I’ll admit, I had preconceived notions of how far court novels work before picking up this book, and I was thrown at the beginning. But as I tore through page after page, I began to fall absolutely in love with it.

We follow Kadeesha, a far princess of the Aether Kingdom as she form a pact to eliminate the High King with the Apollyon court’s king: the man who attacked her wedding ceremony. But slowly, it becomes much more than she bargained as tensions rise between her and the male who changed the course of everything.

Even when I was still wobbling about whether I liked it or not, I couldn’t deny what a fantastic story it was or the quality of the writing. And once it won me over, I think what I appreciated most was that the story felt like the right pacing from the get go through the end. I also loved how its characters are so human (despite the irony of such a statement) in the way the emotional story and conflict went.

Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough and can’t wait to buy a physical copy once it’s published!

Our Vicious Oaths was packed with action, political scheming/maneuvering and so much spice. This standalone was so fast paced and the spice we get from the very beginning is immaculate. The plot didn't slow down for even a second. Kadeesha is such a determined, stubborn and confident FMC that knows exactly what she wants. Malachi starts off as a powerful MMC/shadow daddy that eventually turns into a protective cinnamon roll for Kadeesha only and I'm sooo here for it. As they work together to take down their common enemy, their love story is beautiful.

All of that being said, there were some moments that pulled me out of the story such as slang like "nah" and the use of the term grilles, which is pretty modern, but those moments were few and far between. In my opinion, they weren't really enemies to lovers because the lovers became lovers very quickly. Rivals to lovers I could see, because she was brought as an ally to his court.

This wrapped up very nicely and would recommend if you're looking for a fast-paced romantasy standalone.

~I received this eARC free from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley, N.E. Davenport, and Avon and Harper Voyager. My opinions are my own and voluntarily given ~


I don't normally write things that could be a "spoiler" but I feel like I need to include a content warning because I haven't seen it widely talked about (very possible I overlooked it somewhere though!) so fair warning....



ONE CONTENT WARNING AHEAD:


There is a pregnancy trope for those who would like to know.

👑✨ The Wardens of Elsewhens by N.E. Davenport is an intoxicating blend of fantasy, vengeance, and slow-burn enemies-to-lovers heat that will leave you breathless.

Kadeesha is a warrior-princess you’ll instantly root for—torn between duty and desire, power and politics. When her one night of rebellion turns out to be with the vengeful king of a rival fae court (yes, it’s that delicious), everything spirals into a high-stakes game of alliances, betrayal, and forbidden attraction.

Expect:
🗡️ A fierce, sword-wielding heroine
🔥 Electric enemies-to-lovers tension
🦅 Winged serpent riders (!!)
👑 Court intrigue & vengeance plots
💔 Unbreakable fae bonds & impossible choices

This is the kind of romantasy that crackles with magic and chemistry. Malachi is brooding, brutal, and maddeningly irresistible—and his dynamic with Kadeesha is pure fire. Add in court betrayal, battle scenes, and a romance that tests their loyalties? You’ve got a must-read.

I absolutely love a good standalone fantasy because sometimes I really don’t want to read an entire series. And this DELIVERED. Good political intrigue, dual POV, shadow DADDY! This was so good and I loved it so much! Thank you so much for this arc

This book was a wild ride from start to finish, and I absolutely loved it! If you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers with a healthy dose of drama, then this is definitely one to pick up. What really hooked me was the strong FMC. She was a fighter, a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it. It was fascinating to see her tested as the weight of her choices and circumstances crashed down on her. The fact that she even considered an arranged marriage, despite clearly not wanting it, speaks volumes about her strength and sense of duty. I'm honestly glad it didn't work out, because where she ended up was perfect.

The MMC was equally compelling, and the author did a fantastic job weaving his family trauma into the story, especially its connection to the FMC. It created real conflict and made their relationship incredibly complex. The slow burn, the earned trust – it felt authentic and believable. I appreciate that the author didn't just magically hand them trust; they actually had to work for it, which made the HEA all the more satisfying.

