Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Rivali divini

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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lsaunder0724's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Read more like historical fiction than fantasy. Not as many fantasy elements as what was seen in ACOTAR or Fourth Wing. That’s my preference though. I don’t like to dig through a lot of misc world building and am more interested in the characters and Divine Rivals was a big hit for me.

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moomookachoo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.25

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ali1311's review against another edition

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This book was taking too long to get into things and I didn't find myself caring about the characters or the world much. Loved the premise but was quite disappointed by the execution.

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