A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez – Book Review

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Series: Immortal Desires (Book 1)

Genre: Adult Fantasy Romance

Spice: Hot

Summary:

Rune Ryker has spent her whole life hating the immortals after they took her brother, father, and finally her mother. And when the life she’d cobbled together as a human spy falls apart, she’s ready to enact her vengeance on the immortals. During the Selection, a yearly event where immortals choose humans to take in repayment for a war they started years ago, she makes her move, asking to be taken. She’s expecting to be enslaved with the potential to find her family, but that’s not what happens.

The Druids, in charge of this year’s Selection, send Rune and the other humans to the Forge to learn and train in the Druid tarot magic. There, Rune finds that she has the most powerful and rare tarot magic, the same as the Druid Prince Draven, the next in line for the Druid throne. Draven is confident and ambitious and although he’s secretive, he has an offer for Rune. Help him with his plans to rise politically, and he’ll help her find her family who are scattered across the other immortal lands. Agreeing to help Draven sets Rune on a path filled with secrets, danger, and possibly love all while trying to pass her magic classes.

Reaction:

I loved reading A Vow in Vengeance! The plot was interesting with plenty of twists and the magic system was the most unique I’ve read this year. I also loved how realistic the FMC Rune was, and it all came together in a book and fantasy world I was eager to dive further into.

This book really gripped me from the first few pages. It threw me right into the action and communicated the FMC’s base motivations right away, getting me rooting for her from the start. There were many storylines to follow, even with a single POV, which made the book so exciting! The narrative did jump forward at times in a way I didn’t love, but the focus on the action and the surprises easily made up for it. The way every detail was important and interconnected was so satisfying, exactly what I want in my fantasy books.

The tarot magic system was so cool and unique! It was a little complicated at the start, but with the separate chart of the cards I was able to keep up. I thought what was explored of the world had enough details to make it realistic but had plenty of room for expansion in future books. The different groups of immortals were interesting, and I loved the political elements in the story as well. From a plot and setting perspective, this book really reminds me of ACOTAR in the way every moment of the narrative is important, and the setting allows for so much exploration of different groups.

I really enjoyed Rune’s character. She was immediately easy to relate to and root for. She was constantly conflicted about her world and what she was going through, which I thought was totally realistic and appropriate. I also loved that even though she was a badass in some respects where she had training and experience, there were new experiences where she had to learn and work to get better. I appreciated that Draven was a fleshed out MMC with goals of his own. He wasn’t just dropping everything because he was into Rune. He also shows vulnerability when he feels hurt and discusses his feelings in a way I thought was realistic. I also appreciated that both of them had noticeable character growth as they worked through their own challenges. It was hard to follow who was who of Rune’s friends at the beginning, which did impact my reading because I had to keep searching back to previous chapters to figure it out.

The physical attraction between Rune and Draven was obvious from the beginning, but the emotional connection took some time, which helped to satisfy my slow burn itch. There were also elements of a love triangle and fake relationship tropes. I enjoyed the fake relationship trope’s presence in a more action-packed fantasy, but not the love triangle. I did think the relationship was a little too sex-focused for my taste overall.

Overall, I loved the plot and setting of this book. They are reminiscent of my typical favorite fantasy books. The magic system was super cool, and I loved digging into the different powers. I appreciated the way the main characters were well developed, realistic, and had noticeable character growth. I actually wished this book had less of a focus on the romance because I loved those other elements so much! I definitely recommend this book for those that like a complex fantasy plot, unique magic systems, and well-developed characters.

What I enjoyed:

·       The tarot magic! It’s like a mix of Harry Potter houses and ACOTAR or elemental magic system but incorporated with traditional tarot predictions. I was so excited to see how each of the different powers worked throughout the novel.

·       The interwoven storylines were so well done. When they all started to converge at the end, I was actually surprised at how interconnected they all were, and I love that “it’s all connected!” realization.

·       Rune’s character was so easy to root for because her motivations were so clear, but she also was reasonably conflicted when she found out the Selection wasn’t what she thought, and she continued to appropriately struggle with the impacts of her vengeance throughout the novel. It made her so much more interesting and complex than someone who blindly pursued their vengeance.

What I didn't enjoy:

·       Sometimes the dialogue didn’t flow as well as I thought it should. I found myself having to reread some exchanges to understand what they meant. It interrupted the flow of my reading semi-frequently.