Forsworn

by J.D. Penndagger

Deadpool meets The Princess Bride in this laugh-out-loud epic fantasy about a failed knight who makes increasingly idiotic resurrection pacts as he repeatedly dies on a quest to become a hero — and maybe have heroic sex with a princess.

Pender is tired of failure. The last straw is certainly getting killed on an idiotically irresistible princess’s quest. And when a mysterious entity offers a resurrection pact? One can only laugh.

Except Pender still owes his best friend her dying wish.

This time, life is going to be different. Waking up stripped and in a mass grave won’t hold him back. The only thing that might? His path to heroism being inescapably intertwined with the irresistible princess who got him killed.

512 pages, Paperback

Published July 3, 2025

Reviews

[Rebecca Cairns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pender, Pender, Pender… whatever will he get up to next?

Pender, the most ridiculous, unlucky, and undead hero that ever did live, then die, then live, then die again….
The story starts with Pender trying to play a prank on his fellow mercenaries, which leads to fighting for a rogue princess, which leads to Pender and his best friend dying….
Pender makes a bargain with an unknown entity, which leads to him coming back to life… thus begins the quest of all quests… becoming the hero he always dreamt of being.

But not everything will go to plan along the way…

You will meet Elli, his bestest friend, with her sharp wit and salacious commentary running through his head.

You will meet An-igi, the sweetest little flower farmer who dreams of becoming more than what she is. She was one of my favourite characters throughout the book, the heart of a knight this one!

You will meet Mae, the rogue princess, who will stop at nothing until she has her kingdom back… but there’s more to that story than meets the eye. Mae might not be as heartless and cold as she appears to be.

And Neighs… Pender’s faithful, consistently drunk horse. I truly would have loved to have seen more of him in the book, but alas! Maybe in the next one?!

I enjoyed this book… I will admit I struggled slightly with the way it was written, but after getting into it, I rather enjoyed it.

Forsworn is a story of a man who had all but given up, found his purpose in life, found his family but also found self- belief along the way.

For people who enjoy fantasy, this one is for you! This is a comical, non spicy story and lands on a great cliffhanger! I say non spicy… there is a sex scene in it, but it’s not explicit, and there’s also a lot of unintentional nudity…. JD, the camel scene was hilarious!

[Simplymetaramarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a comical ride! I spent a lot of time shaking my head at the antics of Pender, the most unlucky, want-to-be hero who has lost all confidence in having what it takes to be a hero. It's a Don Quixote that meets Monty Python adventure.

After dying during a quest he wanted NOTHING to do with, Pender strikes a deal with an unknown entity too very another chance at becoming a hero. Wanting to fulfill his best friend's wish, he accepts, and the real adventures begin, pantless. With the determined Flower Farmer at his side, maybe pushing him a little, ok a lot, Pender tries and fails (dies) repeatedly along the way. There is a lot of comical chaos, poop jokes, unintentional nudity, a bad ass princess, a brave flower farmer, and misadventures on the way to Pender's self-discovery.

It's a fun read! I'm looking forward to more adventures! Oh, and watch out for that cliff.

[Micaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucy enough to receive this ARC from Wings&Words and really enjoyed it. It has many ups and downs with some interesting characters and the best drunk horse to ever be written about. I defiantly recommended it if your looking for a good fun read with characters you really want to succeed and others you defiantly don't. I'm really hoping there is a sequel on the horizon.

[Lottie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book! It’s laugh out loud funny! We follow the MMC who just wants to be an epic hero however, he’s not very good at staying alive 😂. I loved all the side characters (especially the constantly drunk donkey) the banter between them all, and of course the sprinkles of romance. Can’t wait to see how it carry’s on in the next book. If you like the princess bride then you’ll love this!

[hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one but I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. I guarantee you have never read a book with a drunken horse I certainly hadn't but now I have. Neighs is absolutely my spirit animal made me chuckle alot .Pender I do feel for him he get put through it Without giving to much away .I have laughed so much with this book some loose ends on creatures /characters with not a huge amount of detail in regards to what they look like but it doesn't take away from the story. i still absolutely recommend this book 4 stars 🌟

[Cindy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so funny! Which I was not expecting in a fantasy book.

A wannabe epic hero mmc who can’t catch a break & can’t seem to stay alive!
Diverse characters including a ghost best friend & a drunk horse, yes a drunk horse 😆
There’s lots of banter, a bit of romance & a hole load of bad luck , what’s not like 👍

Thanks to Wings & Words ( Bookish_ButterlyBeth) for giving me this opportunity to read the arc. It is a little late as I’ve been poorly 😷

[Smut Report]

Heat Factor: There’s more talk about theoretical sex than actual sex

Character Chemistry: Pender’s primarily relationship is with his feelings about heroism

Plot: Pender makes a deal with a being of chaos in order to come back to life and then rescues a princess. Many shenanigans ensue.

