A Deadly Vow

The Fate of Vengeance, Book 1

By: J.D. Ronan

Narrated by: Christian Leatherman, Chloe Ryan

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Sabine Azterrin longed for death.

Used as a pawn in her father's war, Sabine spent her life captive to the King of Novear, her will commanded by a siphoning crystal. When she wakes up in the hands of her enemy, Sabine realizes her father committed the ultimate betrayal: a ritual bonding her magic to the Prince of the Solstice Kingdom. When the assassination fails, Keahi promises Sabine the one thing she will live for—revenge.

Keahi Aldeer was an instrument of war.

Forged into a weapon by his father, the General of Solstice sacrifices his blood, honor, and fate for the good of his kingdom. When the King of Novear, destroyer of the Veil of Seven, threatens to invade Solstice's territory, Keahi falls directly into his trap. He fears the magic in his veins will no longer be enough.

Fate had other plans...

Bonded to the daughter of his enemy's kingdom, Keahi proposes an unexpected alliance: a marriage to save them both. But when lies spiral out of control, holy matrimony isn't the only thing Keahi is lying about.

A Deadly Vow is a star-crossed debut from J.D. Ronan—the beginning of a dark and poetic high fantasy series burning with romanticism, suspense, and antihero anthems.

©2022 J.D. Ronan (P)2024 Podium Audio

incredible debut, I need the next one asap!

This book had it all- slow burn romance, action, fantasy politics, an interesting magic system, and Jeremy (iykyk) 🐸! The narrators did a fantastic job embodying the characters, I love dual narrators. and that ending WOW I need more!

weak story, great narration

what lacked in plot, the narration did the best they could with what they had

One of my favorite adult fantasy romances in a WHILE

Oh boy what can I say about this book, this might be shaping up to be one of my favorite dark fantasy series, period. AND WHY IS IT WHEN I LOVE A BOOK I CANNOT FORM THE SENTENCES TO EXPRESS MY LOVE FOR IT.

We’ve got A LOT of things going for this book

- elemental magic
- royalty
- political intrigue
- A CROCK POT ON LOW FOR 8 HOURS LEVEL OF SLOW BURN, (like I went feral over eye contact)
- angst
- the mutual pining that is oh so delicious due to the dual POV
- excellent banter
- idiots also liars in love
- enemies to lovers (you know the kind that might want to kill each other because they are prince and princess of enemy kingdoms)
- a forced marriage of convenience, also magically bound 👀
- an amazing set of side characters (DRAKKON I LOVE YOU)
- revenge plot (I support women’s rights, but more importantly I support women’s wrongs)
- “MY WIFE”
- Queer Rep

This book is written so beautifully I swear I have so many lines highlighted just because they are so pretty. Every time I think about this book, and remember that it’s a debut IM SHOOK.

In the end you’ve got a woman who wished for death, learn to want to live; and a man who was created to be a weapon, use his power for himself.

Sabine and Keahi are equals, they are opposite sides of the same coin. Their dynamic with each other is both adorable and frustrating (in a good way) because we as the reader know what’s in their mind, and what exactly they are keeping from each other. It makes for a very entertaining read, but you just wanna lock them in a room with fireball like whiskey so that they can just talk to each other.

There are so many scenes that I love, each of these scenes invoke a different emotion. This book made me feel so many things, I laughed, cried, giggled, you know the works.

This is an amazing introduction to the world, the characters, the story, the magic, everything. I cannot wait to read more of this series and I will be reading anything and everything this author writes.

Slow burn

I’ve now listening to this twice. I can’t wait for the second book! The plot is great and the actors did a fabulous job.

A dark fantasy read with an excellent voiceover performance

The story was engaging from the start, but about halfway through the themes within the plot got a tad redundant for my taste. The world JD Ronan created was very interesting to digest, and for me at least, there wasn’t too much time spent constructing all the nuances or world building that some authors do. I did feel there were times when the characters veered from their original personalities a little too much, but otherwise I liked their development. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes in book 2!

Amazing story & Intricate imagery…can’t wait for more

I’ve never taken a step back from a book while reading/listening and thought how beautifully something was described. Character development was flawless and the ending was unexpected. If there was some spice in this book, that would have been amazing…maybe the next book? So good. I’m going to have a hangover from this one.

I’m confused af

Since there are only positive reviews so far I wanted to give my honest opinion. First I want to say I definitely enjoyed this book. It was pretty good. It could have been better if the story wasn’t so confusing. I still don’t even know which things were lies and which things weren’t. And the fact that the MMC acted like a shy virgin the whole book despite being a freaking ******?!? The imagery was wonderful but my brain hurts from all of the metaphors. The last few chapters could have been in a different language for all I know because that’s as much as I understood it. It frustrated me more than anything. And there definitely isn’t a love story for the ages… in fact I was doing the opposite of rooting for them. I really like that this book was different in many ways, and I like how dark it is. I just wish some things were explaining better and there was more romance involved.

ADV

Hearing Ronan’s poetic storyline come to life makes me so happy. These characters and their stories are so fun and beautifully written on page and hearing it come to life makes it so much better. The narrators have done such an amazing job and have really embodied the characters. I’m excited to read and listen to what comes next.

so many twists

a prince and a princess meet the moment their forced bond is carved into her back. enemies to friendly with a whole lot of sexual tention.

slow burn
fated bond
star crossed
posesive male (in the best way)
touch her and die vibes

ends on a cliffhanger.. definitely looking forward to book 2

What did I just listen to?

I honestly don’t think I can recall the last time I had such a hard time following a storyline. Performance lacked luster, the female voice was REALLY hard to overcome for me. I kept saying “It’s going to get better” and stuck it out til the end, but sadly I will not be continuing with the series.