Roasting DIVINE RIVALS (Rebecca Ross)

[@sarahs1368]

I don’t think you guys need to defend the like to dislike ratio of videos. Your “roasts” are comprehensive analyses and inspire me to raise my standards as both a reader and a writer.

[@fuentes_fantasy7906]

Me too! They're thorough lessons in what will annoy or lose readers.

[@tuesdayblues1455]

And the complaints and possible solutions they present are great writing advice too!

[@Ika0713]

They're so relaxing to listen to too

[@fuentes_fantasy7906]

@@Ika0713 Some days, they're the only way I can do housework. Put them on and go!

[@zosonte129]

Let's be honest, their critiques are doing a service to fiction by inspiring us to do better.

[@GypsyScot1]

What I think of when I hear the name Iris, in order: 1. Flower 2. Greek goddess of Rainbows 3. The Goo Goo Dolls song 4. Eyeball part. One of those wouldn't be period appropriate, but otherwise, yeah, it's strange to harp on.

[@elle8786]

Guys, I'm sorry, I don't watch the positive videos. I add those books to my TBR and don't want any spoilers. I am part of the problem

[@HushIAmTalking]

This! I paused Piranesi 20 mins in because it sounded cool and when i get to it on the list ill finish the video 😅 same with the Temeraire sequel video - i feel bad bc i know they always say sequels dont do well on the channel and i WILL watch it, promise! But there are like 8 books to get through first 😅 Other books i know ill never read are fine though

[@maledictionwolf]

I did the same thing with Three Parts Dead. But now that I've read it, I'm planning to go back and listen to it.

[@madelinemcmillan4020]

its just more interesting to hear people complain about something then it is to list all the reasons something is good. its how our brains work. I personally have more fun listening to them roast things honestly.

[@wisconsieee]

Guys, you're like a breath of fresh air to me. The fact that you actually read books with your brains on is *shock😮* a good thing. The fact that people can't recognise that bringing critical thinking and analysis to media is actually MORE respectful to the author than just mindlessly consuming it and stanning on Tiktok is indicative of how much people are encouraged to have a brain-dead approach to media and art. The level of detail, thought, wit, knowledge, and love of literature you three put into your reviews is an inspiration and a joy, and to be honest, a relief from mindless content.

[@gracesblythe]

THIS! I’m sick of reviewers, especially the ones who give the simplest reviews with no detail. To hear analysis of all the books y’all read whether you like them or not scratches an otherwise ignored but insistent itch in my brain

[@IzzysTravelDiaries]

Fun fact, "You've Got Mail" is a remake of the 1940 movie "Shop Around the Corner", which is a way better movie. And that movie is made from the play Parfumerie by the Hungarian playwright Miklós László. The original story takes place in Budapest in the 1930s. They used PO boxes and were coworkers.

[@MissMokate]

oo that's cool! gonna have to hunt down the movie and maybe I'll even find the original play translated somewhere

[@RainbowAnimeCupcake]

I highly disagree with shop around the corner being the better movie, the chemistry wasnt as good and the side plot with the manager of the shop was just sad and it tamped the romcom mood

[@gracesblythe]

@@RainbowAnimeCupcakeI LOVE shop around the corner!!! It’s so good and has a star-studded cast - the actor who played the Wizard of Oz in the 1930s movie, Margaret Sullavan as the sassy and adorable female lead, and JIMMY STEWART

[@jo_helaci]

The reason why I prefer when you review bad books (that I would most likely agree with your opinions on) is because I learn more from them as writer. The good stuff I do when I write I'm most likely aware of, so I need to hear about the bad stuff. I watch most of your reviews anyway though, but occasionally I rewatch your bad reads 😬😁

[@IvellScarlett]

Romatasy needs to end, indeed. I've once heard someone compare romatsy with isekai anime and I think the comparison is perfect: The self indulgence, the incompetence, the trashiness, the way that the genre incestuously copies from itself. Romatasy is isekai for women! It's a shame, because in theory a romance set in a fantasy setting sound exactly like my kind of thing, but I have yet to find a single romatasy that is tolerable. I think the genre just attracts a certain kind of author...

