4 - 4.5 Unique Stars!

I’m not even sure where to start with this one. My initial thoughts while reading this book is that it was strange – but it was an interesting story full of unique characters.

One such character was Gentry. He’s on the autism spectrum, and only speaks in Middle English. Some chapters were told from his point of view, and while they weren’t long, it took a little patience to read them and understand him.

Zee has had a tough life. When she was little, her dad was sent to jail for robbing a bank and killing a security guard. Her mother is a hoarder and unable to leave her home. Zee’s been sleeping on her sister’s couch trying to save money to pay off medical bills she owes. If her life isn’t difficult enough as it is, her sister goes missing during a jail break while she was there volunteering.

The story was moving along fine, until all hell broke loose. Suddenly I wasn’t sure how I felt about any of the characters. I wasn’t sure how the story was going to end, or how I even wanted it to end. I was debating if it was possible for some of the characters to redeem themselves in my eyes.

From this point on, I was so engrossed with the story and how things were going to wrap up and if I would be satisfied with outcome. The answer for me was simply yes.

I trusted the author to take me on an unforgettable journey, and she certainly did.

This book was pretty good! I didn't like it as much as I liked Ugly and Wonderful, but it was decent. It took a bit to get used to the way Gentry spoke and thought, but after a while I got used to it. I really liked Zee; I think she was an amazing, caring, FIERCE character. I'm glad the book ended how it did. All in all, job well done Ms. Greenwood!

Compelling and utterly readable. Gritty, hardcore, and realistic. There are no punches pulled here; there are some graphic scenes of sex/masturbation. But Gentry will intrigue you, and Leon the dog will steal your heart. I'm glad I read this one. Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

⭐️Book Review⭐️
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Thank you so much @putnambooks for the free copy via @netgalley for review.
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Happy pub day to @bryngreenwood and The Reckless Oath We Made! I read this with @jaylamm.reads and her group for the #arcaugustreadathon and it did not disappoint! Greenwood is a fantastic writer. It’s so easy to get lost in her stories.
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I loved Gentry. He was my favorite character by far. At first, I was a little confused by his chapters, but I loved that she wrote it the way she did. He was such a unique character and I loved seeing his perspective. A great family drama, contemporary fiction. I highly recommend it. I will say that I enjoyed the first half more than the second and that’s what made me settle on a 4.5⭐️
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Zhorzha Trego (Zee) is a drug mule whose life is a runaway train about to fall off a cliff. She’s got no job, no home, an invalid hoarder mother and a gullible sister with not much for common sense. Her nephew, Marcus, is the bright spot in her life. She’s also got this stalker, who fancies himself a knight, speaks Middle English and calls her Lady Zhorzha.

Gentry Frank is a literal knight with a kind heart, armor, and swords hanging on his bedroom wall. He has sworn himself as Zee’s protector and champion. He is autistic and this is what the voices in his head have told him he must do. Zee is nobody’s princess and Gentry has a very carefully constructed existence that is about to be shattered into a million pieces.

Zee’s sister, LaReigne, is kidnapped as two prisoners that she was mentoring escape from the prison. The police have lots of questions but no answers. Hence, Zee decides that she’s going to find LaReigne herself bringing Gentry and a few of his friends along for the ride. Except even the best-laid plans can go to hell real fast and that’s exactly what happens here.

The Reckless Oath We Made does not have a fixed point of view. As a matter of fact, it jumps from character to character so you know what each person is thinking. I found that aspect interesting. Gentry speaks Middle English through 98% of the book and that did not bother me at all. I found it lyrical in a way. These characters are still haunting my thoughts. This is NOT a traditional love story – make no mistake – this IS a love story. Two unlikely people fill a void in each other in a way that no one else can because the “see” each other.

Bryn Greenwood is not one for picking the easy light subjects. What she will give you is a compelling read with complicated characters that don’t fit easily in the usual boxes.

Sign me up! I’m a fan.

"The Reckless Oath We Made" is a rich homage to medieval tales of knightly courtesy and adventures, running against the parallel track of the messy reality of modern-day life. Greenwood draws rich characters that are hard not to love, warts and all, but ultimately the story may not keep up with them. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character, and Greenwood does a remarkable job making each voice sound distinctive. At times, however, jumping from perspective to perspective felt a bit disjointed, and -- especially when the character gives a one-off point of view simply to convey information necessary for the plot -- sometimes felt a little like an easy way to rush the story along.