Beyond the romance, the world-building was fantastic. The magic system was unique and captivating, adding another layer of depth to the story. And let's not forget the spice! This book definitely brings the heat. Overall, a thrilling and well-developed story with a strong female lead, compelling characters, and a satisfying HEA. Highly recommend!

Review: Our Vicious Oaths by N.E. Davenport
Our Vicious Oaths by N.E. Davenport is an absolute standout, a thrilling, immersive read that I can’t stop thinking about. If you’re craving a fantasy that blends high-stakes magic, dragons, a fierce female lead, and a swoon-worthy shadow-wielding king, this belongs at the top of your TBR.
This book delivers a perfect mix of beloved tropes: enemies to allies, forced proximity, a slow-burn romance (though let’s be real, the spice is on the page early), and even a political forced marriage. Add in an all-female dragon-riding warrior squad, elemental magic, and a villain so vile you’ll actively root for their downfall, and somehow, it never feels like too much. Every element is intentional, and the world-building is seamless.
Kadeesha, our main character, is the heart of the story. She's strong, loyal, and unwilling to compromise who she is, even when caught between duty and desire. Her convictions never waver, and watching her fight for her people and her truth is empowering. Then there’s Malachi, the brooding, deadly, drop-dead gorgeous king who oozes charisma and power. He’s arrogant, intense, and absolutely delivers on every front. The chemistry between them is electric, and the dynamic they share gives the story depth and fire.
The supporting cast is just as memorable, adding richness and emotion to the world. And if all of that isn’t enough to hook you, Kadeesha’s dragon is named Zahzah. Yes, it’s as epic as it sounds.
This book hits shelves October 28th, do yourself a favor and pre-order it or mark your calendar. Our Vicious Oaths is the kind of fantasy you’ll want to devour and then immediately talk about with everyone you know.

I finished Our Vicious Oaths by @nia.davenport this afternoon, and y’all, it’s phenomenal. Kadeesha is this great blend of formidable and empathetic and Malachi is possessive and protective and the shadow daddiest. The world-building and magic system were well done and easy to jump into and the stakes are established fast-fast, as is the spice. Really grateful to have gotten an ARC via @netgalley - add this to your TBR for October!

DNF'd at 60%.

I picked up this fae fantasy romance hoping for a scrumptious good time at best, and an enjoyable guilty pleasure at worst. Unfortunately, the writing did not work for me at all. While I enjoyed some of the early chemistry between the two leads, Kadeesha and Malachi, the two characters seemed to have only two modes of thought: thinking about wanting to sleep with each other, and thinking about wanting to kill basically anyone they came into contact with (including each other). Even a scene with Malachi and his closest confidents couldn't pass without him thinking about wanting to stab one of them. (Hyperbole, yes, but tiresome given that he had these thoughts every single scene.)

This was also full of gratuitous, over the top violence that just felt performative, there just to reiterate over and over how bad/badass Malachi and Kadeesha are. Our lead characters regularly murder and torture others in pursuit of their goals (one even punches a character in the chest and pulls out their still beating heart). I'm sure all this violence was there to prove the cutthroat nature of the fae courts and to showcase the morally grey nature of the characters, but there was so much of it it bordered on absurd.

At over 500 pages, OUR VICIOUS OATHS needed to have a good balance of spice and plot, and unfortunately, this just didn't engage me on a plot level. Give credit where credit is due, the spice scenes were well done and did a good job of showcasing attraction between two characters who delighted in being equally matched. But the rest of the story didn't hold my attention, and so I sadly had to DNF.

