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A review by dinipandareads
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
As I struggle to make my way out of the brain fog resulting from crying ugly tears while finishing this book, I also find myself at a loss as to what to say about it. I don't know if I even have the words to convey my thoughts on this properly so it'll likely also end up being a messy review but I do know if I don't get this down now, I never will, so we're rolling with it!
For starters, I think this is just as beautifully written as Divine Rivals. Like I said in my DR review: inject Ross' writing into my veins because her prose is gorgeous and I felt completely immersed in her world. Not to mention that she evokes emotions so well through her writing! We got to learn a bit more about the gods, their powers, and abilities and we also got to explore a whole new world, which I found fascinating. It was dark, creepy, sinister and all the villainous-adjacent adjectives. 😂 It would've been great to spend more time in that world but I also loved how it was used to ratchet up the tension and level of uncertainty as Dacre marched ever closer to Oath. What I'm most on the fence about is the pacing. As the story picks up two weeks after the events of book one, I expected the momentum to keep going at a steady yet faster clip but it ended up feeling like I was starting a new book all over again with the slow build-up and introduction to the world which kind of stalled the story a bit. That said, with the steady escalation in the last 30%, I felt every tense moment as if I were there with the characters and it felt like my heart was permanently lodged in my throat! I don't know how I survived it but the feeling was so bad and it was so good, y'know?
I loved reuniting with our main characters and main secondary characters but we're also introduced to a few new ones that end up taking on bigger roles. It was great to see a bit more about Forest and to see him begin his healing but I also loved Tobias and his roadster. There were a couple of secondary romances that were unexpected but I adored too! Roman finds himself in Dacre's camp, we spend a lot of time with this erratic blood-thirsty god and by now, many fantasy readers will know that gods are self-serving and care little beyond how mortals can attend to their needs. Dacre was the definition of a narcissistic megalomaniac and it was interesting to see how he wields his power and what his plans are as he moves closer to the city but I also wished we could've had his motives stated and acknowledged on the page. However, it was Iris who stole the show in this book. She experiences much more growth than Roman and I admire her strength and will to overcome all the horrible, terrifying and heartbreaking things that came her way. Through it all though, it was wonderful to recognise that the characters never gave up hope and I could feel it in the pages throughout the story!
But beyond the action, the war, and the world-building, what many of us came here for was the romance and in my opinion, Ross did not disappoint. There was just so much longing and tenderness in these pages, even as Iris and Roman spend a lot of time separated and trying to find their way back to each other. It created this atmosphere of desperation (not in a bad way) that made me ache for them whenever they were together. Honestly, there are no words to describe how passionate, tender, and full of longing their romance was and it just made my heart melt! I could read novels and novellas about their adventures, their admiration of each other, their passion for writing and the way they grow together. Writing it feels so cheesy but it's so true! I loved them so very much and for the romance part of this fantasy, it was a very satisfying conclusion.
Overall, this was an incredible duology and I'm so glad that I finally read it. I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about this conclusion but I'm happy I wound up loving it despite the things that I think could've been done better. I'm so keen to read more by this author but this duology has made it into my favourites list, for sure!
For starters, I think this is just as beautifully written as Divine Rivals. Like I said in my DR review: inject Ross' writing into my veins because her prose is gorgeous and I felt completely immersed in her world. Not to mention that she evokes emotions so well through her writing! We got to learn a bit more about the gods, their powers, and abilities and we also got to explore a whole new world, which I found fascinating. It was dark, creepy, sinister and all the villainous-adjacent adjectives. 😂 It would've been great to spend more time in that world but I also loved how it was used to ratchet up the tension and level of uncertainty as Dacre marched ever closer to Oath. What I'm most on the fence about is the pacing. As the story picks up two weeks after the events of book one, I expected the momentum to keep going at a steady yet faster clip but it ended up feeling like I was starting a new book all over again with the slow build-up and introduction to the world which kind of stalled the story a bit. That said, with the steady escalation in the last 30%, I felt every tense moment as if I were there with the characters and it felt like my heart was permanently lodged in my throat! I don't know how I survived it but the feeling was so bad and it was so good, y'know?
I loved reuniting with our main characters and main secondary characters but we're also introduced to a few new ones that end up taking on bigger roles. It was great to see a bit more about Forest and to see him begin his healing but I also loved Tobias and his roadster. There were a couple of secondary romances that were unexpected but I adored too! Roman finds himself in Dacre's camp, we spend a lot of time with this erratic blood-thirsty god and by now, many fantasy readers will know that gods are self-serving and care little beyond how mortals can attend to their needs. Dacre was the definition of a narcissistic megalomaniac and it was interesting to see how he wields his power and what his plans are as he moves closer to the city but I also wished we could've had his motives stated and acknowledged on the page. However, it was Iris who stole the show in this book. She experiences much more growth than Roman and I admire her strength and will to overcome all the horrible, terrifying and heartbreaking things that came her way. Through it all though, it was wonderful to recognise that the characters never gave up hope and I could feel it in the pages throughout the story!
But beyond the action, the war, and the world-building, what many of us came here for was the romance and in my opinion, Ross did not disappoint. There was just so much longing and tenderness in these pages, even as Iris and Roman spend a lot of time separated and trying to find their way back to each other. It created this atmosphere of desperation (not in a bad way) that made me ache for them whenever they were together. Honestly, there are no words to describe how passionate, tender, and full of longing their romance was and it just made my heart melt! I could read novels and novellas about their adventures, their admiration of each other, their passion for writing and the way they grow together. Writing it feels so cheesy but it's so true! I loved them so very much and for the romance part of this fantasy, it was a very satisfying conclusion.
Overall, this was an incredible duology and I'm so glad that I finally read it. I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about this conclusion but I'm happy I wound up loving it despite the things that I think could've been done better. I'm so keen to read more by this author but this duology has made it into my favourites list, for sure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Blood, War, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content