Oathbound — Books, Beauty, & Buys

By: Tracy Deonn
Published Year: 2025
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 656

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them...or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.

First Impressions

I have been waiting 2 years for this book to come out! I loved the first two books and was so excited for this one to come out. I love the cover within the collection of the series, even if they aren’t fully my style.

What I thought

This book was so good but so long. If you haven’t read the other two books and want to (which I highly recommend) this is your warning that there will be spoilers in my review.

Bree has gone off with the Shadow King to grow her powers. Selwyn has descended into Demonia and was sent to his mom. Nick has come just come back and lost both of his closest friends. This part of the story follows Bree as she works with the Shadow King and follows Nick as he goes on a quest to destroy the Morgaines while also hunting for Bree and Sel.

There was so much that happened in this book. It kind of felt like three stories put into one book so that this series didn’t become a 10 book series. The first part follows Bree as she starts her training with the Shadow King to harness her powers. The second part then jumps to Nick asking for a quest and starting this quest but also follows Sel’s mom Natasia while she tries to help Sel gain control of his demonia. Then part 3 switches back to Bree and part 4 is kind of all of the stories come together.

Without giving much away, I think part 3 was my favorite part. I do think part two and even a little part of part 3 could’ve been cut down. There was a lot that happened but also sometimes nothing? I read a review saying that this book kind of had middle child syndrome and I’d agree with that. I think it tried too hard at times but I still love this world and the characters.