The story is about two rival writers trying to win a publishing contract, and they end up making a bet to win that contract, sealed with a fae bargain !

Review :
This book was so good !
The world was so easy to get into, and the romance extremely well done (the tension, the banter !!!).
Let me tell you how I swoooooned reading this book !

I loved Edwina and William so much ! They were such relatable characters. I felt like I would be Edwina if I ended up in a fairy country !

This story tiptoes between fantasy, romance and historical romance and it would be the perfect gateway book into those genre for readers.
You know I loved a book when I go look and add all the author’s other books to my tbr ! I just couldn’t get enough of that story, I can’t wait for book 2 to come out !

a rivalry of hearts is a mix of rivals to lovers, historical romance, light-hearted banter with a dash of being placed in absurd circumstances from drunken nights & wicked fae drinks

short intro to the book: edwina a romance author is set to do a book tour in the isle of faewyver. however, edwina is two weeks late to her own book tour due to unforeseen circumstances which now results in her sharing her own book tour with the vexing poet william haywood. their first encounter leads them to enter a rivalry of wits which continues to escalate when only ONE of them can enter into an exclusive publishing contract under the most popular publishing company in faewyver. a drunken night & competitive spirits leads them to enter a bet of seduction.

rambling thoughts
→ the story is playful & light-hearted which was exactly what i was in the mood for. despite the tone of the book, i was pleasantly surprised to see the complexity of the characters & how their own past adversaries affected their motives/actions.

→ i enjoyed reading about the main characters & thought they were really endearing. edwina is imaginative, a lover of romance books, and doubles down like no other. william is charamastic, a lover of the arts & hides behind a facade. together they were fun & messy. they were so messy that they even made a bet of seduction out of pride to spite each other. however, my thing is that the introduction of the bet was incredibly wild to me. i just didn't think it was the most natural way to proceed things, but i did end up enjoying how things played out between them as a result of the bet.

→ overall, i did like the writing & pacing of the story but i do think the book was a little longer than i would have liked. the story could have been cut shorter.

→ the chemistry between edwina & william was so good. i loved their banter & appreciate the slight slow-burn to their relationship.

thanks to the author & netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review!

A Rivalry of Hearts
First book in the Fae Flings and Corset Strings

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

-Historical Romantasy
-Human x Fae
-Romantasy writer x Poems writer
-Rivals to lovers
-Forced proximity
-A bet and special « use me » pass between them 🫠
-Jealousy
-Touch her and you’ll die

You all know me, I don’t read a lot of Romantasy, but I really love this author writing ✍️🥰

And this book is everything I love in romance 🥰
A Romantasy author and a Poet Fae!!!! 🫠🫠🫠You know how much I love bookish characters 💞

And their rivalry, how much they hated each other at the beginning because of the publishing contract that only one of them will get and how lust and attraction for each other will change their relationship little by little 🫠

If you love Cozy Romantasy, Banter, Chemistry, Steamy scenes and bookish settings, I recommend this book 💞

“It’s easy to tease each other. As easy as breathing and as comforting too.”

-

Thank you netgalley and victory editing for the gifted arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌸rivals to lovers
🌸cozy fantasy
🌸hate to love
🌸human x fae

Blooming hell, this book had no business making me giggle like a fool constantly ✋ the writing was so engaging and I had so much fun reading this beauty! The world was so well built and I completely fell in love with faerwyvae!

The characters are so friggin funny and cute! I loved all of the minor characters (especially my baby daffy, you deserve the world bbg). The dynamic between all of them was so fun and I totally fell in love with the little tour group ❤️

Edwina, our fmc, is a romance author (aka smut and drivel 🤭) who doesn’t want to fall into societal norms by marrying instead of pursuing her career. Love a girlie who follows her dreams 😌 she’s determined and a bit weird, but so incredibly lovable.

William, will, Willy, my male 😭❤️ when I was introduced to will I was getting major ick vibes from him with his snooty poet vibes. Little did I know, will would steal my heart (Fr I love him sm) ✋ his development was so well done and I loved slowly seeing his exterior crumble as he got to know edwina ❤️ when we see his first pov I was shook with the switch up 😭

“I want to tell her she can still use me, to do more than use me. To maybe fall for me the way I’m falling for her.”

