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Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment 2), by Rebecca Ross (2023)

Premise: As the war between the gods intensifies, newlyweds Roman and Iris find themselves on opposite sides of the battle.

Review: The second half of this duology does what it needs to do in bringing the story to a satisfying enough conclusion. Cont.

While I enjoyed the world, I just didn‘t enjoy this one as much as the first. I missed the good banter and it was too long and slow for me.

I enjoyed reading this duology. The plot was great, I loved the characters. I rated this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

This story begins right where Divine Rivals left off. Iris‘ character has developed some grit in this one and we get to know the god and goddess, Dacre and Enva, a little better. I still liked the first book better, but this was a worthy follow-up.

This was a good follow up. I like the story and the characters. I liked that the world didn‘t take much stretch of the imagination. The magical elements weren‘t beyond fantastical.
I liked the end. It wasn‘t contrived or forced, it worked. It felt realistic.

I love this series. The first book captured my heart but this book was so much more. I don‘t really enjoy the fantasy genre but my daughter told me that I ‘had to read it‘. I‘m so glad I did.
#12Booksod2024 SEPTEMBER Choice

Enjoying this follow up more than I expected (fantasy sequels have been disappointing me lately). I‘m off for the rest of the year and excited to do as little as possible outside of chilling with these kitties and reading ☺️ #BookerCat #TulinCat

This was definitely my favorite read of January. I had quite a few 5 star reads, but nothing will beat this 2nd book in the duology!

#12Booksof2024

An amazing duology and atypical for me, I liked the second book even better than the first. I was rooting for Iris and Roman, and I loved Iris's strong female character. I was impressed that the ending was positive without being a happily ever after ending.

Even though I liked the first installment more, this was a good follow up. It was fun to see the typewriters back in action but this time it was Iris clearly knowing with whom she was communicating. I was a little disappointed her brother, Forest, didn‘t have a more flushed out story.

Baby snuggles and Ruthless Vows. I haven‘t been reading much at all this year since baby chaos but am getting back to it now!

I loved the first book and loved this epic conclusion even more ❤️ A beautifully written story between Roman who is now in Dacre‘s underworld and Iris who is reporting from the frontline. Letters are sent to and from between the magical typewriters and at the risk of their hearts and future together. The pacing of the writing is slower in this sequel but I didn‘t mind this.
The captivating writing is full of emotion and heartfelt moments. 4🌟

An afternoon of reading cuddles up on the sofa with Belle for company. Hoping to finish this at the weekend 🐾🐶❤️

I loved the first book and can‘t wait to see how their story unfolds in the second one.starting this one tonight

Absolutely loved this book, left me feeling hopelessly romantic and optimistic. A perfect mood lifter and a page turner book for me.

Such an amazing duology! I liked the 1st book better; this one took me a bit to get into. However, after about 50 pages, I was thoroughly engaged. Roman and Iris are such intriguing characters; their love is one of my literary faves! The side characters are also great; I‘d happily read a spinoff of Attie, Helena, or Marisol. This book shows this world can and should continue. The imagery and writing are exquisite. One of my fave reads of the year

Audiobook. The story is creative, and love the beauty as a major piece. Expected Forrest to have a bigger impact, but I couldn‘t find myself to care. Iris and Roman were separated for so long. I wanted more on the gods; more mythos from the past on how to help the present. The long non-action, missed spy-esque feel, not burning incriminating letters and burning important to keep one‘s… Just dint work for me. Narrators did a good job delivering.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
I heard some mixed reviews on this sequel, but I am w/those that liked it. The story was a true continuation of book 1 and, therefore, focused again on both the original main characters - Roman & Iris. This go round, in my mind's eye anyway, the story felt more inclined to Roman's perspective as opposed to Iris's. Though I should point out that both characters got plenty of page time as this exciting tale wrapped up to a satisfying close.

Well, compared to this book‘s predecessor, this was incredibly underwhelming. Very run-of-the-mill YA fantasy. The villain didn‘t incite fear, the stakes felt so low you could trip over them, and for the bulk of the novel the main couple was needlessly apart. I loved the first book. This felt like awkward fan fiction. 😭 Oh well.

July is wrapped! I didn‘t fit in as much reading as I would have liked…my month was dominated by Babel 😂. My favorite was definitely Yellowface. Will finish Ruthless Vows today most likely. ✨🤔

This will prob be my last read in July. Decided to finish the Letters of Enchantment series. Such pretty gold embossing on this hardcover. 🫶🏻🥰

Book mail!❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I‘d heard mixed reviews of this book, but I loved it!
I do think there were some gaps that never got filled in, but I liked the build up, the (multiple) near misses, and seeing how the romance and characters developed.
I appreciate a strong duology, but I also wish there were more in the series!

“There was never any doubt in her mind, even after all these dust-streaked mortal years, that Dacre would one day come for her.”

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

It‘s here, it‘s here, it‘s finally here! Yes, I read this months ago, and no, that fact doesn‘t make me any less excited for this GORGEOUS Fairyloot printing that perfectly matches my copy of Divine Rivals!

