A review by readlentless
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

the title implies rivalry but there was NONE, not enough angst and animosity to merit an academic rivals tag ugh the writing style is not for me. i must say, the characterization is slightly better than ouabh yay i reckon it's inspired by wwii events but for some reason they're doing too much domestic stuff the author tried to dive into themes of war, politics, propaganda (being that they're supposed to be writers), death, grief and fantastical elements— but they ended up as shallow attempt. the prose is a little too on the nose for me. again with always telling and not showing huhu i'm disappointed and frustrated bc many readers and several booktubers loved it... and also why do they keep including each other's name in conversations (i wanted to bang my head ) but ig that's their couple thing. if against all odds type of romance amidst war was the main goal, lovely war by julia berry did it better. late ko na rin na-realized it's from the author of dreams lie beneath and river enchanted— both stories that i ended up not liking.