A review by thewiserslone
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’m waffling between 3.75 and 4 ⭐️ 

I want to say 4 stars just because it’s a beautifully written book with gorgeous prose, but I think I have to bump to 3.75 because I was so board the entire first half of the book. 

The pacing was really off for me. The first half dragged on, and then once we were in the climax, I felt like everything moved too quickly and was resolved too fast. I kind of hate when the impossible villain is taken down with a plot device. 

The romance didn’t work for me this book. I wish they would have been aged up— I get this is supposed to be more like an alternate reality period piece, but 18 year old newlyweds was a weird concept to get behind. Being separated for most of the book had the potential for the slow rebuild of the relationship, but there wasn’t a lot of tension or romance there imo. 

The world building was so cool in the first book, and I thought we were going to get a ton more in the second and was let down. Again I think if this were an adult book rather than YA, it could have delved more into that world and been a bit more complex. 

I enjoy her writing style a lot, but I think whether or not I read her next book will be entirely dependent on the age of the characters.