I am absolutely obsessed with this book. It was so much fun! I am so impressed with the depth of world building and character development that Davenport managed to fit into this standalone novel.

This story had all the great elements of an enemies-to-lovers romantasy while still feeling very unique.The chemistry between Kadeesha and Malachi was so good! This book is definitely spicy but not at the expense of the story. It felt very well balanced. Kadeesha's struggles to overcome the misogyny of the Southern fae culture to be the leader and warrior she knew she could be were well done and relatable.

I would highly recommend this book to all lovers of romantasy!

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Voyager, and N.E. Davenport for the ARC!

My favorite kind of FMC is the kind who doesn’t need you and will remind you of that. The kind who isn’t going to let the MMC handle her, but rather handle HIM. The kind with opinions and feelings that aren’t dainty, cute, and agreeable all the time.
Kadeesha is all of those things and more 💖

I’m not normally a standalone girly, but Our Vicious Oaths packs so much into it that I didn’t feel lacking when I finished it. The world building hits hard from page one, the characters feel fleshed out and multidimensional.

This book has so many things I absolutely love:
- dual pov
- a fiercely strong fmc that can stand on her own BEFORE the mmc comes into the picture
- animal companions 💖
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity

I’d happily read another five books about these two 💕🤭

Thank you to N.E. Davenport, NetGalley, and HarperCollins for allowing me early access to this great story.

Aether Princess Kadeesha is a formidable opponent to equally formidable King Malachizrien. Both in a kingdom long war they play their hands well and wield their power even better.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Fast burn, Dual POV, Magic

The start of this book was a bit slow for me. Most of chapter one did not endear me to the story however by the end of the chapter and into the rest of the book I was captivated by Kadeesha and her fierceness, but also her duty and her power. She was made to be a queen though her father and her kingdom was unaware.

Malachizrien is a King with a big vendetta and a long kill list. He is smart and ruthless. That often means he is a man who knows his way around a bedroom chamber. Targeting Kadeesha has been a ploy from the start but it quickly morphed into something else altogether. Something that burned brighter than the sun.

I was enrapt with this story and devoured it as the dark shadows of Malachi would have enjoyed.

I'm getting a physical arc of this one, which is my preference, so I'll be reviewing it elsewhere when I finish reading!

Thank you, N.E. Davenport, Avon and Harper Voyager & NetGalley for an advanced copy 💕

If you enjoy a fast paced, spicy fae romantasy then you will love this book. BONUS POINTS *feral shadow daddy*

Extra bonus points: funny & lovable side characters, yes please!

Kadeesha (FMC) is a complete bad-ass and puts up with nothing. Her quick wit and strength will have you at awe.

Malachi (MMC) is vicious, feral and unforgiving. But he sure knows how to worship when needed.

The two together 🔥

Overall, I rate this book 3.5 stars. While I found it enjoyable and engaging, it did not offer anything new to the fae romantasy book world. Also, given that it was a standalone novel, the pacing felt somewhat rushed. Regardless, my positive experience with the book prompted me to round up to 4 ⭐️

okay I actually finished the first read of this book maybe 2 days after I got it - because I couldn't stop reading it. and then I went back and read slower one more time. I was fortunate enough to be able to have an ARC, so I'm going to say what I need to say and try to avoid spoilers.

This is a book that had me feeling a lot of types of ways. I felt frustrated on Kadeesha's behalf as all of the cough MEN cough do what men in power tend to do - diminish powerful and capable women. Kadeesha is the perfect example of a strong FMC who really fought to get somewhere and was ultimately dismissed by some of the people who should have been in her corner. Malachi on the other hand GOOD LORTTTT I cannot get enough of him. I was feeling him for SURE and how their enemies story went. SHEESH. But he's also a complex yet not overly complex MMC that you really root for after a while. The plot moves at a great pace, it was never so quick I wished there had been more time spent and it was never so slow I was bored. The other characters, especially the parents, are not one dimensional and they add a lot of value to how you understand Kadeesha and Malachi, as well as their motivation. Overall if you love romance, fantasy, action, badass characters, good writing - you will like this one! One last note. There is something so satisfying in reading pieces of Black culture in a fantasy world; it's like being seen and knowing that we exist throughout every world not just this one. It's pretty cool.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book!

