that reckless oath we made

This book gets one of my rare 5 stars.

I highly recommend you read this book!

I loved this book. I read it in about 1.5 days and couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t wait to finish it, and I never wanted it to end. I loved this book just a little bit less than All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, but it’s a close second. This author is quickly becoming one of my favorites. She has the ability to create characters and write their truths, even when you’d rather they’d develop into altruistic people that do the right things. It’s hard to read sometimes, but it’s right.

Zee is a hot mess. She’s almost 6 feet tall, has bright red frizzy hair, and a busted hip. Her family is also a hot mess. Her beautiful sister is too trusting, her 5 year old nephew and housebound hoarder mother need to be cared for, and Zee barely makes ends meet by supplementing her income selling and transporting marijuana. The last thing she needs is her “stalker” Gentry following her around.

Zee may not be a lady or a princess, but Gentry is a true knight, complete with a sword, armor and a code of honor. Gentry is shy and autistic. Two years ago the voices he hears in his head told him to be Zee’s champion, and though he’s barely spoken to her since they first met, he’s watched and waited to come to her aid.

When Zee’s family faces a serious crisis, Gentry is there to help. Although it’s the last thing she ever expected, Zee finds herself relying on Gentry to help her get through it. As the crisis comes to a head, Gentry and Zee get closer than either ever expected, and both their lives change forever.

Some people will have trouble with the way Gentry speaks. (He speaks in Middle English throughout the book.) Give it time. It may be annoying at first, but be patient and let the story unfold. It will make sense and stop annoying you. Seriously. Trust me. 🙂

Like her previous work, the author writes real characters with real flaws. Sometimes in life people surprise you and act out of character, but usually they don’t. The author embraces that, and I love her for it. Sometimes we read books to see a character change, “see the light”, and get that happy ending. But not all of our books need that. So while I wanted some of the characters to make different choices, it was right that they didn’t. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the book’s ending. I did. 🙂

As I said before, I loved this book. Even though the overall concept is tried and true, the way it’s done is completely original. I cannot recommend this book enough. Just read it already!!

I was privileged and honored to receive a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.