Reading Time: 2 minutes

Spoiler-Free Review

Ruthless Vows is the sequel and conclusion to Divine Rivals. Click here for my review of book 1.

What’s Ruthless Vows about?

Iris and Roman deal with the fallout as the war front heads toward Oath.

I had mixed feelings.

I liked book 1, Divine Rivals. While it had its slow moments here and there, it overall felt like it had a flow, character development, and a little bit of magic, with the war and politics as a dark backdrop. But Ruthless Vows never immersed me. By the end, I was just ready to be done.

My overall reading experience with this one was a bit hot and cold; some chapters I’d fly through, and then others I’d have to skim because I was bored or found the outcomes predictable or didn’t feel enough tension.

I gave it 2.5 stars, personally – but rounded up to 3 given this is a young adult book and I think there’s potential that the target audience may like it more.

What I Liked

I obviously loved Iris and Roman, and the unique way this story continues on the themes started in book 1. Without spoiling it, I will say the things I loved about Divine Rivals made a return in Ruthless Vows with a little bit of role reversal.

I also appreciated the way Iris stands her ground and how she handles the intimidation tactics that powerful men attempt to use on her. She’s firm yet classy, never losing her cool, but never bending to anyone’s will. Iris made for a satisfying main character to follow through the fallout from book 1.

What I Disliked

It was the pacing. I just felt I was missing that “have-to-know-what-happens-next” feeling. A lot of information was rehashed, and it felt like it took forever to move between plot points. Some scenes dragged. It was just missing book 1’s flow.

I believe it also has to do with the writing itself in some chapters. Here’s an example of what I mean. Take these sentences: “[these were] items that Tobias always carried in case of an emergency. Which was unfolding at the moment, making Iris’s heart pound.” There’s just something about this. I understand that Iris’s heart is pounding – but mine sure isn’t.

Basically, a lot of scenes were contextualized for us, rather than allowing the reader to intuit the feeling of a scene through more visceral descriptions.

The side characters also lacked depth. They were plot devices more than they were people. Mostly, I just didn’t care about them. And on that note, I expected more anger or resentment toward her brother, given the ending of book 1, but I just never got that. Personally, I wanted some vindication, or at least some indicator that Forest understood what he’d done and was sorry for it. The instant (off-page) forgiveness just gave it a too-sweet tone for the story it was telling, in my opinion.

Also – the gods. They just needed more. More development, stronger character profiles, something. I just didn’t find them compelling or even interesting.

Should you read Ruthless Vows?

I liked Divine Rivals more, but if you’ve read that one, then you know you need to finish this story and see how it plays out. I suspect I may have liked the sequel more if I’d tried it as an audiobook.

You may like this if you liked book 1, and if you like some other YA fantasies like A Study in Drowning.