The Fake Divination Offense: A Magic & Romance Novel

Magic and Romance #2

by Sara Raasch

Sports romance gets a Dungeons & Dragons makeover with the next book in the Magic and Romance series that follows half-giant Orok, forced into a PR relationship with a feisty, fan-favorite cheerleader.

Orok star defensive tank on the Philadelphia Hellhounds rawball team. Half-giant. Patron Urzoth, god of strength . . . only Orok’s tired of being tied to a god known for aggression. So (don’t tell his mother) he’s planning on renouncing Urzoth.

Until the cult of Galaxrien, Urzoth’s sworn enemy, ends up causing a lot of damage through their ill-advised attempts to summon him, and the followers of both deities find themselves blamed for the long-standing feud and its ramifications.

Alexo cheerleading intern with the Hellhounds. Smells like apples, which Orok only knows because he picked Alexo up. Accidentally—Orok publicly saves Alexo from a bar fight, and fans go feral for the muscly pro athlete being protective of the pint size dude-in-distress.

That’s enough to have the Hellhounds and Urzoth’s church both coming to them with a Orok and Alexo will start a PR relationship to put a positive spin on Urzoth. Orok is all set to refuse—and finally separate from Urzoth—when the team offers Alexo a starting spot on the cheerleading squad to play up the star athlete and cheerleader optics. It’s such an obvious dream come true for Alexo that Orok finds himself agreeing to the arrangement like the sap he is.

He can keep living a lie for a bit longer. But Orok starts to wonder if they can drop the fake part of this fake-relationship…

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Queer, LGBT, M M Romance, Adult, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Expected publication May 19, 2026

About the author

Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, the first in a trilogy, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray. It does not feature her hand-drawn pictures.

Reviews

[Ali L]

oof (bad oof)

[Seri ❤]

Yeahhh no. Dnf at 30%.
I’m genuinely disappointed because I LOVED book 1 in this series! But tell me why Orok (the MC) was so obsessed with a man that he never so much as had a proper conversation with—even 30% of the way in!! Also, why is he so damn angry??

I was hoping for a cute fake-dating sports romance with plenty of spice. Instead, the MC, Orok, keeps giving me the ick. Their fake relationship makes ZERO sense. Also, the fake dating “dates” haven’t even happened on the page for the readers but were mentioned in passing?? Wtf!? The MC himself reads as a repetitive, angry person. He growls and acts closed off but internally whines all through the first third of this book.

Why he feels a sense of ownership toward Alexo, I have absolutely no clue. These two DON’T EVEN SPEAK. I can’t tell you a single thing about Alexo (the MMC) other than that Orok ogled him in a slimy way that made my nose wrinkle when he was in his booty shorts cheerleading uniform. 😑

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio. What a shame because I really was looking forward to loving this, but it’s a no from me, dawg.

━━━━ ⊱⋆⊰ ━━━━

Book 1's review here:
The Entanglement of Rival Wizards

[Samantha (ladybug.books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again very cute, very sweet, very sexy. Some parts of the story started to feel a little bit too over the top as it went on. But overall this is exactly what I wanted: a funny, entertaining fantasy romcom. I do prefer the first book but only because it’s a set up/relationship dynamic that’s I prefer.

Full review to come closer to release date (because apparently I only read my ARCs super early or super late)

[reverie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m… devastated. I hate reviewing ARCs so poorly. This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026. Orok getting his own book was supposed to be AMAZING, not… whatever happened here.

I think I started grimacing 7% of the way in, and never stopped. It never got better, just got a whoooole lot worse. I don’t even know what could have saved this book aside from a full rewrite. Something where the mc isn’t literally growling and repeating his italicized “mine” over and over just 10% into the book. The characters are so flat it was embarrassing to read. The love interest’s story felt VERY cheaply reminiscent of another book/character, but failed to deliver any of the emotional weight it needed. Everything was just a mess. I’m a mess. I set everything aside to read this and it was so bad I don’t even know if I can follow it up with anything else. Sara Raasch is (was?) an auto-read author for me but if I’d read this before any others, I don’t think I’d ever pick up another of her books.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)]

Gay sports romance but make it fantasy! This was a fun, often frothy gay romance set in a magical world with a very protective and somewhat possessive athlete and the cute cheerleader he falls head over heels for. This has some ties to book 1 in the series and gets into some of the trauma both characters have in their past. Their relationship begins as a PR stunt but quickly turns real. It's sexy, sometimes silly, but also heartfelt. The audio narration is great! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[Ally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sara Raasch I fear you've lost me with this one. I unfortunately have no idea what this book was trying to be. It's a sports romance where hardly any sports actually happen. The stakes are way too high for this to be a typical rom com (with the whole demonic human sacrifice cult subplot) but also every problem was so easily solved or glossed over that you can't really call this action/thriller either.

