s a knight and speaks in Middle English, which made the book choppy and was quite off putting. While there are some that will really enjoy this book, I’m just not one of them.

I was very fortunate to receive an advance copy of this novel. Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons! Most importantly thank you Bryn Greenwood for another wonderful novel.

First off, I would like to say that this was not an easily tackled book review for me. I enjoyed this novel so much but could find the perfect words. I feel like no matter what I write, it just cannot do this novel justice.

The Reckless Oath We Take is a heartbreaking and transformation of Zee and Gentry. Zee is a character that will invoke many feelings from you. It's also like a love hate relationship. Zee is write very true and raw that it'll make you stop and think "I know someone like that." She has lived a harsh life of a broken home, drugs, & family connections to the KKK.

Gentry is autistic but wise beyond his years. It is as if he was born in the wrong time. I absolutely fell in love with this character! Bryn Greenwood made Gentry the ideal man any woman would want today. Who wouldn't want a gallant knight? I enjoyed how Gentry and Zee balanced each other out.

I would highly recommend this book for a book club. There are so many topics that can discuss about this novel.

I wasn’t sure I would ever love a book as much as I loved Bryn’s All The Ugly & Wonderful Things, but this one is a close contender. I will definitely be following her work closely.

Bryn Greenwood has easily become an author I look forward to reading each time. This is the second book by I've read by the author, and was profound, interesting and engaging, and quiet and thoughtful. The rotating narration was seamless, and even Gentry's Middle-English language and thoughts (when narrating) were easy to get into the rhythm of. Zee was perfectly balanced character, full of flaws, with a willingness to learn and adjust her assumptions. Zee and Gentry's relationship was really beautiful, in that Zee never condescended to him or let his ways be an issue for her. She simply saw him and took him as he was, without question. Her own flaws of needing and using others were apparent to her, and she often reviewed why she was doing something, but ultimately tried not to apologize for what she needed too much, while fully respecting the positions of others.

This was just a beautifully refreshing look at humanness, and a masterful character study.