A Rivalry of Hearts (Cozy Fantasy, Rivals to Lovers, Fae Romance)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Really liked it! Highly recommend.

Read A Rivalry of Hearts if you like academic rivals, hilarious banter, fae bargains, and a hero who falls first, falls hard, and has absolutely no idea how to flirt.

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📖 What’s Inside:

💗 He falls first and HARD
Dual POV
🤝 Fae bargains
Rivals to lovers
On-page intimacy 🔴
🌈 Inclusive
Voyerism 👀
Forced proximity
Explicit language

Book Boyfriend Meter: 💛

Hot. But not for me.

And listen… The man is practically perfect. I loved him.

He’s confident, sexy, emotionally intelligent, vulnerable, and completely gone for the FMC.

But he’s good for her. Not me.

I’ll take my morally grey men with a few more problems, thank you very much.

🩶 Snag my free morally grey book boyfriend starter pack if you feel the same way about your men.

✨ Vibes:

Pride and Prejudice — rivals, banter, and romantic tension

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy — enemies/rivals + witty romance

Once Again, Always — rivals-to-lovers energy

Basically: academic rivalry meets cozy fae romantasy, with a man who falls so hard he accidentally creates the entire plot.

💭 My Thoughts:

I went into this book wanting academic rivalry.

Instead… I accidentally discovered cozy romantasy.

And apparently?

I like it.

Who knew?

I’ve read Tessonja Odette before, but I had no idea she’d released this little standalone series. And since I don’t read much cozy fantasy, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Then I met the FMC.

And immediately fell in love with her voice.

She’s weird, naïve, utterly hilarious. And somehow all of that makes her completely lovable.

The first half of this book had me laughing constantly, especially when she and the MMC were together.

The banter? Excellent.

THE PLOT:

The entire premise revolves around a fae bargain, and the dynamics of it were so much fun.

But what really made it work was the FMC.

Her personality creates so many opportunities for the bargain to go sideways in the funniest possible ways.

And watching the MMC try to navigate her?

Even better.

Now, the MMC?

He’s not my usual type.

Which is probably why I liked him so much.

He’s confident without being arrogant. Sexy without being obnoxious. Vulnerable. Emotionally intelligent. And completely, hopelessly in love with her. He falls first. He falls FAST.

And his attempts at flirting are so spectacularly unsuccessful that they basically land him in the middle of the entire plot.

I was dying.

And yes, he is objectively an excellent book boyfriend. He’s just not getting a spot on my leaderboard.

Sorry, sir.

THE WRITING:

This might be one of my favorite things about the book.

The poetry? Actually good.

The irony? Delicious.

The banter? Perfect.

The witty little lines sprinkled throughout? I ate them up.

The writing has so much personality, and I genuinely think this is one of Tessonja Odette’s strongest books.

And now I’m going to have to go digging through her backlist because apparently I’ve been missing out.

CRITICISMS:

My biggest issue was the unequal stakes.

The FMC has basically everything riding on this bargain.

Her career, home, freedom. Basically her entire future.

If she loses, she’s going back to her parents and potentially being married off.

Meanwhile, the MMC’s stakes are much lower.

His motivation is largely about helping his sister.

Which is sweet. And important. But… Those stakes aren’t exactly equal.

If she loses? Her entire life changes.

If he loses? His sister doesn’t get what she wants.

Those are two very different levels of desperation.

That said, I understood why both characters made the choices they did, and I was ultimately happy with how everything played out.

THE VERDICT:

This was such a cute, cozy, spicy romantasy.

And apparently I’ve discovered a new corner of fantasy that I actually really enjoy.

I was so invested that I was actively ignoring my responsibilities just to get back to reading.

Which is always a good sign.

If you’re a fantasy romance reader who loves witty banter and romcom energy, this is absolutely worth picking up.

And if you’re a romance reader who wants to dip your toes into fantasy?

Even better.

This might be the perfect gateway drug.

📚Read Alikes:

If you want fantasy romance with banter, rivalry, and ridiculously romantic heroes:

Pride and Prejudice — the original rivals-to-lovers blueprint
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy — witty enemies and unbearable yearning (read my review)
Once Again, Always — rivals-to-lovers romance with plenty of tension and academia vibes (read my review)

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Should you add A Rivalry of Hearts to your TBR?

Yes.

Especially if you love romcoms.

And if you’re a romance reader who’s been curious about fantasy but doesn’t know where to start?

Start here.

Cozy, funny, spicy, magical…

What’s not to like?

🛒 Buy Now

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