Scan barcode
spaghettii's review against another edition
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? Yes
5.0
Any words I can find to describe this book would be an understatement. To put it simply, this was a beautiful and emotional book that reminded me why I love historical fantasy. I found the plot endearing. It could be considered predictable, but I think the best written stories are where you know inevitably what will happen, but watch it play out anyways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Classism, Cursing, Gun violence, Medical content, Death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, War, Vomit, and Violence
mirroaoror's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and War
sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“A girl who writes letters to her missing brother, and the boy who reads them.”
Thus we have the first thoughts of this beautiful novel. The tale is set in a world where two gods who were previously defeated by mortals are awake and at war with each other.
At the beginning this is a distant war not changing the day to day life of the city of Oath. Iris (our leading lady) is fighting her good looking but arrogant rival Kitt for a position at the local paper, caring for her alcoholic mother and worrying about the whereabouts of her solider brother.
When her secret letters to her brother disappear and then suddenly are magically answered by another man everything begins to change.
I adored this book. The 1940’s type era with some magical occurrences (not your wizard and wands type) that are sprinkled throughout daily life. The use of letter writing adds such a beautiful romantic use of words to create bonds and really adds to the beauty of the book.
It was also important that war was not romanticised in this book. The descriptions of trench warfare and invasions was realistic and brutal and added a fantastic juxtaposition to Iris’s personal life.
This would be a great book for those wanting to have a little dip into fantasy while still similar to a 1940’s war romance. But oh it is so much more than that simple explanation.
Thus we have the first thoughts of this beautiful novel. The tale is set in a world where two gods who were previously defeated by mortals are awake and at war with each other.
At the beginning this is a distant war not changing the day to day life of the city of Oath. Iris (our leading lady) is fighting her good looking but arrogant rival Kitt for a position at the local paper, caring for her alcoholic mother and worrying about the whereabouts of her solider brother.
When her secret letters to her brother disappear and then suddenly are magically answered by another man everything begins to change.
I adored this book. The 1940’s type era with some magical occurrences (not your wizard and wands type) that are sprinkled throughout daily life. The use of letter writing adds such a beautiful romantic use of words to create bonds and really adds to the beauty of the book.
It was also important that war was not romanticised in this book. The descriptions of trench warfare and invasions was realistic and brutal and added a fantastic juxtaposition to Iris’s personal life.
This would be a great book for those wanting to have a little dip into fantasy while still similar to a 1940’s war romance. But oh it is so much more than that simple explanation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, War, Violence, Death, Gore, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
lozzo_bozo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Violence, War, Confinement, Vomit, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Alcoholism, and Gore
maggies's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Enjoyable enough that I'll definitely read the sequel, and I loved the steampunk/magical realism/historical fiction vibes, but I never understood the war between the gods. That needed to be explored/explained more or it should have just been removed from the book altogether. The twists were perfect for the book, though, and I loved watching Iris and Attie's friendship develop. (Rounded my rating up because I'm invested in finding out how it ends lol)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, and Death of parent
mushroomfrog's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Books that are very popular like this fall into one of two categories, overhyped and undeserving, or absolutely not hyped enough. Divine Rivals is absolutely deserving of its popularity, and I am still reeling with just how fantastic it is.
I absolutely adored every second of reading, Ross does an excellent job at conveying war, characters, and yearning. This is everything I want from a rivals to lovers book, and the mystery of the gods still has me open jawed from the ending twist.
Some books can definitely feel "more YA" then others. While some can be enjoyed by all ages, some employ writing and vocabulary that make it difficult to get through for older readers. Divine Rivals does not read like one would expect from a traditional YA book, it dealt with heavy topics, complex characters, and an engaging writing style that I was sucked into from page one.
I can't wait to read the sequel!
A must read!
I absolutely adored every second of reading, Ross does an excellent job at conveying war, characters, and yearning. This is everything I want from a rivals to lovers book, and the mystery of the gods still has me open jawed from the ending twist.
Some books can definitely feel "more YA" then others. While some can be enjoyed by all ages, some employ writing and vocabulary that make it difficult to get through for older readers. Divine Rivals does not read like one would expect from a traditional YA book, it dealt with heavy topics, complex characters, and an engaging writing style that I was sucked into from page one.
I can't wait to read the sequel!
A must read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Gun violence, War, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
sariereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Blood, and Gore
emilywemily6's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was beautiful and poetic. Time flew by while listening to it and I truly escaped into the story. The first 25% set up the world and the characters, but after they got to the war I was captivated. The letter melted me heart and I saw how the characters fell for each other as they shed small pieces of armor to grow closer to each other. I loved the magic system from the nebulous gods, and it felt like we got to hear about ordinary people living their lives in a world with a pantheon of gods and the subsequent magical overflow, rather than mortal characters being made important in a story about the gods (like a lot of Greek myths are). And I loved that perspective! The ending was tense and stressful and I’m in a mega book hangover and can’t wait to read the next book as soon as it comes out!! The writing was so lyrical and beautiful, with lots of descriptions on how things felt so I really felt immersed in the world. The blend of a pseudo WW1 world and the magical pantheon of gods was really interesting too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, Grief, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content and Gun violence
Minor: Slavery
outer_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Deportation, Gore, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Body horror
Minor: Child death, Grief, Alcohol, and Addiction