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A review by elissapoletti
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 ⭐️
I finally finished Ruthless Vows and I definitely dragged my feet a bit. I love the idea of these books, a fantasy world in a WWII setting is a great idea, and had it been written as an epic fantasy I think it would have been brilliant, however it might be time I acknowledge that I’ve grown out of the YA genre. I find myself cringing at the melodrama and high emotions and I’m still disappointed by the lack of world building and fantasy elements, given that it’s marketed as a romantic fantasy. I was holding out hope that Roman might ride a Wyvern or something, but I’m not sure even that would have saved this duology for me. I hate to be negative about these two books, as there is A LOT of hype around them and many people seem thrilled with them, but unfortunately it felt as though I was reading basically the same story again with a different coloured cover. The story follows the same line as the first, Roman and Iris communicating via magical typewriters, one of them unaware of who the other was, eventually figuring out who they’re writing to, and another “battle” or bombing scene to round out the finale of the book. The world building increases only a small amount with some vague descriptions of Dacre’s underworld but that concludes the extent of it. I will say there were a couple of deaths at the end that were written well, the emotion hit nicely because there wasn’t an over dramatisation of it, it was what it was.
I’m still confused by the “law”, as earlier in the book we’re told if a human kills a god, humankind loses whatever ability that god possessed, ie harvests would not be prosperous if the harvest god was killed, so I don’t know what that means for healing abilities…?
I am glad I have read these, but they don’t live up to the 5 star hype for me, perhaps Ross’s other duology is more my style.
I finally finished Ruthless Vows and I definitely dragged my feet a bit. I love the idea of these books, a fantasy world in a WWII setting is a great idea, and had it been written as an epic fantasy I think it would have been brilliant, however it might be time I acknowledge that I’ve grown out of the YA genre. I find myself cringing at the melodrama and high emotions and I’m still disappointed by the lack of world building and fantasy elements, given that it’s marketed as a romantic fantasy. I was holding out hope that Roman might ride a Wyvern or something, but I’m not sure even that would have saved this duology for me. I hate to be negative about these two books, as there is A LOT of hype around them and many people seem thrilled with them, but unfortunately it felt as though I was reading basically the same story again with a different coloured cover. The story follows the same line as the first, Roman and Iris communicating via magical typewriters, one of them unaware of who the other was, eventually figuring out who they’re writing to, and another “battle” or bombing scene to round out the finale of the book. The world building increases only a small amount with some vague descriptions of Dacre’s underworld but that concludes the extent of it. I will say there were a couple of deaths at the end that were written well, the emotion hit nicely because there wasn’t an over dramatisation of it, it was what it was.
I’m still confused by the “law”, as earlier in the book we’re told if a human kills a god, humankind loses whatever ability that god possessed, ie harvests would not be prosperous if the harvest god was killed, so I don’t know what that means for healing abilities…?
I am glad I have read these, but they don’t live up to the 5 star hype for me, perhaps Ross’s other duology is more my style.