✨Book Review: A Rivalry of Hearts by Tessonja Odette ✨

If you’re a fan of adversaries-to-lovers romances with a dash of magic, you’re in for a treat! A Rivalry of Hearts is equal parts sweet and spicy, following two rival writers, Edwina and William, as they embark on a Faerwyvae book tour that’s anything but ordinary.

The stakes? High. Only one of them will land a coveted book deal. The wager? Seduce the most people during the tour. But as their hilarious banter and undeniable chemistry heat up, it becomes clear the only people they truly want to seduce…are each other.

This cozy fantasy romance delivers lovable characters, laugh-out-loud moments, and banter that you will enjoy.

✨ A must-read for anyone who loves good banter, slow-burn romance, and a sprinkle of fae magic. Highly recommend!

This book was so much fun! The ingredients were all there: a realistic rivalry, amusing side characters, a romping adventure. I loved how the fmc was strong and determined; she advocated for herself and her ambition was admirable. And the mmc was swoonworthy with emotional layers to his character. I'm also really glad I got to listen to the audiobook for this one and highly recommend reading it that way!

I loved this so much, it took me forever to finish because I wasn't ready for it to be over, rival to lovers authors is already a great pairing but making it spicy and fantasy made it hit even better - there wasn't a single character introduced that I didn't find myself caring about and now I'm going to have to read the next book immediately

A fae Bridgerton-esque romcom?? Yes please!!! The way William and Edwina had me kicking my feet and giggling was truly what I wanted. I definitely enjoyed every moment of this book and can’t wait to read the second one!

This was a delightful historical romance that made me giggle in all the right ways. This book is for when you want some good vibes with some spice. The banter was also very well done and never gave me cringe face when reading. I loved Tessonja's writing style and I will certainly be looking for more from her.

While I wanted to like this title, I just don't think I'm one for a historical romantasy. The book was enjoyable, but not necessarily highly engaging or memorable.

This book is such a joy to read! With its playful tension and witty banter, plus a dash of spice, it really keeps things fun and exciting. If you’re on the lookout for a charming historical rom-com, I recommend diving into this one!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Tessonja Odette, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This book was so much fun! In A Rivalry of Hearts we follow Edwina as she goes on a book tour of Faerwyvae, her tour which was originally supposed to be a solo book tour because as she’s very popular on the island becomes a two person tour after she experiences several catastrophes getting to the island. To her frustration the other author William immediately insults her writing. She then learns from William that the two are competing against each other to secure a contract that could change her life.

This book was a really good time, it was a fun and mostly light romance with a fantasy flair to it. I loved the romance between William and Edwina along with the side characters of Daphne and Monty.

The narrators where both lovely and this is an easy and fun listen.

Tessonja Odette's A Rivalry of Hearts is creative, clever, and charmingly romantic. I thoroughly enjoyed this enemies to lovers, historical fantasy.

The audio version of A Rivalry of Hearts is beautifully performed by Rusty Mewha and Dani Cochrane. These narrators do a great job of capturing the characters as well embracing as Odette's fantasy realm.

A Rivalry of Hearts was a delight! I loved this magical world and immersing my self in through audiobook was a dream! I loved being on this tour of courts and a fly on the wall on a book publicity trip where the authors have a romantic competition going!

2024 seemed to be the year of authors writing books about authors falling in love with each other while doing authorly tasks and honestly it has been a fun trope to be steeped in.

Whimsical, adventurous, sexy, and fun are all words that come to mind when I think about *A Rivalry of Hearts—*I had a blast listening to this one! Our story follows two authors - romance author Edwina Danforth and her rival William Haywood as they go on a book tour together and compete for a prestigious publishing contract.

❤️ What I loved: This is a fun rivals-to-lovers romance with some miscommunication mixed in. Both protagonists were engaging and had good character development throughout the story, with a cast of strong supporting characters to complement their own journeys. While the focus was on the characters, the overarching plot was still interesting and contained some good twists. I also really enjoyed the setting and their travel around the fae realm during the book tour! Great narration from the audiobook reader rounded out a really enjoyable reading experience for me.
💔 What I didn’t love: Part of the story involves a competition between our two rivals to see who can seduce the most people during the tour. While this added a fun element to the story, I wished it had ended a bit earlier than it did as I started to find it more frustrating than fun.

