Reviews

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

kelsdunc's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 ⭐️
I loved it. Beautiful writing and love story.

Audiobook on Libby

riley_2502's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.0

its been a minute since I finished this audiobook and at the time I probably would've given it 3.5 but it has been very forgettable and left no impact on me so im gonna drop it to 3. for a booktok rec I am shocked that this book wasn't smutty (and appreciative! I really enjoyed that). I liked the characters, they had a sweet relationship and it developed super fast but I didn't really mind. I will say the plot was kind of uninteresting to me. the world building was quite bare bones and I did not really care about the war setting or whatever is going on with those gods! I do think ill read the 2nd book but I saw that it involves memory loss and I hate that trope so idk.... also because of the mystery letters/keeping his identity secret thing that was going on this book reminded me a lot of the Undertaking of Hart and Mercy which I LOVE so it was hard for me to not pit this against it (unfairly bc they are quite different) but undertaking is on TOP always 

quintessenceofdust's review against another edition

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3.0

I feel like this book promised a lot more than it delivered. Epic enemies to lovers?? Erm…more like two teenagers who took a dislike to one another for five minutes then decided they couldn’t live without each other.

The romance is very teen romance, which is fine, we’re all very dramatic when we’re teenagers. It just felt a lot more insta-love than rivals/overcoming enemy status but y’know to each their own.

The biggest nit pick I have, and I am nitpicking…is that Ms. Ross has gone to all the bother of creating her own Mythology of Gods, her own coin system, days of the week…but one of her main characters is called Roman…a name that can’t exist without Roman Mythology…she also has Iris say ‘hell’ at one point…which can’t exist without Christian Mythology (unless you make a point of that being your underworld, but she didn’t so…)

I felt the ending was rushed. Iris and Forest are finally reunited and don’t even really speak to each other? Instead they hurry back to Oath and then talk a tiny bit to drop bombshells for the next book.

Before I got to the epilogue I wasn’t bothered about whether I read the second one, but now after that I feel like I have to (but on the same token do I want to put myself through more Iris & Roman yearning? Hmmmmm…)

2.5 rounded up

alys_lawrence's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

5.0

sarah_fossgreen's review against another edition

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5.0

I finally found the book I needed to pull me out of my reading slump. I absolutely adored this book! The characters were amazing. The romance was so damn sweet with the right amount of angst and longing. I am anxiously waiting to get to the second book. So so so good!

viscountess_black's review against another edition

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5.0

It's been a while since I found a book that made me feel so many things at the same time, that made me cry with a few sentences.
This is a book so worth to be read.

dilly_fantasy's review against another edition

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4.0

⚠️CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FINE PRINT BY LAUREN ASHER⚠️



after just reading “the fine print” this felt too similar..
roman -> rowan
roman sending letters as carver -> rowan sending texts as scott
iris feeling guilty for falling for two people -> zahra feeling guilty for falling for two people

ncase66's review against another edition

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5.0

Sublime

amarek's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

I liked it, but not much happened. It felt like a solid grounding book with more to come. I do like where the story is headed, so I’ll read the next one

nikkicodiniera's review against another edition

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3.0

⭐️3.8⭐️ i am so torn yall. i really liked the feel of this book, very whimsical yet had a hint of dark academia. i just wish there was a little more world building. i was confused on when the time was set, what kind of magical elements this fantasy world had, and how much it teetered between the real world. I feel like had there been more world building and development in that realm, it would’ve easily been a 4.5

i do love the characters, and i love the way ross writes and i am always a sucker for the chosen family trope

the letters they send back and forth were so sweet, i was deadass like give me a pen pal on a magical typewriter too!

i definitely want to read the next one though - i feel like book 2 will dive into some more magical elements and world building with the gods because of what happened with roman