A good continuation to the original tale with a flipped version of events,my only qualm is that the 'big bad' seemed way to easy to kill in the end.

Such a great second installment to the series. Got all in my emotions and fell in love with the couple even more this time around.

Can’t wait to read more of Ross’ work!

This is a really excellent conclusion to the duology, and I think a two-book series was perfect for this story. The pacing felt right, and I was invested throughout both books; there wasn't ever a time when I was bored or wanted it over and done with. Rebecca Ross writes so beautifully and eloquently, and I'm really excited now to read her other duology. I loved the expanded exploration of the Gods in this book, with the focus on Dacre and Enva's backstory. Although I would've liked for Enva to have a bigger role in the story than she did, I enjoyed the dynamic that Dacre brought to the page. Iris truly shone in this book; she was brave, genuine, strong and devoted, and I absolutely adore her as a main character. Roman was also wonderful, but Iris is definitely my favourite.

There were a few things which I was slightly disappointed with, namely that Forest felt like he was set up to have a significant role in the plot from the ending of Divine Rivals - and that just didn't happen. I also wasn't entirely sure how the whole 'Graveyard' plotline was necessary, seeing as it didn't end up being exactly impactful in any way by the end.

Overall though, this was a great conclusion to a great duology, and I can't wait to see what's next for Rebecca Ross!

I loved the first book so the sequel had a lot to live up to. I love the characters and the romance storyline. However I found the pacing of this book a little off, it was a slow start with a rushed resolution. But I found that author was really good about drawing me into the story and keeping me invested regardless if the plot was a little wonky at times.

I initially absolutely loved this sequel, your thrust straight back into the story where it left off with all the same feeling and atmosphere that Divine Rivals gave but my attention began to wain a third of the way through.

I was so craving the beautiful romance continuation from the first book and I was ready to experience heartbreak and true pain from this addition but it just didn’t happen for me, I found the story slow paced and lacking somewhat in plot, despite being in the middle of a war with a blooming romance to follow.

I really wanted so much more for Roman. His character arc didn’t quite hit the mark for me and I was left a little empty at his part in the plot and how that affected the outcome of his story.

That said the writing is in keeping with the first book, it’s beautifully quotable and has a really stunning feel to the writing style and I do still love the premise of the book and grew to love it’s characters greatly.
It’s still worthy of a good rating from me and very much worth the read… I just hoped for a little more from this one.

Massive thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy to honestly review

It took me a while to finish but I blame that more on me slumping than the book. I loved every second of it and I loved being back with Iris and Roman. I do however think this suffers a little from second book syndrome, it didn't quite reach the standards of the first book but it was still an amazing read!

Great duology, original and well plotted. I loved the characters, the world building and the storytelling.
More to come
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I actually want to give this 4.5 stars - I loved it but nothing can beat the first book for me. How did this non-spicy YA BOOK grab my heart so much.

The world building continued a little bit too much in this book and I was routing for them to be re-united and then the book was elevated to amazing at that point.

I cried, I laughed and I loved

Beautifully written and I could not put this down ! I wasn’t disappointed in the last part of the series but i wish there was more of an epilogue at the end which is why I haven’t given this book 5 stars.

I am not a romance first reader. It's really unusual for me to ship characters even if I really like them. However, Divine Rivals absolutely hooked me. In fact, everything I've read by Rebecca Ross has drawn me in - there's something about her writing, some blend of intelligence, easiness and emotional honestly that captures me every time. Divine Rivals was one of my favourite reads of 2023 and I couldn't wait to get my mitts on Ruthless Vows. Nor was I disappointed.

Despite book 1 ending on somewhat of a cliff hanger, Ruthless Vows picks up the plot and runs with it. It will take more than scheming parents and megalomaniacal gods to divide Kit and Iris, even when each of them puts duty before there own personal feelings. I love the character interactions in this duology, and I love the magic and world building. The plotting is clever, the story is sweet and sharply observed. Overall this is simply a fantastic fantasy series.

Book Review 📚
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross - 4.5/5 ⭐

Now was there any doubt that this would be such a highly rated book after the blow up behind Divine Rivals?! No, probably not.

But let me tell you, this book was so much better then book 1! It took me some time I actually finish divine rivals, not that it wasn't good but it just isn't my usual genre to read. But needless to say, it's a duology so of course I have to read Ruthless Vows.

I've had this book pre-ordered for months, because who doesn't want the set sitting on their shelf catching dust because you prefer a Ebook 😂

Anyway... Ruthless vows has very quickly (and easily) become my favourite book of 2024. It'll be quite hard to top this one. I thoroughly enjoyed every single aspect of it. From characters to descriptions and world building to developments. There was just much more to appreciate in Ruthless Vows. It was perfect.

I have previously read the Elements of Cadence duology by this author and both books were 5 star reads to me, with beautiful lyrical writing, so I went into Divine Rivals expecting similar writing. I struggled a little with the pacing and writing style and didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. I went into Ruthless Vows with lower expectations following this.

