Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Divine Rivals

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Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

121 reviews

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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amelkamx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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gambizzy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-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

4.0

The writing of letters with the enchanted typewriter and the connection was an awesome element to the story. I wanted more of the story behind them though! I also felt like the romance was rushed once the characters were physically together. This book has great and original ideas but I don’t feel they were executed as well as they deserved to be.

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nmwolfe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Finished this in a night — loved it.

Content Warnings

natspat98's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

anndreya's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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khucc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bavisca's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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joygarcialim's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced

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

3.0

This wasn't a book which I could give a straightforward rating. At the core of it, it was a fun plot to uncover, an imaginative concept to dissect, and an interesting setup for romance. However, the writing was inept. I wanted to find out what happened, and yet I couldn't stop putting the book down. It was a very oxymoronic experience in that sense.

The plot was what really made the book so damn interesting. The magical channel of two potential lovers sending love letters was at the heart of the story, and it possessed an abundance of charm and mystery.

The whole history about the typewriters as well was brilliant.

There were so many well-delivered plot twists and that were well placed so they weren't overwhelming nor absurd, and even the predictable ones were good.

Although there wasn't enough details to evoke a powerful imagery of the sceneries, such as how Oath looked like, there was a sense of an antique world. There could have been a lot more done to contribute to the world-building other

than the magical typewriters, as there wasn't a lot of magic until Iris went to Avalon Bluff

(and I'd still say it was really close to bare minimum to be considered a fantasy). There was a scene where

Roman was talking to his magical lights but it just came across as powered Google home. It didn't make sense when other appliances and objects seemed to sense Roman's needs and fulfil them without his command.

I questioned my own ability to understand emotions and relationships many times throughout the book, whilst simultaneously questioning Rebecca Ross's.

Iris grieving her mum didn't seem authentic. Then she quits her job for a day before she started to miss Roman, her supposed enemy, and their relationship hadn't been built up enough to reach a point of missing or longing. The only way it made sense is if Rebecca was lonely, but she did have a friend.

She started to see Roman as a romantic partner a few days after he arrived in Avalon Bluff, after he straight-up lied(by omission) about his identity as Carver. There was a real missed opportunity to write a romantic conflict and working towards conflict resolution, which would have made the relationship seem a lot more romantic and wholesome. They got married within a few days of starting a relationship, which is just a bad message to young readers, since this is YA after all.

It would have been a lot more palatable if the romance had been fleshed out, if the characters got to know each other so much better, especially

after Roman went to Avalon Bluff. and a lot of it just served corn and not roses. It would have been a lot more interesting if there was more fleshing out of Roman's arranged engagement/marriage.

It's just a shame as there were so many missed opportunities.

The stylistic choice of writing gave me a lot of uncertainty about what Rebecca Ross was trying to convey. Whilst the skeleton of the writing was fabulous, the flesh had been severely starved. It was not good and honestly is what took out a lot of enjoyment.

For instance,

“This was one of the finest restaurants in Oath, where Roman’s parents had fallen in love over a long candlelit dinner.” The average time for men to fall in love is actually 88 days and it's longer for women, one dinner doesn't cut it unless this long dinner was 88 days.

“Iris watched her bolt down the hallway, knowing she was probably going to wax vengefully poetic to the professor who had once dismissed her writing.” I'm not even sure what this means.

“What marks would it leave on them, shining like scars that never faded?” But don't all scars fade, even if not completely? And do scars shine?

“So many loose pages, fluttering like snow down to the floor.”

“He continued to hold their stare, deadly serious. “If I asked you, would you say yes?” I was so confused. Did Iris become enby during that one sentence?

“She ran to Keegan with a shriek, weeping and laughing, leaping into her arms.” Was Marisol was happy to see her wife amidst an impending war zone?

“This was the life she wanted—slow and easy and vibrant, surrounded by people she loved.” People she hardly knew.

Finally, the book gave left a lot of unexplained situations, which I hope are hints for things that are to come in the second book.

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