Overall: There were some cool bits to this book but it would have been better if it were a hundred pages shorter.

Read our full review at The Smut Report

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

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[Elena-Maria Polydorou · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Reader!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Forsworn by J.P. Pennedagger

An AU fantasy full of death, resurrection, and chaotic heart!
The story follows a lucky mercenary who just wants to be a hero (bless him). He’s got a ghost friend (Elli 💙), a drunk horse (I wish we got more of him!), and a whole lot of bad luck.

It took me a bit to get into it — the language was a challenge at first (English isn’t my first language), but once I got used to the writing, I was hooked by the non-stop adventure. There’s dying, coming back, dying again… and somehow, it still manages to be heartwarming.

A strange, wild ride — and I’m glad I stuck with it.

Tropes: reluctant hero, resurrection, found family (kind of?), chaotic quest

Thank you Wings and Words (Bookish_ButterflyBeth) for this opportunity (sorry for being a little bit late life got in the way)

[Tori V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going into this, I really didn’t expect this book to make me cry like it did; ‘twas a nice surprise. This was SO good. Hilarious yet heartwarming, this is an incredible tale of a man trying to become a hero, have heroic sex, and dying repeatedly along the way.
I don’t emote well, but this made me laugh – and even gasp, thanks to Elli’s sharp tongue – more than once. Pender’s magic (granted by That, the chaos god who keeps resurrecting him) is so ridiculous it’s genius; it’s unlike anything I’ve read before, but something children do without even thinking: playing pretend. Except Pender’s imaginary weapons work! I love it.
The writing and wordplay are just fantastic. The attitude, the banter, the prose, everything really. It was so hard to pick a favorite quote. I took note of so many, but ultimately decided on one that arguably has nothing to do with the story, but it’s so evocative: “She stared at a sky the color of blood in milk.”

Thanks very much to JD and Wings & Words for this ARC. It has truly been a pleasure. 💚 This is one of my favorite books this year, and I’m so jealous of everyone who got to back the kickstarter!

[T || · Rating 5 out of 5]

❗️ARC REVIEW❗️
thanks to wings & words ran by bookish Beth for the amount of arcs ive been able to read. particularly this one


this book at first glance and reading the synopsis I was not 100% sure on but once I got reading it I was hooked.

I read it in 1 sitting.

my heart broke over elli, pender seemed so lost. I was not overly keen on the princess at the beginning but by the end of the book I came to like her.

the way the story has been left I am hoping for a second book!

the writing and plot was thoughtful planned out and executed.

overall 5, if you enjoy opposites attract, fighting and a sense of 'medievil' times this one's for you

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Leean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly fantastic read, I absolutely loved the characters and the journeys they took, it had me laughing and crying and truly happy to read this fantastic story. I give this book five stars and would absolutely highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. The author has written an incredible story that I enjoyed reading from the start till the end and will definitely read again because it was so so good.

[Shannon's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really didnt know what i was walking into this one, but my god am I so glad I did! it had me laughing, crying and I could not put this one down.

fantasy is definitely taking over my romance books I tell you!

[Donna M Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book wasnt my usual go to type of book. but it was well written and fun to read. a nice bit of comedy to lighten your day.... i got this book as an ARC read from @bookish butterfly beth @ wings & words community.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

not my typical style of book but thus had magic, intrigue, laughter and some down right silly parts.
i enjoyed this book even though it wasn't my usual style and if you like a naked knight (literally) who just can't seem to catch a break, you'll love this!

[Louise Smalley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book and the characters mainly the drunken horse horse ha ha ha , pender and elli are also my favourite characters elli loves witnessing penders embarrassing moments.. pender onn wiess the broken sword because of his ruined complexion, lost purpose and intimidation of importance, elli the rusty war hammer bestowed upon her for her ringing voice and unyielding spine and scarlet spotched face .. this book kept me wanting to read more I really enjoyed this book 8 out of ten

[Tara Lundmark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhere on a crypt spiderwebbed spectrum between Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Candide, The Princess Bride, and Dante's Inferno, you will find Pender Onn Weiss. The painfully honest and heart-wrending adventure is full of heart and (sold) soul. If you want to laugh out loud so hard that you snort like a drunken horse, only to have your heart repeatedly crushed like rotting tulip bulbs, this is the book for you. If you've ever wondered about the voices (of dead friends) in your head or how to tell compelling half-truths, look no further. Pender bares all--both figuratively and literally. While it may seem like a ridiculous tale on the surface, you won't have to dig deep to discover a poignant commentary on the universal struggle with self-acceptance and epic blunders in the seemingly unattainable quest for heroism. To an extent, we are all Pender Onn Weiss. Plenty to laugh at, but even more to think about.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was probably not the ideal audience for this book. I DNFed it and I cannot remember the last time I failed to force myself to finish a book even if I hated it. I've been failing to get myself to finish this book for nearly 6 months. I have read at least 70 other books in that time, so although it's not the biggest sample size, the data points to the conclusion that I would rather read any other book in the world than finish this one.