We spent a decent portion of the book building up some future face-off between Orok and his former teammates in the playoffs. But then that team didn't even make the playoffs. A random team never mentioned before does. Okay, we'll just leave that unresolved. Surely, though, there will be some consequences for Orok being late to the playoffs for plot reasons, right? No! They actually won off-page! Life is good. Okay, but you may ask: Orok spends most of the book agonizing over leaving his religion. Surely there's some satisfying tension and resolution followed by catharsis with this major part of his character, correct? That's generally how storytelling works, yes? Nah, he just said no more god and his overzealous religious parents were immediately and uncharacteristically okay with it. What is the point!!!!!

Two stars for these issues alone. Other personal gripes I had that don't impact my rating but that I want to bring up:

1. I hated Orok and Bel together. What in the TikTok billionaire boyfriend was this? This is the closest an author can come to reinventing the omegaverse without impregnating someone.

2. The karaoke. God!!!!! Stop singing!!!! You're telling me young gay people in 2026 unironically sang Journey, Taylor Swift, and a heartfelt duet of My Heart Will Go On? Be so incredibly serious with me I know there's a deeply heterosexual millennial under that Scooby Doo cartoon villain mask you CANNOT do this to me.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars
(I rounded it up, though)

Thank you to TOR/Bramble for allowing me to read this book so far in advance in trade for an honest review.

I have to be honest and say that this is, regretably, my least favorite of her adult books so far. I found the discussion of religious deconstruction rather interesting, but it fundamentally gets lost behind a lot of the bells and whistles of the story for me. It was just a little bit all over the place if I am being transparent. I think it tried to tackle just a little bit too much for a "rom-com".

I will also be honest and share that this particular flavor of...erm... sexual dynamics isn't one that I am a fan of personally. That doesn't make it BAD, it just makes it to where it wasn't for me and made a lot of the book somewhat hard to get through. Just not my preferred dynamic. If you're into what's going on here, you'll probably love it. I am just not big on the whole "possessive manly man protects small feminine twink/size difference" thing.

Also, she definitely explains what Rawball is and how it works, but I still absolutely have no clue. I tried my best, okay? I just don't think I am meant to understand sports, fantasy or not. I thought I had a chance at it due to my understanding of D&D... but I've got nothing. Maybe one day I will get it.

Overall, it was mostly enjoyable. There are some AMAZING jokes in this and I enjoyed the cameos from Seb and Thio a ton!

[Tori Baz · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, thank you to Tor and Bramble for the opportunity to read this book so early 🥹 This was perfection.

Osric deserves literally everything good in this world, and it was so powerful to be able to experience all of his emotions, insecurities, and hesitation from his POV. He is a character that exudes strength, and it was such a juxtaposition to hear what is happening in his brain. It also made me think about how people can perceive interactions, due to insecurities and the way people think they’re coming across vs. how they actually come across.

I truly loved the way she portrayed religion in this one. As someone who has my fair share of religious trauma for growing up in a church, I think she really nailed how much guilt you can have surrounding just wanting to follow your own way and move forward. But also having to appear a certain way for reasons that aren’t necessarily right.

ALSO. The way she got into the actual fundamentals of Rawball was a masterpiece. I can really tell that this was FUN for the author to write, because it was incredible to read. Boooo Chimeras!!!

Thank you again! This was incredible.

[anna b · Rating 3 out of 5]

the longest sigh in the world. okay, I think four books is enough, that's enough Sara Raasch for me.

when you think about how in the first Christmas Prince book, she wouldn't even say the word dick during the sex scenes, and how we've come (hehehe) so far, though? inspirational. growth. love to see it.

"Just a pile of rocks on the stage while the instrumentals for 'Sweet Caroline' play on" made me laugh aloud pretty hard.

[suonnahbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC from Macmillan audio
Release: May 19th 2026
Omg this was such a fun, kinky and hilarious MM romance with dashes of fantasy. I ate this up ! love my Beauty and Beast duo they were so hot together 🤪❤️‍🔥📚

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Ri]

One of the MMCs is a cheerleader? Omg yes!

[Noi (in & out)]

yes.

[Mylynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soft DNF at 48%, solely due to the narrator. I listen to so many audiobooks and rarely run into this but this narrator is doing too much and it makes it really hard to connect with the story. The first spicy scene made me uncomfortable with some of the choices the narrator made-- I really wanna know what happens though so I'll have to eyeball read this when it comes out.

I also want to add that the way the narrator does characters from the previous book (mainly Seb) feels so far from the Seb of The Entanglement of Rival Wizards' audiobook that it really annoyed me because I loved that book.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

[Allison E]

Unfortunately this second installment of this series really didn’t work for me. I caught myself mostly skimming, so soft dnfing for now.