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 stars

Thoughts on the book:

I picked up this book pretty much solely because I enjoyed N. E. Davenport's "The Blood Trials". So I went into this book not even reading the summary. Welp, I did not expect this to be as spicy as it is. If you don't like spice in your books, I would maybe avoid this. Sex is an important part of this story and there are pageeeeees of explicit sex scenes. You could skip those scenes, but it adds to the dynamic of the main couple. So... Do with that information what you will.

Anyways, the plot itself is very good. I loved this story, especially given the fact that it is a stand alone romantasy. (How often do you find stand alone fantasy novels these days??!?!?! It's so rare.) The world isn't hard to understand (it's very familiar) and everything wraps up well at the end. I think the author does a great job with world building, relationship building, and character development. And yes, while there are a lot of sex scenes, I feel like it makes sense to the story. I do wish that there was a map included in the arc, but totally understand that it probably isn't ready yet! I did get a little confused on where certain groups of people came from, but not super important to the story. The pacing is wonderful (though I definitely skipped a few sex scenes because it got a little repetitive). Everything came together at the right moment, whether it be the relationships between people, the prophecy, etc.

Overall, I loved this book and can't wait to see what else this author writes!

okay i had a fun time reading this!! i will say, a map and glossary would be so nice in the final copy. i found myself a bit confused, as with any new and intricate fantasy world. but once i found my bearings i was locked in. the spice? the BANTER? please. it was top tier. i cant wait to go back and reread this so i can annotate. thank you netgalley for the arc!!!

4.5⭐️

Enemies to lovers where they love to bang but also “hate” each other? Yes.
A man who worship’s his lady? Yes.
Side characters who tell the MC’s off when they’re being stupidest? YES! I feel like this doesn’t happen nearly enough in books, specially in fantasies, so I was happy when the side characters didn’t necessarily go the MC’s way.

Ngl, when I first started it, I didn’t think that the writing would have been for me but it grew on me pretty quickly and I ended up enjoying the writing quite well. The plot/storyline was engaging, I enjoyed the characters and overall this book had me hooked from day 1.

Even now, I know that I’ll have a hard time not thinking about Malachizrien and Kadeesha.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper voyager and the author for the ARC. Now I want to read N.E Davenport’s previous work

I can’t emphasize enough how much I find a great plot *or* a great shadow daddy. But I seldom find a great plot *AND* a great shadow daddy. Wonderful world building, really fantastic depth to side characters. Definitely will be reading again!

The world building in this book is phenomenal (there’s no map included) but the way things were described and paced made me forget there wasn’t a map to referenced to. The pacing of the story flowed nicely and normally I have a hard time with romantasy books because of how the pacing is.

The relationship between Kadeesha and Malachi gave a mixture of tension, passion, and yearning. It gave enemies to lovers and it was a little fast pace. There were some spicy moments in the book so please keep that in mind!

Thank you to Avon and Harper voyager and NetGalley for this arc!!

Well, hello romantasy era for me is back! This is such a fun little spicy romantasy with a shadow daddy.. and we all love us a shadow daddy…. The spice is there but this book is more than spice. I really enjoyed the story!

