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A review by yas_sezer
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
4.0
4 stars✨
- am i in the minority if i say i preferred this over divine rivals? for the most part at least (definitely ate up roman and iris’ tension build up more in the first)
- learning more about the magic in this world with the gods history and witnessing them in action made this more interesting to keep reading. it isn’t the most complex or fascinating magical system, it’s rather simple but to be honest i think it’s enough for the story. this is more of a historical fiction than a fantasy, it doesn’t NEED more. this is enough
- i was quite disappointed with envas character development. while i didn’t expect a massive battle between enva and dacre directly, i did expect her to utilise her powers indirectly much more than she did. i understand that she soaked up the other gods powers so dacre couldn’t get them, and in turn it weakened her original power, but i didn’t like that. i built her up to be such a whimsical woman, but one that oozes power when you look at her, and she just wasn’t that.
- new and old side characters (tobias you’re so cute) were liked, no complaints here. i stand by how i felt in divine rivals. marisol, keegan, forest, sarah, tobias, and attie all felt so warm even in this and i really felt for them. oddly i still liked them fairly closely to how much i liked roman and iris.
- the plot development of roman’s father was a good addition. i was hoping we would get some sort of depth to him rather than him just being an angry powerful rich man. he started giving me lucius malfoy vibes so instantly i felt for him more (don’t get me wrong though, i don’t respect his decisions, but i can understand)
- one thing i really tried to accept but unfortunately my heart just wasn’t in it even though my brain was is the connection between iris and roman. i don’t doubt their love for one another at all, but since the first book everything just happened so quickly. i think i would have preferred their love story if they were already discovering their feelings beforehand slowly. if it was more of a “friends - i think i like you more - fuck it i don’t wanna lose you” type of trope, i would’ve believed it more. but having this be “work rivals to lovers” even in the war setting, i struggled to connect. i did and still do appreciate all of their moments, the way they love each other, the risks and sacrifices they are willing to make, i enjoyed all of it. but i wasn’t yearning for them and super attached (again, not a single tear was shed and i am a crier).
- in saying all of this, i need to reiterate that my brain completely understands why their romance is the way that it was. and i actually enjoy that concept of seeing the way war affects the ‘regular people’, the ones who get left behind. we don’t just see this with roman and iris, but between iris and forest too. war conditions don’t exactly make things black and white. you can’t predict how you’re going to be impacted, and honestly if i was in their position i would probably have done the same thing.
- the writing. this was probably my favourite aspect about the entire thing. i continued underlining and tabbing this book, because there were many many quotes that made me feel something to my core.
- is this series perfect? no. is it my favourite? no. but i liked being in this world and i enjoyed the vibes. i miss the characters and the story, and believe this had the potential to be so much greater than it was. i didn’t find myself bored at all, didn’t want to put the book down and read something else. i would recommend this to a certain niche of people, but i don’t think it will be everyone’s cup of tea. me though? thoroughly enjoyed. just missed the cherry on top.
- am i in the minority if i say i preferred this over divine rivals? for the most part at least (definitely ate up roman and iris’ tension build up more in the first)
- learning more about the magic in this world with the gods history and witnessing them in action made this more interesting to keep reading. it isn’t the most complex or fascinating magical system, it’s rather simple but to be honest i think it’s enough for the story. this is more of a historical fiction than a fantasy, it doesn’t NEED more. this is enough
- i was quite disappointed with envas character development. while i didn’t expect a massive battle between enva and dacre directly, i did expect her to utilise her powers indirectly much more than she did. i understand that she soaked up the other gods powers so dacre couldn’t get them, and in turn it weakened her original power, but i didn’t like that. i built her up to be such a whimsical woman, but one that oozes power when you look at her, and she just wasn’t that.
- new and old side characters (tobias you’re so cute) were liked, no complaints here. i stand by how i felt in divine rivals. marisol, keegan, forest, sarah, tobias, and attie all felt so warm even in this and i really felt for them. oddly i still liked them fairly closely to how much i liked roman and iris.
- the plot development of roman’s father was a good addition. i was hoping we would get some sort of depth to him rather than him just being an angry powerful rich man. he started giving me lucius malfoy vibes so instantly i felt for him more (don’t get me wrong though, i don’t respect his decisions, but i can understand)
- one thing i really tried to accept but unfortunately my heart just wasn’t in it even though my brain was is the connection between iris and roman. i don’t doubt their love for one another at all, but since the first book everything just happened so quickly. i think i would have preferred their love story if they were already discovering their feelings beforehand slowly. if it was more of a “friends - i think i like you more - fuck it i don’t wanna lose you” type of trope, i would’ve believed it more. but having this be “work rivals to lovers” even in the war setting, i struggled to connect. i did and still do appreciate all of their moments, the way they love each other, the risks and sacrifices they are willing to make, i enjoyed all of it. but i wasn’t yearning for them and super attached (again, not a single tear was shed and i am a crier).
- in saying all of this, i need to reiterate that my brain completely understands why their romance is the way that it was. and i actually enjoy that concept of seeing the way war affects the ‘regular people’, the ones who get left behind. we don’t just see this with roman and iris, but between iris and forest too. war conditions don’t exactly make things black and white. you can’t predict how you’re going to be impacted, and honestly if i was in their position i would probably have done the same thing.
- the writing. this was probably my favourite aspect about the entire thing. i continued underlining and tabbing this book, because there were many many quotes that made me feel something to my core.
- is this series perfect? no. is it my favourite? no. but i liked being in this world and i enjoyed the vibes. i miss the characters and the story, and believe this had the potential to be so much greater than it was. i didn’t find myself bored at all, didn’t want to put the book down and read something else. i would recommend this to a certain niche of people, but i don’t think it will be everyone’s cup of tea. me though? thoroughly enjoyed. just missed the cherry on top.