The first half of the book pulled me in immediately, but I found my pace steadied in the second half, and even fatigued at certain points. The two main characters, Zhorzha and Gentry, made a fairly compelling pairing for a love story, but I couldn't help but feel some discomfort at the explanation of Gentry's autism. As I'm not an expert, I'll reserve further judgment, but it stood out to me nonetheless. I had more complicated feelings yet on Zhorzha. I found her to be hideously selfish throughout most of the book, but I could understand what was driving her through most of the first portion. In the last third, it became much harder to give Zee the benefit of the doubt for her actions (or non-actions, as it were). I love a flawed protagonist, but Zee let me down, and didn't give me much of a reason to take up her cause -- or be her champion, as it were -- in the end.

Most acutely, I don't think the "white supremacist" angle was given enough air in the story. For a reader of color, especially, it presents a pretty sinister backdrop to much of the plot and action taking place, and it wasn't good enough for me to have Zhorzha brush it off as being obviously bad or something she didn't agree with. In 2019, I would have liked to see a little more depth given to this plotline, or at least see Zee grapple with it a little more, because as it was it felt like it was a bit easily explained away.

Bryn Greenwood excites my readers heart so differently. Expect the unexpected when it comes to this book. Greenwood pushes boundaries and pushes readers out of preconceived comfort zones so effortlessly. Her writers voice is so unique and so purely honest. I became a fan of hers from her last published book and was quite excited to read The Reckless Oath We Made. And make no mistake, this book is quite different than anything I've ever read.

This story of familial loyalty and how these characters learn the good, bad, and ugly from that loyalty was as interesting as it was frustrating. It's about unlikely friendships and the loyalty we learn from such relationships that catch us off guard. It's kind of crazy to feel equally fascinated and horrified, quite honestly, in the story you're reading. I have no idea if I even "like" this book in the traditional sense of the word. I saw another reviewer mention she didn't know if she "got" the book and quite frankly, I'm not sure that I did either. And having now read two books from this author I think these feelings are what she wants out of readers, to be uncomfortable yet understanding and interested. Because I do know that I was captivated by this and felt a strong need to see it through to the end. What I find is that I liked how different it was, how it made me feel (both comfortable and uncomfortable), how the details slowly kept unfolding and the writing from multiple points of view kept carrying me forward into something new and undiscovered.

The way in which Greenwood hits major themes with her words hammers the authenticity into her storytelling. She constantly keeps you on your toes, keeps you thinking deeply about what's happening and relishes the darker and poorer side of humanity with a thirst for knowledge and wisdom from experience. The story is sad but hopeful. And while I feel as though I've said hardly anything at all useful in this review, because it's a hard book to review without telling you exactly what happens, know that it's a uniquely haunting and interesting piece of fiction.

The Reckless Oath We Made is by far the best book I have read this year and Bryn Greenwood takes the crown as my new favorite author. When I first read All the Ugly and Wonderful Things I was taken aback about how good this was, and there was no sophomore slump for this book.


This story is about Zee and Gentry, and their very unlikely love story. Zee is almost six-feet tall with flaming red hair. She is in Physical Therapy due to a bad motorcycle accident. There she meets Gentry who is in PT. Gentry is on the spectrum and also suffers from schizophrenia, by the way he also talk like a mid evil knight. Gentry has also sworn his allegiance to protect Zee. Quickly Zee's sister is kidnapped, which put's her in a precarious position especially with Gentry. Because of this oath, Gentry will do anything to help Zee, and they wind up on adventure that does not end well.


Watching Zee and Gentry's relationship grow throughout this story, all the love and questions and the perspectives from both of them are brilliantly written. Greenwood does very well to write this blossoming romance even with all of Gentry's quirks. I know people are going to think romance and think nope, I don't want to read this, but the story has adventure, mystery and is literary on top of all that.


If you have not read Greenwood yet, take a chance. She is gritty and fabulous, and I will read anything she writes going forward.


Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book for an honest review.

