Reviews tagging 'War'

Genadeloze beloften by Rebecca Ross

530 reviews

blewballoon's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional sad tense medium-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: No

I kept putting off reading this because I loved the first book but kind of hated how it ended. The setup from that book meant this book was going to start off on an angsty note.

In general I'm just not a fan of romances that involve memory wipes for drama, and I didn't want to read a whole book of Iris and Roman being separated and Roman not even knowing who Iris is. I was glad that he figures things out and they get to interact a lot sooner than I expected.

Ultimately, I think this is a strong duology. The main plot of the war of gods and how humans are pawns in their battles mirrors the sensation of powerlessness and chaos from the actual World Wars. The romance is compelling and the epistolary aspect of the letters going back and forth enhances it. The comradery and bravery of the characters helping Iris and Roman are heartwarming, and contrasted well with the more selfish and ruthless behavior of the antagonists.

Sometimes I read a book that's not the best written, but the story and characters make it fun. Sometimes I read a book that I can tell was written well, but I just don't like what it's about. This series has been one of those special cases where the writing feels expertly crafted and the story and characters are worthy of all the intricately woven prose.

Content Warnings

spacecadetlav's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I found the pacing much more enjoyable than the first book. Divine Rivals was so wonderful, I didn’t realize this book would surpass it. Every event felt intentional to either the characterization of Roman and Iris or wrapping up the war. The romance and war moments were well balanced. I learned so much more about Dacre and Enva that gave context I felt lacking in the first book. I love this duology so much.

Content Warnings

anastasiia_lisetska's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

jlye's review against another edition

2.0

emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I enjoyed The Divine Rivals quite a bit so I am disappointed in this follow-up. The plot was unoriginal and the

amnesia

storyline set back any further character development or progress. I found the ending underwhelming and unsatisfying.

Content Warnings

themelleh's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

xsamwise's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I felt Ruthless Vows lost its way a bit compared to Divine Rivals. Although it did start and end strong, the middle meandered… characters felt distant, places held less importance, etc. It was definitely a slog at times compared to the first book.

Even so, the Letters of Enchantment duology is definitely worth a read and deserved the hype upon release. Not to mention I have fallen in love with Rebecca Ross’ writing. I will definitely be reading anything and everything she publishes.

Content Warnings

aynsrtn's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad tense

Roman terbangun tanpa bisa mengingat apapun. Di tengah ingatannya yang masih kabur, Roman diminta Darce, sang Dewa Penyembuh yang telah menyelamatkannya dari perang, untuk menulis artikel tentangnya. Membalikkan fakta-fakta yang tersaji sebelumnya tetapi dengan sudut pandang Darce. Lalu, Roman menemukan surat dari lemari. Dan ia pun melakukan korespondensi dengan seorang perempuan secara magis. Ingatan Roman lambat laun semakin nyata. Iris E. Winnow. Nama itu kian jelas di tengah perang antar dewa-dewi yang semakin sengit.

Pada buku pertamanya yaitu Divine Rivals, ku memberikan 5⭐️ karena semua lini ditulis dengan apik. Di buku kedua ini, sudah jelas aku menaruh ekspetasi yang besar. Tetapi, apakah memenuhi ekspetasiku?

Pada 1/3 buku seperti merangkum apa yang ada di buku pertama, tetapi versi kebalikannya. Sebelumnya Roman, sekarang Iris. Sebelumnya Iris, sekarang Roman. Bedanya buku kedua ini vibe-nya lebih sedih. Kek ada ajaaaa cobaannya ini pasutri. Ku rasa yang jadi antagonis bukan Darce deh, tapi penulisnya 😃

Roman-Iris terlihat seperti side act—padahal pemeran utama. Kalau dibuat film nih kayaknya screentime Roman dan Iris berdua tuh bisa dihitung jari. Mereka lebih banyak masing-masing. Dan malah lebih ke fokus keruwetan Darce-Enva. Dari sini aku melihat kalau Roman dan Iris itu ibarat Jack-Rose di Titanic. Ya, yang jadi point utamanya tuh tragedi Titanic dengan bumbu cinta Jack-Rose. Demikian pun dengan ini, kayak Pasangan Terkutuk Darce-Enva yang utama, Roman-Iris adalah side act bumbu-bumbu romansa—yang malah lebih banyak angst-nya.

Ada beberapa yang mengganjal bagiku. Taktik [redacted]. Duh, menurutku kayak, ya kepikir deh masa mau membunuh dewa pakai cara yang gitu. Dan satu lagi yaitu alasan Enva memilih Iris, ya karena dia tokoh utamanya, tapi justifikasi dan background story-nya tuh nggak ada. Kirain Iris masih ada silsilah dewa-dewi gitu atau apa benang merahnya. Saat ngebunuh [redacted] pun semudah itu, padahal Iris nggak punya basic beladiri—mungkin pedangnya aja yang sakti.

Final battle. Entah ekspetasiku yang terlalu tinggi atau bagaimana, tetapi aku mengharapkan ada final act yang epic—setelah scene adegan Roman Iris kepisah di buku pertama yang menurutku dramatis—akan ada di buku kedua, tetapi ternyata hanya begitu saja. Ya, cuma begitu dan udah. Penyelesaiannya pun jadi cepat dan lagi-lagi cuma gitu aja. Fasenya di awal yang udah dar der dor, mencekam di tengah, di akhir malah serasa serba cepat dan nanggung.

Tapi, tetap saja buku ini tetap bagus menurutku karena penulisannya rapi dan diksinya cantik. Rollercoaster ride sekali membacanya. Intrik politik yang dipadupadankan dengan media sebagai "penghantar" berita yang bisa diatur sesuai siapa yang berkuasa, disentil cukup lugas di buku kedua ini.

Akhir kata, buku ini menutup duologi Letters of Enchanment dengan baik.

Ps. Forest-Sarah 🤧🫂
Pss. Surat-surat Roman-Iris di bonus chapter 🥰🥰

Content Warnings

kathsbooknook's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I want this to so badly be a 5, because I did really love the last 20% of the book. However, the first 51% had me trudging through it. But the end was very good 😭

Content Warnings

anaya_reads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Complicated

This book is the best I’ve read in a minute, probably because I’ve been reading junk and haven’t absorbed anything. But it was heart achingly beautiful. The way Ross writes Roman and Iris’ love brought tears to my eyes. Gorgeous book

Content Warnings