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Vow of Loathing
532 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 16, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2026
A delightful and agonizing roller coaster of a new fae romantasy, an enemies to lovers story, full of angst and passion, hurt-comfort, and fated mates. I enjoyed this read quite a lot.
Erasmus is heir to the Autumn King, an abusive and possibly demented ruler who tortures his son for any perceived failure and has his entire court on tenterhooks. Erasmus's many siblings (loved most of them!) have also received varying measures of abuse or neglect, as has his mother.
Hael is the deadly assassin of their enemy the Winter Court, a half-human half-fae sold to the Winter King as a teen by his equally abusive stepmother, and Hael has become like family to the Winter royals.
Hael caught Erasmus trying to assassinate the Winter heir, Kairos, more than a century ago and has nothing but hatred for him.
Erasmus…can’t tell anyone what really happened with Kairos. He also can’t and won’t tell anyone that, also more than a century ago on another occasion, he looked into Hael’s eyes…and realized they are mates.
Mate bonds in this world don’t always make their presence known to fated mates at the same time. No explanation is given for this, though Erasmus wonders if in their case it’s because Hael is half human. I would have liked more info around that! But. It creates an intense and fraught despair for Erasmus, feeling that draw to Hael, that need to be with and near him, and knowing that, even when Hael eventually figures it out, he’ll never want to be with Erasmus (Erasmus assumes, of course! Heh heh). Pining-yearning perfection!
When Erasmus’s crap father orders him to go on a supposed diplomatic visit to Winter to spy on their court, he goes, knowing it won’t end well…
It’s a rich and complex story that takes its time with this true enemies-to-lovers tale, exploring the enmity that turns to desperate passion and the fallout when the secret is revealed and Hael…reacts. Romantic tensions sizzles and pops and keeps pages turning, and while there’s a thread of suspense with the enmity between courts and some evil machinations on the Autumn King’s part that go…poorly shall we say, the focus remains mainly on the romance and the developing bond between the MCs. Erasmus is nearly untouched, having “saved” himself for political marriage as demanded by his father. Hael’s had many lovers, though most aren’t thrown in our faces, apart from one who’s close to him that I could have done without. But the author did use the situation for more tension, so, it wasn’t for nothing. Erasmus is with no one but his mate, ever, and there is one beautiful first for Hael they eventually share together as well, thank you author! Intimacy is created with emotion and passion and enhanced the relationship beautifully. And oh, midway, their early intimacy is used to raise stakes and tension cruelly and perfectly. Catnip for me! Yes…there is some much needed groveling involved, and the MC in need of it puts in the work. I ate that up.
Oh...I forgot to mention...Erasmus a some of his siblings can shift into a fox! It is adorable! I loved that element and choice of shifter animal.
The fated mates element is strong and fun, they can talk telepathically and are very attuned to each other’s presence, and that sheer need to be with each other and connect physically as well as just be in and enjoy each other’s presence was addictive. Loved it. My only complaint, because, Me, is that even though Erasmus felt the connection so strongly all those years ago, Hael had no idea and so was sleeping around imperviously. Which never makes sense to me with fated mates. But. He really had zero idea; his side of the bond hadn’t “clicked,” and that’s all off page/in the past, so…yeah. I got over myself. Still, it would have been nice to learn why that discrepancy in awareness/development of the draw would happen.
One thread was dropped entirely, and while it would have made a quite long book even longer, I felt that was a miss, and that was the promise to deal with Hael’s abusive stepmother. She’s mentioned a few times, but that trauma in his own history isn’t really explored, and that seemed a miss given how much we learn and see of Erasmus’s. We never meet this woman or find out who or where she is, and I wondered if that element was necessary at all. Hael had empathy for Erasmus just fine when he learned the truth about his home life.
There’s early torture between MCs, that later leads to some romantic marking/scarring as part of claiming each other. It made sense and worked for me.
Secondary characters are well drawn and raise stakes and layer in more conflict. I particularly loved Erasmus’s siblings, especially Gwyn and Calix. Even Baelin grew on me, though fuckbois really aren’t my jam. We don’t get to know the members of Winter as well, apart from Hael’s best friend Rhidian, whom I tolerated, liked, and disliked for various reasons. I didn’t really love Erasmus’s way of dealing with Hael’s past with Rhidian, but I think others will find it cute/hilarious. Just…not for me.
I am reading an ARC, but the amount of sheer errors gives me pause. One word that should be two, two words that should be one, homophone mistakes, random spaces between words and punctuation, weird dialogue breaks that confuse who the speaker is, incorrect use of lay v lie…it’s rampant, and I pray this book goes through a strong proofreader before its release.
HEA, fated mates, enemies to lovers, virgin fae prince/king and experienced assassin. No OM action; minor OM drama from one MC’s past, but still safe for me, even though the info and flashback was not something I wanted to see/know. Recommended.
I won’t read on in the series; the rest of the books are not safe for me on the OP-action front. But anyone who loves delicious toxic romance and is okay with OP action including for known fated mates is going to eat this up. It promises to keep delivering terrific romantic tension and intense action via an upcoming war between Autumn and Winter.
My thanks to Booksprout and Indie Author Creative for the ARC; this is my free and impartial opinion.
Erasmus is heir to the Autumn King, an abusive and possibly demented ruler who tortures his son for any perceived failure and has his entire court on tenterhooks. Erasmus's many siblings (loved most of them!) have also received varying measures of abuse or neglect, as has his mother.
