These Cruel Vows

The Broken Kingdoms #0.5

by L.J. Andrews

He's the future king.
He's the friend he was never supposed to love.
Together they will unravel their world.

Sol Ferus is the heir of fae kingdom of Etta and knows the burden of the crown will one day be his. The royal council has plans for their future king, and Torsten Bror was never supposed to be part of them.

When the feelings for his best friend take hold, Sol cannot deny Tor is the choice of his heart.

But there are vipers hidden in plain sight waiting to strike, and Sol and Tor must decide if their love will last or if it will burn.


These Cruel Vows is a M/M fantasy romance that follows the love story of Sol and Tor from the Broken Kingdoms series. Readers are encouraged to review content and spoiler warnings inside.

Genres: Romantasy, Fantasy, Romance, M M Romance, Fae, Fiction, Novella

139 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2025

About the author

LJ Andrews is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy romance. She mystically brings to life worlds of dark Nordic and Viking myths bound by conflicts that bring together impassioned heroes and heroines.

In her non-author moments, she is courageously corralling her four children to the myriad of life activities that involves, along with spending time with her favorite hero, her husband. Add two high maintenance dogs and a sassy conure to the mix and that sums it up. LJ Andrews thrives spending time in the Rocky Mountains where she lives in Utah.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Matea ☽ [ia]]

HOLY F 😭 SHE WROTE TOR AND SOL’S STORY??? OMG BYE I’M NOT OKAY!

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved THESE CRUEL VOWS and Sol and Tor might rival Elise and Valen as my favorite couple in this series! This was set well before the raids of the Northern Kingdom and the start of the series but the prologue and epilogue does have minor spoilers for the series up through book 8 so I would recommend not starting the series here.

I adored seeing teenage Tor and Sol as they fumbled through admitting their feelings for each other. They were so sweet together and I especially loved the way their friends and family supported and encouraged them. Part of why I loved their story so much is likely because of how happy everyone was since the wars haven't started. While the other books have swoony romances it's very different when the characters are falling in love during dangerous circumstances. This felt so light and peaceful for most of the book, though there were some hard moments toward the end so check your trigger warnings for this one.

As an added bonus, seeing Sol and Valen interact as young brothers was so cute and the way Sol would constantly tease Valen but then knew exactly when to be gentle and soft. It melted my heart each time!

Content Warning: brief sexual assault scene and attempted forced breeding (not between MCs)

[Ali Alley EscapeThroughABook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love LJ Andrews as an author, and her writing of this little novella is one of the many reasons why. Did she have to give us an inside look into Tor and Sol’s beginnings? Nope. But she did. It just deepens the story for me. I love the Broken Kingdoms series so much, but I always felt like we could’ve known more about these two. Especially seeing them in the Ever Seas series. I really appreciate this novella and love seeing how their love blossomed… even though they had plenty of hardships (and trauma) to endure along the way. I also think this book really brings awareness to the lack of boundaries we sometimes do to men. They can have SA, and they do not want our advances just like we do not always want theirs. It is often overlooked, and this book does shine a light on that. Great book.

This fantasy romance novella is .5 in the Broken Kingdom series. It can be read in order or any time during the series. This book does have some darker topics and scenes. The romance in this book is friends to lovers. This book is spicy with open door spicy scenes. Tor and Sol have been friends, but both their hearts long for more. With their family and their people’s expectations upon them, they know they shouldn’t want each other, but they do.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
📱Ebook

[Livy White · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Tor, I need to say something, a vow to you. Fate bonded us from the beginning, and no matter what happens, I will always find a way back to you.”

5 ✨
📱
I CANNOT BELIEVE I was today years old when I learned Sol and Tor have their own book?! After reading Curse of Shadows and Thorns and Curse of Ice and Ash, this was one relationship I wished we saw more of and this apparently existed this whole time. Everything about this was complete. Perfection. Despite this being a novella, the pace didn’t feel rushed and the plot didn’t feel cramped. How Andrews has built this level of longing and love in a book this length is a testament to her talent.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ Sweethearts 🥹🥹

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg Tor and Sol's story is by far one of my favourite novellas! bloody stoked we got the gift of this little novella

[Katharine Knoodle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella adds so much heart to Sol and Tor’s story. The betrayal they face comes from outside sources in the most devastating way, and I appreciated the way the book acknowledges that men can also be victims of sexual violence. Sol’s experience is written with care, and Tor’s support makes their bond even stronger.

The themes of family and loyalty shine, and the reveal about Uter’s earlier connection to their story was such a great surprise. If you love The Broken Kingdom, this is one you should not skip.

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a companion novella to the Broken Kingdom series. If you’ve read the series, you’ll remember Sol and Tor. This novella tells their love story, and I absolutely loved it!

Tor is older, and his feelings for Sol grow over the years as they become older teenagers, along with the challenges their love brings. Sol is determined not to let anyone tell him who he should or shouldn’t love, even though he’s the heir to the throne and is expected to produce an heir. There are many obstacles in their relationship, but both Tor and Sol face them head-on. I also really loved seeing the support they receive from their friends and families.

This novella also explores the topic of SA involving one of the MMCs. That scene was difficult to read and served as an important reminder that SA doesn’t only happen to women.

I truly loved this novella, as I can’t get enough of the characters in the Broken Kingdom series. And we even get to read about teenage Valen!

[KT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short m/m romance with fae. One of the main characters is the prince in line to be king. There is a threat of war with the neighboring land of Timorah and political strife as the council do not like the fact there will not be a blood heir.

There is a lot of spice 🌶️ and good side characters. I assume the epilogue sums up what happened in the rest of the series, it sounds epic.

I have enjoyed all the books I have read from this author.

[Jessica Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will say this for all three of the romance novellas. I AM SO GLAD THAT I GOT THIS STORY! In the main story, Tor was heartbroken over Sol and then reunited just to be ripped away again. Be seeing that their story started in a bit of a rough and rocky shape because of their love and fear of fucking things up. These felt like lying back and listening to old friends recount the days of their youth before you met them.

[Caitlin Carbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a cute short love story. i loved seeing the past of sol and tor..... i really enjoyed their love story. and not that i care about sex in books anymore, these were some of her best written sex scenes... the love, the plot, the beginning of the war. this is how a novella is done

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sol & Tor's story was fantastic l. In TBK series we don't get to see much of Tor's personality except stoicism. Being allowed to see inside his head and heart was a beautiful place to be.

Seeing a tiny Valen was a perk as well 💜

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this short story, wish it could have been longer. I loved reading about Sol and Tor but I wish we got to read more about what happened during the war.

[Dominoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sol and Tor's story. It was good.

[Kelsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

About as close to a 5 star novella as one could get. But shouldn’t be surprising because Tor and Sol are some of my absolute favorites!

[Bri L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sol and Tor!!!!!!! 🥹😍omg this was everything I needed. Love them!!!😭🥵🔥🥹😍🥰😘

[Cosy Kindle Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in one night. Such good read. It was great to see more of Sol and Tors relationship

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read that I polished off in an afternoon. Good to have some insight into this couple before continuing the rest of the main series!

[Samah S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sol + Tor foreverrrrr 💚💚💚 “Burn them with me!”

[Anji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baby Valen was something I didn’t know I needed until I had it.
And Sol has always been a peak rage baiter. We love to see it.

[Cor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god, the way I would go to war for Sol and Tor.
I adore these two, and their love for each other, and for their loved ones.

Sol is such a loverboi dreamboat. How he is with, not only, Tor, but with his parents, with Valen!! He's the older brother I always wanted. Please give me 700 more pages of this dashing Sun Prince, I will drink them all up!

Tor. My sweet, broody, warrior. I loved seeing his personality! And knowing what their future held was both heartbreaking and so amazing.

But. But. Why are we starting this story off at the age of 16? They live hundreds of years.... the 16-18 ages felt weird to me. They did not read as teenagers. At. All.
I felt that if they were like.... 116 or something, and spent a century together as brothers/besties/warriors-in-arms and then the story started, with decades of pining and yearning... that would've fit them better, in my own opinion.

Still, I adored their story and their little family!

[Bethany Holman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aah I loved getting this extra story around Tor and Sol! And it's making me really want to do a reread.

We get to see Sol, Tor, Halvar and even Valen before the curse took place, and as always the dynamic between this group is amazing, funny and emotional. I didn't know I needed to see how Tor and Sol got together until I started reading this and I'm so glad this exists.