First off, thank you NetGalley, Disney Hyperion, and the author for this eARC. I always love the opportunity to read and review books.

I love the premise of this book and the representation of mental health as our FMC is an agoraphobic after a traumatic accident involving her brother. Fantasy is my go to genre and I so wanted to like this book. The prologue starts off so strong, but as the story progressed some things just felt off to me.

I felt the chemistry was lacking in our main characters, and while this is listed at YA I did think it was borderline adult with the content of the romantic scene. The bones of the story were so good, some plot points were underdeveloped, and I felt like the magic system wasn’t fully explained.

So thank you for the opportunity to read it, but it was just a miss for me.

DIVINE MORTALS is an engaging fantasy set in an original fantasy world with a complex and unique magical system. I loved the fact that main character Mona Arnett is a someone who struggles with a phobia stemming from a terrible childhood trauma. I like that she is honest about being a survivor instead of a damsel in distress or a hero. She's not a good person, but Mona isn't a bad one either. Instead, she is damaged, complex, challenging and at times completely lovely and at others completely unlikeable. The mystery surrounding why she has been summoned to the royal palace and why someone seems bent on placing Mona on the throne as queen is intriguing and one I didn't completely puzzle out. The motivations of the shadowy figure manipulating events behind the scenes was illusive, which made the reveal at the end unexpected but in the best way. While this novel is billed as a romantasy and there is some sexual content toward the end, I was not as fully connected to that aspect of the story. The romance between Mona and her love interest just didn't grab me for some reason. I also found the ending to be a bit rushed and for the motivations for Mona and the other characters to be less fully developed than they were at the start of the novel. However, I do recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys a fresh and unique fantasy world and complex, morally flawed main characters. This is the first in a duology and I do look forward to reading on to see how Mona ultimately saves the day. Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for giving me the opportunity to read this free eARC of the book in exchange for this honest review.

Divine mortals by Amanda Helander was a great fantasy novel that incorporates parallel universes, walking gods, magic, and monarchies. Mona, trained by the crow god of love, can perform a reading on someone and find their soulmate. Crippled with intense agoraphobia she must overcome her fear and travel to do a reading on the dying monarch. If the king dies without an heir, the universe will collapse and destroy all of mankind. Shocked by the truth of the kings soulmate reading, Mona must unravel a twisted series of lies and betrayals.

I gave Helander’s novel 3 stars! I did like the premise of the novel, but it fell a bit short of the mark when it came to emotional investment. There was a lot of writing, but not enough character buy-in.

Honestly, I wanted to love this book. The concept is great and I did enjoy the landscapes, but the lack of descriptive support for world building made the story fall flat. The pacing of this book was slow and provided an odd jump in time with a training montage that I could not get behind.

The characters were not developed nor their relationships. I wasn't given enough to believe in the chemistry and love between Mona and her interest. The lack of building these characters and their relationships did make the mystery/murder aspect of this book more of a mystery since it truly became a "who done it?" No one was to be trusted since there was a lack of connection to all characters.

Kirkus did this book dirty by comparing it to Yarros and Maas, not because it isn’t a solid book with a rich fantasy world, but because it doesn’t have the action or spice of either author. Amanda Helander specifically describes it as a Disney-friendly YA novel, so DO NOT go into this book expecting anything more than moderate chemistry and some heavy petting. Similarly, Yarros and Maas have lots of action, fighting, even death. While this book has a few intense moments, most of the struggles are internal, with Mona learning to overcome her own fears and using her ingenuity to overcome challenges. Instead, I would list Jordan Ifueko’s Raybearer, Judy I. Lin’s A Magic Steeped in Poison, or even Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones as more accurate comps. If you love a flawed female main character in a complex, morally-gray fantasy world where she must learn the “truth” and gain the confidence for fight for those she loves, then you’ll enjoy this book. I’m certainly looking forward to the sequel, but with more accurate expectations.

I'm excited to see that according to my quick Goodreads search I am the unpopular opinion on this book! I'm so glad everybody loved it, I'm not sure what didn't click for me. This might be a good book - bad time situation. I refuse to admit that this wasn't for me because the concept is BEAUTIFUL. Reading all the reviews filled me with hope that I can revisit this later and fall in love with it.

Mona struggles to overcome the issues she developed following a childhood tragedy in order to aid the ailing King and his frustrating, handsome Master of Practitioners with the god-given ability only she possesses. Violent threats against Mona, the lack of trust from most of the King's council, and strange developments with the gods and their plane of existence (which Mona can access) all compound the very unlikely odds that things will end well. Yet Mona's unique abilities, as well as her unexpected developing friendships, push her to look for answers.

I found this book very original and the imperfect, sometimes irritating characters very real. The relationship of the gods, their home, and their magic to the people of this world was unique and I'm eager to see how the plot moves forward in that regard.

I really wish I liked this book more than I actually did. It had such a strong concept, but it fell flat in execution.