I would highly recommend A Rivalry of Hearts to fans of historical/regency romance and fantasy. This was my first Tessonja Odette and I look forward to exploring more of her work!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4-4.5)
Acknowledgments & Disclaimers ✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Tessonja Odette, and Dreamscape Media, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Edwina hasn't had a lot of great reaction to her novels until she agrees to a book tour among the fae. Which she's late for. When she finally arrives, to her dismay, rival poet William has taken the opportunity to be there in her stead. A bet and a competition later and it is on for who will reign supreme and get the deal of a lifetime.
Tessonja's books are fun and different and the narration is always my go-to because, in this case, Rusty Mewha and Dani Cochrane do such a good job bringing her words to life through their performances. Plus it's dual POV. It's not a serious look at the regency time period, fae and fantasy, and I don't want it to be. It's perfectly diverting.
Thank you to Dreamscape and Netgalley for the alc. All thoughts are my own.

I liked this book more than I thought I would. I received the audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I liked that this was a historical rom com but in a world where Fae are also normal in society. I liked that the two main characters were both authors on a book tour together and rivals. They dislike each other immediately, but through a bet and time, they learn more about each other. The banter was fun and I enjoyed how the characters interacted. It definitely has some spice.

I started the second audiobook immediately after finishing this one because it was so fun, quirky & cute! Edwina and William have great chemistry and I looooveeeee an enemies/rivals to lovers book where they're actually obsessed with each other. The banter is *chef's kiss,* William's antagonistic behavior is hilarious because he loves to annoy Edwina but the way he's always looking out for her had my heart, especially since she's so curious and always rushing into things that stress him out (: I love the romance and interesting fae worldbuilding, plus setting it all on a book tour kept the plot moving forward with new places, people and silly situations. The spicy scenes are SPICY but there are a ton of sweet scenes too. The side characters are just as engaging as the main characters and I'm soooo excited to read about them next. This is a fun historical fantasy romance that you can binge in one sitting!

The voice actors are amazing and I highly recommend listening to the audio version. They truly bring the characters to life and are so engaging, it’s so easy to get pulled in and not realize how much time has flown by. Truly talented! And I listen at 2x speed typically so I can confirm that at that pace their voices are still perfectly clear and entertaining with good pacing.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the ALC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a fun book!!

The banter was fantastic and the romance was *chefs kiss*.

Thank you for the ARC!

This was very enjoyable! I’ve read several books from this author, so I’m not surprised that this was a great read. I love the dynamic between the characters, as well as the growth that each character had individually.

This was a pleasant surprise! Honestly the romance was so sweet, even with the banter being harsh at times. I loved the two main characters a lot! It felt like both of them had reasons to fight for their careers.

I loved the banter and the way the bet / “free pass” comes into play. This is a great example of a low stakes Romantasy. The concept was so fun with there being the opportunity for humans to live in the Fae world and build their careers too.

Both voice actors in the audiobook were superb! Definitely recommend it to anyone who likes audio.

I’m really excited to read the next one! 4.5 rounded up!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a fun romantic adventure into the world of the fae and two writing rivals. Both determined to win the publishing contract up for grabs. William and Edwina are delightful and I loved their workplace enemies chemistry. With a secondary cast of intriguing characters this story is a fanciful romance lovers dream come true. The audiobook is narrated beautifully and I loved the whole experience.

This was SUCH a completely delightful, funny, heartfelt, cozy & spicy read!

Years ago I read to carve a far heart by Tessonja Odette, and I was so excited to return to the world of the fair isle series with an entirely new premise and genre. This is a cozy, hilarious take on steamy romantasy and it hit in literally every way I dreamed it would. Edwina and William are rival writers on the same author tour, competing for the best sales to land them a long term contract. And one night when the two are drunk and out of sorts, they decide just one competition isn’t enough: they’ll also compete by who can seduce the most people during the tour. Shenanigans begin!

These two really have the transition between rivals and lovers down perfectly. Their resentment and misunderstanding toward one another are palpable at first, but turn into a combination of respect and desire. What’s more, both are sure that they couldn’t possibly fall for the other, only to be proven completely wrong.

I enjoyed this so much. The main characters, the world, the cheeky humor, the side characters and antics. I’m so, so excited for the future of this series, and I suspect Tessonja Odette has discovered a sweet spot with this genre! Thank you to Dreamscape Media & Netgalley for this audio copy!