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aksmith92's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
The Setup: Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross is the second and final installment in her Letters of Enchantment duology. It picks up where "Divine Rivals," the first book, leaves us - documenting the tales of Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, two journalists caught in the throes of a divine war. Please note: the rest of my setup may contain some spoilers simply because it's a second book!
The story opens with Iris back in Oath, reeling from recent battles and trying to save her brother, Forest. Meanwhile, Roman, now under the influence of the god Dacre, has lost his memories and unknowingly becomes a pawn in Dacre's plans.
Ross masterfully intertwines Iris's and Roman's journeys with a rich tapestry of dreams, enchanted typewriters, and clandestine letters, creating the same type of atmospheric novel as Divine Rivals. We watch as the divine war continues and how Roman and Iris's love evolves in unique and profound ways.
What I Liked: You are a lovely writer, Rebecca Ross. Ross's writing was beautifully atmospheric in this novel and made for such a pleasant experience. The poetic prose brought an added layer of beauty to the narrative. Additionally, my character development itch was scratched in this novel. I loved reading about Iris and Roman and plenty of the other characters, too. Their stories were beautiful, and I loved getting to know them even more. Lastly, love, memory, and resistance themes were skillfully woven throughout the book. Ross questions the nature of heroism and the cost of war, providing readers with more than just a fantasy adventure but a commentary on the human condition. This novel had a dark undertone but somehow intertwined hope and intimacy, making for a well-rounded emotional experience.
I also simply loved when Iris and Roman were intimate - Ross had a very subtle way of talking about them being together, but it was touching and beautiful nonetheless.
Why Not 5 Stars? This was a long book. While I loved Ross's prose, I must admit that the pacing was occasionally slow. Some parts dragged on a bit too long, and honestly, the typewriter scenes didn't hit as hard as the first book, although I still thoroughly enjoyed them. My biggest reasoning for not giving this five stars, though, was because the fantasy element of this novel - the divine war - just didn't make sense to me. Maybe we're not supposed to understand it, because Ross wanted to talk about the impacts of war, but the divine war truly felt like a throw-in to accompany the magical typewriters more than anything else.
Lastly, this novel was a bit YA, and the characters were actually very young, which sometimes cheapened the romance. That is more of me thing than anything else, so I didn't let it sway my rating or review too much.
Overall, Ross knows how to write a book!
The story opens with Iris back in Oath, reeling from recent battles and trying to save her brother, Forest. Meanwhile, Roman, now under the influence of the god Dacre, has lost his memories and unknowingly becomes a pawn in Dacre's plans.
Ross masterfully intertwines Iris's and Roman's journeys with a rich tapestry of dreams, enchanted typewriters, and clandestine letters, creating the same type of atmospheric novel as Divine Rivals. We watch as the divine war continues and how Roman and Iris's love evolves in unique and profound ways.
What I Liked: You are a lovely writer, Rebecca Ross. Ross's writing was beautifully atmospheric in this novel and made for such a pleasant experience. The poetic prose brought an added layer of beauty to the narrative. Additionally, my character development itch was scratched in this novel. I loved reading about Iris and Roman and plenty of the other characters, too. Their stories were beautiful, and I loved getting to know them even more. Lastly, love, memory, and resistance themes were skillfully woven throughout the book. Ross questions the nature of heroism and the cost of war, providing readers with more than just a fantasy adventure but a commentary on the human condition. This novel had a dark undertone but somehow intertwined hope and intimacy, making for a well-rounded emotional experience.
I also simply loved when Iris and Roman were intimate - Ross had a very subtle way of talking about them being together, but it was touching and beautiful nonetheless.
Why Not 5 Stars? This was a long book. While I loved Ross's prose, I must admit that the pacing was occasionally slow. Some parts dragged on a bit too long, and honestly, the typewriter scenes didn't hit as hard as the first book, although I still thoroughly enjoyed them. My biggest reasoning for not giving this five stars, though, was because the fantasy element of this novel - the divine war - just didn't make sense to me. Maybe we're not supposed to understand it, because Ross wanted to talk about the impacts of war, but the divine war truly felt like a throw-in to accompany the magical typewriters more than anything else.
Lastly, this novel was a bit YA, and the characters were actually very young, which sometimes cheapened the romance. That is more of me thing than anything else, so I didn't let it sway my rating or review too much.
Overall, Ross knows how to write a book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Medical content, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
amy_q13's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Medical content, Child death, Death of parent, and Sexual content
lanza909's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Child death
49moths's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
some of the lines might be good but it just felt like it was trying too hard.
i did like how it doesn’t just end when darce is killed. theres a little on after. which makes sense bc there’s still gonna be a lot of things to do (general unrest, power struggles, rebuilding a city ect) so it ended on a better note :]
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, War, and Death
avacadosocks's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Blood, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
screenqueen24's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.75
Following on from the first book in this duoligy, 'Devine Rivals' this book took an entirely different turn, it's much more magical based and not so focussed on the whimsical love story that the first book gave us.
The magical world and elements were touched on and mentioned briefly in the first book but here they really come to life, sadly though as a result, character development and relationships suffer. This book is much more plot driven and plays a game of picking up the breadcrumbs that were left in 'Divine Rivals'.
The magical world and elements were touched on and mentioned briefly in the first book but here they really come to life, sadly though as a result, character development and relationships suffer. This book is much more plot driven and plays a game of picking up the breadcrumbs that were left in 'Divine Rivals'.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
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