Hael is the deadly assassin of their enemy the Winter Court, a half-human half-fae sold to the Winter King as a teen by his equally abusive stepmother, and Hael has become like family to the Winter royals.
Hael caught Erasmus trying to assassinate the Winter heir, Kairos, more than a century ago and has nothing but hatred for him.
Erasmus…can’t tell anyone what really happened with Kairos. He also can’t and won’t tell anyone that, also more than a century ago on another occasion, he looked into Hael’s eyes…and realized they are mates.
Mate bonds in this world don’t always make their presence known to fated mates at the same time. No explanation is given for this, though Erasmus wonders if in their case it’s because Hael is half human. I would have liked more info around that! But. It creates an intense and fraught despair for Erasmus, feeling that draw to Hael, that need to be with and near him, and knowing that, even when Hael eventually figures it out, he’ll never want to be with Erasmus (Erasmus assumes, of course! Heh heh). Pining-yearning perfection!
When Erasmus’s crap father orders him to go on a supposed diplomatic visit to Winter to spy on their court, he goes, knowing it won’t end well…
It’s a rich and complex story that takes its time with this true enemies-to-lovers tale, exploring the enmity that turns to desperate passion and the fallout when the secret is revealed and Hael…reacts. Romantic tensions sizzles and pops and keeps pages turning, and while there’s a thread of suspense with the enmity between courts and some evil machinations on the Autumn King’s part that go…poorly shall we say, the focus remains mainly on the romance and the developing bond between the MCs. Erasmus is nearly untouched, having “saved” himself for political marriage as demanded by his father. Hael’s had many lovers, though most aren’t thrown in our faces, apart from one who’s close to him that I could have done without. But the author did use the situation for more tension, so, it wasn’t for nothing. Erasmus is with no one but his mate, ever, and there is one beautiful first for Hael they eventually share together as well, thank you author! Intimacy is created with emotion and passion and enhanced the relationship beautifully. And oh, midway, their early intimacy is used to raise stakes and tension cruelly and perfectly. Catnip for me! Yes…there is some much needed groveling involved, and the MC in need of it puts in the work. I ate that up.
Oh...I forgot to mention...Erasmus a some of his siblings can shift into a fox! It is adorable! I loved that element and choice of shifter animal.
The fated mates element is strong and fun, they can talk telepathically and are very attuned to each other’s presence, and that sheer need to be with each other and connect physically as well as just be in and enjoy each other’s presence was addictive. Loved it. My only complaint, because, Me, is that even though Erasmus felt the connection so strongly all those years ago, Hael had no idea and so was sleeping around imperviously. Which never makes sense to me with fated mates. But. He really had zero idea; his side of the bond hadn’t “clicked,” and that’s all off page/in the past, so…yeah. I got over myself. Still, it would have been nice to learn why that discrepancy in awareness/development of the draw would happen.
One thread was dropped entirely, and while it would have made a quite long book even longer, I felt that was a miss, and that was the promise to deal with Hael’s abusive stepmother. She’s mentioned a few times, but that trauma in his own history isn’t really explored, and that seemed a miss given how much we learn and see of Erasmus’s. We never meet this woman or find out who or where she is, and I wondered if that element was necessary at all. Hael had empathy for Erasmus just fine when he learned the truth about his home life.
There’s early torture between MCs, that later leads to some romantic marking/scarring as part of claiming each other. It made sense and worked for me.
Secondary characters are well drawn and raise stakes and layer in more conflict. I particularly loved Erasmus’s siblings, especially Gwyn and Calix. Even Baelin grew on me, though fuckbois really aren’t my jam. We don’t get to know the members of Winter as well, apart from Hael’s best friend Rhidian, whom I tolerated, liked, and disliked for various reasons. I didn’t really love Erasmus’s way of dealing with Hael’s past with Rhidian, but I think others will find it cute/hilarious. Just…not for me.
I am reading an ARC, but the amount of sheer errors gives me pause. One word that should be two, two words that should be one, homophone mistakes, random spaces between words and punctuation, weird dialogue breaks that confuse who the speaker is, incorrect use of lay v lie…it’s rampant, and I pray this book goes through a strong proofreader before its release.
HEA, fated mates, enemies to lovers, virgin fae prince/king and experienced assassin. No OM action; minor OM drama from one MC’s past, but still safe for me, even though the info and flashback was not something I wanted to see/know. Recommended.
I won’t read on in the series; the rest of the books are not safe for me on the OP-action front. But anyone who loves delicious toxic romance and is okay with OP action including for known fated mates is going to eat this up. It promises to keep delivering terrific romantic tension and intense action via an upcoming war between Autumn and Winter.
My thanks to Booksprout and Indie Author Creative for the ARC; this is my free and impartial opinion.
March 7, 2026
There is a lot happening and I enjoyed the characters story arc. The world building is intriguing. I love fated mates and that was a huge draw for me with this book. I am curious about the rest of the series and we’ll see where things go from here.
March 25, 2026
This book took my feelings for a ride. So much happening and the pieces fit masterfully.
Even after reading it, there are parts still on my mind.
I received a free copy of this book via Indie Author Creative and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Even after reading it, there are parts still on my mind.
I received a free copy of this book via Indie Author Creative and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews