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The Divines

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A Life of War. A Diminishing Dream of Escape. The Power to Change Everything.

Terah Alexander has been a soldier her entire life. From the moment she was old enough to walk and wield weapons, she’s fought and killed Demons for the Light Guardian side. But at the age of eighteen, she’s finally grown tired of being a frontline soldier in this endless civil war. In pursuit of freedom, Terah leaves her old life behind to attend Divine Academy—a college for those like her with powers bestowed by the gods centuries before.

Notoriously neutral, the Academy’s grounds have never been breached by war. Instead, Divines of all factions coexist peacefully, learning and living together. Without the fighting, Terah no longer has a reason to suppress her emotions or ignore the toll that isolation took on her throughout her life as she was shunned for her unique and mysterious transformation. With the help of her new friend Gabriel and childhood friend Matt, Terah can finally begin to confront her fear of vulnerability and work through trauma to find herself, friendship, and perhaps even love.

But as the semester progresses, the raging civil war begins creeping onto Academy grounds. Terah must decide whether this new, softer version of herself can survive, or whether she must revert to her old ways to protect all those she’s come to care about.

The Divines is a New Adult Contemporary Fantasy with Romance and is Book 1 in The Divine War Trilogy. Each book has a different protagonist but has significant character crossover. See author website (EDENSANDOVAL.COM) for trigger warnings, content warnings, and tropes.

766 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 19, 2025

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34 people want to read

About the author

Eden Sandoval

1 book1 follower
Eden Sandoval is an Indigenous & Latine indie author who was born in Chile and grew up in Chicago. After subjecting themself to a law degree, they left the legal field to pursue their one true love: telling stories and creating worlds. Now, they craft narratives with complex protagonists navigating messy worlds, weaving in themes of growth through and beyond trauma, liberation & equity, and neurodivergence & disability. When not writing, they enjoy photography, archery, attending fandom conventions, making cosplays, and staring at the lake. Eden lives in Chicago with their spouse and rescue pup.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Shanblythereads.
41 reviews7 followers
August 5, 2025
WELCOME TO DIVINE ACADEMY! Where powers collide and war pauses for peace… or so they say..

ARC REVIEW
I received an advance copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review:

Terah Alexander has been a soldier her entire life, killing Demons, fighting for the Light Guardians, and never backing down. But at eighteen, she’s DONE with the battlefield⚔️ No more frontline fighting. No more hiding emotions. Just friends, secrets, and maybe even love.

But peace is fragile and when war comes crashing down…will she survive this new war on her own terms? Or will her past decide her fate?

The Divines is a fresh new romantasy full of magic, romance, and a battle to find yourself when everything is falling apart. Such a fun read! The last 15%, was so good, a few twists that I had a gut feeling on! Gabriel= like 100, Matt= 0…I cannot wait to find out how the prophecy and the chaotic family drama unfolds.

👀Make sure to add this romantasy to your TBR! Keep your eyes out for more details and follow the author for more information about the release date!
Profile Image for Emer J.
2 reviews
August 7, 2025
I received an advanced copy of this book, and once I started, I just couldn’t stop.
The story is a really interesting concept. In the midst of a war between divine beings, a ‘neutral’ college is the backdrop for the main characters to come together, and for some students, experience peace for the first time in their lives.
The characters all feel very well rounded and complex, flaws and all. The romance & love triangle were well executed and didn’t feel forced. The world building is also excellent, and within the first couple of pages I felt fully immersed.
As is to be expected, there were a few twists and turns along the way, and the war didn’t stay outside the college walls for long.
If I had to pick one minor drawback, the battle towards the end was a little long for my taste, but that is very minor. This is the first book in a trilogy, and the ending was very well executed. But no spoilers :)
All in all, I’m so glad I had a chance to enjoy this book. I will definitely be ordering a copy when it comes out, and will be first in line for book 2!
Profile Image for Molly.
55 reviews
August 17, 2025
The Divines was such a fun and compelling read - I was hooked from the very first page. The book breathes new life into well-loved romantasy elements, weaving them together with emotional depth, thrilling action, and beautifully developed characters.