I bought the book thinking that it would be like an off-brand How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying. The more apt comparison would be Kroger American Cheese singles vs. a 3 year, cave-aged Gouda.

This also has none of the delights of Deadpool. Deadpool is funny because he's constantly breaking the 4th wall and relatable because his tragic backstory is fleshed out and realistic enough to make Deadpool seem real with the way he presents himself. Deadpool didn't scrape his jokes off a middle school lunchroom floor, marinate them in locker room talk from the 60s, and take the easiest route to character design.

The back cover comparison to The Princess Bride is mind boggling as well. Did you all see the same movie or read the same book as me? The Princess Bride is charming and whimsical in both iterations. This book couldn't charm ice from an explorer dying of exposure in Antarctica. What this story has in common with The Princess Bride is a princess, but by that standard Mario Kart is just as much like The Princess Bride as this book is. And Pender is Wario. I mean Prince Humperdinck. I refuse to have the names of the MC and Westley in my mouth in the same sentence.

Aside from the bad taste the book left in my mouth, I will be left with the enduring mystery of how, based on the Goodreads reviews, 25 other people not only finished this book but also had positive experiences. This mystery (definitely not the plot or characters) was the only thing keeping me reading. Maybe the good part everyone else liked was coming. Maybe it was the next chapter or next page. Now I will never know because the thought of reading even one more page of this book makes me want to wrap my body up in porterhouse steak and launch myself into a tiger cage.

Here are my objections. If they're not things that bother you, you'll probably love this book so don't pay attention to me.

First of all, the author was trying so hard to be funny I felt second-hand embarrassment for them. I could tell that the author absolutely had fun writing this and probably giggled the whole time. What that giggling author produced was a bizarre collection of trying-too-hard names (Jimothy I can look past, but the horse is named Neighs? And the horse is always drunk? Can horses get drunk? Do they even like the taste of it? How would a horse even develop an alcohol problem? It kept pulling me out of the story.) and a poop joke that just wouldn't die.

Even worse, the MC uses the word "screment" instead of an actual word that exists because they still had to try too hard when our language has so many real words for poop. "Screment" is just close enough to the real word (one that only scientists would use) to cause confusion. If only I could get a nickel for every time the word "screment" showed up in the first few chapters I could pay for this week's groceries.

And, because he's trying too hard to be funny he's borrowed the famous opening line of Pride and Prejudice to start it off. It read to me like that one 10th grade English creative writing assignment I wrote that went off the rails and although I had so much fun writing it I am now mature enough to recognize I totally deserved that terrible grade on it. The author having a good time doesn't mean the audience is enjoying the ride.

This reads like the author wrote and rewrote the first few chapters, feverishly consulting their thesaurus and cutting unnecessary words until the sentences were so dense and cluttered with archaic and obscure words that reading it became an absolute slog. Often, because of the combination of AP English vocabulary words and trying to cut out unnecessary stuff, the actual meaning of sentences became difficult to parse. So I had to slog through some sentences several times before I could figure out what the author was trying to say about world building or character building or plot. But, you know, at least the author was consistent with their character voice.

Secondly, the main character was another attempt at being too funny at the expense of an actual character I could identify with or root for. All this guy wants is for their BFF to get their dream and to make jokes and throw a tantrum about life not being what he wants? This character design doesn't lead me to wonder about a mysterious backstory that would help me understand why he's given up on life. Instead, I hated him for the flailing and weaponized helplessness over his own disaster of a life that he built. The whole obsession with getting his BFF her tavern smacks of beta reader feedback that Pender needs a goal and also a pet-the-dog moment all in one. All so the author can sell us on the impact of tragic death later.

And speaking of the BFF. You can tell us over and over that she's female and a lesbian, but the author wrote a one-dimensional male character and then just slapped lady bits on the character and called it good.

Don't even get me started on the princess. From the first sentence about her there's an underlying ick factor and a greasiness to the way she's seen by the MC. Also, it's still objectification if the lesbian (who, if you recall, is actually just a male character with boobs so still not a great choice) is doing the overt objectifying. It's still vile. Give the princess a personality or a hint of a personality at least before you start talking about all the sex you want to have with her. It's a low bar, but the author still managed to slither underneath it.

