We chat with author N.E. Davenport about Our Vicious Oaths, which will take you on a journey of powerful magic, enemies-to-lovers, and political intrigue where a warrior-princess and a vengeful king from rival fae courts form a fierce alliance to take down a merciless despot.
Hi, Nia! Your latest novel, Our Vicious Oaths, is out October 28th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Sexy, intense, opulent, brutal, carnal
What can readers expect?
Our Vicious Oaths is a knife-to-throat enemies-to-lovers dark romantasy where the enemies are actual enemies. It’s also a romantasy where a high-stakes and thrilling fantasy plot sits side-by-side with a spicy romance plot. The novel doesn’t sacrifice one for the other. I went into creating Our Vicious Oaths with this exact ambition in mind—I wanted to pen a novel that was equal parts epic fantasy steeped in fae court politics and carnal romance.
Our Vicious Oaths is set in a world that’s carved into powerful fae courts, each ruled by ruthless fae royals locked in a constant battle for dominance, power, territory, and wealth. But it’s also a world that owns its sexiness and the high heat between the main characters. The romance is a fast-burn with delicious yearning between a warrior-princess and a ruthless king of a rival fae court who fight like hell to resist the smoldering attraction between them because Malachi wants vengeance against Kadeesha’s court and Kadeesha refuses to yield her crown to the vicious king on a warpath to conquer her lands in retribution for crimes that her father committed against his people.
Where did the inspiration for Our Vicious Oaths come from?
With every book I write, my inspiration is a mashup of things. For Our Vicious Oaths, I drew from my love of romantasies that feature Shadow Daddies cloaked in power who are as sexy as they are arrogant and deadly. I also drew upon my love of the high-stakes political intrigue and scheming between political factions and individuals that goes on in shows like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series was also a huge inspiration. The books are among my favorites and I’ve always thought it was really cool how Singh establishes this world of beautiful and lethal immortals who rule over separate territories and who exist in this precarious dance of etiquette, customs, wars, centuries-long feuds, and plays for dominance and power.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Malachi, the Shadow Daddy fae king, was hands down one of the characters I enjoyed writing the most. We don’t get to see many Black or brown Shadow Daddies in romantasies, and Malachi is a character who has lived in my head for years. I just needed to figure out the write story for him. As a reader, I truly do kick my feet and giggle when there’s a morally-gray MMC (male main character) who wears arrogance and power like a second skin. I kick my feet and giggle even more when that MMC meets a heroine who literally brings him to his knees, lose his mind with the level of yearning he does for her, and makes him “bark for it.”
Kadeesha, the dragon-riding warrior-princess, who refuses to kneel before Malachi and yield her crown, is precisely this type of delicious heroine. She knows her power and she owns it, and she vows to kill Malachi before conceding her throne. And Malachi aims to kill her and seize her throne as part of his retribution. Writing Kadeesha was equally fun because she’s a heroine who is fierce, sexy, ambitious, and a force to be reckoned with in her own right. She also refuses to kneel before any man.
I cackled during just about every scene Malachi and Kadeesha showed up in together while drafting these scenes. Malachi is used to having everyone submit to him as king, either out of reverence or fear, and Kadeesha refuses to bend. They challenge each other in such a thrilling, delectable way. And while they aim to kill each other, they also can’t keep their hands off each other. I really enjoyed watching them fight so viciously to resist the attraction between them.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Each book typically brings a brand new challenge. Our Vicious Oaths is my very first romantasy. The challenge with this book was achieving the perfect balance between a thrilling fantasy plot, compelling character development, immersive world-building, and steamy romance.
At first, I feared that I wouldn’t have the space or pages to develop as rich of a world or romance arc as I wanted to in a standalone romantasy. I tackled this by doing something I never do as a panster—which is intensely plot out the novel before I write it in a very detailed fashion. I ended up with two plot spreadsheets. One spreadsheet tracked the narrative events of the fantasy plot, such as the inciting incident, conflict, point of no return, rising action, climax, and resolution. The other spread sheet tracked the individual romance beats and overall enemies-to-lovers romance arc within the story. Then, I married the two spreadsheets together and combined these two separate plots into one novel.
Often romantasy gets pulled into a duology or series, and sometimes not for the better! Did you feel any sway that it could extend out beyond it being a standalone?
Yes and no. I selfishly wanted to extend Our Vicious Oaths beyond standalone because I had so much fun writing the characters and immersing myself in their world, that I never wanted to leave it even after I wrote the final line. When I say, Our Vicious Oaths is the book of my heart, I truly mean it. It’s a story I’ve been dying to tell for a long time. I’ve been a huge lover of fae stories with romance, and since evem before publishing my debut novel, The Blood Trials, I’ve been hungering to write a dark romantasy with brutal but beautiful fae. So, when my publisher became fully on board with Our Vicious Oaths being my next project, I squealed. Writing this book never felt like “work.” It always felt like fully plunging into the best type of a fun time.
