Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Rivali divini by Rebecca Ross

6 reviews

chi__'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

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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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julells's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely adored every single bit of this book and now I can't wait to read the second one (because the ending left me weeping and with way too many questions). Also, the writing style was just perfection.
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hannahwoodson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Took me weeks to get past the first 10% but once I did, I read the rest in one sitting. 

The ending is little rushed but it's such a unique, interesting book. The setting and set up are fascinating without too much boring world building. (You learn about the world gradually instead of having pages and pages of table setting.)  Flawed but admirable characters with a charming romance. Looking forward to the rest of this series.
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hailstorm3812's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

This is a very enjoyable book. For someone who hates You've Got Mail, I feel like the author side stepped a good deal of the ickiness. I think it balanced drama and romcomedy very well. I really liked Addie and Marisol. The ending is kind of a kick in the teeth if you don't realize it is a series but I'm down for another one thought I'm not sure you can capture the charm and fun of this one with where we left off but I look forward to it.
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n0elle's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • 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

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