Oaths of Legacy
Publication Date: September 14, 2021
Gal’s destiny has always been clear: complete his training at the military academy, prove his worth as a royal successor, and ascend to the galactic throne. When a failed assassination plot against Gal sends him and Ettian—his infuriatingly enticing roommate—on a mad dash through the stars, Gal’s plans are momentarily disrupted. But he was born to rule the Umber Empire, and with Ettian by his side, nothing will stop him from returning home and crushing the growing insurgency threatening his family’s power.
But nothing is ever that simple in war—or in love. Gal is captured by the rebellion during a skirmish and faces public execution, his grand fate cut short. To save Gal’s life, Ettian does the unthinkable: he reveals himself as the secret heir to the fallen Archon Empire and rightful leader of the rebellion . . . and, therefore, Gal’s sworn enemy. Now a political hostage in this newly-reignited conflict, Gal must use his limited resources to sabotage the rebellion from within, concoct an escape plan, and return to the empire he’s destined to lead. And if that means taking down the man he thought he loved?
All the better.
My Review
Gal and Ettian are back in the second installment of Emily Skrutskie's Bloodright Trilogy, and boy, are things just a wee bit complicated now. But I have to admit it was fun seeing all the relationship drama play out. What can I say? I love reading enemies-to-lovers romance. It's my thing. Add in a sci-fi element, and I'm all in.
So Oaths of Legacy picks up pretty close to where Bonds of Brass left off. I won't spoil the first book, but let's just say Gal wasn't in a good place and Ettian was in a slightly better one. Unlike the first book, however, Gal is the point-of-view character for book two, which was a little odd, but not unwelcome. It's a different strategy when it comes to writing YA sci-fi, and I'm intrigued to see who narrates book three now.
While I was initially skeptical about the plot development Ettian had towards the end of the first book, I was 100% on board for it in this one. Ettian's new role made for some great romantic tension between two boys who just have no idea what the heck they're feeling and what the heck they're doing.
It had been a while since I read Bonds of Brass, so I had a little bit of trouble remembering some of the names and overall worldbuilding, but nothing was hard to pick up on once the book got going. However, I actually enjoyed Oaths of Legacy a lot more, simply because of the tension and Gal's internal and external dilemma in deciding where he stands in the war. I will say, though, that sometimes Gal got a little wishy-washy in his politicking and not a whole lot happened in terms of plot for him until the very end. There just wasn't a lot of action in general when compared to the first book. Did that stop me from wanting to know what was going to happen next? Nope. Those darn boys just kept pulling me back in.
All in all, Oaths of Legacy was a great second installment to a series that combines typical sci-fi elements like spaceship battles and robotic suits with the fantasy royalty tropes that are being devoured by readers right now. I'd highly suggest this story for anyone who likes Red Rising, Throne of Glass, The Kiss of Deception, The Winner's Curse, and the Star Wars franchise. It's just a fun time overall.
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