Reviews with content warning for Grief - Divine Rivals

Easily one of the most captivating books I've read in a while. The story was written effortlessly and I loved the letters and the way that Iris and Carver developed their relationship without ever having met. It was also an emotional read, heavy on the grief and the war. It had me hooked as a reader for a solid 85% of the book.

However, where it eventually fell short was after that 85% mark. It got to a point where the plot - though already quite fast paced in some places - felt rushed, as if this 14-chapter-per-part aesthetic was what limited the author to progress the plot further in less time. Also, I know it is a YA, but Iris and Roman definitely felt a lot older. 18 and 19 just wasn't believable after a point, and the Young Adult genre still would have held if they were in their early to mid 20s.

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pottersauce's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

🫑

This is an interesting book. I found the language a tad bit flowery for me, but it wasn't too bad. And the content and overall writing style I enjoyed.

Definitely check out the trigger warnings, just in case. This was emotionally rough at times. The romance was cute, and there was technically a sex scene, but it was not explicit. Most people would consider this a sweet romance, but the overall themes and such mean it's no cutesy romance book.

Interesting world building with mythology as history. Love a typewriter book.

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tnemelce's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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greatestheights's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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seastheday'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? No

4.0

This is most certainly a Romantasy- heavy on the romance aspect. I didn’t really know where this book would go- it’s so unique. And I was pleasantly surprised, as I hung on, along for the ride. I loved how the characters unfolded. There was a spot here and there where I called what would happen

like when the B&B was getting robbed and it ended up being Forest

The beginning was slow, but the second half of the book made it worth it. I really wish we had more scenes/time with Attie. I genuinely enjoyed this story, but it didn’t blow me away- which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

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reiverse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.5

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noragoudie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-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? No

4.75

This book was SO GREAT and I loved every minute! It is very rare that a fantasy book enchants me these days, but I got the feeling that I used to get when I was a kid from this. The book beautifully balances a strong plot/great world-building with characters you root for. The romance in this was also so beautifully done. Cannot wait to read the sequel!

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chimericsoul's review against another edition

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emotional medium-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

Writing style is easy, nothing complex to get your head around. If your brain needs that it’s here.

Low fantasy and British? Lots of cups of tea. There was the set up to make it interesting but then no details followed through with that.

“Enemies to lovers” idgaf. Also,
Low/non cringe spice.

I liked the gender equality and normalising of gays as just existing. It’s a side character thats some kind of gay. No commentary on it, just has a same sex spouse.

There’s a tiny bit of subtext alluding to someone possibly offing themselves. You’d have to be able read the behavioural tells to get it.

A character mentions a child having died in the past by drowning.

It’s fine. Eh. Mostly consumed as an audiobook and sporadically read along with the hardback. It didn’t hit.

Found out it’s YA and that makes sense. Kudos for exploring media bias for the littles. I still wish it had more detail and emotion to connect with.

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