Beware the waters. The dangerous deep brings ruin to all.

Emme has spent her life avoiding anything to do with pirates. But the fates are cruel, and now a hidden sickness leads her to partner with pirates for the one thing that can save her—a cure on an island none are certain exists.

The pirate captain’s secrets are darker than the deep and threaten to kill them all. His obligations are tinged with betrayal, for his oathbind must be fulfilled. To ignore it is to invite peril of unimaginable destruction.

As the adventure unfolds, the sea takes more than she expects and the sea gives more than he wants.

My thoughts: Emme might try to avoid most things pirate related, but her best friend sails on a pirate ship. When Arn comes home with tales of a cursed treasure that just happens to be in the same place as the medicine that will help Emme make it to adulthood, it appears that she cannot avoid the pirate lifestyle forever. I enjoyed this well written story, with many twists and turns. It was enjoyable to "travel" with pirates in search of a treasure. I thought that the author did an excellent job of writing from different points of view, and especially how she wrote about Emme dealing with her illness. This is a wonderful story to pick up! I know I look forward to reading more by Victoria McCombs!

I received this book from Celebrate Lit. This is my honest review.

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About the Author

McCombs, Victoria Victoria McCombs is the author of The Storyteller’s Series from Parliament House Press, and Oathbound. She writes young adult fantasy and adores stories about treacherous pirates and traitorous princes. Her favorite things include peppermint hot chocolate, peanut butter ice cream, game nights with family, and Jesus. She has her mom to thank for allowing so many medieval weapons inside the house as she was growing up, which curated her love for that time period. She is a mom of three little boys and a wife to the handsomest accountant there is. Together they live in Omaha, Nebraska.

More from Victoria

Oathbound was my quarantine book. I remember getting the idea and thinking “I don’t know of any other pirate books in the YA fantasy genre.” Of course, after that, I saw them everywhere, and several amazing ones have come out since. But theses broken pirates had grabbed my attention and I couldn’t let go.

One aspect of my book makes it unique, and that comes in our main character. My characters are a reflection of me, but none more so than Emme. We see early on that she is sick, and while the disease is made up for the book, it’s mirrored exactly by the disease that runs in my family called ataxia. This is a disease that impairs every part of life before it ends it too soon. I’ve never opened those emotions so fully to put them on a page, but Emme and I were going through this together. While I’m lucky not to have symptoms yet (and the chance to never have to go through it), this disability is something I understand deeply, and I’m honored to bring it to life on the page to show the strength that can lie within even when our bodies fail us.

I hope you all enjoy Oathbound!