The romance was *chefs kiss* 🤌 rivals to lovers is one of my fav tropes when it’s done well, and tessonja did it well 😮‍💨 the tension? The banter? The steamy teasing? Phewwwwww it was getting hot 🥵 and will was so friggin SWEET to edwina 😭 I was grinning like crazy every time he said something to her.

"You are beautiful. Your words are beautiful. There is no this is more beautiful than that when it comes to you. Your beauty and the beauty of your work are separate entities. Dennis fucking Feverforth was an idiot. He put you on a pedestal. He didn't deserve the eyes he assessed you with or the heart he professed to love you with if he couldn't separate himself from the fantasy he built around you and take you for the prize you are."

Alsoooo I’m just gonna leave this quote here 🤭👀

“Do you want that? Do you want me to ruin you?”

This book took me a minute to get into but once I was about 25% through I really started understand the characters and enjoy the rivalry between them I appreciate that it was framed as like rivals to lovers versus enemies to lovers cause I often times think that enemies is too strong of a word to describe the level of animosity between the two main characters. This was funny and sweet and had a lot of the elements that I was really looking for, but overall, I have liked other books by Tessonja better.

I could tell from the cover that this book would be a fun one!

This book does have some spice but honestly I thought it was done so well and it really added a lot to the story without seeming like it was just written to attract certain readers. This workplace romance just made me smile from the start. There is fantasy also woven into this story and I think it was so well done! They are both authors on a book tour yet they get pitted against each other! This book uses multiple POV which I love.

Very well done and a delicious romance read!

A Rivalry of Hearts || Tessonja Odette

"I like smut and drivel."

Edwina Danforth is a human woman who writes romance novels, her most recent one involving the fae. Due to her popularity in Faerwyvae (the isle where fae reside), she is offered a book tour to promote her latest book and a three book contract. As she's an independent woman who is trying to make her own path in life and not depend on her parent's plan for marrying her off, it's the ideal opportunity. There's a hiccup though, she was late to tour due to unforeseen circumstances, so when she arrives to tour, there's a fae male there, William Haywood, who is also promoting his book of poetry. By the end of the tour, only one of them will come out of the tour with a three book contract and both of them desperately need the contract and money that comes with it.

At the beginning of tour, Edwina's turn out is abysmal, and William is ahead in sales, only the person who makes the most sales will win the contract. On a drunken night, the two make a binding bet that instead of getting the most sales, the one who seduces the most people by the end of the tour wins. Edwina, a romance author, sees this as not only a way to get a leg up in the game, but a way to do her own romantic research. However, things get complicated when our two rivals become entangled with each other.

This is my first novel by this author and it won't be my last. A game of rivals, a bet of seduction, the right amount of spice, all in a fantasy setting is my ideal romance book. You're also left off on who the next book will be following and I absolutely cannot wait for that one.

-romantasy
-rivals to lovers
-dual POV, first person POV
-a bet of seduction
-loveable characters
-right amount of spice

Spice 4/5

My review will be posted within the next week also on my bookstagram @unboundedtbr

thanks to netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for a review!

tessonja odette you've done it again. written yet another perfectly fluffy romantasy. the lightest enemies to lovers i have ever seen with the cutest banter and our male mc telling edwina "use me". i don't usually love historical romances, but this was a rare one that i truly enjoyed, and i think that is mostly because the historical aspects operate mostly in the background. the romance between edwina and william is front and center. after this one, odette has become one of my auto read authors, everything she puts out is incredible.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Nerd Fam for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book is absolutely fantastic. I devoured it. Could not put it down. While it’s not very heavy on the fantasy, the romance and humor was top tier. I was cackling on multiple occasions. I forced myself to put it down for a while because I didn’t want it to end. I immediately ran and purchased the signed hardcover and character art.

Synopsis:

In a world where there is a fae realm and a human realm, a human author, Edwina, travels to the fae realm for a book tour as her smutty novels have much more of an audience there. Since she is late starting her tour, the publisher decides to add William to the tour, a fae poet heartthrob. They instantly become rivals, which only intensifies when they find out that whoever sells the most books on tour will get a 3 year publishing contract. However, what they don’t anticipate, is their attraction for each other. Witty banter, hilarious scenes, and lovely side characters ensue as they battle for the contact, and each other’s hearts.

Tropes:
🩵Rivals to lovers
🩵Fae (seelie and unseelie)
🩵Witty banter
🩵Fae bargains
🩵Secrets
🩵Protective MMC
🩵Nonbinary rep

I absolutely loved this book! The banter between the characters was witty and delightful, keeping me entertained from start to finish. The spicy romance was perfectly balanced, adding just the right amount of heat without overshadowing the story. The fae element brought a magical and enchanting layer to the plot, making the world feel truly immersive. Best of all, it can be read as a standalone. I highly recommend it!

Another 5 star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Smut and Drivel”
A spicy standalone adult fantasy romcom in the Fae Flings and Corset Strings series.

The book follows Edwina Danforth, who is a human in the Fae Islands on a book tour. She writes spicy romance novels (which we love 😉). Joining her on her book tour is William Haywood, a poetry author who was a last minute addition on the tour. The two authors become immediate rivals and quickly find out there is a three book deal that will be awarded to the author that sells the most books on their tour.

However, Edwina has already missed the first two signings for reasons out of her control. She then decides to make things interesting by making a bet with William on who can seduce and perform an act of personal intimacy in their bedroom with the most people.

I absolutely loved following the story of these two and their competition. This book had spicy scenes, hilarious banter, dual pov, and so much more!! Definitely one of my top reads of 2024! I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series!

Thank you Tessonja Odette and Netgalley for my gifted ARC copy!

A delightful fantasy rom-com between a romance author and a traditionally trained stage actor.

This book is pretty much everything I could want:
- A fantasy standalone to kick off a series of interconnected standalone books
- Fae bargains/Spicy bets
- Rivals to lovers

Edwina and William are both amusing, relatable characters, with chemistry and banter to back up their steady attraction to one another. Once they gave into their true feelings for one another, there was no one else for either of them.

I had such a fun time with this. Was it predictable? Sure, but I still ate it up in a matter of hours.

Thank you to Tessonja Odette, Victory Editing, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Who doesn't love Fae, Romance, and Regency??

If you don’t, I promise you will after you pick up Rivalry of Hearts!!!

Rivalry of Hearts by Tessonja Odette is a spicy romance set in the Regency Era with Fae, Rivals-to-Lovers, TENSION, hilarious banter and characters, spicy bets, and captivating writing.

I absolutely loved this book. It made me laugh and cry, often at the same time.

This book is perfect for anyone who loved Bridgerton, Fae Lovers, and A Court of Thorns and Roses!!

Rivalry of Hearts hits shelves on June 12th, 2024!!

____________

This review has been posted to Instagram and Goodreads under the handle @le.midnight.chaptre

4.5*

I liked this book so much more than I thought I would! I usually don't read romance books but I thought this would be a good introduction since it had fantasy elements. I was pleasantly surprised.

Edwina was such a good FMC. She was very sassy and quirky and it was great seeing her spar with William. I laughed quite a few times reading this. I also loved all of the different fae creatures this world has.

This was such an adorable romcom and I will definitely be picking up book 2!

For a first cozy fantasy, that wasn't a big success, not gonna lie. The world is so blatantly copied from ACOTAR I'm wondering how an editor or publisher might have let that slide. The plot quickly got boring and the lack of chemistry between our two protagonists didn't help either. Don't get me started on the third act conflict bit, I thought it was just stupid and unnecessary, they could've just come up with a solution for the both of them like grown a*s adults. And some of the scenes were cringe as hell, I'm sorry but both of their works seemed very poorly written so it was hard to believe that either was so popular (then again Coho is popular so everything is possible I guess). It was entertaining but I skimmed the last 20% because I just wanted to get it over with.

1st person duel POV
Fantasy romance (fae with 2 forms, story set within fae world)
Historical feeling romance
1st in a series (2nd not yet available)
Rivals to lovers
Slow burn
Sexy consent
Spicy scenes
HEA
“I’ll ruin you for every man who comes after me” … “ruin me”

Edwina (FMC) is a romance author & William (MMC) is a poet with an acting background. They are travelling together stopping at various fae courts - along with 2 members of staff of publishers - on a book signing tour; rivals with only one of them due to win the 3-book contract with their publisher. Both have their respective reasons of needing to win, & end up drunkenly making a magic-binding bargain to amend the rules of how they can win the contract - from whoever sells the most, to whoever can take the most lovers during their tour!

