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emeraldrina's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.5
A bit slow to start but once it got going I couldn’t put it down. The setting is basically WWI but with gods and their magic creatures. I like that even with the reason for the war being divine rather than human, it still felt as pointless and stupid as WWI. It really preserved that feeling of “what is this all for” that was so quintessential to that era.
As the title implies, this is a rivals to lovers romance. The development and chemistry was very well done. I loved them both as rivals and together.
Other than the romance, the rest of the plot feels like it’s kinda talking a backseat up until the very end. It’s like the war is just a backdrop not an important event that will change their lives. Until it does, and then suddenly we get a lot of new plot puzzles laid out all at once in the cliffhanger. I kinda wanted a little more of that earlier on… like drop some mysterious hints about what Dacre’s up to, at least. It’s kinda strange that’s no one seems to have any clue how he’s operating.
But aside from that, I loved the story and the characters. It was very dark and emotional, but beautiful. I’ll definitely read the next book!
As the title implies, this is a rivals to lovers romance. The development and chemistry was very well done. I loved them both as rivals and together.
Other than the romance, the rest of the plot feels like it’s kinda talking a backseat up until the very end. It’s like the war is just a backdrop not an important event that will change their lives. Until it does, and then suddenly we get a lot of new plot puzzles laid out all at once in the cliffhanger. I kinda wanted a little more of that earlier on… like drop some mysterious hints about what Dacre’s up to, at least. It’s kinda strange that’s no one seems to have any clue how he’s operating.
But aside from that, I loved the story and the characters. It was very dark and emotional, but beautiful. I’ll definitely read the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and Classism
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
Easily one of the most captivating books I've read in a while. The story was written effortlessly and I loved the letters and the way that Iris and Carver developed their relationship without ever having met. It was also an emotional read, heavy on the grief and the war. It had me hooked as a reader for a solid 85% of the book.
However, where it eventually fell short was after that 85% mark. It got to a point where the plot - though already quite fast paced in some places - felt rushed, as if this 14-chapter-per-part aesthetic was what limited the author to progress the plot further in less time. Also, I know it is a YA, but Iris and Roman definitely felt a lot older. 18 and 19 just wasn't believable after a point, and the Young Adult genre still would have held if they were in their early to mid 20s.
However, where it eventually fell short was after that 85% mark. It got to a point where the plot - though already quite fast paced in some places - felt rushed, as if this 14-chapter-per-part aesthetic was what limited the author to progress the plot further in less time. Also, I know it is a YA, but Iris and Roman definitely felt a lot older. 18 and 19 just wasn't believable after a point, and the Young Adult genre still would have held if they were in their early to mid 20s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Classism
tnemelce's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Genocide, Medical content, and War
Minor: Classism
sparksofkell's review
Young YA. Info dumps without enough exploration of motives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, and War
jamiejanae_6's review
adventurous
hopeful
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
gpfot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism
abicaro17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Holy shit..... Well Rebecca Ross it's on sight girl! Iris is a reporter competing for a columnist spot against fellow reporter, Roman. As Iris writes letter to her brother who's away at war, she tucks them away inside her closet. These letter end up in the hands of her rival, Roman, who begins to write her back. As war tears across the country and propaganda and misinformation reigns supreme, Iris and Roman create a magical friendship through letters. I adore this story! It's just magical enough to be not realistic but not too crazy as to be hard to understand and follow. Iris is a strong and yet logical and likable character. She makes normal choices and thinks through her issues before jumping into action. Roman is adorable and this conclusion makes me mad af. Like gotta go read Ruthless Vows brb. My only issue with this book is that the start is slow and the world building isn't explained very well until later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
filipa_maia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
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
4.0
This book was such a surprise! I was not expecting to become so invested in this characters and a story about war.
I like how strong Iris is, I like how fearless Kitt is, I like Attie, and Marisol - this book has bunch of interesting and unique characters.
I loved all the twists and turns the plot took, just when I thought I had everything figured out, something completely blindsided me and I was caught of guard.
I can't wait to read the second book, find out more about these Gods, about Forest and how it will all end.
I like how strong Iris is, I like how fearless Kitt is, I like Attie, and Marisol - this book has bunch of interesting and unique characters.
I loved all the twists and turns the plot took, just when I thought I had everything figured out, something completely blindsided me and I was caught of guard.
I can't wait to read the second book, find out more about these Gods, about Forest and how it will all end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
readyforit's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
2⭐️0.25🌶️(nearly fade to black, nondescript)
If you are a person who never asks questions and can just accept the information you’re given, you may enjoy this book. The author does a pretty terrible job of world-building and explaining the magic system. We assume the story takes place on our earth, but the country isn’t named. Idk if it was meant to be England or a completely fictional land altogether. They have different names for months and days of the week, but the order of them isn’t explained. The magic of the typewriters is never explained (why is the wardrobe necessary?), nor the magical buildings (until book 2, and even then it’s not really that important). I think they could’ve cut half of the more mundane stuff and used that to either combine it with the sequel, or do a lot more world-building.
This book would’ve done better as a historical fiction book, without marketing it as fantasy or romance, since it has very little of either. The war was obviously based off of WWI, so the author should’ve just set it up as that, and added the magical typewriter element for fun. Also, this book was marketed as an enemies/rivals to lovers story and we never got that. It’s more like acquaintances to lovers, or a workplace romance. Tbh I didn’t think that the MCs had very good chemistry and I didn’t understand why they made some of their choices. I did think some of their letters were sweet but the whole storyline of Romanwaiting to tell iris that he was the anonymous person she was sending letters to until she had developed feelings for him, both as her coworker and her penpal, rubbed me the wrong way. Like the author was trying to force a love triangle or miscommunication trope. Then they got married all of the sudden, just so they could spend the night together, which made sense after I found out the author is religious.
I wanted to DNF at 20% and 50% but this book came so highly recommended, with many people saying it is their new favorite book. I was so bored the whole time. Don’t feel guilty for DNFing, you won’t miss much. I’m sorry to say that even the audiobook narrators sounded bored, and who could blame them?
If you are a person who never asks questions and can just accept the information you’re given, you may enjoy this book. The author does a pretty terrible job of world-building and explaining the magic system. We assume the story takes place on our earth, but the country isn’t named. Idk if it was meant to be England or a completely fictional land altogether. They have different names for months and days of the week, but the order of them isn’t explained. The magic of the typewriters is never explained (why is the wardrobe necessary?), nor the magical buildings (until book 2, and even then it’s not really that important). I think they could’ve cut half of the more mundane stuff and used that to either combine it with the sequel, or do a lot more world-building.
This book would’ve done better as a historical fiction book, without marketing it as fantasy or romance, since it has very little of either. The war was obviously based off of WWI, so the author should’ve just set it up as that, and added the magical typewriter element for fun. Also, this book was marketed as an enemies/rivals to lovers story and we never got that. It’s more like acquaintances to lovers, or a workplace romance. Tbh I didn’t think that the MCs had very good chemistry and I didn’t understand why they made some of their choices. I did think some of their letters were sweet but the whole storyline of Roman
I wanted to DNF at 20% and 50% but this book came so highly recommended, with many people saying it is their new favorite book. I was so bored the whole time. Don’t feel guilty for DNFing, you won’t miss much. I’m sorry to say that even the audiobook narrators sounded bored, and who could blame them?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism and Grief
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
I think this book is loosely based on WWI war tactics so if that’s triggering for you, skip it