When I started reading this book, I had no idea what to expect, and by the time I was finished I was astonished by its story, its characters, and its originality. In the end, this was simply a fantastic book about loyalty, bravery, redemption, and love. Gentry, the male protagonist, was phenomenal—an autistic young man who speaks English from the Middle Ages, a skilled knight, whose devotion to Lady Zhorzha was his honor, his downfall, and the most courageous deed he’d ever undertaken. Zhorzha was the antithesis of her knight—a brash young woman doing everything she can to scrape by, who is different from Gentry in so many ways, but his equal when it came down to her devotion to her family. The Reckless Oath We Made is gritty, honest, endearing, poignant, and unique.

Though The Reckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood is told with multiple narrators, I thought it was the story of a young woman, Zhorzha, who has a temper, a messed up hip from an accident, bills to pay, a housebound hoarder mother, and no home so she stays with whoever she can until they get tired of her. Then her life gets even more complicated when her sister is kidnapped while volunteering at a prison by two inmates. Zee then adds to her list, care for her five year old nephew and trying to get her sister back, which becomes more difficult when she loses her job, can’t stay at her sister’s and the police take her car. Help comes to Zee in an unlikely form. Her stalker. Gentry is an autistic young man who hears voices that guide him and tell him what to do. He also is a knight who speaks only in Medieval Middle English. Two years ago the voices told him to be Zee’s champion. So Gentry has been following Zee around with the only purpose being to serve her.

I quickly found myself rooting for Zee. She has had a hard life to navigate. Things have never been easy for her and many of her decisions come because of her childhood and the affects that has had on her. She is tough and has a terrible temper and cusses up a storm which are all qualities that usually turn me off on a character. But I understood why she was the way she was and though I cringed at some of her decisions and felt so bad for her, I just wanted so badly for her to learn from life and her past and have her life become better.

Gentry was the perfect character. I’m not sure I have ever read a character like him before. He is not his autism. It is not him but what makes him who he is. It felt more like a part of his character than a handicap and I really loved autism being shown in that way. Gentry only wants to serve and I so very much loved reading about a character whose only purpose was service.

Zee and Gentry are so very different. I loved their interactions and how they come to help one another. They each grow and make their lives better and I love a story where flawed people become even a little better.

This is a story of promises and broken promises, forgiveness and loyalty.

I was an extremely huge fan of Greenwood's All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, just waiting for her next novel to surface. She's done it again with her newest release!

Rating: 5 Stars

I read Greenwood’s last book, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, back in 2017ish. I was volunteering at the Ankeny Public Library and stumbled upon it as I was re-shelving it. The cover caught my eye, and the synopsis had me intrigued. It was a totally random, impulse check-out, but I have never been so happy with a random find. Greenwood tackled incredibly sensitive, difficult situations with such grace and beauty – I was blown away. So as soon as I saw her upcoming book, The Reckless Oath We Made, was available on NetGalley, I couldn’t request it fast enough. Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Just like in All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, Greenwood brings incredible emotion and grace to her characters in Reckless Oath:

Zee, a young woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is doing her best to keep herself and her family afloat, but struggles to make ends meet.

Gentry, a young knight who, two years ago, took it upon himself to serve as Zee’s champion. Gentry is shy and on the autism spectrum, so he barely speaks to Zee, but he puts his duties as a knight and her champion above all else.

When Zee’s sister is abducted, Zee finds herself turning to the unlikeliest of people – Gentry – for help to find her sister and keep her family from crumbling apart.

These two characters are at the center of Reckless Oath, and their story is unlike any I have ever read. I so wish I could use one of those memory erasers from Men in Black and go back and re-read this book for the first time. It is one that will stick with me for a very long time – in the same way that I STILL think about All the Ugly and Wonderful Things several years later.

RATING BREAKDOWN

Plot – 1/1: A story arc always matters to me; I need to be invested in what is happening and where the author is taking me, as a reader. This plot does that. Throughout the story, I needed to keep reading to find out what was going to happen to Zee’s sister, if they would find her, what would happen to Zee and Gentry, etc. So the plot is solid, but this is definitely a book that is driven by the characters and the emotions they make you feel.

Writing – 3/3: Greenwood is an incredible writer. Her use of language makes you feel all the things and paints such a vivid picture that you feel like you are right there, in the middle of it all with the characters. Not once did I feel like the writing was dragging or slowing the story down. Every word was perfect and necessary.

