Ruthless Vows Is a Satisfying If Occasionally Overly Fantastical Sequel to Divine Rivals

It’s a rare gift, to get the sequel to a popular story mere months after the original’s initial release. (And is, quite honestly, a strategy more publishing houses should look into.) Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals hit shelves earlier this spring and was one of the best fantasy books of 2023, a buzzy, word-of-mouth cross-genre hit that captured hearts everywhere. It is the story of a pair of rival journalists who fall in love in the shadow of a devastating war with the aid of two magical typewriters that can send letters to one another, Part heartfelt romance, part rumination on the long-lasting trauma of conflict, the novel deftly explores the impact of an ongoing war between rival gods on everything from family and romantic relationships to class struggles and larger social oppression. Its emotionally devastating cliffhanger ending saw Iris and Roman, now field correspondents at the front in the thick of the fighting, separated during a climactic battle between the warring forces of gods Dacre and Enva.

Its sequel, Ruthless Vows, arrived with the holidays, giving readers (relatively) little time to fret over the fate of the characters that had come to mean so much to him. A follow-up that flips many of the tropes and narrative angles from the first book on their heads, this is less a story of the battle and one of those left behind, a look at the myriad ways a citizenry is asked to navigate an unknown future in the face of increasing fear and uncertainty, as battles they’ll never see waged by people whose interests they may or may not share are waged. It’s still the love story of Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, told with the help of magically delivered letters, only this time, it’s an amnesiac Roman who is unaware of who is writing to them, and Iris who is asked to balance secrets, this time between her heart and her duty. 

Their romance is, hands down, one of the best we’ve seen in fantasy in recent years, and the deft ways Ross throws obstacles in their paths but never asks their readers to doubt their commitment to one another—even when one half of the pair doesn’t technically remember the other—are truly impressive. The aching longing, loneliness, and confusion over missing something you can’t entirely name are beautifully conveyed, and Iris and Roman’s letters to each other are, once again, the highlight of the book. (Particularly when a late twist makes them surprisingly relevant and necessary to the success of the war effort.) 

As Ruthless Vows begins, Iris finds herself back in her hometown of Oath, a haunted place full of deceptive calm where masked vigilantes roam the streets at night. Though she’s reunited with her missing brother Forest, she’s struggling to keep the faith that Roman’s still alive. At least until an article appears in the Oath Gazette, authored by Roman and singing the praises of Dacre, the god who has caused such destruction and strife across the world. Rescued from the front and healed by Dacre’s bizarre (and, admittedly, rather poorly explained) divine powers, he no longer remembers his life before his injury—including Iris. Now working for the enemy, his apparent changing of sides lends an uncomfortable amount of legitimacy to Dacre’s cause. 

As Iris heads back to the front in the hope of using the power of her words to reveal the horrors of Dacre’s encroaching army, Oath itself is caught between several factions: A mysterious group called the Graveyard that thinks the best gods are dead gods, the elites who’d rather protect their business and property by surrendering to Dacre before he can destroy the town, Enva loyalists who still worship the goddess, and the everyday people who are stuck in the middle with nowhere to turn. Ross excels at highlighting the various class divides at work among the town residents and one can only wish this book had the space for more of these moments, as they’re a great deal more interesting than any of the interfamily fighting between the various divines. 

The biggest difference in this sequel is that Ruthless Vows is quite a bit more fantastical than its predecessor. Its war and battle scenes are (for the most part) much more connected to the magic of the various gods, and its story encompasses everything from mind control and murderous supernatural creatures to literal doorways into the underworld. The gods that seemed such distant figures in the first book are very real influences here, directly interacting with the story’s main characters and shaping events to suit their whims. And, unfortunately, the novel doesn’t always handle this transition all that well. Neither Enva nor Dacre are particularly compelling characters in their own right and their pseudo-tragic relationship isn’t as interesting as the larger story seems to want it to be. 

Because Divine Rivals spent so much time building up the human side of the war and its impact, there wasn’t a tremendous amount of time to make the various gods and their connections feel urgent or necessary.  At best, the gods tend to come across like one-dimensional plot devices, and the elements involved in the final fight against Dacre—a literal magical sword—have more than a hint of deus ex machina about them. The story is, once again, at its most compelling when it focuses on the human aspect of war: the things desperate people are willing to sacrifice to save themselves, the strength of community bonds, and unexpected connections forged during dark and dangerous times. And, of course, when it is focused on Iris and Roman, whose relationship gives this entire story so much of its emotional heart and focus. 

Despite a few stumbles, Ruthless Vows is still a more than satisfying emotional conclusion to Ross’s Letters of Enchantment duology, a series that’s grounded in a fantastic central relationship and refreshingly skips the communication mishaps and misdirections that tend to cloud many fantasy romances. Instead, we get to watch two people grow into the best versions of themselves with each other, amidst a backdrop of unthinkable suffering and grief that forges them both into something stronger than they would have believed they could become. In war, there are no happy endings, and the series conclusion does have some melancholic and bittersweet notes. But every beat feels hard-won, earned, and necessary. 

Ruthless Vows is available now.

Lacy Baugher Milas is the Books Editor at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter @LacyMB