Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Divine Rivals

I didn’t realize this would be a war book. I was told it was basically You Got Mail which was the first half of the book and was absolutely lovely. The end takes a hard shift and turns into Saving Private Ryan. It was a good book, but I wasn’t prepared and I’m not sure I would have read it if I had known it would be so war-focused.

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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I’m writing to you but I’m also writing for me. And I don’t expect you to respond, but it helps to know someone is hearing me. Someone is reading what I pour onto a page. It helps to know that I’m not alone tonight, even as I sit in quiet darkness.

The return of long dormant gods brings war back to the world. When her brother leaves to fight Iris' life falls apart. Having to juggle her emotions, an alcoholic mother, and the competition for a spot as a columnist in the Oath Gazette she is at her limit. In order to deal with her situation she begins to write letters where she pours her heart out. Unbeknownst to her, with the help of magic, these missives end in the hands of Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper. One day he answers back, without revealing his identity, and the two soon form a connection that changes their lives and follows them all the way to the frontlines.

This is first and foremost a romance, you can tell that everything else was built around the concept of these two exchanging letters. Because of that I found the worldbuilding to be a bit thin, like it didn't fully know what it wanted to be. You had these references to the mythology that were exciting but never went deeper than the obvious, and for that reason I didn't care at all for the war. It was clearly a devise used to cause tension and move the plot along. I found it interesting that the author was able to write these hard hitting, detailed war scenes that showed the horrors of war seemingly as easily as she did with the romance. My only complaint there is that the two rarely managed to coalesce in an organic way. You would be leaving the front after a horrible attack only to be dragged out of that mood and contemplation of the horrors by a silly scene that felt out of place.

The romance is the strongest piece of this book. The concept of magically exchanging letters was romantic, delightful, whimsical, I just wish there had been more letters.

Iris' insistence that Roman was only her rival and out to get her plus the whole miscommunication also got on my nerves. And all that only for her to immediately forgive him for lying to her!! It made me go 🙄.

It was a bit instalove-y, I won't complain much because I knew what I was getting into but in another book I would have hated it. It did get corny near the end, once the two of them were in the same page they got on my nerves, mostly because their interactions changed too much. I enjoyed the pining and the yearning, it resolved too early for me.

I know they're about to face the enemy and they're in the middle of a horrible war etc but why are you children getting married 😭 and it was so sappy!! If this were a single book then sure but there's still a second book to go?

I generally liked the secondary characters but I wish they had been more developed. Same with the war and their work as war correspondents, I was left wanting more.

AND MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT: WHY THE FUCK DID THEY NOT EVACUATE?? I understand that the book is making them to be virtuous and heroic but what about their actual job (that the honestly barely did anything for)?? I would think that it would be far more important to get the word out that the town has been captured by the enemy. It was so silly and for what. Oh and what about the cat Attie just locks in a room at the house?? Justice for Lilac the cat!!! And another thing!!! I understand that Iris loves her brother/was in shock, but are you telling me that this young woman who lived through difficult times, went to the front, was ready to die, etc meekly followed her brother all the way to OATH without yelling at him even once?? That's not the Iris I know.

I thought I would like this more, with all the positive reviews, so I'm a bit disappointed. Maybe too much hype! Read this is you like vibes and romance and don't worry too much about the horrors of war. Or worldbuilding!

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savanah's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

5.0

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