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A review by woahshereads
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
4.0
First, I want to say that I ADORED this book & I truly felt that Rebecca did an impeccable job bringing this story to life. At times I felt like I was right there alongside the characters while the scene played out. It was very easy for me to imagine Oath, Avalon Bluff & the front lines. I was captivated the entire time and see the charm in this book. However, there are a few things I hope we see more of in book 2, Divine Vows.
One of those being a better understanding of the world before the mortals took over & the history of the gods altogether. We see the relationship between Dacre and Enva before the war and the reasoning behind Dacre’s rage but what about the apparent other 3 Gods who should be awake?? Unless I missed something - which is entirely possible because I absolutely pay devoured this book in 2 days but otherwise, are they choosing not to participate in the war for reason’s unbeknownst to the reader?
Second, I NEED MORE MAGIC. Beyond the basic character development of the Enva & Dacre & the typewriters, there is no magic in this world/story & I was a bit let down by that. I hope in the second book, there is a bit more to be revealed in this regard.
Third, the enemies to lovers trope and overall connection to Iris wasn’t there for me. I will say, the spin that is has on enemies to lovers in which Iris doesn’t know she’s falling FOR her enemy is unique to me but in the end, it takes her a total of about 5 seconds after she finds out it is Roman to forgive him. There is no tension afterwards, there are no awkward moments, no arguments, etc. I also felt like I connected with Roman’s character more than Iris, which I am still conflicted about. Both characters are known to bottle up their feelings to the outside world but I felt like that came through better in Roman’s situations than Iris’ and even in the end with them being married. Roman went through so much trouble to make it happen even in the midst of an evacuation and I just felt that Iris didn’t have as much of a strong reaction as I was expecting. I mean, Roman was bawling his eyes out!!
I am a bit skeptical that this is only going to be a duology with so much left open to conclude/explain but, nonetheless I still loved this book & already pre-ordered the second. I do feel like Iris is about to GO AWFFFF in book 2 to get Roman back and stick it to her brother - which while I am at it.. I feel like just throwing I’m in the end like that was dirttttty & his reasoning for only saving Iris is just wrong especially when he was creeping about at their wedding!! Anyway, I really hope Iris does a 180 and finds herself being the badass that she is.
One of those being a better understanding of the world before the mortals took over & the history of the gods altogether. We see the relationship between Dacre and Enva before the war and the reasoning behind Dacre’s rage but what about the apparent other 3 Gods who should be awake?? Unless I missed something - which is entirely possible because I absolutely pay devoured this book in 2 days but otherwise, are they choosing not to participate in the war for reason’s unbeknownst to the reader?
Second, I NEED MORE MAGIC. Beyond the basic character development of the Enva & Dacre & the typewriters, there is no magic in this world/story & I was a bit let down by that. I hope in the second book, there is a bit more to be revealed in this regard.
Third, the enemies to lovers trope and overall connection to Iris wasn’t there for me. I will say, the spin that is has on enemies to lovers in which Iris doesn’t know she’s falling FOR her enemy is unique to me but in the end, it takes her a total of about 5 seconds after she finds out it is Roman to forgive him. There is no tension afterwards, there are no awkward moments, no arguments, etc. I also felt like I connected with Roman’s character more than Iris, which I am still conflicted about. Both characters are known to bottle up their feelings to the outside world but I felt like that came through better in Roman’s situations than Iris’ and even in the end with them being married. Roman went through so much trouble to make it happen even in the midst of an evacuation and I just felt that Iris didn’t have as much of a strong reaction as I was expecting. I mean, Roman was bawling his eyes out!!
I am a bit skeptical that this is only going to be a duology with so much left open to conclude/explain but, nonetheless I still loved this book & already pre-ordered the second. I do feel like Iris is about to GO AWFFFF in book 2 to get Roman back and stick it to her brother - which while I am at it.. I feel like just throwing I’m in the end like that was dirttttty & his reasoning for only saving Iris is just wrong especially when he was creeping about at their wedding!! Anyway, I really hope Iris does a 180 and finds herself being the badass that she is.