This book was whitty, funny, light, and of course SPICY! I absolutely adored this book and can’t wait for the next one! Edwina and William are the absolute perfect rivals to lovers and I am here for it!

Tessonja Odette has done it again. A Rivalry of Hearts was the cutest read!!! So fluffy and fun for a historical fantasy that I absolutely adored.

Who writes drivel now? You smug bastard?

✍️ Cozy rom-com fantasy with a sprinkle of spice
📚 Fluffy banter and snarky flirting
✍️ Fae and whimsical vibes
📚 Rivals to lovers

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet and I enjoyed every minute of it. It felt really original to be reading about an author of fantasy romance while reading a fantasy romance. I devoured it all in one day.

It's the perfect cocktail of cozy, historical, and romantic fantasy and I absolutely loved the whimsical and magical world building. Edwina as our stubborn yet somewhat insecure writer of smut and drivel was a joy to read, while at the same time I completely fell in love with an even more stubborn William (the Poet). There's medium high-stakes, which is ultimately the main conflict of the story, and I really appreciated how both main character's reasons for needing to win were seen as equally as valid.

What I thought to be especially strong was that it wasn't just the main characters that were interesting, but the side characters that got introduced were equally as captivating and I wanted to get to know more about them as well. The friendship between Edwina and Daphne was especially lovely to read (I love, love Daphne!). Obviously the main characters' relationship building was the main focus point of the book and I really enjoyed seeing their back and forth stubbornness blossom into something great. (Also can we talk about that elevator scene?? Damn.)

Although I'd love to read more about my favourite author of smut and drivel, I'm incredibly impatient to read the next story knowing that it’ll star my favourite side character! (Did I mention I love Daphne?) I also have the gorgeous The BookCove edition of A Rivalry of Hearts book on pre-order and I already cannot wait to give this book a re-read once it arrives.

I enjoyed reading about the world of Faewyvae. It was so cozy;] the imagery was written beautifully of the fae lands. I was giggling and kicking my feet reading Edwina and Will's banter. The tension was everything and the spice was perfect. All the characters are so lovable I can't wait for book 2.

I couldn't quite get into this one. I liked the setting and cosy vibes, but couldn't connect with the main characters.

Divine Rivals meets Bridgerton

The overall story was enjoyable. I enjoyed reading as Edwina really grew into themselves and rather than imagining what the characters in her story does she starts to explore those aspects of herself. I will say I was not a fan of the bet, but that's just personal preference.

I was surprised at the secret reveal near the end of the book. I was soooo mad over the fight, but I suppose without it we could have that girl in the crowd making the grand gesture moment. The Disney movie girl in me was like yesssss. Declarations of love and want. I'm a sucker.

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Drama: 💧.5
Sugar: 🧁🧁🧁
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Trope: Rivals to lovers - gaslamp fantasy - fae - forced proximity - bet - slow burn

I thank the author, Tessonja Odette, and NetGalley for the ARC that was sent to me. This is my honest opinion.

Delightful! I had so much fun reading this story of rivalry and love!

Edwina Danforth, human, author of slightly spicy romances, and William Haywood, fae, poet, are competing for a contract for the publication of three books with the most important publisher of Faerwyvae. The winner is determined by the number of copies sold in their combined tour of the island. Thanks to one drink too many (never drink fae wine if you are human), the two decide to challenge each other in a further test: whoever manages to have the most partners for the night during the tour, wins; the loser will renounce the contract, even if they were chosen on the basis of sales…

We have a rom com set in that world that readers of Tessonja Odette's previous novels already know, where humans and fae interact. The vibes are regency, with corsets and all, as well as a female protagonist who rejects the idea of ​​an arranged marriage in favor of her career as a writer, which would normally make me turn up my nose, but which I tolerate precisely by virtue of the historical romance setting.
The rivalry and constant barbs between Edwina and William are the strong point of the novel, accompanied as they are by the growing attraction between the two. There is no shortage of hilarious moments, when Edwina distances herself from reality, leaving her imagination free every time a sudden inspiration for her novels strikes her, or when we discover why William has given up his theatrical career.
While the male protagonist has my full support, there were moments in which our Edwina put my patience to the test: too proud, too harsh with others, with the excuse of always being faithful to her own ideals, which is easy if you have your back covered by a wealthy family; those, who find themselves dealing with the more concrete problems of everyday life cannot afford such idealism and must be more pragmatic, making compromises.
The spicy is never excessive, and in addition to raising the temperature, it is also used in a comical way.
In short, a cozy fantasy with a touch of spicy (which never hurts), which will make you have fun and sigh in delight!

This rivals to lovers/historical/fantasy romance was absolutely adorable. Fantasy is not one of my favorite genres but when it reads like this, I love it! I absolutely adored this book. It was laugh out loud funny at times, and I as a book lover that loves reading books about books, this was so perfect. The characters were so well developed and pretty much all of them were loveable. Reading this book was my first experience with this author, and I will happily be looking to read her other books as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

My first book by this author, and it will not be my last!!!

