Read and Reviewed: A Vow Made Twice by Emma Denny

Tuesday, 10 February 2026

A Vow Made Twice by Emma Denny

✦ BLURB ✦

Haunted by love. Bound by duty.

After inheriting his father’s title, Earl Ash Barden has no choice but to find a wife to ensure the family line. But Ash has pledged himself to another, and making new vows – even with his lover long-since dead – feels like the ultimate betrayal to his memory.

Skilled bowman and unconventional widow Agnes Forrett wants two to be true to herself, and to avoid marrying the childhood friend her family is determined will take her hand. When Ash arrives in her keep, she realises he’s the perfect choice to grant her the freedom she needs to be the person she is – be that lady, lord, or something else entirely.

Agreeing to enter a marriage of convenience, their plan is set … until a roadside attack thrusts a familiar face back into Ash’s life, and with it a choice about his future. Whilst his feelings for the ghost from his past remain as strong as ever, he can’t deny his growing affection for Agnes too. Now Ash must ask can one heart truly be pledged to two people?

✶ PRE-READING ✶

I've been on a cosy fiction kick recently, and this felt like it was adjacent to that world while being a bit spicier. (It is very spicy, be prepared.) I haven't read the connected works, so some of the backstory was a bit opaque, but I followed well enough.

✶ POST-READING ✶

As I thought… I really liked the characters and the central premise - a marriage of convenience that slowly becomes something more. Unlikely as it is that all three siblings in one medieval family would be gay, I’m choosing not to question my blessings. The dialogue leans more formal than I expected, but that makes sense given that most of the cast are nobles trying very hard to behave properly while absolutely not behaving properly.

It surprised me by... How easily everyone confessed everything to each other. They're all, in varying ways, committing sins that could see them jailed, excommunicated, fined and hanged, probably in that order, but they're all very open with each other, mostly under the guise of 'I can't ask him/her to marry me without understanding this first'. It's so open it's odd, even though one of my most hated tropes is people not just talking to each other!

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

Book Recommendation: Gwen and Art are not in Love by Lex Croucher is set in a vaguely Arthurian court. The sequel is due out this year!

TV or Movie Recommendation: The Girl King, a movie about the life of Queen Christina of Sweden.

✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

A colour palette: grey stone, bright tapestries

A soundtrack: heavy on the lute, loud panicked drums

A season: spring - bright, green and full of promise

A mood: uncertain, determined to try, anxious

A scent: wet dog, wax candles and dried rushes

★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

The Lovers. It couldn’t really be anything else. Ash, Olly, and Agnes are all standing at emotional crossroads, each choice affecting the others. This isn’t just romance - it’s about commitment, identity, and deciding what kind of life you’re brave enough to claim.

Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this! I'll admit that I skimmed some of the spicier bits - phwaor! - but the story itself is great. There's some really effective handling of PTSD from a fourteenth century understanding, and gender issues are treated as well as possible for the time frame. As I said above I genuinely liked the characters, and I thought the idea was great. I'll be looking for the other stories in the sequence now!

A Vow Made Twice publishes on the 12th Feb, 2026. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.

Read and Reviewed