“Oath” by Kate Butler

Oath

Kate Butler
Independently Published (2025)
ISBN: 978-1069279354
Reviewed by Julie Sara Porter for Reader Views (12/2025)

Kate Butler’s Oath is a charming and enchanting queer fantasy romance about the love between a lord and his knight.

Lord Aerion Valemont is the spoiled, narcissistic son of the Archbishop. He is used to having his way, so when Sir Clyde of Blackholt, AKA “The Hound,” a war-hardened, quiet, defiant warrior, is assigned to be his protector, Aerion considers it a challenge. He insults the knight, makes demands, sneaks out, flirts openly with men and women, but he can’t get Clyde to crack. He also can’t get him out of his mind and notices that occasionally the knight gives him looks like he feels the same way. It appears these two completely opposite characters from different worlds are attracted to one another despite Clyde’s sworn oath to protect the young Lord and the scheme to get Aerion married to avoid scandal.

Oath is the type of fantasy romance that technically does nothing new. The characters are known archetypes, and the plot and setting have been seen many times. Even the fact that it’s a queer romance has been done. This book should be a disposable cliche, but there is something so delightful and endearing about this particular book that makes it work despite or actually because of the cliches.

 It is determined to stick to the format so well that it offers a peace of mind like a fairy tale in which you know the characters will live happily ever after, but you are enjoying the journey anyway.

One of the reasons that this book is so entrancing is because of its protagonists, who, despite their flaws and frailties, are so lovable that you want them to get together from the moment that they lay eyes on each other.

Aerian is written as the ultimate spoiled rich kid with plenty of money and daring, but not a lot of empathy or sense. He has to be the center of attention no matter where he goes. He dresses in loud, bright colors and is often compared to a peacock. He flirts, chats, and ingratiates himself with guests, courtiers, and delegates.

He also has a mischievous streak, which he shows largely to Clyde by forcing him to answer personal questions and teasing him by giving him a ribbon and calling it a leash. He has a child’s need for attention and a penchant for emotional volatility.

Aerion portrays the spoiled rich kid almost to a cliche, but to a point. Just when the reader is about to write him off as a one-dimensional, obnoxious, petulant brat, it occurs to us that this is the point. He plays the spoiled rich kid almost too well, as though it’s an act. Clyde realizes that this is the case.

 Many of the chapters where Aerion is vulnerable when alone or defending the people during a council meeting give clues to the real man wrapped inside the bright colors and performance.

While Aerion is hiding his more serious and introspective nature underneath a narcissistic and superficial shell, what you see with Clyde is what you get. He is a solid stoic force. He gives no information unless Aerion asks and then responds in terse, succinct words. (When Aerion asks if he is attracted to him, Clyde says, “Yes,” and leaves it at that for now.)

Aerion might be the vibrant ribbons dancing around the pole, but Clyde is the pole keeping him steady. He loves Aerion but does not want to compromise his duty with emotion. He has sworn an oath to protect his Lord and will do so even if it has to be from himself.

When the Lord and the knight become emotionally and physically closer together, Clyde’s softer side emerges. He protected the Lord because it was his duty to defend a faceless noble title. As their romance grows, he protects Aerion, not the Lord, the Archbishop’s son, but Aerion, the bundle of contradictions that he has grown to love.

Something changes halfway through the book. What started out as a light-hearted, fun queer romance between two opposites becomes a darker and more serious coming-of-age story during war. Clyde goes to war to protect Aerion from a rival kingdom, but also from their clandestine romance, so the path can be cleared for the young Lord to marry.

The separation causes the two to confront opposing forces and their own vulnerabilities. Clyde battles opposing armies and Aerion views with controlled courtiers and comes to terms with his father’s failing health.

 They exchange letters full of love, revealing their actual thoughts and emotions while conforming to the societal standards that come with maturity and ascendency. They have to compromise who they are to each other with who they have to be to everyone else.

The darker aspect of the second half of Kate Butler’s Oath makes Aerion and Clyde’s relationship even more powerful. Where they began as archetypes in a fairy tale, they gained depth, wisdom, and insight. They move beyond a spoiled lord and stoic knight to become stronger, braver, more selfless, and more devoted characters and lovers.