Reviews tagging 'War'

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

333 reviews

zimmerlemon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

3.5

I can appreciate the pacing of this book but I did find myself getting a bit impatient from honestly like 50% on. But it was fairly satisfying all the same. I honestly never totally got to a place where the typewriter/city vibe meshed with the whole gods/magic thing, idk what was missing in the world building for me but I just never felt totally connected there. Not my fav duology but I can see things ppl would enjoy about it  
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amy_q13's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-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

3.5

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tabea1409's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.5

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maddy707's review

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

 I was just so bored with this. It doesn’t hit the same as Divine Rivals and there wasn’t nearly enough romance for me. It just left something to be desired. The pacing was so slow through the first half, Dacre and Enva’s relationship wasn’t expanded upon nearly enough. The tone was so jarringly back and forth. And so much stuff was just randomly thrown in without much expansion. 
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lawbooks600's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Representation: N/A
Score: Seven out of ten.

Surprisingly, Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross was better than Divine Rivals. It was more difficult to get a hold of this one since no library or bookstore had it. I had to request it from a library, and I got it a few months later. I glanced at the blurb and headed in with low expectations, but when I closed the final page, I found it more enjoyable.

It starts (more like continues) with the characters that need no introduction, Roman and Iris, living their separate lives with Iris fighting for one all powerful being, Enva, while Roman is stuck in enemy territory with another equally potent being, Dacre. Ross solved almost every issue I had in Divine Rivals with this instalment, and those changes made such an improvement. The characters, hard to connect or relate with initially, eventually grew on me as I read more about them, particularly Roman and Iris, but other characters are still in the background. 

At this point, the two protagonists weren't rivals or enemies anymore, since they already started their relationship and now I see them deepen it. Ross brought more of the worldbuilding and fantasy aspects into the spotlight when I saw more of the ongoing war, specifically Dacre's side, and Enva got more page time, but there was no backstory, but it's fine. Divine Rivals said the two deities have always been rivals. There's no explanation on where they came from, though. The slow pacing works now because of the characters, when previously it was tedious to read, but the writing style tells more than shows, and the setting is one I don't see every day (a historical urban fantasy.) Perhaps adding more detail could further improve the reading experience. At least the climax is a high note when Enva and her side win the conflict.
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creatureof_nature's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.0

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rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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jessiemp2024's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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katharina90's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.0

A weak conclusion to the duology. The story dragged for the longest time, then it was nothing but rushed. The plot was half-baked. Too many plot holes and developments that didn't make sense or seemed unnecessary. 
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