Reviews with content warning for Murder - Divine Rivals

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

26 reviews

kinsportch's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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hanreads__'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Rivals to Lovers ✔️
Forced Proximity ✔️
War ✔️
Found Family ✔️
Secret Letters ✔️

*~*~*~*~*

“𝗜 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗔 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗿, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗔 𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂."

I did not expect to love this book as much as others, at first I couldn’t understand the hype surrounding it, but now I understand it, and to anyone who rates it less than five stars, I think you’re crazy.

I have no clue as to what Rebecca Ross was drinking or taking while writing, but she needs to continue to do so. I am in awe of her and the masterpiece that she created.

The one thing I want to get out of the way is that this story is NOT an enemies to lovers, there is no way that Roman and Iris are enemies, they are rivals and I wish the story would stopped being described as an enemies to lovers. Neither of them hate one another, but they are competitive and are constantly trying to be better than the other.

Now onto the good stuff!

There is something beautiful about two people writing letters to one another and not knowing anything about one another, but finding safety within these letters. What’s even more beautiful is for one person to know, and yet continue to write because they want to know the other better. Roll this into a ball with the fact that they are connected by magic and family? It becomes even more beautiful, and it warmed my heart massively.

I really love the way Rebecca tackled the “found family” trope within this story because I for one have never considered what it would be like for you to up and leave everything you know to be a war correspondent, but now I feel as though I have an idea. The people you meet and spend your days with become your family, a family who rely on one another to protect each other and themselves while also trying to enjoy and hold onto the little moments that mean a lot. Marisol was such a lovely woman and definitely came across as a mother figure, and it amazes me that someone so strong and independent can continue to find the good in life day in and day out despite the things she sees. I also hope to see more of Athea in the next story, I think she’s capable of so much and it wouldn’t surprise me if she ends up fighting in the war to defend Enva.

Moving onto Roman’s family. I WANT TO PUNCH HIS DAD SO HARD IN THE FACE IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY. Who the heck does he think he is? How dare you blame Roman for something tragic that happened, and how dare you constantly control him. He’s a piece of shit, and all he cares about is security. I do however think I’ve figured out what he was classing as security from the Little family. It filled my heart with pride when Roman went against his fathers wishes and did something for himself, it also made the story that much better in my opinion as it showed a bit of character development for Roman.

Finally, I just want to talk about the slow burn between Roman and Iris. The tension that built between them was incredibly beautiful and while the way things have currently ended is heartbreaking, I truly think they are meant to be and will over come everything. The way the fell for eachother and the way they became so in sync with one another showed just how perfect they are together, and when it was the night before things went down, their moment was precious, and one of the best intimacy scenes I have read. Sometimes you don’t need smut for something to be hot, sometimes you need just to read about the scene beginning, and it’s how it begins that makes it more remembered.

I could go on for hours about this book but I’m doing best to not spoil anything and if I continue, I will do just that. I cannot wait to purchase Ruthless Vows, and here’s to the next book ruining me more than the first.

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cecilie26's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad 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

I really liked this book, even though I have heard quite different things about it on tiktok. Some was really stoked about it while others cursed it to hell and back.
I can maybe see why it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It is a bit slow at some parts and the development isn’t that fast.

The end of the book it also seemed like it we just at the beginning again. I know she points it out herself, but it just seems like everything she went through. All the heartbreak and the hard work was meaningless. Now she just has a brother she don’t recognize, and new husband is now the one that is gone. The one that she now feel is her everything, instead of her brother.
I know there had to be a twist and something that we hate is happening, for the plot yk.
But either Roman is going to end up just like her brother or worse. The possibility for better is really slim.
I why the heck couldn’t they have taken Roman with them?!!
“It took all the strength in me to desert from the bad guy” yeah right. One more person wasn’t that big of a deal. But then maybe Roman would definitely die because they didn’t have any medicine to help him.
This is why I like the book even though it makes me wants to pull my hair out of frustration.

I really like this book even though it doesn’t develop that fast in some parts, but the sweet little things that help make the book lighthearted at times where there is also so much darkenss.
The humor I love and the banter!! Love it! If you don’t like enemies or more like rivals to lovers then this book is definitely not for you but if it is. You would probably love this very much. It is slow burn, with so many feelings and it is so well written.

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lindseyhall44's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.25

I absolutely loved everything about Divine Rivals. The romance, message, and characters were all beautifully done. I don’t know how I’m supposed to wait for the next one.

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celery's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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rylin_marie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

maybe my fav book of 2023???this might be my fav read of the year! the academic rivals to lovers trope is so perfect in this book! my heart was torn to pieces, but i was left NEEDING more !! so here i am, restlessly and anxiously waiting for ruthless vows to release.

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spaghettii'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? 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.

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hailstorm3812's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

This is a very enjoyable book. For someone who hates You've Got Mail, I feel like the author side stepped a good deal of the ickiness. I think it balanced drama and romcomedy very well. I really liked Addie and Marisol. The ending is kind of a kick in the teeth if you don't realize it is a series but I'm down for another one thought I'm not sure you can capture the charm and fun of this one with where we left off but I look forward to it.

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mushroomfrog's review against another edition

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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

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

3.75

“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.”

➽ Divine Rivals is about Iris and Roman, who are competitors at the Oath Gazerre Newspaper. I liked the premise, as there is a war between two gods going on and some people - like Iris' brother - end up recruited for their cause. While cold, arrogant Roman has a wealthy family with lots of connections, Iris and her mother are struggling, especially since her brother left. Both of them are clashing at their workplace in order to get the best stories. Iris takes a chance and becomes a wartime correspondent. It's a dangerous job right at the front, but maybe she'll finally find out what happened to her brother, ever since they lost contact with him. I liked that there's also a magical typewriter involved, that Iris uses to communicate with someone - though she has no idea who it is!

➽ I debated giving this 4 stars, but the ending really put me off

1. this could have been a great slowburn romance, why did Iris and Roman have to marry in the end after being together so briefly?? Why not save that for the sequel? 2. what was up with Iris' brother suddenly appearing and him fighting for Dacre before his desertion being swept under the rug so completely? I was disappointed that Iris went along with him all the way back to Oath, especially as he was acting so possessive and she never called him out on fighting for the enemy? 3. the gods generally felt shallow and Dacre's POV didn't do itself any favors. Roman being saved by him would have been fine, but the sequel synopsis reveals that he's got a huge case of amnesia and cannot remember Iris. Why would you do that?? I just really, really hate the amnesia trope, so idk if I'll be reading the next book.

. In general, this had so much potential, but the worldbuilding felt shallow at times and the beginning felt pretty disconnected from the rest of the book, some plotlines were

such as Roman's arranged engagement

just dropped midway through the book.

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