At its heart, the book follows Terah Alexander, a battle-hardened young soldier who has spent her entire life fighting in a brutal war. When she finally leaves the battlefield behind to attend Divine Academy, she begins a journey of self-discovery, healing, and connection that felt both powerful and deeply relatable. I loved seeing Terah struggle with vulnerability after years of isolation, and the friendships and relationships she builds along the way were heartfelt and genuine.

The worldbuilding was one of my favorite aspects. The Divine Academy setting, with its neutrality and coexistence of rival factions, was such an intriguing backdrop, especially as the ever-present civil war begins to creep closer. The tension between safety and danger, peace and violence, really made the story shine.

It’s a long book - but every page was worth it. The depth of detail and the care put into the characters and world made it impossible to put down. Gabriel and Matt were fantastic additions to Terah’s journey, and the slow build of romance was satisfying without overshadowing the larger themes of trauma, identity, and growth.

With its blend of emotional resonance, strong character arcs, and a world brimming with tension, The Divines makes for an unforgettable start to the trilogy. I’m already looking forward to book two.

I was grateful to receive an advanced copy of this book; all opinions are my own and shared voluntarily.
Profile Image for Amena.
Author 10 books43 followers
September 3, 2025
An excellent read!

Once I started this book (of 726 pages!), I truly could not put it down. The world was immersive, the story was gripping, and the action was non-stop — it was almost one action or drama sequence after another, and yet there were enough lighter moments that I felt connected with the characters (as in, I badly want to know what happens next!). The twists were really well-foreshadowed, the romance was sweet and choice-affirming, and the author built the world bit by bit, while keeping it detailed and deep enough to really sustain two more books of this length. An excellent read!
Profile Image for Gail Bookventures.
10 reviews
September 21, 2025
The Divines ARC review.
I thank the Author for providing me an eARC and a physical ARC. This has not affected my review or reading experience.

4 // 5 stars
2 // 5 spice - more of kisses and a closed-door scene



The FMC, Terah, is a battle-hardened soldier who has very unique skills and powers. Tired of their world with an ongoing war, Terah chooses to attend the Divine-Academy - a Neutral ground for people from all factions (Light/Dark Guardians, Blessed and Demons) where war doesn't exist. This is where she met the MMC, Gabriel - a Blessed who then became her partner and safe space.

But even being in the Academy doesn't spare Terah from the War as Demon attacks has been happening in the area and they seem to be targetting her; plus she started to have unsual powers. She then tries to stop the Demons and Dark Guardians from their evil plan.

=======

This book is THICK, running at 750 pages. The Divines is a New Adult Contemporary Fantasy with Romance in an Academic-setting. From the beginning of the book, it is already fast-paced and action-packed. I love how the fight scenes were described as it was very easy to read and I can imagine the setting very well in my head. This is perfect for fans who loves magic-based world in a military-style, Academic-setting.

The story also has a nice mix of Love, Acceptance, Family and Belongingness along with Trauma, suffering, betrayal and death which at times tugged my heartstrings, especially the last part (Caleb!!) The romance is a nice palette-cleanser from all the books I've read prior to this that had very explicit scenes. So it is very refreshing and good for teens who are interested to read the book.

Plot: The plot is very promising but I need more world-building probably, like more expansion on their factions and their magic. I love the Trial scenes at the last half of the book. The twist at the end was quite predictable (since introducing Damian) but nevertheless, it has been very well explained and I think would open up nicely for the plot of Book 2.

Characters: I don't have any particular favorite from this set, except probably Gabriel.

* Terah is a badass FMC, and while I love that about her, this is also one of her downfalls for me (I'll explain later on).
* Gabriel has that Golden Retriever vibe. I love how he tries to understand Terah. annnndd I like his powers.
* Caleb definitely has some issues.
* Damian - always cold.


