25 March 2026

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?

11 March 2026

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.

06 March 2026

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!

04 March 2026

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.

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