Book Review: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Book title: Divine Rivals
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: YA fantasy
Published: April 4, 2023
368 pages
My rating: 4.5/5

“I think we all wear armor. I think those who don’t are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I’ve learned anything from those fools, it is that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are.”

Eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow dreams of becoming a writer, but right now she needs to hold her crumbling family together. With her brother fighting on behalf of gods on the frontline and her mother turning to liquor, Iris strives to win a promotion as the columnist at the Oath Gazette. At night, she writes letters to her brother and slides them under a wardrobe door, where they vanish. But instead of finding her brother, the letters end up in the hands of Iris’s rival at the newspaper, handsome and cold Roman Kitt. When he anonymously writes back, a magical connection ties their lives together.

Divine Rivals is the first book in Rebecca Ross’s duology Letters of Enchantment. This was a great, fast-paced young adult fantasy. The book is set in a fantasy world where gods have awakened from their long sleep and are again waging a war against each other, using people and magical creatures as their soldiers. After a devastating incident, Iris gets a job as a war correspondent and exposes the truth to her hometown's residents, who have thus far been unconcerned about the war raging outside of their borough. She continues writing letters to her mysterious pen pal, slowly falling for him, until Roman arrives at the war zone, and Iris’s feelings become conflicted: who does she like more, the unknown letter writer or her fiercest rival?

Book Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Book title: The Alchemist
Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Literary fiction
First published: 1988
177 pages
My rating: 5/5

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. You’ll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

An Andalusian shepherd boy Santiago has a recurring dream about finding a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. A Romani woman and a mysterious old man convince him to follow his dream, and the boy embarks on a journey across the Sahara Desert.

The Alchemist is Paulo Coelho’s second novel, originally published in Portuguese in 1988. The English translation is by Alan R. Clarke. This was a short but impactful read. I almost want to reread it immediately and annotate it, which I almost never do to a book.

February Wrap-Up and March Hopefuls

February reads

  

February Wrap-Up

• Finished: 3
• Started but not finished: 2
• Total pages read: 1,462
• Average rating: 3.75

 

I finished two novels in February. They were the first two books in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy, Once upon a Broken Heart (4/5 stars) and The Ballad of Never After (3.5/5 stars). I also started the final book in the trilogy, A Curse for True Love, and as I finished it on March 1, I already have a review up for that book as well. You can find reviews behind the link.

The third book I finished was a high school geography textbook, and now I’m almost done with my old schoolbooks project. Only two remain!

Book Review: A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

Book title: A Curse for True Love
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: YA fantasy
Published: October 24, 2023
386 pages
My rating: 3.5/5

She tried to pull away, but Jacks held tight, knotting her hair in his fist and keeping his forehead pressed to hers. “Please, Little Fox, remember.”

Evangeline Fox seems to have found her happily ever after. She is married to a handsome, devoted prince. But there is one huge problem: Evangeline doesn’t remember how she ended up married to the prince or who stole her memories. And worse, it seems her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. But before they can have their happy ending, he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

A Cruse for True Love is the third and final book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy Once upon a Broken Heart. This is an action-packed and fast-paced finale to the series, but I found myself wanting something more.

Book Review: The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

Book title: The Ballad of Never After
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: YA fantasy
Published: September 13, 2022
416 pages
My rating: 3.5/5

“Some of her ideas about love might have changed since coming North, but she still believed it was the most powerful force in the world. If two people really loved each other and they were willing to fight for that love, if they were willing to go to war for each other, day after day, then it didn’t matter what they were up against. Love would always win as long as they never stopped fighting for it.”

The Ballad of Never After is the second book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy Once upon a Broken Heart. I’m trying to be as spoiler-free as possible in my reviews, but inevitably the following synopsis will contain spoilers of the first book. Proceed with caution.

After Evangeline Fox learns that her husband Apollo is still alive, she swears she will save him – and without the help of Jacks, the Prince of Hearts, who has betrayed her. But when Apollo wakes up from his magical sleep and tries to kill her, Evangeline has to turn to Jacks again and ask for his help. To break the murder curse, she agrees to collect the missing stones to open the mysterious Valory Arch.

The Ballad of Never After picks up right after the end of the first book. I found the plot of this instalment a lot more interesting. We finally get some action instead of all the set-up of the first book. However, the action is stalled in several places in favor of the romance plot. There’s a lot of pining and uncertainty, as Evangeline fights against her feelings for Jacks. Evangeline has some character development, but for the most part, she is still very naïve and trusting.

Book Review: Once upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Once upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Book title: Once upon a Broken Heart
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: YA fantasy
Published: September 28, 2021
408 pages
My rating: 4/5

All stories are made of both truths and lies, she used to say. What matters is the way that we believe in them.
And Evangeline had a gift when it came to believing in things that others considered myths—like the immortal Fates.

Evangeline Fox has always believed in happily ever after – but then the love of her life chooses to marry someone else. Desperate to stop the wedding, she strikes a deal with Jacks, an immortal Fate known as the Prince of Hearts. In exchange, he wants her to give three kisses to three people of his choosing. Evangeline agrees, but after the first kiss, she learns that Jacks wants more from her than she is willing to give.

Once upon a Broken Heart is the first book in Stephanie Garber’s young adult fantasy trilogy. The novel is set in the same world as Garber’s Caraval trilogy which I read last year. For some reason, I expected this series to be a prequel to Caraval, but I must have misread some review. It’s actually a sequel and the events take place immediately after the end of the last book of the Caraval trilogy, Finale. Nevertheless, you can easily follow the plot of Once upon a Broken Heart even if you haven’t read the other trilogy, although it is easier to understand some aspects of the world building if you’re familiar with the world and some of the recurring characters.

January Wrap-Up and February Hopefuls

January Reads

January Wrap-Up

• Finished: 5
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 1,145
• Average rating: 4.333

I had a very slow start to the year and finished only one novel in January, but when it comes to ratings, I had a great month. The novel was Andy Weir’s science fiction novel Project Hail Mary (5/5 stars). You can find a longer review behind the link.

I also finished two high school biology textbooks and a “memoir” of a Samoyed dog Tunski. The latter was a cozy comfort read while I was recovering from the flu. I’ve read it several times, and it never fails to make me happy.