A Vow for Breaking

The heroine in A Vow for Breaking by L.M. Riviere is Sloane McIntyre, a sharp, smart, poor young Irish woman from Boston who has inherited a demon as a constant companion - whether she wants him or not - and thanks to her witch ancestor, he doesn’t have much choice either.

Orphaned and with 5 younger siblings to help support, she is on her way from the workhouse to be a maid in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

As a narrator, Sloane is forthright, funny, and relatable. Even as she tells us about her demon and what he’s done, she questions her own sanity. And she isn’t so sure her story will be relatable to everyone. She tells us not to bother reading if we’ve never been so poor we don’t understand how desperate it can make you because she’s not going to take time to explain it or make excuses about choices she’s made - or things she’s asked or allowed her demon, which she calls Dandy, to do.

The chills really start as she travels to Harwood House and hears not only eerie Appalachian lore but several warnings about the house and family, and it may be a good thing she has a supernatural protector, however problematic he may be.

A Vow for Breaking was a chilling Appalachian folk horror and a lot of fun to read. You’ll want to set aside a few hours for reading because it’s hard to put down once you start. (I assume…I didn’t even try.)

Thanks to the author and Burnt Leaf Press for the advance copy for my unbiased review. Pub. Date: May 1, 2026