Characters – 3/3: Okay, this is where Greenwood shines. The characters she creates are so freaking…human. All the intricate parts of how our emotions and experiences shape our world views – she brings that to each and every character. Gentry, our knight, speaks in Middle English and takes his duties as a knight so seriously that it’s believable. Zee is my age and dealing with so many hardships, I can’t even imagine the strength that she possesses – and you know there are so many young women in her situation, making life work because they have to.

**OH, also, this piece of the rating ties into both the characters and the feel, but HELLO consent. Seriously, when you read it you’ll know what I mean, but I was smiling so big from pure joy at how Greenwood writes consent into relationships in this story. Proof that consent is the sexiest thing, period.

Feel – 3/3: The feelings cocktail that is this book…woof. When I had about 20% left, I started pleading to my fellow bookstagrammers for support to get me to the end because I was so emotionally drained – in a good way. I was all-in with these characters and terrified that they weren’t going to get the ending I needed them to have – that they deserved to have. Any book that has me THAT invested in the characters is a forever book for my shelves.

If you haven’t read All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, go do that. Then, on August 20, when this one comes out, go get it, too. They will make you think and question your own world view. Which is exactly what books are supposed to do. All the stars in the world to this beautiful book.

Happy reading!

Fans of deeply moving, intense stories of love and redemption won't want to miss The Reckless Oath We Made, the latest novel by author Bryn Greenwood. It's a dark and gritty love story centred around the unlikeliest of couples, and it packs an emotional punch that will linger with you long after you turn the final page.

Zee put aside her dreams of happily ever after long ago. These days, she's concentrating on the practical things in life: caring for her housebound mother, helping her older sister Lareigne look after her five-year-old son, and working at a local restaurant to keep a roof over their heads. Life is expensive, and money isn't plentiful for Zee and her family, but she’s determined to do whatever she has to in order to give her nephew the stable life she never had as a child. Sometimes, that means picking up extra shifts at the restaurant, but it also means doing drug runs for one of the local dealers. Zee knows breaking the law isn't smart, but she can't afford to be picky about work.

When Lareigne is taken hostage by two escaped inmates from a nearby prison, it falls to Zee to bring her safely home, but a woman with a shattered hip can't hope to take down a couple of dangerous men on her own. Fortunately, Zee has a champion, a man willing to risk his life to serve Zee in whatever way she sees fit. That champion comes in the form of Gentry Frank, an autistic man who believe his life's purpose is to keep Zee safe.

The world hasn't been to kind to Gentry. He entered the foster system as a young child, and though he was eventually adopted into a loving home, he still doesn't believe he really fits anywhere. He has a deep fascination with anything related to chivalry and has recently begun to fancy himself a knight. Most people don't know what to make of Gentry and his fascination, and it's not uncommon for him to be made fun of. Two years ago, the voices he's heard in his head since he was a child tasked him with becoming Zee's personal champion, and so, he's taken to sticking close to her just in case she needs him. This could come off as creepy, but Ms. Greenwood makes it clear that Gentry isn't stalking Zee. Instead, he's carrying out what is to him the most important duty of his life, and although Zee isn't sure what exactly drew Gentry to her, she's glad to have his assistance, especially now that her sister is in danger.

In most cases, a book like this wouldn't work well for me. I tend not to enjoy watching the hero sweep in and rescue the heroine from whatever trouble she's gotten herself into - usually I'm drawn to stories featuring self-reliant, resourceful heroines who are perfectly capable of saving themselves. But in Ms. Greenwood's capable hands, everything about this story simply works, and I honestly can't imagine it being told in any other way.

Zee isn't a heroine who will appeal to everyone, but I loved everything about her, including her rough edges. Her moral compass doesn't match my own, but I've never found myself in anything resembling the situations she deals with on a daily basis. At first, I thought she was little more than a user, and I hated the thought of her taking advantage of Gentry's dedication, but there's more to Zee than first meets the eye.

Zee and Gentry aren't your conventional romance leads. In fact, it took me quite a while to figure out what a romance between them would really look like. Neither of them wants to settle down and have children, but that doesn't mean they don't want to be loved and appreciated by that special someone.

If you're looking for a light-hearted romance between characters who always make the right choices, The Reckless Oath We Made is probably not the book for you. This is a book that will rouse a lot of feelings within its readers, not all of which will be comfortable or easy. Certain aspects of the novel were unsettling for me to read about, but that only adds to the power of the story the author is telling, and it's a story we all need to read and embrace. This is a book that celebrates differences, pays homage to that moral gray area we each inhabit at least once in our lives, and reignites our belief in the power of true love, no matter what it might look like for each person involved.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo
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Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, how I would love to have a champion like Gentry! I am having a hard time coming up with adequate words to describe how I feel after finishing this novel, so I will just urge everyone to read it. I loved it so much.