This is your first foray into the romantasy space, but you’re no stranger to romance! What was it like stepping into a new genre? Did you approach or planning change at all?
Writing Our Vicious Oaths didn’t really feel like stepping into a new genre at all. Instead, it felt like returning home. I’ve been a huge reader of romantasy for decades, way back before “romantasy” emerged as a trendy term. I’ve also been writing romantasy for a very long time. When I first decided to being an author in the traditional publishing sphere, it was my ultimate dream to write fantasy romance (and paranormal romance too). I have a ton of romantasy drafts on my laptop that will never see the light of day that I used as practice drafts, where I perfected and honed the craft of writing stories that blended both fantasy and romance. Now, I am over the moon at the fact that I am actually getting to publish a romantasy book. Sometimes, it still doesn’t feel real and I have to pinch myself. This is my most fiercest dream coming true!!
My approach to planning out the novel did shift from what my approach was with my debut adult fantasy series The Blood Gift duology. The Blood Trials and The Blood Gift were science fantasy novels with a spicy romantic subplot. When I was writing them, I focused more heavily on the science fantasy trappings, such as the magic system, the mythology and lore, and the main character’s journey to of vengeance and aims to topple a regime. There’s a very steamy scene—or two—in both of those books, but my goal with them wasn’t to plunge into a full romance plot.
To be honest, I also wasn’t confident in my skills yet as a writer to be certain that I could write a fully-fledged romantasy. Romance is a genre that requires such a big command of craft and the ability to establish compelling characters and romantic tension between them, that I was intimidating. All of the reader enthusiasm I got about the spicy scenes in The Blood Gift duology, really boosted my confidence to finally fully lean into the romantasy genre which I’ve always yearned to write in. With Our Vicious Oaths, I felt like I was ready to do it and do it well!
What’s next for you?
I’m not sure if I can say, but I am terrible at keeping secrets and my publisher hasn’t told me I can’t say what’s next. Haha. After Our Vicious Oaths, my next adult novel will be another standalone romantasy. Genre mashups have pretty much become my favorite playground, so the next novel will be a blend of dark academia and dark romantasy that serves up another steamy enemies-to-lovers pairing. Some inspiration behind the next book is the character Mel from Arcane League of Legends, the world of The Witcher, and the secret society known as “Black Rose” from Arcane too.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
There’s be SO many good books that I’ve read this year. My favorite romantasies combine top-tier world-building, top-tier romance, lush magic systems, and fierce, fun characters.
Here’s a few really phenomenal books that I am obsessed with:
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma is an enemies-to-lovers story with Black vampires. It’s also dark academia and explores themes of history, family, and legacy. The sequel, Eternal Ruin, is out November 4, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it as well.
Drown Me with Dreams by Gabi Burton is the conclusion to a duology featuring a Black heroine who is a siren that lures predatory men to their deaths. There’s also a cinnamon roll, swoony fae prince and it explores themes of found family and lost heritage.
Lore of the Tides by Analeigh Sbrana is another conclusion to a duology. Its heroine is a Black woman caught in a love triangle between two devilishly handsome fae males who may or may not be on her side. When Lore decides to seize power from her oppressors, she has to rely on unlikely allies.
Kuxtal Academy by Nelle Nikole and Mikayla D. Hornedo is an urban fantasy romance that’s also dark academia. With a beautifully rich magic system and spellbinding worldbuilding based on Mayan mythology, Kuxtal Academy delivers a stellar ensemble cast of characters who must navigate a school for the elite, ancient prophecies, forbidden desires, and epic destinies.
Future book I am ravenous for are:
An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole is a dark academia romantasy that comes out December 31. It’s got rivals-to-lovers, shady secret societies, and sinister secrets. Plus, Cole’s prose is lush, haunting, and gorgeous. Another book I am feral for is Gabi Burton’s
A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez is an enemies-to-lovers romantasy with tarot magic. The heroine strikes a deal with a ruthless, ambitious prince to shatter the kingdom that destroyed her family. Releasing Januart 13, it serves up superb banter, “touch her and die,” and fake fated mates.
To Steal a Throne by Gabi Burton is a romantasy lush with political intrigue that arrives April 7. The heroine uses her lie-detecting magic to collect secrets from courtiers and use them to keep her brother on the throne—until she decides to take power for herself. Yet, the one boy she can’t resist might be the one boy who could destroy all of her carefully-laid plans.
