Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross Series: Letters of Enchantment #2
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on December 26, 2023
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Young Adult Fiction / Magical Realism, Young Adult Fiction / War & Military
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
The epic conclusion to the intensely romantic and beautifully written story that started in Divine Rivals.
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.
My Review:
I was so excited to get my hands on the second book in the Letters Of Enchantment Series. The first book, Divine Rivals, has been one of my favorite books of the year so far, but let me tell you, it ended on such a cliffhanger. I am going to say now if you have not read Divine Rivals, then I think you probably ought to read that before picking up Ruthless Vows. You see Reader Ruthless Vows picks up right where Divine Rivals left off, and if you haven’t read it, then I fear you may be a bit lost. With all that being said, there will absolutely be spoilers in this post because it simply can’t be helped. Consider yourself warned about the spoilers because I am about to begin with my review.
Reader, I have to say that I can not believe how book one ended. AHHH. Poor Roman, I can not imagine how frightened he must have been waking up in The Underworld with Dacre and his army. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea of who he was or how he got there. I also can not forget poor Iris being hauled away from Roman, all the while believing it was Roman who was hauling her away. Then, to lose her husband like she did must have been devastating for her. I know it would have been devastating for me. Ok, enough quick recapping of the end of book one; we need to dive into book two.
The book starts off by giving us a glimpse into Enva’s story and how she kept Dacre asleep. She knows that, eventually, he will wake up and come for her. When he wakes, she will be ready for him. Meanwhile, she stands in the shadows, people watching. She is never noticed by anyone. Enva prefers it this way. She is able to melt into a crowd of mortals like she had been born among them (a line from the beginning of the book). Enva waits for the streets to clear before she slips into a cafe that is closed for the night. She was there for a purpose, one purpose only, and that was to find the door.
Iris is back home with Forest and struggling to get through the day-to-day. She worries about Roman and desperately wants to return to find him. Iris heads back to work at The Inkridden Tribune with Attie and Helena. On her way to and from work, she notices words painted on buildings that were not there before she left for the front lines. Lines like Gods belong in their graves. So much has changed since she returned from the front lines. Grafitti is throughout the city with slogans like the one I mentioned above. There has also been a curfew put into place, which was not there before. A group of individuals called The Graveyard has taken it upon themselves to patrol the streets and enforce this curfew, among other things. Iris tries not to let it phase her and focuses on finding her husband, but still, no word has come of his whereabouts.
Once Roman awakens in The Underworld, he is approached by Dacre, the god of The Underworld. It turns out Dacre has healed Roman because he wants Roman to become his correspondent. He wants him to write about all the good things that he is doing in this war. Roman can not remember which side of the war he was on before he was wounded; then again, he isn’t even sure how he became wounded. Dacre informs him of his version of what happened to Roman and mentions that he has healed him. Dacre also tells Roman that he should not worry that he is unable to remember because his memory will eventually return. Roman is hesitant but he decides to do as Dacre asks. Roman begins to write for him. Oddly enough, he is not sure how his words will make it to a paper, but they do. Roman’s articles appear in the paper he used to work for The Oath Gazette. Can you imagine the shock that Iris must have felt when she saw that her husband was alive and writing for Dacre’s cause?
It is not long before Iris finds herself back on the front lines with her friend Attie. This time, Iris is not only going to write for Helena and The Inkridden Tribune, but she is also going to find her husband, even if that means danger. With the stolen typewritten in hand, she begins to write Roman again, hoping that her letters find him just as they had before they were married. Iris is clever, though, and decides it is best not to use her name but a sort of code name. Once she receives a reply, she will ask three simple questions that only Roman would know the answers to. Granted, Forest warned her that if Dacre had him, then he would not remember Iris for a time. A response comes, which excites Iris, but she is soon disappointed to find out that Forest, in fact, was correct; Roman does not remember her.
Roman begins to remember some things and mentions them to Dacre, but Dacre just tells him they are dreams and nothing more. The problem is the more his memory begins to come back, the more pain he seems to be in. Can he trust his dreams and memories, or are they, as Dacre said, just dreams? Roman also discovered that some of the soldiers have lost their memories as well from Dacre’s healing. Why do the men need to lose their memories in order to be healed? Another thing is if they are healed, then why do they start to feel pain once they begin to remember? Roman’s dreams become stronger, and eventually, he sees himself and a woman at work, having lunch, speaking, and just going about their day-to-day life. Who is this woman? She seems so familiar to him. Roman decides it is best to keep this information to himself. It isn’t long before Dacre, Roman, and the soldiers are on the move. They end up in a town where Roman eventually comes face to face with his dream woman. Once he touches her, his memories rush back to him. Roman is now in great danger. Does he continue to help Dacre, or does he betray him and get back to Iris?
Reader, if you loved Divine Rivals, then PLEASE pick up Ruthless Vows. I need someone to talk to about it. I loved this series so much that I can’t even deal with it. If you have not read either of these books, please read them. The stories are full of banter, magic, gods, friendship, found family, war, romance, and adventure. Seriously, if any of that sounds good to you, then I think that this series will be one that you enjoy. If you decide to pick it up please let me know your thoughts because I am always eager to have a conversation about books. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- War
- Graphic Violence
- Unexpected Bombings
- Memory Loss
- Death of a Loved One
- Death of a Friend
- Grief
- PTSD