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A review by documentno_is
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Divine Rivals is an interesting and gripping fantasy romance novel that provides enchanting entertainment but maybe not so much underneath the surface. I enjoyed the romance aspect between Iris and Roman, especially appreciating the alternating POV and their journalism as an avenue for tension and character development. If this was a surface level romance, I may have even rated it higher.
The largest fantasy undertones within this are surrounding a mythical war between gods that seems to be a vague analog of Hades and Persephone, that vaguely wants to make some commentary on the role of women in this society but falls a little short of this endeavor (why do these shortcomings between the gods play out or pertain to the people in Oath and beyond?) We are almost explicitly told we should support Enya over Hades, but that supporters of Dacre are "zealots, religious extremists" without showing how this extremism or faith plays out?
Then largely, I do think I like what Ross has to say about effect, complicity, and the nature of religious conflict but I wished she's done more work showing me these things in how they play out in this society and these characters instead of stating them so outright.I think even taking out the aspect where Roman retells the myths to her within the letters, and letting the audience discover see HOW the worshippers of these religions practice, believe, and show their reverence although I understand there are only so many words available within the novel. I appreciated the aspect where Ross showed that the residents of Oath don't believe the war will come for them and so it is not something that must worry them- they are told instead to dabble in distraction and I appreciated this metaphor for liberal society.
I think this novel was largely approaching good- with a few glaring flaws I had trouble getting over, but am still excited to see what Ross puts out in the future.
The largest fantasy undertones within this are surrounding a mythical war between gods that seems to be a vague analog of Hades and Persephone, that vaguely wants to make some commentary on the role of women in this society but falls a little short of this endeavor (why do these shortcomings between the gods play out or pertain to the people in Oath and beyond?) We are almost explicitly told we should support Enya over Hades, but that supporters of Dacre are "zealots, religious extremists" without showing how this extremism or faith plays out?
Then largely, I do think I like what Ross has to say about effect, complicity, and the nature of religious conflict but I wished she's done more work showing me these things in how they play out in this society and these characters instead of stating them so outright.
I think this novel was largely approaching good- with a few glaring flaws I had trouble getting over, but am still excited to see what Ross puts out in the future.