Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟  Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: Cracked Door

by Rebecca Ross

First, Divine Rivals was one of my favorite books of 2023, so I went into Ruthless Vows with the hope and dread that comes from wanting to continue the tale and being fearful that nothing could live up to the original. For me, Ruthless Vows easily lived up to the impossibly high bar set by Divine Rivals. 

We jump right back into the world of Oath only weeks after the dramatic (and terrifying) conclusion to Divine Rivals. With Roman missing, Iris and Attie get a chance to return to the front lines and jump at it, knowing that it could help discover Dacre’s motives and may give them clues as to Roman’s whereabouts. Simultaneously, Roman awakes with no memories of his past and begins to write propaganda for Dacre’s cause. One day, as he is writing, a mysterious letter appears from the wardrobe. Thus begins Roman’s journey to remembering his past, Iris’s hunt to get him back, and their quest to save the lives of the citizens of Oath.

I loved so much about this book. Unlike Divine Rivals, which started slowly and built to a fast pace, Ruthless Vows starts at an unrelenting pace and stays there. Although I assumed the typewriters wouldn’t play as large a role in this book, I was so happy that they played pivotal roles. I was also pleased that we got significantly more context about the war of the gods and the mythology created around them. It clarified what Iris, Roman, and their friends were fighting for. Finally, Roman and Iris. The trials and growth of their relationship throughout the book are so charming. I wouldn’t change one word of this book. I’ll be returning to these two books repeatedly as comfort reads.

The audiobook – with dual narration from Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk – is perfection. They breathe even more life into the characters of Roman and Iris.