Then there's the obsession with sex, no matter with whom. Objectification at its finest. Even romance novels, which by definition are focused on sex, can manage to make characters of all genders into humans before, during, and after sex-focused narratives. I don't think the author would understand what it's like to read about characters like him being talked about with the same consideration as blow-up dolls (again, again, again, and again) or he would have written it very differently. Attempting to read this book, written in the year 2025 (not 1985!), brought back ugly memories from elementary school, middle school, high school, college, dating, and life as a woman in general. I have tolerated this kind of approach to female characters if the books were well written or interesting, but all this book left me with was remembering awful things and losing faith in male authors again.

So now I'm in the market for brain bleach.

After today I will make every effort to forget the time I spent reading (and rereading and re-re-reading) this book. I'll wash away the despair of battling through a dense jungle of scrabble-winning words for an entire week just to realize I've only read 2 pages. Actually only 1&1/2 pages. Oh my gosh. I'm going to be here forever. When will this end? Am I going to die here?

I will try to remember that not all men write like this, that some male authors have the ability to treat the rest of the population with humanity, that many men can name more than three emotions, and some men will even allow themselves to be healthy enough to understand how emotions and motivations work. I will remind myself that the best men know how relationships based on respect and emotional vulnerability work and can successfully get that understanding onto a printed page even when they're actually being funny at the same time. (Fredrik Backman, this is you, you absolute gem of a human being. I would read your grocery lists if you published them.) I'll also try to remember that many men can also craft an effective narrative without overcompensating for their insecurities with the size of their words.

And now what do I do with this book? It's not worth the space it takes up on my bookshelves. I can't think of a single person who would read it, let alone enjoy it. Our local recycling agency admits that they don't actually recycle anything anymore and whatever they get is sent to the dump, so I might as well save the extra step. This book is going directly into the trash.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy is one of the main genres I read, but upon starting this book I really wasn't expecting it to be soooo comical & it made this book fabulously unique - from his drunken horse (Neigh) to the MMC's magical abilities (even if they are really from 'THAT', the entity that keeps resurrecting him), they will all make you laugh out loud.

The premise of the story follows the MMC Pender as he goes from drunken/loveable rogue in the mercenaries trying to play pranks on his fellow comrades, to dying, being resurrected & then going on a mission/quest where he has the chance to be redeem himself & become a hero. You join him on his journey which doesn't always go to plan!

The comradery between Pender & other characters gives the book its depth, from the protective, admiration he shares with his best friend Eli. To his relationship with the sweet flower farmer An-igi, which reminded me of a brother/younger sister squabbling relationship.

This book is very fast paced, so you are off & running from the start. However, for me with fantasy being a favourite of mine I would of preferred a bit more world building for the overall rating to nudge into the 5-star arena, but seeing how the book evolved this may have impacted on the pace?

Overall, a fab book that will make you 'feel' the words written on the page & is definitely a read that I will be recommending.

[Coral Hayward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared to laugh so hard you pee your pants! This book is SO FUNNY! I could not stop laughing the entire time I was reading- lucky enough to be a beta reader on this one! My husband got jealous because he kept hearing me laughing and now he can't wait for our physical copy of the book to show up so that he can read it and find out what all the hype was about!

Pender is a disgraced knight who really just couldn't care less any more, he's just out to find a laugh wherever he can. In a world full of magic where fate has a sense of humor all its own, Pender was doomed from the start.

Buckle up for a cast of lovable characters, insane levels of chaos, and an unbelievable amount of accidental public nudity.

[Janelle Youngstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I just have to say that Pender is one of the best written characters I've read in a long time. He is ridiculous, but soulful. The situations he's put in, his reactions to them, and his minor and major fails--priceless. From scene to scene the adventure is great, the humor is laugh out loud, and the stakes raise higher and higher. Well plotted, super fun, and a joy to read. I personally enjoy clean romance, so I will say that I felt the need to skim a scene or two, but overall the romance was dealt with very decently. A great romantasy read from start to end!

[Barney Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story had me chuckling throughout and the banter between Pender and Elli had me highlighting passages in my kindle repeatedly.

This was easily a 5 star read and i highly recommend reading this.

[Mimsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wretched delight.

[Adrienn Balázs · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by Wings&Words and the author.
I can honestly say that this is nothing like other books in this genre. This book is chaotic, unhinged, hilarious, surprising and completely unique. It was nothing like I've expected it to be and that was the best part about it. The plot is fast-paced and intriguing, the characters are very diverse and their journey is hilarious. These are the most unlucky heroes I've ever met. My favorite character? The drunk horse. Oh yes, you read that right!
I do wish the world-building and unique creatures would have been described in more detail as a lot of creatures were just named but it was never explained what they were, so I had a hard time imagining them.
But if you're looking for a one of a kind, funny, unexpected fantasy book - you've found it!