Divine Rivals

Full disclosure, I've always hated the enemies to lovers trope. Until today? This was heart wrenching, heartwarming, and (something I never expect from these books) I actually understood how someone could love each of the characters here... AND why these characters loved each other! In my experience, fantasy romance tends to swing from an inexplicable love-at-first-sight-approach to the psychotic rollercoaster of toxicity with a strong foundation of terrible communication skills. This book deftly avoids both pitfalls and tells what actually feels like a real, romantic, love story. It's beautifully told, well paced, and keeps the characters at the centre throughout. This took me a while to pick up, but I was genuinely shocked by how much I enjoyed this book, how hard it was to put down, and how much I felt while reading it.