The first book was so fun and freaking hilarious? I feel like I’m doubting my entire experience of book 1 now bc this felt too saccharine and from what I read, not nearly as funny. The romance was also very insta adoration. Probably because the MMC is working through some things but it just wasn’t compelling to me. The whole set up of book 1 was also much angstier. The meet cute here is though karaoke… I got le ick. :(

This was a bummer, highly anticipated one for me.

[Chloe]

This was an absolute blast to read.

[Christiana Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of this author you will love this title too. Just go ahead and pre-order it.

If you are an audiobook listener, even better. Scorching love scenes, sweet damaged babies too scared to admit they’re in love, and the signature wit of Sara Raasch. The narrator also did a great job of making each character have their own voice and given there are monsters in this book it was quite the feat, and also very very entertaining.

It was everything I wanted and more.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

my chest hurts i loved this so much

review:

Thank you to Bramble for the advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.

I knew Orok’s book was going to wreck me and it suuuure did! I was in love with this gentle giant in Seb’s book and I had been so curious on where he was in his journey in regards to their shared trauma.

He exudes strength and masculinity but he has worked so hard on himself to not use his size and stature to threaten or push people around like people expect him to. There was also such an interesting take on religion and how the guilt from separating yourself from what you’ve always known can manifest and affect us in our daily lives as adults.

I am OBSESSED with the dynamic between Alexo and Orok and particularly Alexo’s background. There’s so much to him and I loved how these two are just so so so down for each other and protecting each other from the world around them.

Also this sports world, despite it being a fantasy sport, was really fun to read! I have no idea how this game works but I wish I could go to a Hellhounds game. The team becoming Orok’s found family gave me the warm and fuzzies.

I devoured this in a day and I’m sure others will too. This duology is fantastic and I already can’t wait for Sara’s next one.

[Jessica Porche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely my least fav of her books I’ve read so far. But I was SO relieved to read a romance with no “enemies to lovers” plot. Still an auto-buy/read author for me!

[Hailey Petersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very sad to say that this book just did not land for me. I absolutely loved book 1, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026, but it fell completely flat for me.

I personally could not stand Oroks inner monologue. It was cringey, repetitive and hard to follow. The story felt way too heavy and out of pocket. I genuinely can’t believe this is the sequel to Rival Wizards, the tone and the writing just felt soooo different. Sad to say this just gave me the ick.

[Michelle Easton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss for the early access to this book! I love Raasch’s recent slew of MM romances, and this did not disappoint!

In the follow up to The Entanglement of Rival Wizards we follow Orok, a half-giant professional raw ball player as he is forced to enter a PR relationship with one of the team’s cheerleaders, Alexo. But of course nothing is as it seems from the very beginning.

As the story progresses we see the pair develop genuine feelings for one another, as they deal with the secrets that could make or break the both of them.

Orok and Alexo are a perfect sequel to Sebastian and Thio from The Entanglement of Rival Wizards. It’s always lovely to see characters from past books popping up into the new story in the same universe, and that’s something that Raasch excels at.

Please, please, please go pick this up when it comes out, you won’t be disappointed!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A worthy sequel to The Entanglement of Rival Wizards. Orok is reeling from big changes in his life: the end of a successful lawsuit against the teen military camp that nearly destroyed him and his best friend, Seb, and moving back to play professional rawball for the Philadelphia Hellhounds, putting him closer to friends he’s been avoiding. His night of celebration goes viral when he steps in to defend gorgeous Hellhounds cheerleader, Alexo, from an aggressor. Suddenly he’s in a PR relationship while trying not to become overwhelmed by his possessive feelings toward this spirited but troubled man.

Sara Raasch addiction is real, and I’ve got it bad.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

------4.5 ⭐️------

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!
____

The Fake Divination Offense, starring Orok (the biggest pookie alive) and bright, sparkly Alexo, was exactly what I needed. It gave me everything I hoped ‘Tough Guy’ would deliver, but way way better.

What I love most about these books is how open and tender all of the relationships between the main characters are. There's no internalized (or outward) homophobia or misogyny, and the conversations (specifically between Seb--my beloved--and Orok--my other beloved--are as honest and vulnerable as they come.

I loved that this book took the time to explore Orok's side of the trauma that he and Seb endured together. I loved that the pain that he went through wasn't the focal point of his story, but context to his actions and his mindset. (Hey Orok! You are! The BPD posterchild!)

One thing that I seek more and more is queer stories where suffering isn't the plot, nor is it the endgame. Sometimes we just want a cozy, low(ER) stakes story that doesn't spike your cortisol every time you open the book, and this was that for me.

I will say, the "twists" in this book felt incredibly predictable to me, but not in such a way that it ruined the story for me--just pattern recognition, I think.

