A review by art_books_chemistry
A Rivalry of Hearts by Tessonja Odette

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Who knew I could enjoy cozy romantasy as much as my normal epic high fantasy? If you've never read anything "cozy" you'd be delighted to find there is no big bad in A Rivalry of Hearts, not even a third act break-up. In fact, the third act is when things start to get quite spiiicy between our pair of author MCs. The dialogue was teasing, witty, and sarcastic in turns, the latter allowing me to resonate with the characters a lot. They all felt real and genuine within their portions of the story, and I cannot wait for Monty's story, he's definitely a ball of fun. There were definitely some emotional twists I didn't see coming at all and I appreciated the many layers of Will. While there is a driving plot (where the "rivalry" comes in), it's used as the building block of their relationship, instead of being the other way around. 

This made me actually L-O-L multiple times plus want to strangle the characters a time or two, so for that it gets all the stars. I'm not usually a fan of pure romance but this was just pure fun. If you're a fan of things like Legends & Lattes, where you can just relax your brain and enjoy the ride but you want some spice involved; I highly recommend this. 
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