This review contains affiliate links, which earn me a small commission when you click and purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business and allowing me to continue providing you a reliable resource for clean book ratings.
Two weeks ago, Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front. The war is far from over, Roman is missing, and the city of Oath lives in a state of disbelief and ignorance. When Iris and Attie are given another chance to report on Dacre’s movements, they head westward once more, knowing it’s only a matter of time before the conflict reaches a city that’s unprepared for danger and fracturing beneath the chancellor’s reign.
Meanwhile, waking below in Dacre’s realm, Roman cannot remember who he is. He’s been given reassurances that his memories will return in time. Until that happens, he continues to write articles for Dacre. When a strange letter arrives by wardrobe door, Roman is suspicious, then intrigued. As he strikes up a correspondence with his mysterious pen pal, Roman realizes he will have to make a decision: to stand with Dacre or betray the god who saved his life.
As always, Rebecca Ross paints emotion so vividly onto the page that each story reads as atmospheric and touching. I found myself reading even slower than usual, taking the time to savor every word and poetic description and really let myself sink into the story, especially as this is the concluding book in a duology (which started with Divine Rivals).
Ruthless Vows is a romantasy first and foremost, and the characters certainly take you on an emotional roller coaster as they face the tumult of their half-familiar world. At times, my brain had a hard time grasping gods in a World War I Great Britain setting, but I still loved the journey. By the time I reached the final pages, I felt the book had broken and healed me all at once. The ending continues to haunt me even still, leaving me with a sense of bittersweet contentment and the desire to spend just a little more time with these characters.
Rated: Moderate. Language includes two uses of moderate language and at a few uses of the british (bl-). Violence includes depictions of grief, terror and war. There are countless deaths, blood, and injury and a depiction of bombing and a city under attack. PTSD reveals itself in characters’ memories of the trenches and in the remembered death of a loved one. Sexual content hints at there being lovers between gods and between gods and mortals. There is one intimate, emotional, heavy make-out scene, but character’s physical actions remain unclear. Characters kiss passionate, shower, and share a bed together.
Click here to purchase your copy of Ruthless Vows on Amazon.Â