I was extremely excited about this book, as All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is one of my favorite books, but I was also nervous to start that it was not going to live up to my love for the previous book. Chapter 2 confused me a little, before understanding why Gentry's chapters were written in Middle English.

By chapter three, I was absolutely hooked on this book and finished the rest in two sittings. Bryn Greenwood is incredible at writing about very flawed but very real characters. She tackles difficult subject matters beautifully and makes the reader think about what they may see as black and white.

Gentry was one of my favorite characters from any book I have read this year. While the first chapter of Middle English was hard to get used to and I was confused at the relevance, it was a perfect addition to the story.

I wish this book never would have ended.

DNF. I was intrigued by Zee, but Gentry...I just can't with the way he speaks Middle English all the time.

So disappointed. I absolutely loved All the Ugly and Wonderful Things and was looking forward to her new book, especially since I have a son with Asperger's.

Thanks for the opportunity but I'm going to pass.

I LOVED this book! I loved Zhorzha, the daughter of a bank robber and a hoarder, sister of LaReigna kidnapped from her prison volunteer job, aunt of 5 year old Marcus and.....the woman for whom Gentry is champion. Zee has nothing going for her-she's living at the bottom and about the only positive is that she's not on opioids (she uses THC) for the constant pain she's in from a major injury. She met Gentry at physical therapy and he, well, he's odd to say the least. Know in advance that he speaks in Middle English (occasionally I had to re-read to get it) and that he's on the spectrum. But also know that he's one heck of a guy whose parents take Zee and Marcus in and then, when she needs him to go with her after her sister, he does that too. There's a whole cast of vivid characters here and you will read a bit from all of them but mostly from Zee and Gentry. Zee's uncle Alva, a member of the KKK and an old associate of the people believed to be holding Lareigna, is a better guy than you might expect but things do not go well on the rescue mission- not at all. There's a love story here between Zee and Gentry, one which neither of them realize for a long time. I was fully pulled into this by the wonderful storytelling and unique nature of the plot. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Definitely a favorite read of the summer- highly recommend.

This book is utterly a gut wrenching rollercoaster and not what I expected but in a good way. I feel the author captured autism in a way that does it justice and Gentry is utterly fantastic. Tragedy and chaos and utterly confusing at times, but this book is nothing short of human imperfection beautiful. Not sure if that makes sense, but I basically just mean I love this book and will be recommending it to everyone.

The Wreckless Oath We Made by Bryn Greenwood - I’ve been looking forward to this book for months. I LOVED All the Ugly and Wonderful Things so I’ve been dying for some more Greenwood! I got to read a copy via @netgalley @putnambooks (thank you!) and while I loved almost all of it, a few minor details are bothering me. Without totally spoiling it, I thought the way the rescue (and it’s aftermath) went down was pretty far fetched. I wished it had been a bit more realistic to go along with the rest of the book. What bothered me the most was the reference to ABA. Told from the viewpoint of Gentry’s adoptive mother, therapists utilizing behavior analysis are portrayed as blatantly going against the parents wishes and not understanding the function of behavior. Unnecessary dig at the science I love so much...and as my go-to reading buddy @whatjessread said when we were discussing - it didn’t contribute to the story at all. I hate to even bring those little things up because I really loved the characters and the story. Anything Bryn Greenwood writes is still an auto-read for me, and I’m already excited for her next. .

Take a flawed heroine (Zee), an autistic young man who hears voices and speaks in Olde English (Gentry) and add in a prison escape with Zee's sister held hostage, Zee's hoarding mother aka The Dragon, Gentry's racially diverse adopted family, Ren Fair re-enactment and a dash of the KKK and out pops this unique novel set in Wichita, KS. Gentry has sworn an oath to be Zee's champion. What Zee wants most is to rescue her sister from her captors. Thus their quest is set in motion with unexpected consequences. This gritty romance will appeal to readers who enjoy Laura McHugh's books. If you like the gritty, unexpected duo that is Gentry and Zee you may also want to read "Two Girls Down" by Louise Luna.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.