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jkdollinger's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Alcoholism, War, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Blood
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, War, Alcohol, Classism, Medical content, Gore, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death, and Death of parent
anastasialovesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I ate up this book. I enjoyed the slight fantasy elements included in what seems like a story placed in like the 50s.
Iris was such a real character with flaws I could even see in myself. She had fears and worries that were so real to me. Roman was the same. They both annoyed me at first because they would say such mean things to each other and seem to just move past it. But that's probably were the enemies to lovers comes in. Which is one of my favorite tropes to read.
I don't want to give to much of the story away but it gave me all the feels. It has romance, travel, actions trauma, loss and so much more.
I would recommend to anyone.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, War, Grief, Medical content, Death of parent, Blood, Addiction, Body horror, Death, Mental illness, and Violence
finnzebelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Classism, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War and Sexual content
eabecker05's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Grief, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment
tsked_off's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Child death, Death, Death of parent, War, and Abandonment
Moderate: Violence
radiantgeode's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really enjoyed this book. It took a bit for me to really start liking it, but once I got into the pace, I began to love it. I love the romance through letter writing. It was different from what I’m used to and I found it a unique way for characters to fall in love. I do wish there was a bit more world building and I hope to see more of that in the next book.
The way Ross describes the feeling of grief, loss, and abandonment is so incredibly accurate. It left me so emotional at times that I had to stop and soak it in.
I will definitely be reading more books by this author. I can’t wait to see what happens next and I already pre-ordered the next book.
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Vomit, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, War, Addiction, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Gore, Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
missgarceau's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
It brought tears to my eyes, had butterflies dancing in my belly, gave me chills and had my heart racing with anxiety!
The love and grief that this story delivers is overwhelming & beautiful.
If it wasn’t for the cliffhanger ending that felt like it came out of left field- it would have been 5⭐️
I felt like the ending was more for shock & unnecessary/avoidable drama that simply ripped my heart out.
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Violence, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Grief
This book might be triggering for anyone who has military involvement or military upbringing. It deals with a lot of grief & the difficulties of war.giulianalb99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read in my whole life. The way the author writes, how it captivates you since the very first page… I don’t have words to describe this incredible book, I don’t think this review will give it enough justice.
I loved every character. Iris and Roman have my whole entire heart forever and ever. I’m very new to the romance genre and a good friend of mine <b>(Helen ily and I love reading with you and sharing our thoughts and scream and cry together okbye)</b> told me to give it a try together and that’s what we did. I kinda went into the book without not knowing too much about it, only that it was a rivals to lovers and that mythology was involved. That trope is one of my favorites and I love mythology so I said “why not?” and OH. MY. GODDESS. How it started, how the author makes you feel as if you were Iris yourself (I also felt like in some ways I could identify with her a lot), the banter between her and Roman, how it started as a competition and ended up as one of the most beautiful romances I’ve ever read… so many good things and so many feelings. I actually cried, and I NEVER cry, that’s what you do to me, Rebecca Ross. I loved how they had their own problems and insecurities but loved each other regardless. The letters were each one better than the other, it was so beautiful to see how their relationship kept on progressing with each letter. I think I’m in love with Roman, and I’m not kidding. Every time I picked this book up to read it, he kept on getting better and better and better, and now I’m depressed because he’s the standard and men like him don’t exist so basically I’ll just die alone.
How can Rebecca Ross portray such incredible and deep feelings just with her writing? How she talks about grief, about being insecure, about war (as if she were there herself), about being/feeling alone, about their love that made me cry and laugh, and giggle and smile and about so many things… My heart ached all the time.
As always, unfortunately there’s always a but, and the only “bad” (there’s nothing wrong with this wonderful book) thing I would like to point out is that it barely talks about the main plot (the Gods Enva and Dacre), only at the beginning and at the end. By how it ended (what a huge cliffhanger omfg) it looks like in the next book there will be more of it and I just. can’t. wait.
It is a huge crime that:
1. This book is not that recognized and it’s really underrated.
2. That I have to wait until april of 2024 for the next book to be released.
Everyone needs to read this book, period. Like, there’s no excuse. It has mythology, rivals to lovers, amazing main & side characters, he falls first, etc etc etc ♾️, and it just fulfills your entire being, it makes you feel whole, complete.
I don’t think I can write any quote because I literally underlined the entire book, but here are some of them that I particularly loved🤍:
<i>Grief is a long, difficult process, especially when it is so racked by guilt.</i>
<i>I think we all wear armor. I think those who don’t are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I’ve learned anything from those fools, it’s that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are.</i>
<i>But I think there is a magical link between you and me. A bond that not even distance can break.</i>
<i>The world is about to change. The days to come will only grow darker. And when you find something good? You hold on to it. You don’t waste time worrying about things that won’t even matter in the end. Rather, you take a risk for that light.</i>
<i>You are worthy of love. You are worthy to feel joy right now, even in the darkness.</i>
(I’m going to stop with the quotes now because I’ll just end up writing the entire book).
Last but not least, if you’re planning on reading this book, check the trigger warnings before doing so (tw such as: death, war, death of parent, grief, gun violence, alcoholism, medical content, car accident, etc.)
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and War
Moderate: Mental illness and Blood
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Vomit, Car accident, Sexual content, and Addiction