Reviews - A Rivalry of Hearts

1.46k reviews for:

A Rivalry of Hearts

Tessonja Odette

4.02 AVERAGE

alysnow427's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Too much fae wine, an ill-advised spicy fae bargain, and delightful enemies to lovers banter. We love all of those things, and I had no idea I especially love it in a Victorian-esque setting?! The banter was sublime, the teasing adorable.

kat_tomasco's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

wevandrunen's review against another edition

5.0

Yay we're back to Faerwyvae! This is a fantastic start to this series. Glad to get a bit more spice too

vasreadss's review against another edition

4.0

Perfection.

hannaseppa's review against another edition

3.5

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The world that the author creates for this book was amazing, but I would have loved more depth in both the main character’s individual arcs as well as the relationship arc. Still an enjoyable read with fantastic side characters!

annick's review against another edition

3.0

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I liked it well enough but I lost interest too often.

The whimsy and cosy vibes are charming (I’m thinking Miyazaki’s world of howls moving castle plus 1880-1910 Europe with some aspiration towards earlier film design for Wes Anderson). But why would someone have such huge medical bills and university bills if this work is so much more than Bretton? The Americanisms slide in too often.

But the plot and characters didn’t retain my interest. The cliches pile up in the last quarter. eg no scope for polyamorous liaisons because they don’t have sensual moments with others despite the bet; third act breakup over information mislabelled as “lies”. cassie’s rebuttals to the main characters are a beacon of hope because I’m so tired of main characters not thinking like Cassie.

The romance is ok. There are some sensually tense moments (near kisses and stolen kisses were well written). but the VP scenes are thankfully brief because the writing didnt work for me.

Content Warnings