How did the promise of a war between gods turn into a middling historical fiction with a lackluster romance and nary a whiff of fantasy? I'm honestly a bit stunned.
I went into Divine Rivals with high expectations. I'd seen the gushing reviews and the deluge of 5-star ratings. And I'd gotten a taste for romantasy and I wanted more. In fact, I was so certain I was going to love this that I saved it for just the right moment when I'd need a little extra zing in my reading repertoire.
So I settled myself in, ready to be swept away in a fantasy of epic proportions, with an enemies-to-lovers romance for the ages. And how can it not be amazing, with gods at war and two rivaling journalists who don't fight with their swords but with their words. Yes! Except no, because this didn't really deliver on any of it.
Instead, what I got was more or less a historical fiction. The fantasy element is so diminutive, I felt like I could blink and miss it. You see, the gods were unhappy with each other, and they're recruiting humans to fight in their war. And that's pretty much it for the fantasy part. Oh, and there's some magic in old houses and typewriters. You can see how that would be disappointing for a reader expecting, well, more than that.
The majority of the story is told from Iris's perspective and she never really gelled into an interesting character for me. At every step, she does what you would expect a character to do, nothing more, nothing less. Her brother is fighting in the war, so she misses him. She sees an opportunity to join the war effort, so she does. There's a cute boy at the office, so she's attracted to him. But there's another nice boy she writes with, so she's attracted to him too. At no point did she surprise me in any way. I found Roman to be the more compelling character, but his perspective is only a little bit here and there.
As for the romance, it was serviceable but ultimately uninspiring. There was no real chemistry, no banter, no spark, nothing that made me swoon or crack a smile. The majority of it played out via Iris and Roman's letters to each other, and they felt distinctly YA. The writing was deep in the way of teenagers, but much ado about nothing for old folks like me. In fact, it reminded me of AOL chat logs from back in the day. I wonder if I were to dig up my own from my teenage days, it would come up similarly bland and overwrought.
That isn't to say I didn't enjoy any of it because I did. But I kept waiting for that moment when the words I'm reading on the page would turn into an immersive experience, and it never did. Every element in here—the war, the fantasy, the characters, their writing, the romance—was pleasant enough to while away a few hours, but in that take it or leave it kind of way.
No one's more disappointed than me. Compared to what I had imagined in my head, this story paled in comparison. But to be fair, part of that was my fault. What I wanted and what I got were complete opposites. I'm a huge fan of romance and fantasy, which this isn't really, and not a fan of wartime historical fiction, which is all this is.
For all my complaints, I did get some enjoyment out of it. And since it's a duology and I already own the second book, I'll go ahead and finish the series. Fingers crossed that the second book has more of the exciting elements I'm looking for.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment