Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Divine Rivals

This book was unfortunately a bit of a letdown for me, and maybe that’s due to the fact that it’s hyped pretty aggressively on booktok and other social platforms.

This was a fine book but it is definitely what I’d consider a romance focus with a light dusting of fantasy/magic elements. The fantasy elements are not explored or explained in any sort of depth. Though this is YA, it doesn’t compare to series like Shadow & Bone that gives you a vivid fantasy world with a true magic system. The focus is nearly wholly on the two main characters - both young journalists living in the capital or a fictional country at war. While war rages through their lands, it has not yet come to the capital and many believe it won’t. Their lives and interactions are the focus of this book, with a side quest/plot of the magical war that is apparently tearing society apart at the seams.

My issues with this book is that there are so many things that are really skipped over in service of the romance and to great detriment to the rest of the plot. While I commend the author for her creative way of introducing information (and doing it slowly) via letters, there simply is not enough to understand why the war is raging and what the rest of society is up to (we get a limited handful of side characters, most of which don’t drive the plot forward much).

There are more than a few plot holes - and it’s frustrating to get intrigued by a topic being introduced only to jump immediately to something else happening.

I will give props where deserved - I think the author does a nice job of conveying the brutality of war to a YA audience and setting up a compelling concept - who wouldn’t be intrigued by the concept of a world where the gods were at war and humans were being recruited to fight on their behalf?

I’m intrigued enough by the last ¼ of the book and the cliffhanger ending (which I’m mad about for other reasons but we don’t have time to get into that) that I will likely pick up the second book and hope that Ross treats us to a more developed fantasy world where her characters can truly shine.

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yuna23's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

C'était un livre que j'avais entendu beaucoup d'avis positif, je me suis dit pourquoi le lire pour voir ce que l'histoire pourrait raconter, sans rien savoir de l'histoire ou sans lire le résumé du livre. J'ai commencé ma lecture en entrant dans un monde d'écriture, de papier et machine à écrire, ce qui m'a intrigué et m'a fait continuer ma lecture. Je l'ai terminé avec de la colère, joie et tristesse.

Ce livre a été pour moi un monde que je pouvais me réfugier. Le livre a été tellement bien écrit que j'aimerais pouvoir écrire comme Roman et Iris écrivent.

En tout cas, j'aimerais ne pas trop m'étaler sur trop de détails de l'histoire, mais je l'ai vraiment aimé. Il m'a réellement transporté dans un monde de guerre et de lettre. C'était une nouvelle histoire avec des éléments que je n'ai pas l'habitude de lire et c'est ce que j'ai aimé.

En fait, je donnerai une note de 4.5, juste à cause de la scène explicite que je n'ai pas trop trouvé utile de le mettre (peut-être que vous serez en désaccord avec moi, ce qui est tout à fait normal), mais sinon, j'ai bien aimé le voyage que cette autrice m'a transporté.

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marlajanereads's review against another edition

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4.0

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isabelle8794's review against another edition

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challenging tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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anasaffrin's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’m a romantic so this was a great read for me!

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eeagie01's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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justagir1's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

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3.5

“I don't think you realize how strong you are, because sometimes strength isn't swords and steel and fire, as we are so often made to believe. Sometimes it's found in quiet, gentle places.”

Hmmmm... This was a very... interesting book indeed. On one hand, I liked the premise of the romance. On the other, I felt like the worldbuilding was a bit confusing and could have been expanded upon more. The ending felt a bit sudden and rushed in my opinion. I think some interesting plots were dropped halfway through, which was a bit annoying. I feel like the pacing was a bit off as well, things were happening way too fast in this book. Maybe it's just the fact that I read a better academic rivals to lovers right before this. Oh well... it is what it is.

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