I went into this book because I loved the cover, but when i started reading it, I stayed for the characters! This book was a big and beautiful surprise and read for me. I couldn’t put it down for even a second!!!

I need more!!!

This book is such a fun ride! The Rivalry of Hearts blends romance, fantasy, and humor in the best way possible. If you're looking for a light read that still hooks your interest, look no further. It’s got just the right amount of magic, intrigue, and heartfelt moments to keep you turning the pages. So good!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. This is great for those that enjoy fantasy, fae, historical romance, and a bit of spice. I only like a few of these and am rating it a solid two stars.

If Tessonja writes it, I read it. This is a very cute low stakes rivals-to-lovers fantasy romcom with the perfect amount of spice, that I absolutely adored. I loved the soft fantasy of it, characters were extremely likeable and fun. Definitely what I needed as a nice lighthearted book!

ARC Review - Thank you Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op!

This book was a slow-starter for me, but once things got going I sort of enjoyed it.

I have to begin by admitting fantasy is not my favorite genre, but I do love certain books with characters that present as generally human. The animal/creature (Unseelie?) forms that some characters take was a little off-putting, but that's subjective.

Because I'm weak for a handsome male with dark hair, it wasn't too difficult for me to immediately click with William Haywood, our MMC. He might be fae, but he's sexy. Edwina, FMC, is almost unbearable at times. She's described as "quirky," but she comes across as naive and annoying at the best of times, and honestly, William can do better. The book does get better as the flirtation between them grows, and there is some decent spice once Edwina stops being an idiot about everything. I just like my FMCs to have be a little more worldly and not quite as silly.

Overall, it's a cozy fantasy romance, and if you're into fae worlds and rivals-to-lovers with decent banter you might like it. Three stars because I didn't hate it and it wasn't poorly written, I just didn't really get into it.

See review also on Goodreads!

3.5 STARS. My first Tessonja Odette and it didn't disappoint. This was a cosy fae romance that swept me up from the start. I love books where the characters are authors. I will definitely be reading more books in this series.

This is a prime example of reading books that you didn’t expect to read and just go for it, because this was cosy whimsical read which I throughly enjoyed.

Two rival writers.
One prestigious publishing contract.
A bargain of hearts and seduction

A story of history, laughter and a heavy dose of romance. This was very much a rivals to lovers story of William’s and Edwinia, but so happy without the rivals being the focus of the story.
The plot is fairly straight forward. But the lovely characters, sweet romance, and bright sparkling world more than made up for it!
Have to mention I didn’t really like William at first bit slowly he won me over like he didn’t Edwinia heart.

The cover is so perfect and stunning.

I really liked this book, H was different from what I was expecting o it really gave me the Jane Austin lives I was looking for and needed.it perfectly blended fantasy into a historical setting which this my favorite kind of story! I can't wait to buy the books.

This book is so cuteeee 🥹💗🎀 I loved the banter between the main characters & enjoyed the whole rivals to lovers storyline (& the writing made this such an easy read!). I’d recommend this book for those who enjoy rom-com cozy fantasy vibes! It was a total palette cleanser between the heavy romantasy books I’ve been reading - if you’re into those vibes or love the below tropes please go & read this!

Thank you @netgalley & @tessonja for the ARC 💗

💕Rivals to lovers
💕Rom-com
💕Bridgerton vibes
💕He falls first
💕Bargains made with banter (iykyk)

This book was so sweet! I absolutely love the world Tessonja has created (the same world as her other series). It is light, magical, and funny. There were some moments where our two main characters were incredibly frustrating and I just had to let go of the plot a little bit, but it was still a fun read. I love the subtle references to Anne of Green Gables' Anne and Gilbert. Rivals to lovers, lots of tension, I'm excited to read the next books in this series.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review :) thanks netgalley!

I cannot even begin to say how much I LOVED this book. This book is the perfect cosy fantasy - with characters who are reminscent of Anne Shirley Cuthbert and Gilbert Blythe.

The book followers a human author who has been offered a book tour in the fae realm with the hopes of a contract there. As some one who doesn't quite fit in outside of her smutty romance novels, she is enthused with the opportunity. Only she ends up late to the tour, to find the publisher has included William, the poet on her tour and turned what would likely be a sure deal contract, has turned into a competition with a smug and rather attractive fae.

Naturally the competition invokes certain feelings to rise and make them question their bet, which had interesting and rather alluring terms.

I have recommended this book to everyone I know and wont stop!

If you haven’t picked up A Rivalry of Hearts, you’re seriously missing out!

Sweet, spicy, funny, I truly enjoyed everything about it. I loved Edwina and William and their snark and banter. I’m a big lover of enemies-to-lovers and rivals-to-lovers so this was right up my alley. Even the side characters were great. I found myself kicking my feet at the swoony parts and laughing out loud at the humor. What a fun read!