I also think this book could use another sweep from an editor, as I noticed some minor typos in there (but we are human! And typos are sneaky bastards), and I don't know if it's just that I was reading it on my phone or what, but the formatting was a little funky to me as well.

Sara Raasch, you have done it again! Please keep writing things like these! They spark so much joy!!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

At this point, if Sara Raasch writes it, I’m reading it. I’ve loved every release since The Nightmare Before Kissmas, and naturally, I loved this one too. Orok was such an interesting side character when we met him in The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, so it was incredibly exciting to see him get his own book. Orok and Alexo are so perfect for one another, and I loved watching their relationship unfold. Their chemistry was so intense you could feel it coming off the page. I love how Raasch balances the incredible romance with heavier topics like the religious trauma Orok is recovering from. His development journey was inspiring to read. Also, Alexo is just an absolute delight, but Alexo is also battling issues with a surprise or two of his own. The audiobook narration is an enjoyable way to consume this story. Vikas Adam nailed this story. Orok and Alexo had distinctly different voices (along with the other characters) making the story easy to follow. There was also plenty of emotion and heart reflected in the performance that made you want to keep listening to the story. Simply put, don’t sleep on this series.

eARC courtesy of Bramble Romance
ALC courtesy of Macmillan Audio

[Ally Bateman · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading book one, I was excited to learn more about Orok and his story. Unfortunately, I felt like I still barely knew him by the end of the story, and it was all told from his POV. The reader knows about the abuse he survived and his dependence on being needed, so the author provided a tiny twink whose life is in danger to fill the gap.

There were some similarities to Rachel Reid’s “Tough Guy”, like how book one was very similar to “Love, Theoretically” by Ali Hazelwood. That wasn’t the issue, it was more in the pacing. The story should have been compelling, but was honestly quite boring. They don’t even try to come up with any kind of plan until the last 15% of the book.

I will say that the spice was creative and definitely hot. Orok and Bel have a lot of chemistry and when they unleash it, it’s electric. But on a more basic story telling note: what does Orok look like? What are the rules of Rawball? Why would Bel need to hide his pink skin when there are characters who are actual rocks? Some details were repeated so many times when other things just needed some basic explanations.

I think this story would have been better suited as a dual pov style narrative.

[Genny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am posting this review at two in the morning because I genuinely could not put this book down!! Sara Raasch's writing is engaging and humorous with characters that are easy to empathize with--and that alone makes for a great romance novel. But then she raises the stakes with magic, gods, and monsters. This book strikes just the right balance between romance and other aspects of the story. It's whimsical, sexy, funny, and heartwarming all at once.

Other things I loved about this book in no particular order: the detailed descriptions of Alexo's androgynous femme outfits, Orok using that pro athlete money to spoil his friends, and characters existing in a world where queer identities are a part of the norm and homophobia simply doesn't exist.

I would love to see more books in this setting/series!! Maybe some sapphic romance? I absolutely love the setting Sara Raasch has created and would love to see more books in this universe!!!

[Liz ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of The Fake Divination Offense!! I was sooooo excited for this one and almost cried when I got approved lol.

I absolutely adored these two! Orok, our giant MMC, was so severely down bad and I loved every second of it. Sara Raasch’s books are always such a fun escape from reality and this one was no exception. The banter, the romance, the tension… it all worked so well for me.

And the audio? Highly recommend. The narrators really brought the story and characters to life. Also… the spice?! Oof. Definitely had me blushing. Overall, this was such a fun, cozy, romantic fantasy and I had a great time with it!

[Amanda Hayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Edelweiss for the eARC. This was so so so good, Raasch is becoming one of my auto-buy authors I will read anything she writes. Divination feels like a natural continuation to Rival Wizards, but focuses on Orok instead of Seb.

Don't worry though cause we get Seb and Thio content sprinkled in too....

I don't typically read sports romance either, but this was just so good and the spice levels were 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ high spice! I loved the dynamics between Orok and Alexo, they were so cute 😍 and the story kept me guessing the whole time, especially regarding Alexo and his past.

5/5 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC of this book that dropped like 3 hours after I finished the 1st book in this series.
This was fake dating to real dating done to perfection. I loved the found family, the great platonic relationship between Seb and Orok, the theme of leaving religion when its no longer a positive in your life even in the face of immense parental pressure, and most of all seeing Orok and Bel find someone in each other who loves them for exactly who they are.

[Amber H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seb is one of my favorite side characters and I’m obsessed with the news anchors at the beginning of each chapter, breaking down the characters personals lives along with what’s going on in their world!

But Alexo and Orok love story is super cute! I love how protective Orok is over Alexo! This is my first time reading a Sara Raasch book and it was super fun!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really hope there are more books in this world! More Thio and Seb, more Bel and Orok, new characters? I don’t even care, I just need more! 😅 Sara is definitely becoming one of my favorite authors.