A review by itsbrianascall
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed the book in the same way I enjoyed the first one; it gives historical fiction vibes while still being a fantasy story, so it checks a lot of boxes for me. This one had the added dynamic of getting to know Roman a little more than we did in the previous book as he went through the process of relearning how he fit into the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, I feel like his character was still way too defined by/contingent upon his relationship with Iris and not necessarily who <i>he</i> is on his own, so he doesn't really feel like a fully fleshed out character. I guess that's to be expected with romantasy, though.

I loved seeing the hints of Attie and Tobias early on, but I really do wish we'd gotten to see more of it if only because I have no idea when they would have had time with the events on the front to really flirt with each other. Then again I, too, would fall head over heels for Attie at the drop of a hat, so I can't blame Tobias for it.


The ending for this wasn't really satisfying to me and it's hard to really pinpoint why. I like 
a happy ending, but this one didn't really feel earned.
There was so much build up to the final confrontation between Iris, Attie, and Dacre that I expected more from it than what we got. It felt like it was over too quickly considering how dangerous and brutal we're told Dacre is supposed to be. It essentially was a quick chase and then Enva shows up and he gets put to sleep. I assumed he'd put up more of a fight. I also find it incredibly hard to believe Iris could easily wield a sword of all things when she has no experience with them (to our knowledge, anyway) and she had such a difficult time with the morning runs with Roman in Avalon Bluff, which we're told was only a few weeks before the events of this book. I guess technically Val ran into the sword and then she basically just dropped it onto Dacre's neck, it just felt like a weird choice of weapon for the final battle.


That being said, I enjoyed it overall. I would've loved some more worldbuilding to better understand the magic of Oath and the dynamics between the divines, but I'm also glad it's only a duology and wasn't dragged on further into a trilogy.
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