TL;DR: This was every bit as amazing as everyone said it would be! The writing was exquisite, the world-building and magic were intriguing and the characters were so easy to love. The romance in particular was passionate, swoontastic, and had my heart soaring! Unsurprisingly, this had me sobbing big bad ugly tears and after that ending, I can’t wait to continue with the second book.

I read this with Leslie and she also wrote a great review for it that you should check out!

I’m at an actual loss for words. I have no idea where to even begin with reviewing this book because I loved it so much and all I want to do is gush about how incredible it is. Fair warning, this is probably what I’m going to do so if you want to read a review that’s a bit more put together I’d recommend looking at the numerous reviews that exist for this very well-loved book (and deservedly so). 😂

This was my first book by Rebecca Ross but it won’t be my last. Inject her writing into my veins because it was EXQUISITE! It’s not simply that it’s poetic or beautifully descriptive but it’s wrought with empathy, understanding, love, hope and so much yearning. I felt fully immersed in the setting and every emotion that the characters feel, I felt too. You know when you’re reading a passage or a few pages in a book and something just clicks? You instantly know that the book in your hands is going to be a 5-star and instant new favourite and that’s exactly what happened as I was reading Divine Rivals. The story is well-paced plus the tension and romance ramp up wonderfully.

I admit that it took me a little bit to fully understand this world. It’s set in a magical historical world where powerful gods once ruled but were defeated by themselves and eventually by humans. Buried deep beneath the earth, the gods’ bones spread magic that eventually seeped into certain locations, buildings, and objects. I loved the lore of the gods and Dacre and Enva’s hidden history. Ross’ writing made it easy for everything to play out before me like an old-time movie and I was very quickly reeled in by her captivating world-building. This does touch upon some heavy war themes and some scenes were all too real and all too horrifying and heartbreakingly sad to read. I could feel the tension and the fear our characters felt and Chapter 32 in particular wrecked me! 😭 Ugh, THE FEELS. So much pain!

But as much as the world was intriguing, it was the characters and their romance that made this book amazing. The characters were EVERYTHING. Iris and Roman especially but the secondary characters—even those who only had minor appearances—all brought this story to life in many ways. I don’t even know how to begin talking about Iris and Roman because I loved them so much! Iris whose loneliness and fear broke my heart but whose strength and ability to endure filled it back up again. Roman whose loyalty and love seep through his every thought and word and knows no bounds. Seriously, seeing him fall first and fall so very hard for Iris was amazing. He was a simp of the highest order and gah, I loved him so much! The rivalry of their romance was relatively brief on the page but even as they claimed to hate each other, it was apparent to everyone how their opposite natures created this amazing chemistry. I loved their sharp and witty banter just as much as I loved the tender hopefulness of their interactions. Honestly, their love was perfection that made my hopeless romantic heart soar and ache and pine! 😂 Also, if you like epistolary novels, you will love this because Ross weaves in beautifully written, heartbreaking, emotional, funny and sweet letters that I couldn’t get enough of! Ugh, my heart—I loved it all so much! 🥹

But then that ENDING! Holy granola, it wrecked me and threw me for a loop at the same time. It was the last thing I expected to encounter and I hated it so much because no? How can this be? How much will our hearts have to break to endure Ruthless Vows? After that epilogue, I have a feeling it’s going to be a peak angsty read and I’m equally terrified and excited to read it.

Have you read Divine Rivals or is it on your TBR?

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