Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Divine Rivals

“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 is 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. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can’t risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there’s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, “You will miss so much by being so guarded.”

This is worth the hype for sure. I can see why people kept picking this book up and recommending it because it really is an amazing story. It's been awhile since I read a YA romance fantasy and even though I usually steer clear from YAs, I've been brought in by the book community to try this book. I wasn't disappoint. Although it was slow at first - duh! It's world building so it not unusual, but I would have loved for the world to be built more. I did not really have the backstory of the world and how it came to be. I think that's what made me slow in the beginning but once I've hit a quarter of the story, it was just smooth sailing from there. I was just immediately hooked.

I love the war setting where this couple should conquer war for their love or something in that sense. I love the banters and I really wish there was more of it. I love the typewriter form of communication and how these two just write the loveliest letters to each other. It makes a lot of sense why they wouldn't fall for each other. The side characters and their stories as well was a good addition to the book. I really do love the story and was just devastated for the last quarter of the book where I just need to know what happened to the main characters. I wish the twist at the end had been made a little bit more sense but that's just me, I guess. I was heart broken for that last 50 pages and I'm so glad I bought the next book last weekend.

(Please let it be a fast reunion between Roman and Iris.)

Content Warnings

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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jooniethemoonie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

if you liked The Cruel Prince (as I did), you'll probably like this book! the voice actors really did their thing with this one, nothing to complain about 🤷‍♀️ Iris and Roman are my babes 😭

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readingduckling's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-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

5.0

The book is beautifully written but extremely sad an I would recommend to check trigger warnings and maybe being in a stable headspace and maybe already own the second book so you can continue reading.

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cait's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.0

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pineapplerain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

This boookkk, I honestly read lots of fantasy romance with magic or dragons or fae etc but this one. I understand there are magical beings like God's, but it feels different. The brutality of war is something I struggle to understand and this book just pushed it through for me. I enjoyed the little inside jokes our main characters had and how bitter sweet things were. The message of this book is beautiful, things don't last forever and it can be that in a single moment your life turns upside down. Bit disappointed with the ending but that's personal preference lol I'm salty. Would recommend 100%, some popular tiktok books disappoint but this one was amazing, I really loved the how real everything felt!! Going to read the next soon :)

It took me 6 hrs and 40 ish minutes to read this book, 20 of which were yesterday. I finished it today and my brain is fried 😭

Content Warnings

amelianotthepilot's review against another edition

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5.0

ughhhhh this book had me punchin walls and kicking blankets it was so cute
Iris Winnow has won a writing competition and although she didn't finish school because they ran out of money she now has the opportunity to become a columnist at a leading newspaper in the city. However, her academic rival, Roman C Kitt, is a wealthy git who seems to do everything in his power to annoy her and is her only competition for the columnist role.
*stefan voice* This book has everything: rivals to lovers, austen-esque letter exchanges, the missed important letter trope, 1940s city vibes but with a magical twist, a rich boy not allowed to pursue his true love since shes poor, a poor girl struggling to get by but not letting anyone know or help, a WWI-esque war, and a god problem with persephoneXhades vibes.

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