Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

6 reviews

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!

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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

katelyn11's review

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

After Divine Rivals, this was a sore disappointment. Slow-moving with little to contribute to the plot or character development. I simply didn’t care about any part of the world or Iris and Roman’s romance. There were a couple of good chapters (chapter 35 did NOT live up to the hype) but it mostly felt like a slog. I finished it only to say I’ve finished it and to read the conclusion of Iris and Roman’s story. I was bored most of the time. The villain wasn’t compelling; the world wasn’t magical; the side characters were unconvincing fillers; there was far too much exposition rather than good storytelling. This is not Ross’ finest work. Also, the editing seemed rushed, as I found at least one spelling error and several punctuation/spacing errors within the narrative. Read The Queen Rising if you want to read Ross’ finer work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

2blueshoes's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Not as good as the first book, but just as sweeping, gorgeous, heartbreaking, swoon-worthy, and brilliant. Definitely a little darker and more fantasy world focused. I laughed. I cried. I held my breath. Roman and Iris forever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Death

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Medical content, Gun violence, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual content, Murder, and Alcoholism

meganfuhr's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

Going back into the world of Divine Rivals was fabulous!
With Roman forgetting everything we are thrown into a whole new ballgame of intrigue, getting to see what life is like from the view of Darce's Soldier's as opposed to the front lines for Enva.
I loved everything about this book, now, that being said, I did cry a lot during it, so be warned, being some tissues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Murder, Confinement, Gore, Body horror, Medical trauma, War, Gaslighting, Death, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Abandonment, Genocide, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, and Vomit

Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Alcohol, Cursing, and Confinement

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, War, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Self harm, Confinement, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Gore, Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Stalking

cc_shelflove's review

adventurous reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

We'll go anywhere you want to. We'll go together when the war is over.

It's over! 🥹 I think as I read more duologies, they will become the bane of my existence. Two books and we're done? That's it??? I found this book to be extremely slow compared to the first. I could hardly get through 30 pages before needing to take a break. For me, the focal point of Divine Rivals was Iris and Roman's love story, while its sequel concentrated on the war of the gods. If you are a war story fan, this book is for you. There were some elements of romance sprinkled throughout, but I wanted more; I especially yearned to see Attie and Tobias's relationship develop. Overall, I wouldn't skip this sequel, and I wouldn't be mad if Ross decides to revisit Oath in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War