Please note: The following review may contain spoilers for the first book in the Letters of Enchantment duology, DIVINE RIVALS. Continue reading at your own discretion.

Iris is home, Roman is missing, and the war continues on. Iris and Attie return to the front to report on Dacre’s movements despite the danger it poses. Meanwhile, Roman has woken up in Dacre’s realm without any memory of his past. When a mysterious letter arrives via wardrobe, Roman can’t help but be intrigued. As the war rages on and the mysterious correspondence continues, Roman will find he needs to make a dangerous decision: stand with Dacre or betray the god who healed him.

Are there truly any adequate words to talk about Rebecca Ross’ Letters of Enchantment duology? I don’t really think so, but I’ll do my best.

The setting continues to be beautiful and atmospheric despite the looming destruction coming from the war. Ross is able to bring to life this story in a way that makes you feel like you are actually living it rather than reading about it from the comfort of home. The danger feels real and my anxiety definitely spiked a lot while reading this story. Despite the near-constant anxiety, I also found myself deeply engrossed and unable to put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next, had to know what would become of the characters I had come to love, had to understand the mythos that Ross wove in this world and with these gods.

Iris and Roman continue to be the center of the story, but we also get wonderful side characters that command our attention as well. Attie returns in this story and we are also introduced to Tobias Bexley, one of the best characters to ever exist. It was magical the way that Tobias felt like he was always a part of the story and yet we see the group’s dynamic shift to accommodate his presence as well. Ross' understanding of these characters, their motivations, and their emotions really shines and it makes it so that you can't help but worry for each of them.

We get a different perspective on the war this time around, getting a look inside war rooms as well as seeing how regular people react to the war. Ross finds a way to weave in some deeper questions that will have you questioning if you really know the people around you as well as you think you do. And even through all the war, pain, death, and destruction, Ross is able to weave a beautiful and romantic story around Iris and and Roman that will live forevermore in my mind.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

The fact that Rebecca Ross wrote one of the most prolific and known books in 2023 and is subsequently releasing the sequel not even a year later?? Dang. Not only do I respect it, but this is the kind of author that I aspire to be. The world building might be a little lacking, but the characters are so compelling that I felt forced to keep reading to find out what happened with both Iris and Roman.

No one writes as hauntingly beautiful as Rebecca Ross. These characters will go on to exist in my mind and heart forever.

thank you rebecca ross for my upcoming therapy sessions ♡

i don't want to say anything spoiler-y. you just have to experience this book on your own. but let me tell you that this book is IT. rebecca ross just knows how to close a story/duology, not many authors can do it believe me. iris and roman are two of the best well-written characters i have ever read and i'm going to miss them for the rest of my life. I LOVE THEM FOREVER!

[The following review was typed for the Inkridden Tribune using the Third Alouette by War Correspondent Amanda E. Purvis and sent in via wardrobe door. It was later transcribed for digital media by The Incoherent Fangirl podcast.]

DIVINE RIVALS WAS PERFECT STOP.
RUTHLESS VOWS WAS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL STOP.
RUTHLESS VOWS FLAWLESSLY CLOSES THE DIVINE RIVALS STORY STOP.
YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS STOP.

Where DIVINE RIVALS leaves us, Iris E. Winnow and Roman C. Kitt have been separated by circumstance, details of which this correspondent may not divulge due to spoilers. As RUTHLESS VOWS begins, Iris has returned to Oath, while Roman is elsewhere, struggling with the recent loss of his memories. The war between gods Dacre and Enva continues to rage, and Roman finds himself writing for Dacre, hoping that his memories will come back as his body heals from near-death wounds. Roman is provided with a strangely familiar typewriter to use for writing Dacre's correspondence, and with the typewriter comes strange letters that appear through wardrobe doors. Roman is, of course, fascinated, and cultivates a friendship with his new pen pal. Unfortunately, he and the mysterious E. seem to be on opposite sides of the war. What are these rivals to do?

I read DIVINE RIVALS during a break in reporting on the war and was instantly pulled into the world of Cambria, and into Iris and Roman's worlds. Author Rebecca Ross is a masterful storyteller, weaving magic into every word until you forget that your own world exists. To say that I was highly anticipating its sequel, RUTHLESS VOWS, would be the understatement of the era...I was, as Roman so perfectly puts it, "greedy for [it]. I [was] hungry for [it]." As luck and a bit of fate would have it, a correspondent at a fellow newspaper (St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books) was able to provide me with an advanced copy of RUTHLESS VOWS to report on. 

Rebecca Ross did not disappoint in the finale of this story. With every chapter I was more on edge, and any moment I spent away from this book nearly physically hurt. I ached when I was away from it, because I had to know what came next. It's difficult to put into words how this book made me feel; Rebecca's writing style is so ethereal and soothing, but her stories are so high stakes that you're constantly caught between the feelings of being gently lulled into peaceful slumber and worried that the stress of beloved characters' fates may make your heart literally beat out of your chest. It truly is magic, the way she can both soothe and torment you in equal measure throughout an entire book. 

We also add a new character to our crew: Tobias Bexley, who is quite frankly too good for this earth. I enjoyed meeting and learning more about Tobias while, of course, catching up with the rest of the DIVINE RIVALS family. 

RUTHLESS VOWS leans more into the political side of war than DIVINE RIVALS did, which I thoroughly enjoyed as that is a human aspect of war that is so often overlooked; when we think of "war," so many of us think of boots on the ground, trenches, and gunfire. Of course, that is present in our story as well, but we get more of a view into the War Room, and experience the political intrigue, betrayal, and blind loyalty that are ever present in wartime. There's also an even stronger sense of community among the people that was both moving and heartbreaking to read--it makes you stop and wonder how you and your neighbors would react if you were placed in similar situations. Are your neighbors the people that you think they are? Are you the person that you think you are?

My free writing time is coming to a close and I must return to reporting on Dacre and Enva, but before I go: this duology was absolutely perfect in every way, and I recommend it for all readers of the Inkridden Tribune. (If you have good enough taste to be reading the Inkridden Tribune, you will love DIVINE RIVALS and RUTHLESS VOWS!)

--Amanda E. Purvis

EDITOR'S NOTE:
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CORRESPONDENT RESPONSIBLE FOR WRITING THIS MISSIVE RECEIVED A COPY OF RUTHLESS VOWS FOR FREE AND HAS VOLUNTARILY WRITTEN THIS HONEST REVIEW.

Ruthless Vows was the perfect follow-up to Divine Rivals. The start is heart-wrenching, but that is to be expected given how Divine Rivals ended. As the story unfolds, more clarity on the war and the gods is revealed, really allowing for the story to all come together.