[@coffeegoblin8693]

I'm currently half way through the book and I've got a feeling that Ross wanted to write WW1 romance but maybe was feeling incompetent in actual world history so she decided to write Divine Rivals as a fantasy story

[@jasminv8653]

For sure

[@kmeleleon8854]

Imagine if Roman gave the reason for being there was “Come on Iris, we both know having multiple sources is the butter to any reliable story” and the reason he doesn’t leave is “I can’t leave you to be the only First Person Source Iris.” Imagine how cute that would have been

[@maximilianlopez196]

I vote for a "Maria singing book issues synopsis segment" for each video. 😅

[@marocat4749]

It can be rap too :P Or will rapping🙂

[@nadyap.1532]

"too many things in the soup" - my new favorite description ever

[@b.a.hazard6787]

I think the thing that influences me to watch your “roasts” more is that I don’t mind lesser books being spoiled. I was excited to watch your Annihilation video after finishing the first book but had to pause it again when I realized you’d be discussing the whole series. It might help if you started your good reviews with a spoiler free section? Something to get me excited enough to move it up in my tbr. I still won’t watch the whole video a lot of the time but maybe it could help with the algorithm 🤷‍♀️

[@gloriacox9926]

One of the other review channels i watch really liked this book - its so interesting to me to hear the differences of opinion

[@TheRealmBetween]

Huh, I can't recall if the the Iris I knew as a child was a teacher or a neighbour, but i do remember when I went to school and learned about the atonomy of the eye that it didn't make sense because not everybody has blue eyes... my teacher even said "this is called iris, like the flower."

[@tansbizarreadventure]

12:31 i will say that yall put me on to hyperion and kushiels dart so congrats for putting me on !!

[@laurenalyssa4677]

I’ve been reluctant about trying this book for so long and the day I briefly consider reading it y’all post this lmao

[@pippaschroeder4388]

Will's bitterness towards song of achilles is always hilarious

[@jace2088]

Commenting for Maria's doctorate💪

[@mentkansleyunitedstatesgov6364]

So this relationship is basically Jim and Dwight from the office 😂

[@sydneystevens3323]

I'm one of the few who did associate Iris with an eyeball, but that's because as a kid I was really into science and knew nothing about flowers. And child brain was like yeah, why wouldn't people be named after eye part. It wasn't until high school and I got really into naming characters with specific meanings that I learned it was a reference to a flower. Still weird in the book though, very common name in the time it takes place.

[@GilTheDragon]

Magical Realism on a war correspondents story would be interesting. one journalist slowly losing focus on the war as they start finding some surreal shit going on. heck throw the god war in there but have the journalists be finding the weird being Signs and Portents. also them being on different fronts or even sides.

[@brieg1891]

I once wrote a story with a main character called Iris. I spent a lot of time researching iris flower types and meanings but I did not look up eyeball parts once 😂😂

[@willemijnvanhagen768]

This podcast is just what I needed to distract me from my suffering. I have the flue and feel very bad for myself🤪

[@kitfairchild9784]

I loved Divine Rivals but I agree that there’s too many things going on and the last bit was a hot mess. Still gonna read the sequel when it comes out this Tuesday!

[@brookedannar242]

In this case, I agree with you all! Thanks for articulating all the frustrating craft points so well.

[@WhyseWytch]

Bleh. Terrible chemistry is a serious pet peeve of mine. It's not that difficult to write people respecting one another, even if they dislike one another.

[@LadyJ403]

omg that tis art bit had me cackling. book recommendations right off the bat also great. i like the description of it being pulling pigtails really captures how silly some enemies to lovers is. the elements do sound cool sad thats its plot soup. heavy agree on only caring about love flattens characters. what in the world is that brother reveal 😂 and of course sequel bait

[@GracieLizzy]

Did they not mean leather "braces" as in suspenders? Rather than bracers.

[@Mawinachu]

Ah, will this be the episode my feelings are demolished? Probably, but I live for the pain.

[@marocat4749]

Whycall it even enemies to lovers, most of the times is just rivals to lovers, or starcrossed lovers. Partner from enemy clans, are starcrossed lovers dammit.

