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adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭. 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞”
tw: torture, confinement, violence, war, injury, medical content, death
🗡️ gods at war
🗡️ good vs evil
🗡️ secret romance
🗡️ amnesia
🗡️ dual pov
🗡️ third person
after roman is caught by dacre, iris arrives home and is unsure how to go on. when her and attie are given the opportunity to go back to the war front as correspondents, she jumps at the chance to find her husband. iris must find roman and continue to gather information about the war that dacre is planning, all while trying to remain safe amidst the war
—
ruthless vows started at full speed & continued picking up, which i really enjoyed
when i finished divine rivals, i was left wishing that we had gotten more of the mythology aspect. ruthless vows did provide us with more dacre & enva, but they kinda overpowered the book, rather than there being a nice balance between dacre & enva, iris & roman, the war, etc
the war was much more prevalent in the plot in ruthless vows, which i liked. there was also really good character development, especially for iris. she exhibited strength in divine rivals by overcoming several challenges & being perseverant. we got to see more of her strength in ruthless vows
the amnesia trope in this was okay. i enjoyed when roman started to remember bits and pieces of iris. but i feel like he remembered very quickly & wish this had been drawn out a bit more before he started having glints of memory come back to him
some of this story became fairly repetitive & kinda just retold what happened in divine rivals. considering the time frame was just two weeks following the end of divine rivals, i feel like divine rivals could’ve just been a standalone that was a bit longer
overall i enjoyed this duology & i’m excited to read more books from rebecca ross
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture
Minor: Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Roman and Iris are a ride or die couple for me. I love their love for eachother and reading the way they talk about eachother makes my heart sing. This book was not as good as the first in my opinion. The reasons why are that the solution to the war came a little too easily, I feel like the author didn't take full advantage of them needing find eachother again, the opportunity for romance/reunion felt squandered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Minor: Torture
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
On some level it's really funny that this book had a chance to re-do the worst thing about the first book, the instant love between our protagonists , and then chose to do the same exact thing again but even faster. There's also some groan-worthy exposition where it really doesn't make sense that the party in question would stop and willingly monologue. Lastly, this book engages in one of my least favorite tropes, pair the spades - NO ONE can end this book without a lover!!!111 ugh
But... I love historical fantasy and what kept me enthralled in the first book was the up-close depictions of warfare. And there's plenty of warfare, spying, and tense action scenes in this sequel to keep me turning the pages. I'm now left hankering for another book series that blends non-magical warfare with a fantasy setting.
But... I love historical fantasy and what kept me enthralled in the first book was the up-close depictions of warfare. And there's plenty of warfare, spying, and tense action scenes in this sequel to keep me turning the pages. I'm now left hankering for another book series that blends non-magical warfare with a fantasy setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Violence, Vomit, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not what I expected. A total let down compared to the first installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Stalking
Minor: Addiction
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Let me be your secret, then. Tuck my words into your pocket. Let them be your armor.”
I literally have no words. How do you explain something that totally captured your heart with its beauty and pain and held you captive until the very last page?
“Maybe that is too much to hope for. But I find that I am leaning more on the side of impossibility these days. I am leaning toward the edge of magic.”
I love how Ross wove together the fight for love and peace with the reality that it comes at a cost. That freedom is ever truly free and the only way we fight it is because we love.
“But I must remind myself that sometimes we write for ourselves and sometimes we write for others. And sometimes those lines blur when we least expect them to. Whenever such happened in my past…I remember that I have only been strengthened by it.”
Love wins. Every time, in every way. And I think that’s what makes this series so beautiful. The joy in the sorrow, the love in the pain, and the moments of peace when in the midst of chaos.
“The magic still gathers, and the pet is gilded; I see the beauty in what has been but only because I have tasted both sorrow and joy in equal measure.”
I love it. I love this series.
It’s an easy five stars for me!
I literally have no words. How do you explain something that totally captured your heart with its beauty and pain and held you captive until the very last page?
“Maybe that is too much to hope for. But I find that I am leaning more on the side of impossibility these days. I am leaning toward the edge of magic.”
I love how Ross wove together the fight for love and peace with the reality that it comes at a cost. That freedom is ever truly free and the only way we fight it is because we love.
“But I must remind myself that sometimes we write for ourselves and sometimes we write for others. And sometimes those lines blur when we least expect them to. Whenever such happened in my past…I remember that I have only been strengthened by it.”
Love wins. Every time, in every way. And I think that’s what makes this series so beautiful. The joy in the sorrow, the love in the pain, and the moments of peace when in the midst of chaos.
“The magic still gathers, and the pet is gilded; I see the beauty in what has been but only because I have tasted both sorrow and joy in equal measure.”
I love it. I love this series.
It’s an easy five stars for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Torture, Blood, Murder
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Vomit, War
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just wanted to start this saying that I LOVE Rebecca Ross' writing. Her words feel like literal magic.
The pace of this second book is slower than the first and it focuses a lot more on the fantasy elements and the war. I'm a romance reader to the core, so that's why I didn't love this as much as Divine Rivals.
Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed Ruthless Vows. The found family, the angst, the letters, the writing (!!!!) and just 💗💌💓 Iris and Roman 💓💌💗
A duology that I certainly will come back to.
The pace of this second book is slower than the first and it focuses a lot more on the fantasy elements and the war. I'm a romance reader to the core, so that's why I didn't love this as much as Divine Rivals.
Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed Ruthless Vows. The found family, the angst, the letters, the writing (!!!!) and just 💗💌💓 Iris and Roman 💓💌💗
A duology that I certainly will come back to.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War
Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Torture, Vomit, Death of parent