duologies for the win

A positive part of reading Divine Rivals months after it was first released is having to wait less time to read its counterpart. I gave this book 4 stars because my biggest gripe with it was its pacing. This might be an unavoidable characteristic of duologies, of which I haven't read too many, but the story dragged on at times with lulls I had some difficulty powering through. In contrast, the end felt a little rushed, though quite epic. Trying to fit a story's entire plot into two books definitely has its pros and cons, but I felt like the description on the dust jacket hyped up a book that would have little to no lulls. I think there may have also been too little time between Roman forgetting Iris and remembering her again. A little more "will he, won't he?" might have done the tension more justice. The memory loss was something I expected to be more of a crux, considering how the roles of the first book got reversed: Iris becomes the one who knows who she's sending letters to. Of course, I was rooting for their reunion and did not remain dry-eyed once I read said reunion. I was also hoping for more clarity on Enva and felt like that clarity wasn't really provided. I thought the reveal of what she had done to the other gods explained well enough why she was choosing not to engage with Dacre in the war (in addition to the curse placed on her), but some of this lore concerning the higher powers, their actual powers, and the ancient rulers that once communed with them seemed glossed over when it could've been explored deeper and kept my interest. That being said, there was a lot of content with Dacre and Roman -- is it realistic for Dacre to have put such trust in Roman, his human letter-writer, the way he did? This unsettled me a bit. For all this griping I'm doing, I really did enjoy this novel. Precisely because it has such a strong concept that doesn't have to depend on the advertising of certain tropes or unnecessary spice is why I feel the need to be a little nitpicky. It's next level YA writing. I also just discovered that Rebecca Ross has another duology I will definitely be adding to my Goodreads list since I adore her writing style and admire how she describes characters and settings. I'll end on this: my favorite aspect of this book (Divine Rivals too) is the letters. I read every one twice over because geez, Roman and Iris are both so romantic! I was listening to the gals on the "I'll Read What She's Reading" podcast and second their observation that even though mutual  I love yous don't seem to be exchanged, the ways they express their affection through the written word and selfless acts during the war shine enough to make this fictional couple one of my favorites.


Some of my favorite quotes from Ruthless Vows:

"I would love to see your words catch fire with mine."

"'Sometimes,” Iris began, 'I don’t think we know what we’re made of until the worst moment possible happens. Then we must decide who we truly are and what is most important to us. I think we’re often surprised by what we become.'"

"She was broken by what could have been. By what now would never be." 

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