Now what made this a 4-star read for me?


*Terah - Being trained for War at such a young age, she is easily a very powerful character. However, this made her have a "Savior-Complex" ..She always has that tendency to save every single character at the expense of herself, plus during the last battle when several other Divines (who don't know how to kick ass and Terah was basically rescuing them) offered to heal her, she said no and to just save their powers for themselves. I was confused at that point because if you are looking for the highest chance of survivability of Terah and her fellow students, she should have just allowed them to heal her fully so when the fighting comes then she can defend them properly. Unlike what happened in the story where they all basically suffered because no one other than Terah can fight the Dark Guardians and she is very much injured with depleted powers.

*Matt - I wasn't too keen to have him as a romantic interest. Imagining him to be the one who raised Terah up from childhood but suddenly he likes her as a Woman? I mean, normally that would have been a "Brother-Sister situation"

*Some scenes were repetitive and fell flat which made some chapters longer than it should be.

*the battle scenes were quite unrealistic in the sense that no other person in the Academy hears any battle going on between Terah x Demons. As per the descriptions, these Demons can get quite large - I find it quite confusing that Terah and/or Gabriel would be battling these huge creatures, use quite a lot of their magnificent powers, but no one hears them? So again, comes Terah's Savior-complex where she must save the Academy. It's just quite weird for me.



But yeah, all in all, this is still a good read for me and I would gladly read Book 2.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ally.
95 reviews
September 11, 2025
Another amazing ARC!! WOW!!

Eden Sandoval has outdone herself with this amazing dark romantasy. Don’t let the 600 pages deter you - this book is a constant page turner filled with magic, light vs dark, past loves, and the kind of battle I have been waiting for since “A Court of Wings and Ruin” and “A Queen This Fierce and Deadly.”

This book is an amazing mix of magic, fantasy, plot twists, love and betrayal that completely engulfs you from the beginning. The writing makes you feel like you are there every step of the way, I swear I could see everything happening and the attention to details is beyond what I expected for a debut novel!!

The FMC Terah is such a badass and her character arc is filled with all the growth and badassery you want and hope for in a book like this. The love triangle is filled with so many more angles and all the feels - but I am 100% team Gabriel!

There is always a fine line between romance, rest of the book, plot , twists, side stories, etc and this book gives you your fill of all the things at a great pace and does not feel slow or overly done.

All the characters are likeable and you really connect to them through their own journeys which adds to your need to keep reading! Highly highly recommend this book. Even though Terah is the FMC this book does justice for the other characters and really builds their backstories as well in super creative ways! I really like when you learn things with the main character in a book and truly get to experience the different emotions with them as you process information, plot twists with the character. It definitely adds more for me to a book and to the reading experience.

Music playlist rec to listen while reading: all the things linkin park its the entire vibe of this book and I am loving it.
Profile Image for Bethany.
12 reviews2 followers
August 28, 2025
4.5 rounded up to 5
I really enjoyed this book! I have a lot of thoughts so I'm going to try and break it down and be brief and concise.

The romance: i was not a fan of the romance aspect for about 50% of this novel, but it also had 2 or 3 tropes rhat i typically don't enjoy. That said, once it settled, i was very happy with how it was protrayed and how the relationship grew.

The characters: i loved them. Even the ones i want to punch in the throat are objectively good characters. Well rounded with depth and internal conflict. Naming my favorite might be a bit of a spoiler, so I'll refrain for now, but the only complaint i have is that almost all of them are men.

The setting: i enjoyed the world building and the idea of different planes to live on.

The plot: this gripped me from the beginning. The idea of Divines, of transformations, of powers not seen before and a war that has stretched on for far too long. I loved the pacing and thought it was good. And the last 25% of the book? Absolutely un-put-downable.

