spaghettii's review against another edition
- 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
Spoiler
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.Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Classism, Cursing, Gun violence, Medical content, Death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, War, Vomit, and Violence
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Car accident
Minor: Sexism
mushroomfrog's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
3.75
Spoiler
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 posessive and she never called him out on fighting for the enemy? 3. the gods generally felt shallow and that Dacre 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 oh why would you do that?? I just really, really hate the amnesia trope, so idk if I'll be reading the next book.Spoiler
such as Roman's arranged engagementGraphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Death, War, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
josxphinchen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Death of parent, Grief, and Medical content
skillyillian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Speaking of setting, holy shit I am absolutely obsessed with the dark academia vibes. The rainy city, the typewriters, the research, the outfits, the time period, all of it. Perfect vibes. I want more books just like this IMMEDIATELY.
Moving on, I absolutely adore Ross's writing style. It's very prosy and flowy and beautiful. The love letters were absolutely wonderful, they will make you wish someone talked to you like that. I ended up highlighting so many quotes that were well-written.
Iris was great, I liked her character a lot. The way she holds determination close to her chest with everything she does is really admirable. Roman being an actual sweetheart looking for his autonomy made me smile. The two of them together made me laugh.
The reason this wasn't five stars for me was mostly the war and how some of the logic of the story worked. It's not a ton but it was enough to lose points? The worldbuilding didn't feel super built out, like we have Oath, and I basically pictured old-timey New York the whole time? And the place Iris ends up was fine, if not kinda vague. But point A to point B? Was totally blank. She travels 600 kilometers and there was almost nothing between the two, at least that was memorable? And she makes the whole trip by train. How was there a great, empty swathe of land with nothing but 600 kilometers of railroad?
Now, the war and other things:
Spoiler
The war didn't really...make sense? Or at least it wasn't explained very well. The myths that Roman sent to Iris added some context, but it was unclear how the gods were manifesting, like if they were just powers possessing people or if they were corporeal or what. It seems like with the ending that we'll get more of the gods' side of things in the second book, so I hope that makes up for this one's lack of context. The way the town got stormed and everything also felt really fast, like "Okay we've got our happy moment, now let's fuck it up real quick so we can have the cliffhanger for the next one" and like, I don't totally hate it or anything, but it was noticeable.Next, another reviewer pointed out that Iris just got hired for the correspondent job without any real effort or a portfolio or anything. I'd say that Helena had read her work before, except that when Iris introduced herself, Helena didn't show any sign of recognizing her name.
The most important gripe besides the gods' side of things is Iris's brother, Forest. She spends the whole book touting him as this amazing guy and then we meet him and he fucking sucks. Changed by war, so understandable, bc that shit completely alters your brain. Trauma be like that. So the plot twist of us meeting her idol and only living relative and then he turns out to suck real bad makes sense. What bothered me was his whole "deserter" deal. If Dacre stopped Forest from dying and had him under his control, why didn't Forest say something? If they rushed the trenches, why not at least try to find a way to tell someone, anyone, what happened? That he's stealing people and turning them into his soldiers, thus making Enva's people fight their own? Unless Dacre made it so they can't say anything about it, but Forest could've explained that to Iris. Anyway it also bothered me that his idea was just to,,,, go home??? Like usually deserters in the WWI/WWII era had warrants out for their arrest or were straight up put to death, soooo??? Not a great idea to just leave and go home and pretend everything is normal when you're now considered a deserter on both sides of the war.
I feel like Iris should've fought harder to get Forest to tell her what the circle in the dirt meant. Like maybe it's just me but if my husband was gone and a circle was drawn in the dirt I'd be kicking and clawing and screaming until Forest told me what it meant.
Anyway all of that being said, this book is wonderful. I enjoyed the writing style, the love letters, the characters, the suspense of the war, the rivals-to-lovers workplace romance, and the dark academia vibes. I'm absolutely reading the second one as soon as I can after it comes out.
The last thing I'm adding is a content warning that has some spoilers, but here it is:
CW: alcoholism, parental alcoholism
Spoiler
Iris's mom is a severe alcoholic. Literally 20-something pages in, it's revealed that Iris is late to work when the book opens bc she found her mom in a pile of vomit on the floor.Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, War, Death, Blood, Gore, Murder, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence
Minor: Vomit
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, War, Addiction, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Gore, Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Divine Rivals has left me speechless with awe. I've now read several of Rebecca Ross' books, and all of them have been good, but this one is her best so far.
Without exception, the writing is exquisite - sparse, delicate, and elegant.
The writing style and subject matter reminded me vividly of Julie Berry's Lovely War, a comparison I'm surprised no other review I've read so far has mentioned. Berry's novel deals with a historical war and real mythological figures, and Ross has created something just as powerful - but entirely fictional.
The way Ross draws you into the world of Rivals is beautifully done - she doesn't give away too much in one go, instead introducing characters and worldbuilding slowly and carefully, giving readers time to absorb the details without feeling overwhelmed.
I also give Ross props for her invented mythology, which felt really convincing. At first, it was hard to conceive that the gods in the story actually walked and lived among humans, especially as the society around them felt so modern - and I didn't really get a sense of them as physical beings - but in the end, it somehow worked. Don't ask me why.
I did read this in a slightly fragmented fashion, meaning that I perhaps didn't feel the intensity and impact of the
Spoiler
romance between Iris and KittSpoiler
enchanted typewriters able to send letters between their respective owners. The fact that only a limited number of them were manufactured made it even more intriguing and heartwarmingSpeaking of the second book, it was quite an intriguing cliffhanger Ross has left readers with! I can't wait to read more.
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
n0elle's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, War, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Murder, and Sexism
kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Like several other reviewers have said, my feelings shifted at some point between the middle and the end. Roman and Iris’s romance went from 0 to 60 slowly (which I enjoyed), but then it seemed like it went from 60 to 100 almost immediately. It got to the point where it felt rushed and unrealistic. I kept trying to tell myself that, in times of war, timelines are very different, but still. I wish it packed a heavier punch.
I enjoyed the writing style!
I will be reading the second book when it comes out, because I am dying to know what happens next!
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Blood, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Murder, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident