I really enjoyed how Kadeesha and Malachi’s story began—their initial meeting, followed by the shocking realization that they were enemies, was such a strong setup. The forced proximity and undeniable attraction between them felt believable and well-executed. The world-building was immersive enough that I felt pulled right into it. I enjoyed the magic systems in the book because thet were different.

That said, the middle section dragged a bit. Kadeesha is written as such a powerful and resilient character, so her reluctance to really fight Rasheed claiming her didn’t quite fit with how strong she was portrayed. Malachi, on the other hand, was the perfect swoony, morally gray hero, with that “touch her and die” energy that’s always fun to read.

The spice was frequent and intense—sometimes maybe a little *too* much—but it definitely fit the dynamic between them. I also appreciated that this was a standalone romantasy. Despite some pacing issues, it delivered an engaging story with memorable characters I won’t forget.

Shoutout to N.E for making the word building in this book so immersive! I was absolutely enthralled with the magic system. Such a strong standalone, but I would read so many more books in this universe.

The spice was ELITEEEE and I was blushing. The first time meeting between Malachi and Kadeesha was everything.

This was my first time reading from N.E. Davenport and was very intrigued by the synopsis before picking this one up. The story follows Princess Kadeesha, who is forced to wed the Hyperion King, but Malachi appears on her wedding day and takes her as a “hostage” back to his land. However, Kadeesha and Malachi eventually work together to bring down the Hyperion King.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this - the world-building was done well with a unique magic system, and the characters felt fully fleshed out. I thought that Kadeesha and Malachi were both very strong characters with a touch of morally grey to keep things interesting. I would definitely consider this enemies to lovers but not slow burn. The romantic scenes were a bit much but easy to skip over if not your interest. The pacing was also done well with multiple plot twists that kept me engaged. It’s also very refreshing that this is a standalone - the story felt sufficiently wrapped up by the end.

Overall, an enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I am so enthralled by this world Nia has created. The politics of the far world are intricate but digestible.

Both Malachi and Kadeesha are in positions that weigh heavy on them. They could have been wonderful allies if they weren't the perfect enemies. I'm new to fantasy but this kept me engaged and wanting more.

OMG first things first. MORE STANDALONE ROMANTASIES PLEASE!!!!!! Not only was this a very fun (and 🌶️🌶️) read but I’m completely in love with the fact that it’s just one book. We need more of these! Publishers use this book as a baseline! This is what more of us want!!

The author did a great job with world-building and character development even though it’s a stand alone. However it is a LONG book so you do get a lot of time to explore the world and chemistry between our two main characters. Overall I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Harper Voyager/Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!!

This book may have made me a romantasy convert. Nia wrote an amazing story with equal parts romance, fantasy, violence, and spice. And Kadeesha and Malachi are royal Black faes that I never knew I needed to read. I loved the progression of the story, all of the twists and turns, and a lot of the spicy scenes. The author wasted not a single page and there were plenty of plot twists and surprises. I felt like there was a lot of internal dialogue though, which some of which was helpful but not necessary. I hope to read more adult romantasies with Black main characters and will definitely be first in line in the event this author decides to write more of it.

A fun and steamy romantasy standalone from N.E. Davenport! As a fan of The Blood Trials and The Blood Gift, I was super excited to read this Black fae fantasy. Kadeesha and Malachi had very intense chemistry, and I enjoyed watching them navigate their enemies to lovers dynamic. I always have a fun time reading about two characters with enormous amounts of power, both in the fantastical and the political sense, butt heads against each other. Their dynamic was super interesting as the heir and heiress of their respective kingdoms.

While I enjoyed the romance in this book immensely, I did feel like the book suffered from pacing issues. There was a portion in the middle chunk of the book that felt quite slow and repetitive. The overarching conflict of the book with Kadeesha trying to prevent Rasheed from claiming her and taking over her people felt very drawn out as well. I would have appreciated smaller high-stakes conflicts throughout the book to prevent the slow pace here.

Overall, I enjoyed this romantasy and I look forward to future fantasy books NE Davenport writes!

This was my first contact with this author’s writing and oh my goodness I love it! Great plot and world building, amazing characters and romance. Definitely will keep my eye out for more.

Rating: 4.75 stars!

Our Vicious Oaths is a captivating, action-packed story filled with unexpected plot twists and a healthy dose of witty banter. The story follows Kadeesha, the arch-princess destined to ascend to the throne as high queen. However, the path she and her family expect for her is far from what unfolds.
I absolutely loved the characters and their dynamic. The book features beloved tropes like enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity, which I’m sure fans of these themes will devour. I can already see this becoming the next big BookTok sensation!

This book by The Blood Trials author NE Davenport is spicy fae romantasy about Kadeesha and Malachi, two rulers of opposing fae courts that need to overcome their differences and work together to defeat a power hungry fae with a penchant for slaughter and declarations of grandiosity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am giving 3.75⭐️.

I really enjoy the adult books written by this author and liked that she specifically set out to write a spicy romantasy of Black fae. She hit the nail on the head for so many of the aspects that populate fae romantasy books. Kadeesha and Malachi have some smoking hot spicy scenes and the scenes of them bonding over family and leadership were very well done.

I actually don’t normally enjoy fae fantasy books and was apprehensive about reading this one, but those fears were definitely unfounded. In NE Davenport I trust!

I look forward to posting about this book closer to its release date on my social media (TikTok and YouTube)

I honestly love a good fantasy romance standalone! It’s so refreshing to not have to commit to a whole series. ESPECIALLY WHEN ITS THIS GOOD! It gave it all in one book - shadow daddy, loooots of spice, bad ass FMC. Loved!

Our Vicious Oats is a epic standalone romantasy! Black Fae meets political turmoil meets smut.

