Ruthless Vows - Rebecca Ross

Two weeks have passed since Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, and the city of Oath continues to dwell in a state of disbelief and ignorance. When Iris and Attie are given another chance to report on Dacre’s movements, they both take the opportunity and head westward once more despite the danger, knowing it’s only a matter of time before the conflict reaches a city that’s unprepared and fracturing beneath the chancellor’s reign.

Since waking below in Dacre’s realm, Roman cannot remember his past. But given the reassurance that his memories will return in time, Roman begins to write articles for Dacre, uncertain of his place in the greater scheme of the war. When a strange letter arrives by wardrobe door, Roman is first suspicious, then intrigued. As he strikes up a correspondence with his mysterious pen pal, Roman will soon have to make a decision: to stand with Dacre or betray the god who healed him. And as the days grow darker, inevitably drawing Roman and Iris closer together…the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war. (link)

Review: 5/5

I’m internally screaming, crying, thrashing, running, and howling. Maybe I’m also externally doing that. It shouldn’t be a surprise to you, my loyal (1) reader, that I adored this book, as I did the first in the series. The original book just set us up SO well for such a fulfilling sequel, and I was (surprisingly) not disappointed. SPOILERS AHEAD. As always, duh.

I think Ms. Ross absolutely KILLED this book, as per usual. I have read only one of her other books, but now I know that her killing it is the usual. The world building and description of the characters was out of this world, and I really felt invested in everything that happened.

First, I often hate the separated fantasy couple trope, it always reminds me of Throne of Glass. And I HATED TOG. Sorry Maas fans, but I don’t care. If I wanted to read about war, I’d pick up a newspaper and major in journalism. But I don’t, so I only read the Daily Mail on Snapchat and majored in business marketing. Tangent aside, I think Ross did an impeccable job keeping alive the communication and genuine love-focused-care of Roman and Iris. I also worship the plotline of how Iris broke into the museum to get the third Alouette typewriter. Like, okay you daring little scoundrel! You would do anything for love, wouldn’t chya?

Sidenote: I also loved the focus on politics and living in an unpredictable world, while prevailing the storyline of romance. What can I say, I love me some good love stories.

As I think I mentioned in my previous review, I also adore when a magic system just makes sense. I really enjoyed the sense of magic in the air, being able to sense it but not use it, and the overall storyline of the gods. I also especially valued the relatedness between the gods in this book and the stories of Pagan myth, like Greek and Roman mythology. But, that’s the inner mythology nerd in me.

I was slightly confused about the reasons buildings and places in the first books had magic and other places didn’t. After the whole reveal of the details about the ley lines, I really understood it, and was honestly relieved that it made sense to me. I also was slightly confused about the tunnels and where Enva was from/where she lived, but I chalked that up to me not understanding because I cared more about reading when Roman and Iris would be reunited. Whoops, my honest mistake!

I also really liked the balance of the sides of the politics. There was a while in the book where I was thinking, what if Dacre is not bad, and Enva isn’t bad either? What if both of them were valid, as people who get into fights are? I was really interested in this storytelling concept of being able to see each side’s view. I thought it would be really interesting to see a story like that where both sides ARE right, and the war is justified to both sides of the parties. But, maybe this is something I need to write myself since I haven’t seen anything like it. Maybe.

OBVIOUSLY I loved the fact that her writing to him renewed his memory and he was able to remember everything. It was also perfect to me how he was like “oh yeah, my soulmate.” LIKE DUH!! Is that too much to ask? And once again proving Roman Kitt is the ideal man, and no real man will ever rise up to the occasion. Well, except Hozier.

Also, I’ll say it, but Forrest dying was one of my favorite parts. I NEVER LIKED HIM, SORRY! I know his arc was supposed to be getting better, but I really think it was a gnarly move, even if it meant Iris doesn’t have any family left besides Roman. Oops, I don’t care! I honestly think if Ross focused on Forrest more, it would have made me like him more and be more upset he died, but I felt relieved instead. I felt I couldn’t trust him, and he wasn’t being his real self with Iris besides depending on her for everything and being so controlling. Like, I get it, you have PTSD and physical trauma, but please stop being so controlling when you’re also a hypocrite! I was so over it, but I didn't have to be for long. Hehehe, evil scheming.

I was about 75% of the way through, when Enva encouraged Iris to use the sword to behead Dacre, and I distinctly remember telling my friend Sarah (who was with me) that I knew there would have to be another book. I was so exhausted of cliffhangers and so used to plotlines being dragged out for no (apparent) reason. I was so tired of the endless plotlines and needless detailing. BUT, Ms. Ross surprised me (something hard to do after the amount of books I’ve read)! AND I was SO happy she did! I was SHOCKED when Iris killing Dacre was fit in the book, and I kinda appreciate her not making a spectacle about it and just mentioning it. It wasn’t the point of the book, their love story was. AH, kudos (again) Ms. Ross.

Also a quick last note: I think the epilogue was absolute perfection. It reminded me of the Hunger Games epilogue, and that was the first epilogue I was ever satisfied by. I have problems when there’s too much interpretation at the end of a book; I don’t wanna guess what happened! And I hate when there’s too much detail; I wanna imagine what happened! This was the perfect medium, and I was so happy, but I was also thinking about it for days. Hell, I’m still thinking about it!

I made the playlist earlier for the first book in this series, Divine Rivals, and I think it still fits the bill. But, I added more songs to it, so the last half of the playlist is more tuned towards this book in specific. I still got a lovesick, folksy genre, but this time with a little more despair. Hope you don’t get depressed. Enjoy!

Spotify: LINK