Incredibly fun read. Very spicy. If you're into a spicy romance with a MMC with a violent streak a mile long and a FMC who almost matches his violent fervor then this is the book for you.
I really liked the tale of these Fae kingdoms and the political infighting between all of them. There were some twists I saw coming but some I definitely didn't. Hello, wedding. I will say that it was a *push* to get through the first chapter. It was very much an info dump with some character building and plot. Which is not my favorite. I would have preferred if that info was woven into to several chapters rather than have such a front loaded book. I also would have liked if the FMC was a bit more worried about someone being (semi-spoiler about to happen) in charge of her kingdom while she was gone for a while? And how certain characters could remember things outside of a ward that was supposed to stop that? Did I miss those things being explained? Or... Why was that never explained?
However, I'm really glad I kept reading because the story was fun and the spice was excellent. And while I love a slow burn... I also love when some delightful spice shows up early and stays throughout the whole book. Especially if there is a strong ass FMC involved. I also loved the MMC's Aunt. Strong female departing some badass lessons. Like understanding your power so you can wield it effectively AND fairly. People in our world could learn from Nychelle.


What made my weirdo heart happy:

The sass from many of the main and side characters e.g.:
"You are all juvenile. Why was I cursed to be a part of this band of fuckery?" - Shionne
"Fuck off into the sun," -Kadeesha (I will be using this in my own life)

A love of books: He winked at her as he handed over the book. "I am a king of many talents."


Will I read more books by this author?: Yes.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?: Yes, if they like spicy books.


[I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.]

I really wanted to like this book. There was way too much smut for me. I wanted more world building and not just these are all elemental courts. Little to no background on feuds. The hate and bickering went on way too long and the conclusion was rushed.

I loved this book!! To the point where I actively had to tell multiple people who were not reading this book, what I was reading and what my reactions were. This book will give you everything from a cool magic system, wild political intrigue, tense plot points, and spice that makes you lose your breath a bit.

This book starts out strong and stays hard hitting an intense the whole time...this world is complex but there is very little world building. it's "this is Kadeesha's world, you'll get thrown into it and then say thank you". Knowing everything that I know now about Kadeesha, I just grew to appreciate the beginning even more as the story went on.

Malachi is brutal. He is morally black and honestly sees nothing wrong with it, and we love that about him.

I loved their chemistry, it was off-the-page fantastic. I was thinking about these two even when I wasn't reading the book.

What made this book so unique (to me) is that this was all done in a standalone novel. There was a LOT to fit in! And I loved it all!

overall: highly recommend
spice: open door

Holy hell this was a good book! I’m not a huge fan of romantasy. In my mind once you’ve read one romantasy you’ve read them all. How this book differs from the others that I have read is that I wasn’t bored by the plot. You have a badass FMC that kicks 🍑 and rides a dragon and you have an MMC that has a grill and controls shadows. There wasn’t one point in this book where I was bored!
I will say this book is VERY spicy. Some scenes had me clutching my pearls 🫣

Overall I loved this book! If you’re on the fence about getting into romantasy please give this book a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for sending this e-arc my way in exchange for an honest review.

This book!!!! I’m not a huge fantasy reader but this book was one of the choice few that grabbed my attention. I first heard about the book from the author who was promoting it. So I decided to check it out. And boy I’m glad I did!!! This book made it easy for me to use my imagination especially with the characters that look like me. This was my first book by this author and after this I am planning to go back and read her entire catalog!!!

Our Vicious Oaths was such a good read! Immediately pre-ordered the physical copy. It was packed with world-building, action, delicious spice, character development, and strong women. I loved the power dynamic between Kadeesha and Malachi and their evolution throughout the book. I was simultaneously kicking my feet and shaking my head in so many scenes. I loved that while their physical relationship is at the forefront of the plot for much of the book, it was balanced well with fae politics, battles, magic, and more! I also loved the references back to black culture like grilles and braids/hairstyles.

The only thing I would've changed is to have the character glossary at the front of the book by the map. I didn't even know it was hidden in the back until I was done!

I told myself I needed to start supporting more black authors and I'm SO grateful I had the chance to read this one. I will be recommending this one to all my romantasy reader friends!

