Review: Oath Bound by Rachel Vincent

Oath Bound by Rachel Vincent
Series: Unbound #3
Published by Harlequin MIRA
Published on: April 30, 2013
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Source: Won

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The Tower Syndicate will fall...

The secret daughter of the head of an infamous Skilled crime family, Sera Brandt has hidden her past, her potential and especially her powers. But when a tragedy strikes her other family, Sera needs justice. And the only way to get it is to reveal her heritage–including a rare Skill–and take the reins of the Tower Syndicate from her cunning and malicious aunt.

If he can figure out how...

Kristopher Daniels might have the answer. He's fought the syndicate to protect his sisters, but he'd never realized just how close to the new heir he needed to get....

And if they can survive.

Neither is used to trusting. But there's something between them that can't be ignored. And so Sera is on the run with a man she can't figure out, a target on her back and the new knowledge of just how powerful she really is....

In true Rachel Vincent fashion, Oath Bound weaves a complex tale where relationships go from every day complicated to an unravelable tangle of blood oaths and family ties. A small oversight quickly snowballs into the biggest blunder in Tower Syndicate history and Sera gets swept away into a world she’s spent her whole life hiding from and knows absolutely nothing about, and that’s only chapter 1! The romance is understated yet equally as significant as the action-driven plot which makes this book a well-rounded read that’s immensely satisfying on all fronts.

Kris’ first love was a Seer and even though she passed away years ago, he’s convinced that the predictions Noelle made in her sleep were meant for him and him alone. So ever since her death he’s been trying to change the future and beating himself up over every failure even though Elle’s late night ramblings were about as clear as mud. He sees Sera as an opportunity to make amends for all the lives that he failed to save and when things go horribly wrong he can’t help but feel responsible. I really liked Kris because he’s the epitome of “nice guy” with an interesting mix of badass gunslinger thrown in for good measure. He has a lot of men-are-from-Mars moments which frustrated me at times but he never fails to come through when it really counted and, at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

I liked Sera’s innocence and the fact that her morals take precedence over everything, even money and power, which are two very tempting lures. Experiencing the story from her POV was a great refresher to Vincent’s Unbound world too because of how new Brandt is to the Syndicate way of life. Revisiting the differences between Skilled and unSkilled was as helpful was it was interesting. She’s also a fighter in spite of her past and I admired her refusal to give-up no matter how impossible the task. Kris and Sera’s relationship progresses at a natural pace and also mirrors the plot well without ever overshadowing the latter which is exactly what you want in a well-written Urban Fantasy novel.

Liv/Cam, Kori/Ian, and Kenley/Van all have their roles to play in this installment as well and I loved that Vincent gave readers one last chance to say goodbye to these beloved characters. I’m surprised and a little saddened that Rachel decided to make Unbound a trilogy because there’s still so much story to tell. What about the Cavazos Syndicate and Liv & Cam? Oath Bound is complex, gritty and original; a definite must for all Urban Fantasy readers. But as much as I enjoyed Sera and Kris’ HEA, I wish that Liv and Cam had gotten theirs too.

Unbound Series
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