Oaths of Legacy

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I cannot express just how I was excited to receive an early version of this book. While I hated Bonds of Brass' ending and the twist there, I was excited and hopeful that Oaths of Legacy would take steps to remedy that.

And it did... partially.

I'd love to say the story grabbed that twist and twisted it further and created something amazing but it didn't. It did almost exactly what I predicted last year after finishing Bonds of Brass. But hey! That's fine. I don't mind predictable.

There are two things about Oaths of Legacy that I disliked. The first is feeble and weak while the other is a major gripe that made me stop reading for almost a month.

Nothing happens. The story just continue but from start to finish, very little happens. There's so much talking amongst seasoned military command making the stupidest choices imaginable. Gal is the prisoner and POV here yet he's just allowed to wander around. I get why narratively and if I try very hard my suspension of disbelief can pretend everybody drank Amnesia Water (TM) and forgot their years of training. Also the attempts at intrigue and “politics” fall flat. I much prefer the spectacularly written space battles. This has been the weaker negative.

What I truly hated about Oaths of Legacy was Wen. I liked Wen in Bonds of Brass. She was a fine, fun character. A strong woman with streetsmarts. You know how I mentioned this book is from Gal's POV? It should have been from Wen's! She goes through a wince-worthy character change to become THE FLAME KNIGHT completely ‘off-screen'. Everybody is just so impressed with her and she survives the most ludicrous situations. Even when the narrative is begging for her to make some sort of sacrifice for her utter stupidity, there are no consequences. This lead me to think of her as Wen Sue. If she were the POV for Oaths of Legacy, I think it'd get 4 stars from me. Wen is a fantastic character ruined by the focus being Gal's story where very little happens (see the previous paragraph).

The ending was actually quite good. It was unexpected and while it was not at all foreshadowed, it was cool. It could have been longer. The whole book should have been to be honest. 29 chapters (+ Epilogue) as opposed to Bonds of Brass' 31. For a second book in a trilogy I'd expect at least a couple of chapters more.

I'd love to give it 4 stars but I can't. There's just too much that I disliked to warrant that. I hope Book 3 will give this trilogy a proper conclusion at which point I might change my rating for the first two books.