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A review by emeraldrina
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
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