ŷ������

�� 2.5 stars

”write me a story where there is no ending, kitt. write to me and fill my empty spaces.��

in this sequel, Ruthless Vows seamlessly picks up where it’s predecessor left off. this story thrusts readers back into the enchanting world of Oath, where unruly magic, war and sleeping gods collide. two weeks have passed since iris winnow reluctantly returned home from the war front with her brother forest. she now grapples with the deceptive calm that envelops her hometown and iris battles with not knowing if roman has survived the bombing.

i was going to rate this 3 stars but something happened at the end that made it lose .5 of a star. that really hurt my feelings, why would you do that 😭😭

damn, these new anticipated releases have not been it at ALL. idk if authors are trying way too hard to live up to their success or we just have high expectations but these releases have not been hitting whatsoever. you all don’t understand how sad it makes me to even rate it this but i just did not enjoy this book whatsoever. nothing felt captivating, it was underwhelming, there was no plot and this book just couldn’t keep my attention.

whilst i was desperate for the continuation of roman and iris�� story i cant help but feel so dissatisfied with this conclusion. i was completely blown away by how romantic, emotional and intimate DR was. i was craving that same feeling again when i picked up ruthless vows. i really just wanted this book to explore more on iris and roman’s love story and their marriage. although their story continues, it feels like they are not the main characters anymore. their chapters fell flat for me, and their conversations were odd and out of place since they were apart for majority of the book, which for the life of me i cannot comprehend why that were apart for 95% of the book. there were so many times were i would pick up my kindle, read one to two chapters, put my kindle back down then pick it back up 1-2 days later.. like that’s how bored i was with this story, it was actually a mission for me to finish this. i was contemplating dnfing so many times but i hate to dnf books. i was waiting for this to get better and it didn’t lmao. i hate when authors throw in the amnesia trope bc the whole connection and the build-up between the characters is erased and then they have to find their way back to each other again. ahhh i just wanted more cheesy, cutesy, lovey-dovey romaniris moments!!

"the problem is... i want to hear from you at all hours. i want to read your words. i am greedy for them. i am hungry for them."

the first half was honestly just a recap of divine rivals, but with different circumstances. i hate how romaniris were apart, it was for way too long for my liking!! i was missing the connection to the characters, the stolen glances, the little touches, the tension and pining. i wish there were more beautiful letters, that’s what made divine rivals so enchanting. i absolutely adored all of the tender moments between roman and iris in the first book, but there was barely any romance in this book which is so disappointing (apart from chapter 35, that chapter was so tender and will be next fixation aaa my heart!!!) the first book built it up perfectly to continue it on for this story. like i hated how they got married so quickly so i really thought it was going to be explored and how they will adapt to marriage after they are reunited but there was absolutely no depth to their characters. it seems that the author doesn’t know how balance and differentiate between the romance and fantasy plot. since divine rivals was lacking fantasy, ruthless vows was lacking romance.

i know we asked for more world-building and more on the gods but please we didn’t mean take the focus off of romaniris 😩 the war between the gods felt so sloppy to me, so really you did this for what?? nothing 😭 dacre has no personality beyond being entitled, controlling, mind-numblingly stupid and an actual joke. are you seriously expecting me to take him as a villain when he didn’t even feel threatening.. idk why but i just kept picturing him as dr. evil from austin powers. for a god with big plans why was he so trusting towards roman?? it didn’t make sense to me, he literally told roman all of his plans.. like sir, are you dumb or stupid?? he was practically the main character in this book and it took all of the focus off of romaniris. also enva felt like a background character and a puppet master. idk what the point of her character was bc she just pops up out of no where at the end to save the day.

i also think the author was trying to do too much and therefore none of it was executed perfectly. introducing the ‘graveyard�� felt unnecessary bc they had no important relevance to this story whatsoever.

the tone of changes between chapters was so ??? in one chapter you have a god causing massive destruction and you will feel the urgency and think “omg what is dacre going to do now?�� but then in the next chapter you will have the characters at a cafe drinking tea and eating scones or attending family dinners like there isn’t a war occuring. why give me a rush and make me feel super anxious only for it to be ruined..

this story fell flat for me, i just didn’t feel that spark like i did with divine rivals. i will always applaud rebecca ross for her beautiful writing and her lyrical prose. although this book wasn’t enjoyable for me, romaniris will always have a special place in my heart. i’m keeping them in my pocket forever 🥹

let our breaths twine and our blood become one, until our bones return to dust.

#1 Divine Rivals �� 4.25 stars
#2 Ruthless Vows �� 2.5 stars