This blog includes a detailed review of Oathbound. I have done my best to keep it spoiler light. I do not reveal any big moments or anything substantial, but I do talk about themes in the story. If you prefer not to read that, skip to the section titled: GIVEAWAY.

For centuries now, white supremacy has been working tirelessly against the unity, culture and community that Black people have built for ourselves. They beat us down, strip us of our rights, refuse to acknowledge our humanity, and treat us like we are less capable and worthy. And there is a very specific part of that experience that I don’t see represented in media often. And that is the experience of being forced into rooms where we are isolated and alone and then being asked to outperform everyone and accept rejection and belittlement as our only reward.

While white supremacy has never been successful of stripping Black people of our community and culture, there are many many Black people who are put in situations where our survival and ability to thrive is dependent upon us competing in rooms where we are, and will always be, alone. 

That is Bree’s story. She is not a pick me. She wasn’t strolling through campus avoiding Black boys left and right in search of her ivory knight. She is a proud Black girl who loves her community but ends up in a very confusing situation when she stumbles across a secret society of magical knights who seem to be connected to a mysterious figure she associates with the death of her mother. She could ignore them and go back to minding her very Black business. But that would mean leaving behind a mystery about her mother that would likely haunt her for the rest of her life. 

She wasn’t searching for these people. She wasn’t even interested in knowing them. She was after justice. And as often happens to Black people (especially Black women) in the fight for justice, there ends up being a long line of people she is forced to fight for—and against—before she can get to the justice she is after for herself. 

This story moved me because it spoke to a very specific reality that I relate to. Not the lived experience of a Black woman, of course. But the experience of being asked to step into a room that wasn’t built for me, knowing I will have to outperform and outsmart every person in the room in order for me to get any meaningful access, while simultaneously being aware that any access I do get will be short-lived and, well... never real to begin with. 

At the start of Oathbound, Bree is not only a Black girl fighting for survival in a very white space, but their King. Only six months have passed and yet she has had to earn the right to be present only to find out that she was actually born to be their leader (once again through trauma and suffering), only to then be rejected, abused, and punished for a position she was forced into through their own failure to see the humanity of her community. And instead of continuing to fight, she has chosen to abandon any responsibility she has to the people who are abusing her (because yes, that is a standard being set for her), so that she can, for once, not be a pawn in a game that will clearly never be about her. 

That’s where this story starts. And while I am not going to share any details about where it ends up, I am going to say this:

Oathboaund is the first book in the series where I truly feel that Bree has started the process of really figuring out who she is, what she wants and what is even possible for her now that she is done waiting for permission to be exceptional. She has spent the last six months of her life pushing against racist barriers, demanding access to something that was built to exclude her. And knowing that it belongs to her by birthright hasn’t, and won’t, change a thing has forced her to consider just how devastating her power could be for her… or for everyone else. 

I loved seeing this version of her.

As you know from the ending of Bloodmarked, Oathbound starts with Bree completely seperated from the Order. In anger—and desperation—she fled with the Shadow King. And now we are watching her navigate an entirely different, and yet eerily similar, type of relationship. Similar because, like the Order, the only part of Bree that the shadow king is interested in is her power. And yet different because, unlike The Order, he doesn’t bother to lie to her about that. For the first time since we joined Bree’s journey, she knows exactly where she stands and what is expected of her. Which allows her to do something she never had the opportunity to do in the Order… make decisions with all of the information. 

This was a dynamic of this story that I had to really sit with. The Order are supposed to be the heroes of the world. It is their job to beat back the darkness and keep demons from overwhelming mankind. In fact, their mandate is so important that from the very beginning of Legendborn, despite all of their problems, we—the readers—are conditioned to root for their success. We want them to grow and change and become better, of course! Their racism is blatant. But where we often root to just throw these systems away, the Order has us believing that reform is the best option because, hey, we all die if they fall. Right? Yet here we are, just two books later, and we are having to ask ourselves why Bree—their King—somehow feels safer with their mortal enemy. 

That is a major theme for me in this book. Yes, obviously there is a story about demons and knights of the round table happening. We have Merlin shenanigans and the council acting up again. All of the things you expected going into this book. But for me, what stood out the most was the way Tracy is forcing us—the readers—to wrestle with a world where the lines between right and wrong, good and evil are being blurred and we have no choice but to ask ourselves how to reconcile conflicting truths and move forward without real answers. 

Can there be a good guy in a story where fighting for humanity and abusing Black women go hand in hand?

What is good and evil when the demons are honest and the knights of the round table are playing games in the dark?

Is power even real if being at the very top still doesn’t save you from being thrown away?

How can we say we are fighting to save the world if we are leaving some people behind to die in the process?

How can you call yourself qualified to champion humanity when you can't even manage to see everyone's humanity?

There is so much that this book is wrestling with and I have to say, I AM HERE FOR IT. 

I don’t want to dive into too much more because I really do want to keep this review spoiler light. But here are a few of my takeaways. 

Oathbound takes everything that has been happening in Legendborn and Bloodmarked and twists it on its head. This has always been a story about a Black girl fighting to find her place. But in this book, it becomes a story about a Black girl who is done letting anyone else decide where that place is. It is about a Black girl who is done pretending she isn’t angry. A Black girl who is going to get what she is owed, even if it means taking what belongs to her away from everyone else. This book gives us a Bree who is fully aware of where she doesn’t belong as she fights to understand just how much it will cost to get somewhere better. 

And while this book did feel like a third book, in the sense that it largely existed to provide depth to some of the story’s characters and relationships so that we are ready for the next installment, I still found plenty to wrestle with and enjoy. The book has large conversations about the cost of Blackness, how far white supremacy will go to retain its power, and the relationship between Black culture/heritage and the colonizing power of whiteness, and the value of protecting and fighting for Black women. Some of those conversations happen like a subtle and beautiful whisper. And some happen with a heavy-handed blow. But they all matter. And for me, they all delivered. There were so many moments in this book where I watched characters set aside “bigger conversations” in order to stop and say, “What about Black women?”

In fact, I felt that was a huge theme in this story. As Black people, we are often humbled and diminished by people who tell us that what we are fighting for is “bigger than ourselves”. And for Bree, while she is capable of hearing that and DOES live that out, in Oathbound, every time those words even try to find their way to her ear, she immediately digs her heals in and shouts back, “Not anymore it isn’t.”

And I can’t help but agree with her. Historically, it has always been Black woman who have had to sit back and deal with being diminished for the sake of everyone’s progress. And for Bree, she’s not gonna have it. If today’s fight has to be moved to tomorrow so she can fight to make sure Black women get to be a part of it, she’s gonna do it. And I’m just… I’m ok with that. Ya know?

Anyway, there are my thoughts. There are parts of Oathbound I loved, parts I struggled to read (because of the heaviness of the content) and parts that I really wanted more from. But ultimately, this was a book that helped me see Bree clearer. And I love that for me. I can’t wait for the fourth book (and then the fifth, because stop lying, Tracy!). I do have much more to say and if you all WANT more, let me know.

Now, for what you came for!

GIVEAWAY

Here is what you need to know:

• Two winners will receive a signed copy of Oathbound

• To be eligible for this giveaway, you must be subscribed to this Bindery community (All tiers are eligible, including the FREE tier) and living in the United States

• To enter, drop a comment letting me know your favorite character in the Legendborn series (and why if you want to)

• For an extra entry, upgrade or subscribe at the $5 tier or higher

• I will be drawing both winners at random this upcoming Monday, March 31st and will contact the winner via email to coordinate delivery

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