The prologue was an explosive start, but the pacing afterward felt a bit off. It felt like we were thrust into the middle of a story. And while it wasn’t very hard to follow the lore, or any of the plot points, the lack of world building made it hard to feel grounded in the story.

It didn’t help that I also had very little connection to any of the characters. I think the most interesting part of Mona’s character is that she is an agoraphobe. I didn’t sense any chemistry between her and the MMC. It was all very flat and underdeveloped.

The best part of this book was the murder mystery/intrigue going on. But even that got an unsatisfying tie up in the last 5%.

Mona has agoraphobia. She hasn't been able to go outside in years - not since a cliffside argument with her beloved older brother resulted in his untimely death. But when her brother's ghost suddenly resurfaces and attacks her, she lets the king's maddeningly persistent best friend lure her to the palace and into a web of political, magical, and godly intrigue.

This book has fantastic world-building, well-rounded characters, and an interesting plot that does end on a cliffhanger. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series when it comes out!

An anxious, agoraphobic FMC with imposter syndrome like crazy, is torn between the real world and the afterlife. With magical world-building that doesn't do too much too fast, it is easy to be transported into Opalville as you read, and for a book about soulmates it is refreshing that the romance is more of a side plot than an "in-your-face" plot point.. As someone who always tries to guess the twist, and no point could I get it right and every twist and turn was exciting. The end leaves enough of a cliffhanger that I can't wait for a sequel.

I liked the sense of foreboding that informed this book’s system of magic. Our compelling central character is courageous and flawed, a loner with a traumatic past who gets dragged into a magical political murder mystery. The vibes here reminded me of Ava Reid’s A Study in Drowning, or A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos.

This was a really engaging fantasy. The only reason I put it down was because we were in the middle of moving and I didn't have the time to read. If we weren't I wouldn't have set it down until it was finished. That being said, it wasn't perfect - especially the ending.

I know the ending isn't supposed to be perfect, since this is a series, but really? The MC chooses the equivalent of the "more people tied to the tracks" option from the trolley problem and it's posed as the correct and "good" choice? She doesn't even agonize over how neither choice is good, or even acknowledge that neither choice is good? She just immediately chooses the option that will cause more suffering?

Anyway.... I'll definitely read the next one, if only to find out how on earth she's going to fix this. Even though I do not understand some of the author's choices, I really did enjoy the plot as a whole, the characters, and the magic system.

After losing her brother in a tragic accident, Mona is god blessed by the god of love. She is able to fortell people's true love and does so from her home where she has secluded herself since the accident. When the king is the last of his line and has an illness that only gives him a year to live, the handsome Master of Practitioners persuades Mona to leave her home, go to the castle, and fortell the king's true love to ensure the continuation of the line. However, not everything is as it seems. Mona gives a false name when the reading shows her as the true love and her life becomes at stake. Will she give in to the threats or hold firm in not wanting to be queen?

This book is rated as YA, but I would put it more toward new adult due to the intimate scene in the story. The world building and characters are good, but it took a bit to get into the story after that I enjoyed it every much.

This is an amazing read for anyone who enjoys young adult/new adult fantasy. Great mix of world building and plot, and characters you actually care about. Recommended for fans of One Dark Window

Thanks to NetGalley & Disney Hyperion for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 25% of the way through.

The protagonist is insufferable and annoying as hell, so that didn't help. It's a shame she couldn't carry the book because the magic worldbuilding involving mythical gods was really cool--but I couldn't stand her.

This book felt like it wasn't Young Adult but meant for ages 25+ and up, but the characters were all really immature. If you like fast-paced dialogue and an annoying protagonist like "Fourth Wing" you'll like this. I didn't like "Fourth Wing" and this book for almost the same issues.

Divine Mortals, by Amanda Helander, is a fantasy, romance novel; but I would never recommend it as a Teens & YA novel. The sexual content is quite graphic. As an adult, I found it enjoyable and easily finished it one afternoon/night. I'm looking forward to future books in this series.
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I had a hard time getting into this one. It read a lot like a YA but it felt like a lot of the content was intended more towards new adult rather than a YA audience.

First and foremost, this is not a YA. The intimate scenes are quite graphic.

I liked the writing of the book, however, it was a bit lacking in the story department.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was out of my usual realm of historical fiction. The world building was amazing and the author did a great job with that. I found the pacing to be a bit slow overall.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I started and stopped this book three times before finishing because I kept losing interest.

The concept is really engaging. I love the idea of Gods picking favored mortals and providing gifts because of it. However, being that the magic and the world was underdeveloped, it was hard to really get a grasp and understanding of what was happening. I think this plot really suffered from editing. There were many different lines that needed to be followed and I don't feel any of them really settled well. I also feel like the sexual aspects were not paired down enough for a YA book. A few of the scenes were still pretty spicy.

There also weren't any characters to cling to. Our main character was frustrating for most of the story, her best friend in the story didn't really like her, and the love interest was lackluster too. There were many side characters to follow with little to build on or really care about.

If there weren't so many loose ends being tied up in the last 5-10% of the book, I may have felt differently, but I just did not enjoy this the way I hoped when it started.