I need to start off by saying that I LOVED this book & series. IMO, DR was better, but this was still a beautifully written story.
However, through the whole book I was just waiting for someone (other than the obvious) to be the villain.
Iris just s u d d e n l y had a bunch of great friends & nothing bad happened. There was no build up. More in comments ⬇️

Buddy read with @BookBabe2018

4⭐️
05.27.2024

The second book of the duology was action-packed and filled with mythology. I loved Iris and Roman and many of the secondary characters. For some reason, one of my favorite things was the subtle way the reader is told the significance of the title when sometimes the titles or themes are overly repeated or stressed.

I wanted to finish this book, to find out what happened to Roman and Iris. And yet, I kept putting it down because I also didn't want to finish it as I knew, KNEW, my heart would be torn to shreds by the end.

And it was.

But I also have some mixed feelings about this book. While I enjoyed it, I didn't love it like I loved DR. DR will clearly be one of my favorite read of the year. This one will fall somewhere further down the list.

This was a lot more war-plot focused and more sadness packed, but the characters were well crafted, the writing was engaging.
A great sequel and conclusion to the story :)

This book was even better than the first! Iris and Roman will always hold a special place in my heart and I was so happy to see each character through their own ending. While everything might not have been “happy” by definition, I felt the story ended with a neat little bow for each in its own way.

My first Romantasy duology, but it certainly won‘t be my last read of this new to me genre.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished. I enjoyed it just as much as the first one in this duology.

This duology is a must-read.
I love that you get to learn more about Dacre and his underworld in this one.
It was interesting the whole time, and it had a satisfying ending.

Excited to be starting this

#Two4Tuesday
1. Tagged. I loved the first one, may have a slight crush on Roman.
2. No. I‘m trying not to buy any new books as I have far too many at home I get through.

I did love the typewriter thing w this duology (me trying not to spoil anything), and I liked how that dynamic changed in the second book. But I just otherwise found this book terribly boring and listened to the last 20% on 1.75x speed... not my fav, but I know that some of y'all loved this story, and I could see why that is as well. It just wasn't a fav for me. Full disclosure, I've been in a bit of a reading slump..

I enjoyed book 2 but didn‘t feel as invested as i did reading book 1. A satisfying conclusion to this duology.
Book 8 of 2024

The first half was real slow but then it picked up. I liked it, but think I would have liked it better on audio.

I dont have the Owlcrate edition of Divine Rivals, but could resist getting Ruthless Vows when it became available for me. It's so pretty. #bookmail

There was never any doubt in her mind, even after all these dust-streaked mortal years, that Dacre would one day come for her.

#firstlinefridays

Finally starting this one.

I liked, for the most part, but didn‘t love this sequel to Divine Rivals (which I thought was excellent). In the aftermath of a devastating attack, Iris & Roman find themselves separated & on different sides. As war rages, things will get much more complicated before there‘s a chance—if there is one—things will get better. I found myself often skimming as the story lacked the emotional depth I was hoping for. A low pick. #UnpopularOpinion? Maybe.

I may be doing 2 book brackets this year, because they‘re both set up a bit differently and I‘m interested to see how each books goes against each other!

I‘m not sure if I‘ll have the same wild cards or favorite books of the month. Though this month I do!

Read 18 books in January and a lot were amazing books! But hands down, this was my favorite read of the month! It even had me tearing up at some points!

#2024BookBracket

Next—excited to start this one. Ross never disappoints and I‘m anticipating a great read!

Not feeling well today so I stayed home. Can‘t look at a screen of any kind without making my headache worse, so I‘m sitting in a semi dark room reading instead. My sweet fur baby Pixel is keeping my company.

While I do feel like Rebecca Ross uses the same 3 themes in all of her more recent works, this is a really nice book! The ending feels especially well-conceived, and that final “little flower” does a lot of heavy, emotional lifting. The duology is ultimately a bit reminiscent of “Lovely War” but still very much its own animal.

Started this one on this cold Sunday morning. In 2024, I decided to limit the reading challenges I attempt (I usually try way too many). This feels so weird because I can read whatever I want whenever I want. As an indecisive person, I‘m realizing that the challenges really helped my reading life!

I love Iris and Kitt so much Rebecca Ross is one of my favorite authors

What a great conclusion to this intense love story that started with book #1 DIVINE RIVALS!
The first book was all about the beautiful love story between Iris and Roman and, I admit, I wanted more of that. This one was more about the war brought on by the evil, childish god throwing a temper tantrum destroying the world and killing people along the way.
I didn‘t LOVE this one as much but it was still a great read that kept me reading!

What a beautiful conclusion to the story! I loved the first book and it picks up right after Divine Rivals ends. The gods, Dacre and Enva, are a much bigger part of this one and I loved getting to. know their characters. It‘s war and there are gutting losses, but the story unfolds beautifully and did not disappoint. I loved the way the author connected Roman and Iris through the distance. Each one showed such strength and courage.