Vows and Vagabonds

The Rzymn Job #1

by Val Saintcrowe

Sefoni Rience needs a thief. Her cousin the queen has been tricked into giving up a bracelet, and if that bauble is found in the wrong hands, the queen’s reputation will be left in tatters. To get the bracelet back, she wants to hire Haid Vortinen, criminal mastermind, disgraced nobleman, sometimes known as the Lord of the Dead.

Haid agrees to steal back the bracelet, but only if Sefoni agrees to marry him.

Haid explains that she is the final piece to his master work—the perfect heist. He needs her at his side to complete it. Once it is done, he’ll retire and never steal again.

Sefoni’s not inclined to help the Lord of the Dead and his four other team members—a strumpet, a strongman, a lock picker, and their getaway driver—commit robbery.

But then, Haid’s not inclined to give her a choice.

When he publicly casts aspersions on her reputation, she’s ruined. Her only option is to become Haid’s wife and to be pulled into the criminal underworld. In six months time, the heist will be complete, and their sham marriage will end. She will be free.

Until that time, Sefoni must harden her traitorous heart. The one thing she cannot afford to do is to fall in love with her roguish, handsome husband.

Things to know about this book:

* First book of an epic romantic fantasy duology
* Two bonus couples (one of which is of the Sapphic persuasion)
* Bonus Greek myths, including situations drawn from Cupid and Psyche and Lynceus and Hypermnestra
* Full-on steam (which does not overshadow the intricate heist plot)

Genres: Ebooks, Fantasy

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2021

About the author

Fall for the villain.

Val Saintcrowe writes new adult epic fantasy with a heavy romantic component. She enjoys high stakes, creating intricate new worlds, court intrigue, ice cream scoops full of angst, and exploring what happens when evil men fall in love.

Her name is a variant on her urban fantasy alter ego, Val St. Crowe. She also writes mysteries and thrillers under V. J. Chambers, romance under Jove Chambers, and Jane Austen fan fiction under Valerie Lennox.

She lives just outside Shepherdstown, WV with her son

Reviews

[❁ lilyreadsromance ❁ · Rating 2 out of 5]

It definitely got some potential here. The premise is what sold me of this book. Heist fantasy & Hades/Persephone retelling? It got me super excited and I had such a high expectation.

Maybe that's what sink this book for me. It wasn't that exciting really, despite the so-called heist and planning happened in the background.

It was very much a meh reading all over. But I can definitely see the potential for this author in the future. She just needs a little extra help on the writing and plotting.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was so hard to get into - the characters are one-dimensional and the world-building is pathetic and lazy, mostly changing one letter in a common title or phrase to make it seem different. Just slapdash slow burn spice that the characters didn't even consent to, let alone the reader! Don't bother with this waste of words and space - there are BETTER Persephone/Hades revisionist tales out there. I am just sorry it was a waste of a really good premise.

[Zen]

Sometimes, a reader comes across an author whose writing just doesn't work for them. Sometimes, it's word choice, sometimes its sentence structure or tone. I didn't get far into this one before I realized this one just wasn't for me.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Mild Spoilers*
Vows and Vagabonds is a fantasy romance about a heist inspired by the story of Hades and Persephone. While this is a sort of retelling, it is different enough from the original story that it is exciting and new. I thought the world-building and romance in this story was wonderful and well done. The characters in the story are dynamic and easy to fall in love with. The sapphic romance in this story is extremely well-done and exciting. The other romances also have some quite steamy scenes and great relationship building. My only dislike was lack of explicit consent for some of the more spicy scenes, but that is more of a personal reference. I prefer characters to be free from influence and fully aware of their romantic encounters. However, this did not take away from the relationships and story building in any way. I loved the author's pacing of the story and found it to be the perfect balance of action and romance. I really look forward to reading the next book and seeing how this duology ends!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Chloe Chee · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun!!
I really enjoyed this book. There were so many relationships going on and it was hilarious how all the characters interacted

I've got a nick here from shaving. Would you like to pour lemon juice in it?