First off - black fae? I’m here for it. And somehow Malachi’s got me liking grills, which I didn’t think was possible. N.E. writes some of the best enemies to lovers. I appreciate that she didn’t try to frame it as love at first sight because it wasn’t - they were hate fkin to be sure. I wish there were a few soft moments between Malachi and Kadeesha. You can see their respect for each other growing, but it didn’t really feel like the romance between them blossomed as much as I hoped.There was a lot of smut (and it was hot) but I wish some of those were replaced with more scenes that moved the plot or characters forward. A lot of the time they spent rehashing the same internal debates could have been used to develop the relationships more. And between the Nkita and Cadre, there were so many characters that I think we really needed some extra time with them. When someone got hurt or died, it really didn’t have any effect on me because I didn’t know them to begin with. If I’m gonna read over 500 pages, I wanna feel something (other than horny).

Our Vicious Oaths is written in third person POV.

It is a shadow daddy, enemies to lovers, playboy, fae romance. In this we have a warrior princess, Kadeesha, and our morally gray hero. The court politics are next level and the revenge plot is one that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you love touch her and die, this is the book for you. Malachi doesn't leave any room for negotiations.

The spice in this one is top tier. Loved every minute of it!

This is now officially one of my top favorite Romantasy books!!! It may not be for everyone but I LOVED it!

Normally world building bores me… but this world building I ate it up! I loved diving into this world and learning the magic system. It was detailed enough that I could visualize a perfect image of their realm!

This is a true enemies to lovers! I’m talking Kadeesha was bloodthirsty! I kept wondering if this was even a romance at all! Ha!

Kadeesha is a bad mamma jamma! Loved how fierce she was! She demanded respect and didn’t take anyone’s crap not even an enemy king.

The romance hit and it hit strong when it did! I was kicking my feet and blushing! I was also yelling at them for not realizing sooner that they were clearly made for each other!

All in all, I could not put this book down… I devoured it! Loved every bit of it and will be buying a book trophy when it releases… matter of fact let me go preorder it now!

Grateful to have gotten an arc to this! It was a much anticipated read for me and it did not disappoint!

Did I stay up late reading Our Vicious Oaths by @nia.davenport before work? Yes. How many did times did I re-read certain scenes? Yes. Don’t judge me lol. Thank you so much to Nia Davenport and NetGalley for this early read!

I was tired of everyone treating my girl Kadeesha like she wasn’t about that life. & when Kadeesha stood on business, I kept hearing Alter Ego by Doechii lol. Malachi is that dude, grill & all! My man my man my man! & when he did what he did in front of his kingdom..

Now I want a shadow daddy..

➳ 3 ★

It’s taken me a few days to figure out what to write for this review because I’ve been quite conflicted. The consensus is out though: it’s a solid 3. It was fun banter at times with some good spicy scenes, but too much political maneuvering for my taste.

For the things I liked:

1. I love the diversity of the characters, but it seemed like an overload of characters for a standalone book. I’ll take more characters any day though
2. The world building is pretty cool and the fantasy aspect was definitely fun.
3. Malachiiiii. That’s all.

For the things I did not like:

1. I’m not super picky about historical accuracy in any aspect, I can let things go, but the modern language/slang mixed with the archaic started to irk me (e.g. “Nah”). Additionally, the use of “grilles” in the fae attire was definitely unique, but seemed out of place (although I know a lot of people would probably like this).
2. Overuse of commas for lengthy sentences, run on sentences, repetitive words in the same sentence.
3. A lot of court drama and politics vs action. Book felt hard to read at times. It would be intense for spicy scenes and a few fight scenes, and then reallyyyyy slow down and at multiple points I debated DNFing.
4. I hate that the last big conflict/battle took barely 2 chapters. It was so rushed compared to the rest of the book that seemed like it dragged on for unnecessary filler that didn’t add much to any of the characters and especially not to the MCs relationship, which seems more lustful than loving.

A standalone book with a shadow daddy, dragons and powerful women… what more could I ask for. I truly loved this book it was well written and had a story like that continued to progress and continued to build the suspension all while combining some of my most favorite tropes!