I read this in one sitting and what I love about this book is first of all the FMC, Kardeesha, is a badass princess warrior. She is strong, fierce, and protective but also a little stubborn.
- From the first chapter, the writing is fast paced and you get thrown into the world building that is set up very nicely and it's intriguing. Even throughout the rest of the book, the author does a wonderful job at keep the world-building interesting.
- We immediately get to know some of the main characters of the story, the good and the bad!
- I especially loved Kardeesha's squadron and wished we could have spent more time with them.
- Malachi - MMC - cocky and confident! Ruthless when he needed to be. He was unapologetically himself.
- The spice was incredibly well written and there was a lot of it. Very smutty!

I wished we could have had more backstory/history of some the kingdoms and their magic but I didn't feel lost without them just would have been nice to read a bit more about it.
- I also think this went from enemies to sort of lovers but mostly enemies to a mild dislike, I think towards the end of the book we should have gotten a bit more lovers as it felt rushed towards the end and mostly seemed unsure to the FMC.
- The only thing that I didn't like was the writing, sometimes it felt very choppy and the dialogue swam between modern and historical which felt a bit off sometimes. There's also too many words that are repetitive and overused.


What you get from this book:
- political intrigue
- Badass and fierce FMC
- Forced proximity
- Spice

Special thanks to Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for this e-arc. All thoughts are my own!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc :)
Kadeesha and Malachi are a match made in chaos. A fantasy world with black fae, sign me up. I didn't know what to expect from Our Vicious Oaths but I was not dissapointed. N.E Davenport effortlessly immerses us into this world full of ruthless, strongwilled, egotisticle and loyal fae. I love a good banter session between enemies to lovers and Our Vicious Oaths delivered. Our main characters got on my nerves at times but only becasue they refuse to acknowledge their feelings for each other..it was torture. But THOSE scenes...10/10. A true Enemies to lovers romantasy without sacrificing any world building.

DNF @ 25%

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me.

From the start I was having a difficult time being immersed in the story. The writing style wasn’t to my taste, which took me out of the story, and the characters and their inner monologues were so one dimensional that I struggled to get in their heads. The worldbuilding was also confusing—at once containing gorgeous fantasy/mythology elements and party girls in bodycon dresses at sex clubs.

The book is giving Lust at First Sight, which is also a trope that just doesn’t work for me.

I decided to stop reading when the (very violent) inciting incident occurred at around the 20-25% mark and the MCs’ reactions to said violence was just…. wrong. If you’re still thinking about how gorgeous your enemy is after watching an entire room of your people be slaughtered, well… nah.

Thank you for this ARC!
I DNF’ed this book pretty early on. I’m more a slower burn girl, and the spice started super early which is just not for me.

Absolutely excruciating. It’s been a hot minute since I could say I hated a book, but I can with all honesty say I hated every single second I spent attempting to read this. This is a mercy dnf, because I don’t rate books I don’t finish, and I can’t imagine giving this more than 1 star.

Where to even start?

The writing. Almost unreadable. Quick question: does N. E. Davenport’s publisher hate her? Did every editor there up and quit? This reads like a first draft. Info-dumps and tell-y handholding galore. The book is so rambly and so allergic to paragraph breaks that I began skimming within the first couple chapters. The dialogue is also clunky and stilted and generally terrible. Don’t even get me started on the cringe-inducing smut.

The plot and worldbuilding? Standard romantasy fare. Nothing good, but also nothing unusually bad. The “fae” are your typical not-actually-fae. The magic is almost kind of interesting, but never quite commits to actually being interesting. The politics are simplistic. It’s fine.

The characters? Now, Kadeesha and the secondary characters are… a bit irritating, but whatever. But MALACHI? Repulsive. Possibly the worst male love interest I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading about. He is literally everything I hate about romantasy men, distilled and condensed and dialed up in intensity. I could not control the actual disgust on my face every time he spoke, or breathed, or existed on page. For the record: I do not inherently object to a sleazy, womanizing mmc. I think that can be a fun archetype, actually. But the KEY to executing this character in a fun way is the man has to be either 1) at least moderately charming/likable, or 2) kind of pathetic. You CANNOT give me a sleazy womanizing character who is also a hyper alpha male, macho, growling, swaggering, domineering dickhead. Malachi gave me the biggest ick of maybe any LI, ever. I literally don’t care how the story tries to redeem or develop him. I can’t read about him for another second. It’s torture.

I really enjoyed this book. I do feel it could've done with a little more world building/plot and less spice but it was still a fantastic read. The spice at times felt like it took away from the plot just because there was so much but if that's the read you are looking for than you will love this.
The writing was very good and the banter between mcs was absolute top tier. The mcs are enemies from rival kingdoms and are constantly planning on killing each other up until the last 20% of the book. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers and N.E. Davenport delivered with this book. I would definitely read again.

This was a highly enjoyable read, the plot was interesting, the premise had me hooked, and overall I just really enjoyed this book, it was a lot of fun, and left me thinking about it afterwards!

Thanks to net galley for the ARC read. Great book with a good plot and some good spice! It was nice to read a fantasy book that's not just all white people! I would definitely read more books by this author.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and I’m so happy I did.
Enemies to Lovers
Political intrigue
Shadow Daddy
Warrior Princess
Kadeesha is a warrior and she doesn’t cower.
Malachi is a brooding king who is out on the war path.
I love the push and pull between them like all enemy to lover stories have. There’s a good balance between war and love in this story. It’s also refreshing that all the characters are brown. I liked the writing and how easy it was to just dive in and picture being in these northern lands. This has quite the steamy scenes so if you’re not about it I’d recommend you skip that part. Overall I’d recommend this book to those who love a good romantasy.