REVIEW: VOW OF THIEVES

How sweet is this duology? I loved Dance of Thieves and couldn't wait to dive into Vow. After a harrowing turn of events and a wonderfully understated lovers' reconciliation, Kazi and Jase head back to the Ballenger homestead to deliver good tidings. However, when they arrive, they find the city in ruins and Jase's family in hiding. A sudden and vicious attack at the city gates sees Kazi in the enemy's hands and Jase on death's doorstep. Separately, they must fight to find their way back to one another and save the Ballenger home from disaster.

Vow is full of beautiful parallels that both reflect and compound upon the first book. Where Kazi and Jase were originally thrown together by a twist of fate, now they are torn apart just as abruptly. The long histories of Ballenger resilience in the face of despair are both a well of strength and a formative force for Jase and his kin. Kazi's sordid history is put to use in her own bid for survival deep within the enemy camp. The mantra they now share drives them both: protect.

Kazi's grief and Jase's worry are palpable, neither one knowing if the other yet lives. Their heartache and fear pulses on every page, and I loved the steady back-and-forth of POV, watching them slowly spiral back toward one another. Allies (and enemies) are found in unexpected places, and one in particular really made me happy. I always love when a previously-assumed antagonist has a bit of backstory reveal and ends up being a good guy. I also really enjoyed the side-relationships in this one. Especially a certain bubbly rahtan and her surly Ballenger counterpart. (Ugh, that ending got me right in the feels!)

This duo of lovely novels has a lot to offer: strong, diverse characters, concise yet powerful action scenes, emotional conflict, a complex world, a bit of dubious magic, sweet, realistic romance...the list goes ON, people. But apart from all these things, and setting Pearson's economical-yet-elegant prose aside, there is one thing that really sets this story apart for me: family.

The theme of family lies at the heart of this tale, and it is threaded through both books with such gravity and subtlety that I closed Vow with an aching heart. You can feel Jase's devotion to it, his every breath dedicated to the endurance of his kin. You can feel Kazi's fear of it, her hunger for it after a lifetime of loneliness. This concept that she is barely beginning to grasp at the start of Vow becomes a double-edged sword that nearly costs the fearless Rahtan her life more than once. But it also saves her, and Jase, multiple times. Without it, they are so much less than they are with all of the Ballenger siblings and Kazi's comrades thrown in. There is a warmth in it, a strength, a depth, in that cumulative relationship that I find myself unable to adequately describe. For that alone, I would set this duology firmly on my permanent shelf and happily recommend it to others.