Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Divine Rivals

Everything in this book is written so vividly. The universe is imersive, extremely. Every scent, texture and visual is so real that it is impossible not to feel that you in every scene. Every emotion the author wanted you to feel, you would. To the point where I had to put the book dawn a few times closer to the end because I'm simply to equiped to process all these feelings. The romance is beautiful, moving and made me sight and (scream with the book) several times. The story does not hesitate to show war like it is but it doesn't make everything depressing and hopeless either. I loved this book with all my heart and I hope so, so much that the sequel is just as good. I can't wait for it.

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paigehf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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thesoulessrider's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

OMG, Divine Rivals was such a wild ride! I was hooked from the first letter between Iris and Roman, two rival journalists who fall in love through a magical connection. They have to deal with a war between gods, family drama, and media censorship, and it was so intense and emotional. I loved the enemies-to-lovers vibe, the historical references, and the gorgeous writing. The characters were so real and relatable, and the romance was hot and heartbreaking. This book made me cry, laugh, and gasp so many times, and the epilogue was… speechless. I was totally wrong about the enchanted entity, by the way. It was such a clever twist! If you love Rebecca Ross and fantasy romance, you need to read this book ASAP.

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diana314's review against another edition

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emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

This is like, a 4.99999 stars book.
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ??!!??!!
I…. I should not be doing a review now, it’s been a singular minute since I’ve finished the book, so I’m quite hyped, but!!!!!?????
It’s not a 5 stars for me cause the beginning was… idk, not for me? Kinda hard to get through?? I don’t really know why, it just wasn’t it
BUT OH MY GOD IT PICKS UP???!??
And jfc ROMAN KITT(?) THE MAN THAT YOU ARE 😫😫😫🛐🛐🛐❤️❤️✨😫😫❤️😫🛐😫✨✨🛐

And ummm hello???? Forest appearing out of fucking nowhere as a desertor of DAIKA’s army, wounded and just to kidnap Iris and take her away from Roman KNOWING FULL WELL HOW MUCH HE MEANT FOR HER?????! I despise that man, and I’ve no reason to love him, I don’t give a damn if it’s her brother 😠😠

And jESUS CHRIST, DAIKA TAKING ROMAN!???? Like yes, thank you, he saved his life, BUT AT WHAT COST??!???!!!?? 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I need to start the 2nd book like, right now 😭😭😭😭🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
Ohhh this is an addition, but I forgot to state that, even if I did see coming the big surprises in the story… I saw them coming from like, 2 minutes before the reveal lol! So it was a wild ride and very very recommended ❤️❤️❤️✨🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

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thebelovedreadingnook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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katelyn11's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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alibrarymouse's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I didn’t think I was one for historical fantasy until Divine Rivals. With its World War I vibe and epistolary aspects, I’ll be the first to admit I was so skeptical of how it would all play out, but, honestly, Ross’ world works.

Iris is plucky, determined, and loving underneath the bluster she has to present to the world. While Kitt is someone looking to make up for his mistakes and find who he really is after. It would have been so easy for their characters to deviate in deference to the plot and overarching themes of the book as a whole, but Ross was amazing at keeping them consistent and creating a story that works with who they are while still being engaging and interesting.

The warring gods storyline is something I hope to see more of in the next book since we’ve gotten a glimpse of their mythos, and I hope to see more answers to some of my guesses and questions. However, as a first book in this duology, Ross beautifully builds expectations, hopes, and the story in such a way that it’s clear this is a romantasy taking place in a fantastical war. The deviations and twists were stunning, and the emotional buildup and release were perfection. This book made me cry over characters we literally had met only pages before, and is one of the most respectful to its soldiers and their accounts.

What I truly appreciate is that, while graphic, Ross didn’t go grimdark. It would have taken away a lot of the nuance she gave to her characters and the situations they found themselves in. Overall, this is definitely worth the hype.

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