I cannot wait for book 2! I'm so thankful to Eden for giving me the opportunity to arc read this. I loved it.
3 reviews
August 31, 2025
The Divines is the epic beginning of The Divine War Trilogy by Eden Sandoval. In a world torn by war for generations a group of people, Divines, are tasked with protecting others. Growing up near the front throws children into battle at incredibly young ages. At the age of 18 they are offered a choice to attend an Academy for a time.

Our FMC, Terah is one soldier who chooses the Academy in the hopes of gaining a little peace, or at least a respite, from the war that has dictated her life thus far. While learning more about her powers, Terah also learns about the emotions she has been oppressing for years and learns to let people in allowing her to build relationships. Unfortunately, the war is arriving at the Academy. Through adventures and betrayals, relationships are tested, secrets are uncovered, allegiances change. The final pages reveal the biggest secrets and hint at the possibility of changing this world for the better.

If you are looking for some academia and found family with a good versus evil style war as the backdrop, this is for you!
Profile Image for Mim_Who _Reads.
123 reviews
August 17, 2025
This one was another fun read. The Divines is the first in a trilogy, and it does a great job of keeping you entertained while also being very moving. The characters are easy to fall in love with, and the plot moves at a steady, engaging pace.

The MC joins Divine Academy seeking peace after a supernatural war. The story shines in its balance of exciting fights and meaningful character development, as Terah learns to open up after years of isolation. The mix of plot and character growth was done well and it definitely added more depth to the overall story.

The academy setting works well, allowing enemies to interact and creating an interesting dynamic. The world-building feels real and immersive without being overwhelming.. The romance plot was also done very well.

If you enjoy Romantasy or just Fantasy in general – I think you’d like this one!
Thanks to the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait for the next one!
Profile Image for T. Kirk.
Author 4 books80 followers
October 11, 2025
I feel like there's no way I can do this book justice with my review. It's been ages since a book thoroughly pulled me in and had me racing back to my Kindle at every chance. This book was so well-written and so unique that I couldn't put it down. Yes, it's long, but so worth it!!! I've also never encountered such a steamy book that still managed to be closed door. The electricity Eden created between Terah and the MMC was perfection!! Omitting his name because it is a love triangle but again, I've never liked love triangles but this was done so well that I couldn't figure out who I wanted to root for. Until certain things happened than I definitely had a fave!

This book is such an emotional roller coaster that will tug at those heartstrings with the ending. I love that this is book one but it ended in such a solid way that it's a natural pause point before the next book. Which I cannot wait for!!!
1 review
August 26, 2025
In the tradition of Tolkien and Rowling, in The Divines, the first book in a trilogy, Eden Sandoval has created a fantasy world populated by complex characters and a compelling storyline that had me on the edge of my seat with every turn of the page. The romance is tender, the battles fierce, and the plot twists surprising. I was moved to tears several times. Read this one - you won’t be disappointed.
Profile Image for Kiki ✨.
135 reviews9 followers
August 19, 2025
I want to start off by saying a huge thank you for the beautiful physical arc!! Okay! Onto the review!! I HATE Matt.. I’m sorry but not sorry! You’ll find out!! (Go grab a copy)

The facts that Terah has seen so much at the age of 18!!! Battlefield!!! The trauma!!! Her mother is 🗑️!!!

Anyways!!! Looking for your next NA contemporary romance to add to your TBR list!!! This one is for you!!
Profile Image for Samantha Butterfield.
Author 5 books7 followers
September 7, 2025
The Divines is a long book, but every word counts. The world is so well built and the characters are well written. Without giving too much away, I will say this fantasy story really took me away. I could not put it down. All the elements of a great series are there and I can not wait for the next book! 10/10 would recommend.
Profile Image for Tia Morgan.
137 reviews3 followers
October 21, 2025
The Divines is a long read, but oh so worth it. The Emotion and slow burn romance had me locked in from the start. Matt and Gabriel were perfect additions to Terah’s journey, and the themes of trauma and identity were perfect. A powerful, unforgettable start to the trilogy I can’t wait for book two!
I received an advanced copy of this book all thoughts are my own and shared voluntarily.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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