The Reckless Oath We Made

3.5/5 Stars

First off, I RACED to snag this as my Book of the Month once I saw that the author is Bryn Greenwood- author of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, which I adored. Seriously, it's one of my top reads of 2019 thus far. However, I wasn't as big of a fan of The Reckless Oath We Made. The synopsis on the book cover (it is different than the one Goodreads lists) does not give the reader an accurate idea of what the book is about, so I honestly went into this story with a skewed expectation. For example, I was unaware that Gentry is autistic until we're introduced to his family during the story.

Regardless, this is definitely a “modern-day fairytale” so-to-speak. Gentry is called upon to be Lady Zorzha's champion, as he is a knight - equipped with armor and jousting matches. Upon learning that Zee's sister LaReigne has been kidnapped, Gentry comes to Zee's aide and makes an oath that he will protect her as her champion. Cue the involvement of Zee's ex-con uncle who connects with his ties to the KKK to assist Zee in finding - and rescuing - her sister. Gentry, of course, accompanies Zee on her journey.

A few things stuck out to me, then stuck with me as I read. For starters, we can absolutely not ignore Gentry's dialect. His sentences are crafted as “My lady. If thou wilt allow me to help thee,” all throughout the book. It is quite difficult to adjust to, and I skimmed through some of Gentry's POV chapters because the dialect was really not jiving with me. But, as the book continued on I grew more and more accustomed to his speak and it became a bit easier to figure out what was going on (there are some key things that the reader uncovers through Gentry's POV that I skimmed over, and ultimately, missed until a following chapter). However, I give Greenwood a hell of a lot of credit for writing full chapters in that f'ing dialect. Incredible. In addition to the dialect struggle, I felt that some of the story was breezed over. Not to spoil anything, but after the trip Zee & Gentry take to Missouri, the remainder of the story just skims over some of the conflicts that built up over the first 300 pages. It felt somewhat inconclusive, and I wish there was more context provided.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you're into fantasy of sorts and a twisty-bit of romance. However, be far-warned that the dialect is difficult to wrap your head around, especially right off the bat.