About the Book

Book: Oathbound

Author: Victoria McCombs

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release date: February 15, 2022

Beware the waters. The dangerous deep brings ruin to all.

Emme has spent her life avoiding anything to do with pirates. But the fates are cruel, and now a hidden sickness leads her to partner with pirates for the one thing that can save her—a cure on an island none are certain exists.

The pirate captain’s secrets are darker than the deep and threaten to kill them all. His obligations are tinged with betrayal, for his oathbind must be fulfilled. To ignore it is to invite peril of unimaginable destruction.

As the adventure unfolds, the sea takes more than she expects and the sea gives more than he wants.

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Review:

A swashbuckling tale of family, secrets and sacrifice on the high seas.

Emme never wanted to go to sea until it was her only chance for survival. But now that it is her only chance she must face her heritage and her fears.

A fast paced adventure, with likable characters, and an engaging plot. I liked how the plot kept moving, with great interaction throughout that helped keep it from feeling episodic. Arn is caught in an impossibly difficult situation and finding the treasure is his only hope of freeing himself, but will it cost him the loyalty of his crew?

Overall, this was an excellent first installment in a new swashbuckling series, high in adventure, with fantasy elements, in a coming of age tale. It will be exciting to see where this series goes.

Recommended Audience: Older teens.

*Mentions of the sea god, no Christian content that I can recall.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

About the Author

Victoria McCombs is the author of The Storyteller’s Series from Parliament House Press, and Oathbound. She writes young adult fantasy and adores stories about treacherous pirates and traitorous princes. Her favorite things include peppermint hot chocolate, peanut butter ice cream, game nights with family, and Jesus. She has her mom to thank for allowing so many medieval weapons inside the house as she was growing up, which curated her love for that time period. She is a mom of three little boys and a wife to the handsomest accountant there is. Together they live in Omaha, Nebraska.

More from Victoria

Oathbound was my quarantine book. I remember getting the idea and thinking “I don’t know of any other pirate books in the YA fantasy genre.” Of course, after that, I saw them everywhere, and several amazing ones have come out since. But theses broken pirates had grabbed my attention and I couldn’t let go.

One aspect of my book makes it unique, and that comes in our main character. My characters are a reflection of me, but none more so than Emme. We see early on that she is sick, and while the disease is made up for the book, it’s mirrored exactly by the disease that runs in my family called ataxia. This is a disease that impairs every part of life before it ends it too soon. I’ve never opened those emotions so fully to put them on a page, but Emme and I were going through this together. While I’m lucky not to have symptoms yet (and the chance to never have to go through it), this disability is something I understand deeply, and I’m honored to bring it to life on the page to show the strength that can lie within even when our bodies fail us.

I hope you all enjoy Oathbound!