Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross on December 26, 2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Young Adult Fiction / Magical Realism, Young Adult Fiction / War & Military
Pages: 448
Format: Hardcover
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
“Should I be surprised that I was falling in love with you a second time? Should I be surprised that your words found me here, even in the darkness?”
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.
This was the epic conclusion to the Letter of Enchantment series. Divine Rivals was pure and utter magic, so I knew it was going to be a challenge to follow up. Unfortunately, I didn’t love Ruthless Vows as much as Divine Rivals, however, I still think it was a great conclusion to such a beautiful story. The storyline was a bit repetitive of the first book in some places, but overall, very intriguing, and kept my attention the whole time. I loved how we got more insight on the gods. It felt like I could better understand them and their perspective. There’s some gripping tales of betrayal and cloak and dagger maneuvers as a war rages on and information is worth more than gold.
I rate this finale four stars. Overall, I found the Letters of Enchantment duology to be a delightful time full of magic and marvel where the charming romance truly carried the weight brilliantly. Ruthless Vows gets into some pretty intense territory with war crimes and and the fallout of choosing sides.