A thoroughly enjoyable read. The initial world building & character development was intriguing. The slow burn felt necessary, rather than dragging as it can sometimes. After all the bartering & teasing, Will’s first “use me” had me clutching my pearls! The spice was well written, fairly spicy & thoughtful; I very much appreciated the sexy consent. The slight twists within the second half of the tale kept me completely hooked, & I read the last 3rd of this book in one sitting because I simply couldn’t put it down.

I will be recommending this book to everyone I know who also enjoys “smut & drivel” as William so graciously describes it, romantasty &/or historically themed romcoms, & to those who are looking for an introduction into.
Excited also to read the 2nd tale in this series when that is released, & in the meantime I plan to read Tessonja’s backlist - I was intrigued to anyway but then it was mentioned that some of the same characters from this book are featured through her works & it was an immediate 100% adding all to TBR right this second!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tessonja Odette for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

💕 SMUT AND DRIVEL💕

A huge thank you to @tessonja and @netgalley for sending me the ARC of this phenomenal book, id seen such great reviews and was really hoping id get the opportunity to read and review it before it was published 🫶🏻

Imagine Divine Rivals, Half A Soul and Bridgerton had a baby!! That is exactly what this book is.

Its the perfect mix of fantasy and historical romance, with an easy to follow world and character that you can’t help but fall in love with 🫶🏻

You get work colleagues that HATE each other so much that their burning hatred turns into fiery passion ❤️‍🔥!!

You get a cozy, fantasy vibe, that feels like a warm fuzzy blanket!! ☕️

You get a sexy Fae man that is deep and layered , with secrets and scandals that follow him everywhere he goes!! 📚

And last but definitely not least… You get delicious spicy scenes in public places and secret messages hidden in books 🤫

Give me all that, and Im VERY happy girl 🫶🏻👏🏼

If these things are your jam too…. Then this book is definitely for you!!

this book absolutely hit the spot for a light, easy, low-stakes romcom!! it was so much fun – the characters had the best banter and such a gorgeous development from rivals to almost-friends to absolutely in love. i loved the soft fantasy, with fae with fascinating unseelie forms, and unique magic. for once, the mmc didn’t have lightning or killing powers of anything – my baby had the cutest, unexpected power!

and while the plotline did have the underlying ridiculous plot of a battle to see who’s better at seducing (and when both characters are fully obsessed with one another), i didn’t mind it at all, and had a lot of fun with the low-stakes but nonetheless exciting adventures. the characters were utterly loveable, and overall this was just pure fun, swoonworthy pleasure. thank you to the author, publisher, netgalley for the arc!

“You are beautiful. Your words are beautiful.”

4.5 stars! The best way I can describe this is if Emily Wilde was on a book tour instead of writing an encyclopedia...and had an intimacy bet/competition going with the MMC. It's cozy fantasy, but also romance.

This was delightful! A little slow to start, but so worth it.

Two writers on a book tour are competing to win an extended contract with their publishing house. He’s fae, she’s human. It’s so unserious, and I love that. They call each other Weenie (Edwina) and Willy (William) to get on each other’s nerves.

Its dual POV, workplace rivals to lovers, has a bet, and a date auction. I cannot wait for Daphne & Monty's book. I'll be checking out this author's backlist in the meantime!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book, the author has a striking and unique writing style that has the ability to really let the readers dive in her story with her fantastic world building and a fascinating ability to get straight to your heart with her words.

The read was smooth and easy going, the peace always on point with no unnecessary deviations from the main path, it was funny and full of banter, cozy and spicy all in the right amount.

The characters were not perfect as other books claim, they are as down to earth as they come making the whole experience even more exhilarating with no unreasonable and unrealistic expectations.

Edwina is the fiery FMC, a feisty romance author that has a surprising firm backbone, even tho she is a human and comes from an uptight background but she’s surprisingly open minded and witty. Her personality is the best this book has to offer, a firm believer in her ideals with the courage and determination to thrive in a men’s world. That same personality comes crashing fast and hard with the beautiful yet imperfect William the pompous poet, rival to her prestigious signing tour and seemingly the most obnoxious fae she’s ever met.
In a drunken haze, they begrudgingly agree to a bet that neither of them can win because their attraction to each other’s gets in the way binding them in a heart warming relationship.

Please do yourself a favor and pick this book up, you’ll devour it as I did, with no remorse and a big smile on your face.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC copy of the book that I cherished. I gave my unbiased opinion and thoughts in this review.
#ARivalryofHearts #NetGalley