ᯓ★Rating-
5/5 Stars

♡Tropes♡-
🪻Enemies To Lovers
🖤Touch Her and Die
🪻Fast Burn
🖤Strong and Bad A** Fmc
🪻Dual POV

𓂃🖊Notes and Highlights-

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･”’You. Are. Mine. Kadeesha.’...’ And I am yours’”°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

💭 Thoughts-
This book was actually so good! It instantly drew me in from the get-go and the mmc was definitely giving shadow daddy vibes and just was a shadow daddy which like yes please. I loved the world building and the character development we get in it, and how we saw all the characters slowly learn to trust each other more and more. I also haven’t read many standalone fantasy books and usually when I do I don’t like them as much because I’m left thinking this should be a series, or I want more of this or that, but I didn’t feel that with this one at all! I thought it was pretty perfect and checked all the boxes you want and need in a good fantasy book and just a fantasy standalone book in general!

Now Playing:

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(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

I needed this to get me back in my romantasy era. This was such a well developed story and was so easy to follow. The spice was there and while it was prevalent, I didn't feel like it took anything away from the plot, in fact I think it was perfectly peppered into the storyline. The characters were so well developed and I for one, am glad to see a fantasy standalone as captivating as this was.

What a spicy fun romantasy! You get sucked into the world building very quickly in this debut novel. The pacing was decent throughout the books. I could definitely see this being a series instead of just a standalone. Thank you to Netgalley for this e-arc!

If you are a fantasy romance reader, you know how difficult it is to find an incredibly well-written STAND ALONE book with the right balance of political intrigue, strong FMC, world-building, and character growth. And by difficult, I mean impossible.

Thank you to N.E. Davenport, NetGalley, and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this phenomenal book!

This book is everything I could possibly want in a stand-alone fantasy romance and in under 600 pages. After following the author on Instagram, I was stoked by the opportunity to read fantasy by a Black author that takes place in a world without white folx. And Davenport did not disappoint.

Kadeesha - incredibly strong FMC, mind-linked to her kongamato (are these basically pteradactyls? https://www.genesispark.com/exhibits/evidence/cryptozoological/pterosaurs/kongamato/), knows what she wants and takes it. Has a found family in her Nkita sisters from all classes/castes.

Malachizrien - incredibly powerful, arrogant, morally gray MMC hell-bent on revenge and strategically using people to get what he wants. SHADOW DADDY.

Spice was 5/5 for me - comes into play often throughout the book but never feels forced. Other reviewers have mentioned that the 'smut scenes' didn't add to character development or plot but I wholeheartedly disagree. And it's kind of refreshing to see two people use each other to meet physical needs and the relationship develop more slowly - this seems more authentic to me than love at first sight.

Dual POV - couldn't have lived without it. You really get insight into how both characters are thinking, feeling, growing, resolving inner and outer turmoil.

I am probably going to re-read this book very soon.

Thank you to Harper Collins, Avon and NetGalley for this great arc! I really enjoyed this enemies to loved fantasy.

This novel is beautifully written and immersive. I felt the deep connection between Malachi and Kadeesha. I loved the story and how the characters grew to trust each other. The smut added depth and love to the story.

The world building was expansive and well thought out for a standalone novel. I know this was an early copy, but a map would have made the journey easier to visualize for me.

I loved the queer representation and the strong black characters. Kadeesha’s Nkita were stand outs for me.

I will definitely be recommending this book.

This book.... right here. Yall. I've been hype for this since I got a little teaser over on threads... and it absolutely did not disappointed.... Sexy Faes, Girls, THE THRONE SCENE!??? You don't even understand. This book was amazing and Nia outdid herself once again. The characters are amazing, the world building is amazing and this is a top yearly read for me and the year isn't even halfway over!

This is how you write an enemies-to-lovers story in a fantasy book. I want heat and harm, lust and love, chess and checkers—and this author delivered. They did an amazing job conveying all of the above. I especially enjoyed the battle scenes, the Black cast, and the found family each main character has. This book was brilliant, phenomenal, and every other adjective that conveys the same. I would give it infinite stars if I could.

Thank you Avon Harper & NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This is a sexy, fantastic novel that I can’t stop thinking about. N.E. Davenport approaches fae in a refreshingly funny wicked and familiar way that a lot of these romantasy books have just been failing at. I love this book, I would give it six stars if I could.