9th finished book of the year:
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
3.5/5 âïž - Read it quick and enjoyed it, but it felt lacking in a number of areas
I went into reading âDivine Rivalsâ on the back of reading an awful lot of romantasy, so I suspect I may have had incorrect expectations, but while there was romance, I didnât find that I resonated with it very much at all. As far as fantasy goes, it felt more like wartime historical fiction than fantasy and while there were dashes of magic added into the world, it didnât feel very magical in practice.
I didnât feel very much for the relationship between the main characters, if Iâm entirely honest. It probably didnât help that they referred to each other exclusively by their surnames for most of the book. This, combined with the very formal way they communicated, made it feel very much like they were public school kids talking, rather than working adults in a high-stakes world.
I found the plot enjoyable enough and certainly devoured it fast enough to convince myself that I liked it, but I couldnât really put my finger on one particular thing that stood out to me as excellent. The world building was fine, but felt rushed at times, and the conversations between the FMC and her friends felt far more intimate than those between her and the MMC.
I wanted to love it, I think is the problem, having seen it recommended in a number of places, and instead found it just not quite satisfying me enough to rate it higher. If you really like historical fiction, you may find you respond to it better.
#divinerivals #rebeccaross #bookstodon #books #romantasy #romantasybooks #romance
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