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clothildev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Grief, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, War, Murder, Death, and Blood
aksmith92's review
- 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 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!
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
readyforit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I literally read this 2 weeks ago and cannot remember what happened. I disliked this one even more than divine rivals, which made me like book 1 even less because we didnāt get a satisfying conclusion. I was on my knees begging for some kind of plot twist like enva is actually the evil one and dacre is the misunderstood villain, but no. We barely get any romance in this one bc of Romanās amnesia and the fact that theyāre separated for 90% of the book. Idk what the point of getting them married was.
We did finally get some answers to the godsā backstory and a little bit of magic system explanation but not much. I wish I wouldāve DNFed but I wanted to give it a fair shot. Iām glad I rented this from my library so I didnāt waste money on this series. Unfortunately the audiobook was bad again, but only bc the writing is so boring, it seems like the narrators are just reading instead of performing. I really disliked the ending and how all the action played out. I stand by what I said about this series being better as historical fiction instead of fantasy, bc thereās barely any fantasy in if you take the gods out. Overall, I did not like the series and it was a struggle to get through, and obviously wonāt be rereading.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
justqueue's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I wanted to love this book more, but the middle dragged on. Yet Rebecca wrote characters so lovely I had to finish to see their conclusion. Stepping back, the plot was great, there was just something missing compared to the first book. Iām still glad I read this sequel, and Iris will always hold my heart ā¤ļø
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Death, War, Murder, Medical content, Blood, and Cursing
Minor: Stalking, Alcohol, and Vomit
ksilvio's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Vomit, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, War, and Gun violence
gpfot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Vomit, Medical trauma, Murder, Slavery, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Emotional abuse, War, and Violence
abicaro17's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Gore, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Genocide, Grief, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Physical abuse, Stalking, Kidnapping, War, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Murder
chelly_reads's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, War, Grief, Blood, Gore, Murder, Medical content, and Violence
tabea1409's review
- 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
Graphic: War, Chronic illness, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, Medical content, Gun violence, and Grief
lawbooks600's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Full trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, death of a mother from a train accident and a sister in a body of water in the past and murder, beheading, physical assault and injury, blood, grief and loss depiction, explosions, fire