[@S_Black]

Because that's what TikTok demands. Actual content - let alone quality - doesn't matter. It's all about tropes.

[@Luumus]

"Roasting"? Oh no, I actually liked this book. I mean it's not extraordinary or anything but it's sweet and cosy, and quite pleasant to read overall. I really enjoyed the characters, particularly Iris, and whilst the typewriter magic wasn't very well explained it was intriguing enough to keep me reading.

[@brieg1891]

Haha the dread of a liked book being roasted 🤣🤣 How did you feel after watching the video?

[@GypsyScot1]

I won't lie, despite the video being a roast, everything they've described in this video has made me think I would love it, so I don't blame you.

[@hope2dust]

When Maria called Iris Violet, the way I hollered 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheVioletMagic29]

It sounds like it was set during Wonder Woman (2017)

[@jills9758]

Haven't watched the whole video yet but it's nice since I feel like I never see people critiquing this book. I gave it 3/3.5 stars. It was fine, and I'm reading the sequel in the hopes it gets better, but my biggest issue with this book was that the world felt really empty. I also thought the second half went off the rails, among other things. I read one of Ross's other books (Dreams Lie Beneath) and liked it a bit more.

[@sciencefantastic]

I felt validated by this roast. I was bored out of my skull reading this.

[@jackm5290]

Just started listening about a week ago. Is Friday the normal release date for new episodes?

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Yeah, we nearly always upload on fridays. --Will

[@cloud8005]

If they don't actively try to kill each other at some point then I don't consider it enemies to lovers (only half-joking)

[@araneljones]

Have y'all read The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley? It's a Newbury Award winner back in the day, a short YA book that shook my world in 8th grade when I found it. The combo of magic and early WWI tech reminds me of it.

[@Lucy-uv4hv]

I feel so validated by this video. Seriously cannot understand why on Earth this book is getting so much hype.

[@Pharm2be]

The sweaty palms thing sounds like hyperhidrosis and there’s treatment for that. 😂

[@maralexmma]

Well, the iris is only the colorful part of the eyeball, not the whole eyeball, so that's also technically wrong and I mean she's a journalist and is supposed to be good with words. :P I am a hater, I know, but it irked me and thought I was the only one.

[@ryanwrites]

I swear I've seen the exact painting this author must have been inspired by. It was an anti ww1 propaganda illustration showing a young guy getting lulled by the goddess of war away from his father who had gone to war and understood how bad it was. She might have had a harp? I could be misremembering. I can't seem to find it anywhere.

[@marocat4749]

i think that email movie was with meg ryan as small bookshop woner and he being the boll of the chain taking over, and he is tom hanks? or hugh grant?

[@deplorablereader]

Love your guys reviews! I read this and couldn’t put my finger on why I didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else. I liked A River Enchanted by the same author but Divine Rivals just didn’t land for me. It was OK, I didn’t actively hate it but I also am in no rush to read the sequel, if I ever do lol. There was definitely too much going on and not enough was fleshed out. Especially the Magic and worldbuilding! I agree it would’ve been much better as a WWI romance with some magic. Thanks for so eloquently pointing out all the reasons I didn’t enjoy this book. It was like a 3 star for me which is just OK and I’ll probably forget about it in a month or so. 😅

[@racheltheradiant4675]

I actually watch both types of your videos, good reviews and roasts as long as none of the topics I personally don't want to know about are mentioned in the episode titles. I know my limits 😅 That means I haven't watched ice planet barbarians🤣🤣🤣 among others.

[@irinairinka6915]

Can you please review Fractured Souls by A. M. Salinger? I am interested in your opinion. It's a mm angel romance.

[@amylizard]

Oh, Iris is a annoying name to have? IRIS?! My parents named me FANNY.

[@amylizard]

Imagine the "eyeball" jokes I've had to deal with. Iris, pfff, I call myself Amy online just keep myself from being targeted as a pornbot.

[@amylizard]

Oh, yes, I'm leaving a third bitter comment about this just to open the door for anyone who wants to call me a sourpuss, you're welcome.

[@user-te5po4bu8o]

Fan sounds cute to me though

[@steverainbow2.0]

Sorry but this kinda... Funny 😂🤣🤣

[@AmozMedia]

27:00 bistro?

