Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Rivali divini by Rebecca Ross

5 reviews

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Bullying and Sexism

vj_thompson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

This was just beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Classism

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cait's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

moonlitxpages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross.

“I am so afraid.  And yet how I long to be vulnerable and brave when it comes to my own heart.”

  

What to say about this book.  It has been a long time since I had a book pull me in — a book that left me thinking about it throughout the day, had me up late into the night for another chapter that left my heart fluttering and one that made my heart ache in the most beautiful of ways.  Rebecca Ross has this lyrical way of writing that sings directly into my heart.  The worlds she weaves around you make you feel as if you are standing there with the characters, as if you could reach out and grab that warm cup of tea sitting on the desk.

  

Roman and Iris, how they both individually stole my heart and together tore it apart.  Reading through their happiness, pain, sorrow and longing… it left me feeling a sense of understanding.  Both of these characters experience things many of us have — the need to appease your family, feeling like you will never amount to what is expected of you, finding people who fit into your life as if they were family… I could go on.

  

This story was beautiful and tragic, it will make your heartache in the best of ways.  Rebecca has quickly become an auto buy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she will create next.  Magic typewriters, gods at war, flirty banter and a WWI-esque setting — this book will not disappoint.  Perfect for those who love Historical Fiction, Found Family and Enemies to Lovers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, and Vomit