However I was pleasantly surprised as I found the concluding part or the duology much more gripping. I had become more accustomed to the different writing style and knew more what to expect.

The pace was a lot faster in Ruthless Vows which kept me hooked and wanting to read on. The conclusion felt satisfying while leaving you feeling like Iris and Roman continue on.

The secondary characters were a little hit or miss for me, Attie and Helena were fantastic, but I never managed to engage with Forest, Iris’s brother.

Overall it was definitely worth me carrying on with the second book but I’m sad I didn’t enjoy the first one as much as so many others seemed to. Possibly the issue was more to do with my expectations being too high.

I was late to the party for the first book in the series and I had not long finished it when I saw this one on NetGalley so of course I had to request.

I enjoyed this one just as much as the first. Ross did an amazing job of carrying the characters and story forward and building on it. I am not a die hard fan as many people are with this series but it is an enjoyable and easy read.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for an eARC. This review is written voluntarily.

Available: Now

One of my favourite things about romantasy is the initial tension between two characters before they admit their feelings for one another, especially rivals/enemies. The first book pulled off rivals to lovers flawlessly and was able to reintroduce tension between Iris and Roman once again, using Romance amnesia. I was just disappointed that letter writing took a backseat for this one. The opportunity was there but the plot kept getting in the way.

Overall, a solid YA romantasy duology. 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I'm not as obsessed with this series as a lot of people, though this is a solid conclusion to the duology by Ross. She does a good job of moving the narrative forward with her two characters in different places (even if Roman's amnesia does seem like a convenient contrivance!) and the conclusion is well-earned and satisfactory. Personally I find some of the prose overly melodramatic, especially in the love scenes between Roman and Iris, but that's obviously just my preference as loads of people seem to love it!

This was a stunning conclusion to a fabulous duology.
Divine Rivals created an intricate world of the brink of war, and Ruthless Vows delivers us that war. Iris and Roman's relationship is the thread that underpins the whole story. They are separated through most of the story, but the times they meet are explosive and lively. Rebecca Ross manages this tension and the pressure of the war, along with the myriad of characters are storylines incredibly well.
This culminates in a satisfying and enjoyable read, one that lives up to its exalted beginning.

Just like book 1 this book is absolutely beautiful and you can't help but get lost is the incredibly vivid and gorgeous world created.
I devoured book 1 and this was no different!

Okay so I enjoyed Divine Rivals enough that I wanted to see how the story would end unfortunately this book was so disappointing. The thing I loved most about Divine Rivals was the letters and the romance and we barely get any of that in this book. They barely interact at all. The world building wasn’t great in the first book and in this book it really showed because they’re in a war with Gods but there’s no tension or proper explanation of how this magical element works. Why is this God that everyone is terrified of, so easily defeated by two teenage journalists? Every single obstacle is overcome so easily and conveniently that there is no tension or build up that makes me want to root for them. Even the way Roman gets his memory back is so anticlimactic. Divine Rivals should have been a standalone.

After flying through Divine Rivals I wasted no time in downloading the second book in this duology, Ruthless Vows. In my opinion this isn’t a book you can read as a standalone you really need to have read Divine Rivals and met Iris and Roman to fully enjoy this book.

We pick right back up where the previous book left off. Iris is heartbroken and beside herself not knowing what happened to Roman after the battle. Roman however has been healed by the God Dacre but in doing so all his memories have gone. The book alternates between Roman and Iris’s points of views and this works well as we get to see the anticipation that those who are not following Dacre face and also get to see the plans as they unfold from Romans side.

What both of the books have in common is that they always have something going on and there are no low or slow parts in the book. We never quite know what is going to happen next and this is what kept me hooked as the story progressed.

This book was really enjoyable but didn’t quite have the exciting spark as the first book had. I loved the communication between Iris and Roman through the letters in book one and although the author tried to recreate this in book two it kind of feel short. This book was finished off perfectly and worked really well as a duology.

Divine Rivals was one of my favourite books of 2023 so of course Ruthless Vows became one of my most highly anticipated releases for 2024.

I was so excited when I was approved for the arc and obviously read it immediately, I have to say I liked it but I didn’t love it. Sadly, for me, it lost a little bit of that magic that made book 1 so special. I can’t even put my finger on exactly why I felt that way! It was still the same beautiful writing and the same well loved characters but something was just missing. Maybe if we had more details about the gods or if Iris and Roman spent less time apart.. I don’t know. On a couple of small occasions during reading, it started to feel a little repetitive and bordered on the verge of boring but other than that it was still very well written. As I said, I did like it but I think because I adored Divine Rivals so much, it just had a lot to live up to to compare to that five star masterpiece.

I think I’ll definitely reread the duology again in the future and I’ll be reading everything Rebecca has written previously and goes on to write in the future. She is now an autobuy author for me.

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.