Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Divine Rivals

Interesting concept but poorly executed. Most of the book felt forced/rushed, and it wasn't overly satisfying to finally have the two characters get together. It felt like a love triangle where both men are actually the same person and the only one who doesn't know is the woman. Which could have been good but I felt zero chemistry between the two characters in person until after they officially get together. I really wanted to love this book but overall it felt somewhat lackluster. I'll still read the next one but if I didn't already own it I probably would have forgotten about it before I ever got around to buying it.

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awenya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I didn’t realize this would be a war book. I was told it was basically You Got Mail which was the first half of the book and was absolutely lovely. The end takes a hard shift and turns into Saving Private Ryan. It was a good book, but I wasn’t prepared and I’m not sure I would have read it if I had known it would be so war-focused.

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chaptermaggot's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

3.0

The pacing of this was so weird and the characters weren’t super compelling. It was riveting at times though and I’m excited to see what happens next bc what a crazy ending!

By weird pacing I mean it just seemed rushed and slow and various points in Iris’s relationships, life events and the over all war. Important things felt rushed, simpler things seemed to drag on… etc.

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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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abbyreads23's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Low-fantasy with solid storytelling, it’s fun and on the high side of medium-paced. It makes for a quick, fun, and adventurous read.

The PROSE— wow. Rebecca has a way with words. This immediately caught my eye and I was highlighting sections of the book constantly because it was so beautifully written.

The main character is realistic, she’s vulnerable yet brave. She has weaknesses and strengths, both which are seen in this book. She is not a damsel in distress but there are times when she needs a hero, and I think that makes for good diversity.

World building is basically N/A as there isn’t much to be said since it takes place on earth but there’s some fantasy and magical aspects to the book. As an avid fantasy reader, it was very easy to understand but I think this book makes for a great introduction to some magical aspects for new fantasy readers.

The plot is good, there’s some mystery on what these fighting deities are going to do and very little is still known about them. While the characters face realistic challenges and real consequences!! Little to no plot armor.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it’s been a while since I’ve read a book so well put together and to the point. There’s hardly any fluff, the author works to get you hooked into the story and attached to the characters.

Half point off because

I felt like the whole enemies to lover aspect was slightly rushed and Iris kind of suddenly realizing she was in love took me back a little bit.
Roman was perfect. He always loved Iris.
But Iris kind of hating him but not— I don’t know, it was a little confusing lol

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theycallmenana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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kades26's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.75

This started off like a very light, cute story with a harsh, scary something looming over it. The "something" is dealt with in the last 5ish chapters of the book. Felt slow and then all of a sudden very fast. Not rushing to go read the second one but will get there eventually.

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