Pages & Pressings

NO SPOILERS

This book was not what I was expecting in the best way. I was expecting a cute romance set in a fantasy world but I was unceremoniously dragged by my hair in the last 50 pages.

While Divine Rivals was a romance-forward fantasy-and I don’t know if this is a hot take, but it even read like historical fiction at times-the reader was instantly brought back to the fantasy aspect in the end. The way Rebecca Ross entwined these elements was masterful and felt cohesive throughout this rollercoaster of a book.

The only negative I could find was a minor issue with the sentence structure that I felt to be weird at times along with the repetition of some words. But I’ll give Rebecca Ross grace because sometimes there really is only one good word to describe things. I didn’t deduct stars on the grounds of my sheer enjoyment, and that should count for something.

I suppose it could be contentious that I think this book is romance-forward, but the romance really stood out to me. While there’s nothing wrong with the romance genre, I am very specific with the type of romances I enjoy. Divine Rivals had elements that I love: enemies to lovers and actual yearning. The romance did not feel forced or awkward, mainly because I think the two main characters are simply likable. They didn’t have random atomic fights and everything felt very much in-character.

With the backdrop of a war (that read a lot like WW1) between ancient gods, our two journalist main characters experience loss, grief, and war violence that add to their shared experiences. Besides the magical typewriters and gods, the fantasy element was actually not too far-fetched. Funnily enough, it was some of the most normal fantasy I’ve ever read. It was magical without being too extensive, which really allows the reader to feel grounded in the story as it’s pretty easy to comprehend.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants a little bit of romance, a little bit of fantasy, and low commitment (a duology).