I love Haid! He is a Villain, but not. He goes about with his humour and pretending to be callous and an asshole but in the end he is sweet and really cares about people, especially the women he admires. He understands the pains a woman goes through with society and really he doesnt give 2 shits about it and instead encourages women to go about doing whatever they want.

I especially love Tristanne. She takes pride in being a woman and a strong one. She does whatever she wants, doesnt care what people thinks and is basically a perverted lady with a twist.

I cannot wait for the next book to see what happens with everyone's relationship.

My only quarrel is that there was too many excuses why they CANNOT be with that person. The reasons kept going around and around in circles that I was seriously getting annoyed. Val Saintcrowe please let them all have a nice happy ending! I'm waitinggggg

[A]

Different in a good way. I didn't realise it was a duology until about 90% when I was like hang on how are they going to resolve all the things in the time left!!!

Not classic regency romance structure as has an ensemble cast, but they're all going to clearly Get One but the end of the duology. We have three emerging couples, two het and one ff:

- the crime duke + his forced-marriage bride, innocent chess genius lady
- Big beast lord dude who is under a Terrible Curse + stabby prostitute lady with a heart of gold
- Angsty down-on-her-luck noble lady + low-born thief womaniser lady

Enjoyed all the Heist Set Up vibes in this one. Presumably we will get to the actual heist in the second one.

Heat level
On-page sex (het and ff).

Content notes
There's a magical-drug dubcon scene late in the book that affects both parties.

[Bella · Rating 1 out of 5]

i just. It was hard to get through. So much was happening and everything was hurridly introduced that i just couldnt keep up. Characters back stories were vague and not clear and there just was not a lot of context or introduction to various elements like the Flame and also the names of gentry and stuff. The story and premise had potential but the wrting was weak and felt cheap in a way???
I dont know how else to explain it but i dont think ill be reading on. I struggled through it.

edit: here are some lines that sent me.

"Her breasts were a shelf, and they existed solely to catch food she dropped, she thought." - chap 7

"But his voice cut off because one of her breasts had popped out............They both gaped at it." - chap 24

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this story was a hoot and a great read. It really takes the elements of a regency romance, throws in some magic, hints of a few myths and adds a dash of criminal heists into a story that was amazing read that kept me glued to the end to see what would happen. The mix of it was made some great characters and a compelling story. I laughed and groaned throughout it all. Warning - It also had some heat, boy - girl couple, and a girl - girl couple but not it a nasty explicit way as the romance added to the story line. Cannot wait to see what happens next and if everything will go as planned as it has all been setup in this book so far.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Queen's Bracelet is gone, she tasks her cousin Sefoni to get it back, but Sefoni needs help and goes to Haid lord of the dead, in return he wants Sefoni to become his wife. But in doing so she will become a criminal and part of her husbands last heist. Can she go through with it? Will she lose her heart to man whose only known crime? Will Haid really give up hisnlofebof crime after? Well written with great character and world building, the story grabs your attention from the start and holds you with its unique twists and storytelling. Filled with suspense,drama, desires, and more!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sherri Sharpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read

There were a lot of editing issues in this book. There wasn't a believable romance between the main characters. The minor Orc character is the most interesting of all. Okay, but I've read better from MS. Saintcrowe.

[Maria Fatma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so entertaining! Loved the characters and their dynamics and obviously the romance was my favourite part. I'm rooting for all the couples to find their HEA in the next one.

[Oscarb1007 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steam punk-ish with Ocean 11 vibes. Liked how same sex relationships are treated as just another totally normal story plot🥰. Didn’t quite connect with the MC characters.. but I did enjoy the plot.

[Paulina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.9 - dnf due to some of the spelling errors

[⋆ ⁺ ˚ ✧ i am the Dracula, look into my eye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored Vows and Vagabonds. It's probably one of the best books I've read all year.

The tone is pithy and matter-of-fact. The worldbuilding is detailed, but, best of all, it's clever. The elements of greek mythology are applied with a deft and subtle hand. The fact that all the secondary characters are interesting and three-dimensional women is just the cherry on top of this near-perfect sundae.

I bought up all of Saintcrowe's books after finishing it.