[@sethledford9612]

When I hear Iris I think of the Greek Goddess

[@writerducky2589]

Now that I think about it, Iris is not a name we use or commonly known flower where I'm from, so kids are actually more likely to learn about the eyeball thing long before they ever encounter the other two. I'm one of those that would have thought of eyeball first, and seem to have a vague memory of an exact situation like this, of an elementary teacher explaining that being named Iris has nothing to do with the eye😂 Granted, English is not our first language, and we're an extremely small population, so not a good reference sample. And even if the author's name is a pseudonym it doesn't sound like she'd be from my country, so it's highly unlikely she took inspo from us😅 So this is just a blip in the machine, or whatever, rather than a viable explanation. Not to mention it was 20 years ago, and with kids being more Internet savvy these days it's 50/50 which Iris they'll learn about first at this point😂 Lol, if nothing else, this works as a comment for the algorithm🤣

[@katz7lkl]

Does anyone have book recs similar to the story this could've been? I'd love just the little magical things and places and not all the god-war.

[@age7766]

The Golden Compass Book description: Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her dæmon familiar, Pantalaimon, always by her side. When her uncle, Lord Asriel, returns from the far North with tales of mystery and danger, it seems to have little to do with her-even the rumor of the severed child. But his visit sets off a chain of events that draws Lyra into the heart of a terrible struggle-a struggle that involves scientists performing hideous experiments on children, alliances with gyptians and witch clans, battles with trained mercenaries, and armored bears. And through it all, there dawns in Lyra a sense that her success or failure may mean even more than simply life or death. Stunningly original, beautifully crafted, and thrillingly told, Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass has been hailed as a masterwork of fantasy and a modern classic. I wouldn't say this book is similar to Divine Rivals, but it does have magical elements such as talking animals and flying witches. There is a movie under the same name, and a television series titled His Dark Materials.

[@Kaylin_elizabeth]

I have some dumbass comments the world does not need to see. But yay support the channel!

[@colleen6644]

I read this books with my brain mostly off, and that's how I got through it. The inconsistencies kill me. I am so disappointed hearing about how great these books are by friends/reviewers then finding out they're actually mid when I read it. Feels like a waste of my time.

[@Merve77772]

I'll be getting uprooted for Christmas and I'm very exited to finally listen to your episode about it❤

[@bellaphelan6013]

roman has kendall roy synchronicities

[@NaritaZaraki]

An offering for the ever mercurial algorithm! ^_^

[@yiannis5972]

Just adding this since I haven't watched this yet to help the algorithm

[@narissabirtwistle244]

I plan on reading this book if I'm ever in the mood for a cute romance, so I decided to listen to the podcast until it got spoilery. I ended up listening to the entire thing and at no point did I feel like I had actually been spoiled.

[@forgottengod]

I hear constantly the name like Daycare. Its a confusing and a little funny.

[@erinhanley8157]

I’m almost done reading this one and seriously thinking of DNFing. If the magic had been cut back and keep the magical typewriters as some sort of unexplainable quirk, then set it in actual WWI, I would finish it. Cramming too many competing concepts together for uniqueness isn’t working.

[@Artbyhurricanyounot]

Just a reminder guys: there’s a boycott on the publisher, St Martin’s Press!

[@alexisd5274]

so excited this comment is personally funding Maria's doctorate

[@QManagerin]

I actually liked the book- still watch and enjoy the roasting...what's wrong with me? 😂

[@tiramisunsun]

I didn't like "Divine Rivals" mostly because it felt really bland with little to no worldbuilding, and the romance, despite being the focus of the story, was such a let down... I was very surprised to see everyone like this book, because there's a lot better out there.

[@southpaw8931]

I think my biggest problem with this book is that every time someone tried to explain it to me, they made it sound very different from what it turned out to be. I was under the impression this book would be a depiction of a citizen experiencing war but feeling isolated as they aren't actively fighting, so the only person they can relate to is another in the same position, but that other person is on the other side of the war--exploring tragedy, isolation, and religion. That it turned out to be a vague war in the background with like school rival vibes...it wasn't for me.

[@Merve77772]

I was super exited to read this book. The premise sounded gread, the cover was beautiful but I ended up feeling rather neutral about it. I think it would have worked much better to cut the Gods parts and just make it a magical realism story with the typewriters

[@adrianpillai6645]

Why does this book premise sound like Lois Lane and Clark Kent at the Daily Planet mashed up with the Wonder Woman movie where Gods are the cause of WWII (I know, WWI in this one)? Is this by Zac Snyder?

[@CDProjekt7]

❤

[@S_Black]

Could you do more straight up fantasy or sci-fi and less romantasy? There'd be much less of the tropes and writing devices you always complain about.

[@Cityweaver]

They are criticizing romance because they like to read romance... Did you ever notice that the name of their podcast is a play on the term "Unresolved sexual tension"? 😅 They didn't make a video about all the mistakes writers make when writing sex scenes because they *don't* want to read sex scenes...

[@emilykate0835]

I hated this book and it's been driving me crazy to see every single person on the Internet praise it. Thank you for the roast I needed it so bad

[@mel4957]

This just came to me but like if one of the gods is literally a music god, the author could have connected it to the correspondence (either Iris or Roman hide the god's music in code)

[@kav3141]

I don't buy that kids would be smart enough to think of anatomy when they hear the name "Iris". Even if they just had that specific biology lesson, you know damn well they'll forget about it by the next test. I think there's a trend where authors think their protagonists HAVE to be oppressed in some way, and this was a not very good attempt from the author

[@zeereads]

the only TRUE enemeies to lovers i've ever read, and still think it's the most perfectly crafted is the captive prince trilogy. nothing since i've read that has even came CLOSE...and believe me, i've looked 😔it's so aggravating to see these publishers advertise that trope and be met with either instalove or like....not enemies to lovers at all. and hardly anybody seems to know how to write it well!!! anyway thank you for the review!! i was thinking about reading this even though i did not enjoy rebecca ross' previous release "a river enchanted" (it was very boring) so i think i will definitely skip it now!

[@johnnyritenbaugh1214]

Sadly, most of the real enemies to lovers stories are fanfics in established universes where the couple isn't canon. Think Draco/Hermione and Zuko/Katara. C'est la vie. 😅

[@gogumarshmallow]

no longer on tbr. Gapping inconsistencies are one of my pet peeves and it sounds like this book is a clusterheck of inconsistencies.

[@asdfghjklasdfghjkl321]

Wait, there's a sex scene in the book? Like I'm 100% sex positive but I do find it, um, weird that there's an explicit sex scene in a YA book. Like, I feel Iike a massive problem with these kinds of books are that while they're not technically adult, while I think they should be like with SJM, these are, for lack of a better word, aged up YA for adults which then causes a lack of actual YA books for an actual YA audience 🤧

[@giveandtake8428]

It's not explicit.

[@mcedwards]

I liked this book but even I, as a not super critical reader, got annoyed with some stuff and saw areas for improvement. I definitely prefer the River Enchanted duology from Ross.

[@mcedwards]

Also, yeah, literally the whole book I thought they were mid-20s. 19?!

[@mcedwards]

Also also, as someone who is not personally a fan of graphic smutty smoot like in acotar...I really prefer the implied intimacy that Ross writes.

[@CrisM779]

Oh, lol 😂What kind of weird kid thinks "eyeball" when meeting a girl named Iris? That's insane! The gods part of the story sounds gimmicky. Like something the author threw in to draw more readers from the fantasy genre, but it seems very out of place and insufficiently developed. Would have been nice if more was done with it and then the world would have felt more distinct. The World War I version would have worked too, though I can bet that it would have pulled a smaller audience. It's kind of depressing how the YT algorithm works, seeming to favour more negative content. A lot of your positive book reviews made me buy and read new things I hadn't heard of because I'm not a native English speaker. And some of those buys were even based on stuff you didn't like because your criticisms are so detailed and informative that they're really indicative of the actual content instead of gratuitous pettiness. As far as the bad books you've roasted, I've only read a couple of them and all your comments were valid and well-founded. In some cases, I even thought you were being too gentle on those books. So I'd encourage you to keep doing the reviews the same way because they're great.