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tiana_king's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
My only beef with this book is the magic, gods, and goddesses were not explained in much detail. Otherwise a nice wrap up to a good story. No there is no spice in this one either for those wondering
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content and Torture
lawbooks600's review against another edition
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
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.
Content Warnings
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, firemelissaslibraryy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Classism, and Vomit
crunchycrystals's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, and Blood
cturn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
Characters - 9
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 9
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 9
CAWPILE score - 8.1
Atmosphere - 8
Writing - 9
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 7
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 9
CAWPILE score - 8.1
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Gore and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
amybartoli29's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Vomit
ctara2123's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death
annick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The ending is lovely. The middle really dragged for me. There were brief moments of poetic writing and emotional heft. But so much of this wasn’t engaging me. I made myself finish it because so many fans speak so warmly and highly of this book and the two books of this series. But I still don’t think it’s one I’ll recommend.
Vibes: Ww2 and blitz. The vendetta aftermath again Dacre’s army really reminds me of the horrors of war (eg soviet solidera brutal treatment of German speaking civilians in late stages of ww2)
The gods and magic didn’t really make sense to me. The cosy Miyazaki vibes of the magic in ordinary houses and objects was appealing but doesn’t really manifest or follow through. The gods got a bit derivative of the Greek pantheon for me (ichor). Perhaps there is a prequel or series of short stories that Ross had in mind.
The Alouette and Lt Shane. Missing opportunity of adversity if the unused typewriter wasn’t destroyed.
Vibes: Ww2 and blitz. The vendetta aftermath again Dacre’s army really reminds me of the horrors of war (eg soviet solidera brutal treatment of German speaking civilians in late stages of ww2)
The gods and magic didn’t really make sense to me. The cosy Miyazaki vibes of the magic in ordinary houses and objects was appealing but doesn’t really manifest or follow through. The gods got a bit derivative of the Greek pantheon for me (ichor). Perhaps there is a prequel or series of short stories that Ross had in mind.
The Alouette and Lt Shane. Missing opportunity of adversity if the unused typewriter wasn’t destroyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and War
Moderate: Death, Bullying, Murder, Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
caitsreadingcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Adored this book. I felt some of the fantasy world building that was lacking in Divine Rivals was compensated for in this book. I thought it was tense and full of action and suspense however it was not as emotive and stirring (maybe just because the budding typewriter romance of the first book was so heart fluttering and made me blush). Something was lacking. This book was far from falling flat mostly because Ross describes scenes with such devastatingly beautiful imagery. Her descriptions are heart wrenching and spellbinding. There are so many quotes I bookmarked.
Still, I feel there was some loose ends and unanswered questions. I also thought thedeaths of Forest and Sarah were not necessary or meaningful to the plot. Iris has dealt with enough death and trauma. Whereas the death of her mother was deeply moving and stirring and contributed to her character development (and arguably pushed the plot froward by strengthening her resolve) these two deaths felt inconsequential.
Also, Dacre has the audacity to go off on Roman for being in love with Iris when he essentially started a war because his lover betrayed him? Not a very moving reason….and, he didn’t have an inkling that Roman was betraying him? The Graveyard storyline also didn’t feel fully flushed out. A lot of things were resolved rather abruptly
Loved this book but the motives for the war were not that enticing or powerful to me. Two Gods acting like bitter teenagers. I was satisfied with the ending but it wasn’t as gripping as the first book.
Still, I feel there was some loose ends and unanswered questions. I also thought the
Also, Dacre has the audacity to go off on Roman for being in love with Iris when he essentially started a war because his lover betrayed him? Not a very moving reason….and, he didn’t have an inkling that Roman was betraying him? The Graveyard storyline also didn’t feel fully flushed out. A lot of things were resolved rather abruptly
Loved this book but the motives for the war were not that enticing or powerful to me. Two Gods acting like bitter teenagers. I was satisfied with the ending but it wasn’t as gripping as the first book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and War
Minor: Death
sarah_hutchins's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders