by Victoria McCombs
publisher’s synopsis
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.
In Oathbound, McCombs begins an adventure on the high sea with twists, danger, and a few darker fantasy elements.
McCombs did a nice job with her characterization, giving even the various crew members personalities that stood out from each other. I also always appreciate a good sibling story, so I enjoyed Emme and Emric’s dynamics. Also knowing the inspiration behind Emme’s illness (a real-life disability that Victoria herself has) adds another level of heart-touching depth to the story.
The pirate, high-sea vibes of the story were great. The concept of oathbinding is unique and adds some fun elements to the stories. I do wish the rest of the magic system had been a little clearer though. For instance, there are various magical items, though it’s never explained why/how these exist.
While I can’t pin down an exact reason why, something about the middle of Oathbound lost a little bit of my attention. It wasn’t that it dragged or was boring. But there maybe was a touch of predictability? Like I said, I can’t why exactly why it lost a little bit of my attention, so it’s probably a me thing. =)
Besides that, the plot is a classic pirate adventure filled with mermaids, monsters, treasure, betrayal, and a dangerous black ship. It reads like something I could easily see turning into a movie.
Pirate stories are hard to find on bookshelves, and clean pirate stories even more so. The ending of Oathbound will leave readers ready to find out what happens in the rest of The Royal Rose Chronicles.
Cautions: brief scenes involving ghosts; two kisses; brief, non-detailed mention of a past presumed assault attempt; two chapters involve a character being kidnapped to be a bride, no details (she escapes); light-moderate romance; a side character is stated to have a string of ladies; semi-graphic moderate/heavy violence; several mentions of characters drinking alcohol or being drunk
Hailey Huntington 
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