A gripping dark academia romantasy for readers who enjoy -
✨Captivating magic systems
✨Character redemption
✨Tasteful spice and intimacy
✨Strong found family feels
✨Gods, Goddesses, wielders, werewolves and vampires

⭑ Publication Date: 1st October 2026
⭑ Available In: Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover & Waterstones Exclusive Hardcover
⭑ Book 2, Killmarth Trials duology
⭑ Always remember to check content and trigger warnings before reading.


~ plot ~
Following the unexpected onset of the Great Hunt, Sophia and her friends find themselves facing a stark new reality. The cold ones have made themselves known and although unprepared, the scholars have no choice but to face and fight them. It’s a daily battle to remain in control of their territories and when the worst happens, the group are left facing a future that they cannot comprehend. Their only option? Find a missing component for an antidote, a possible cure. Can the Great Hunt be stopped? Can the cold ones be defeated? God/Goddess knows… literally.


~ review ~
The Divines is a fast paced atmospheric, captivating romantasy that delivers magic, mayhem and mystery. It’s beautifully written, engaging, immersive and a fantastic end to the Killmarth Trials duology.

This story may pick up where The Ordeals left off but it takes you down quite a different path. While I don’t really recall the Gods and Goddesses being mentioned much in The Ordeals, they play a pivotal role in this book and I found them to be a brilliant addition. I did at times have to read certain sections/stories a few times to fully digest and understand what they meant for the here and now but that really didn’t bother me! Overall, I really enjoyed the path the story took and all of the history, lore, drama and chaos the Gods and Goddesses brought to it. ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’, never a truer word spoken!

Something I love about Rachel Greenlaw’s writing and world building is how intense, vivid, detailed and descriptive it is. It engulfs and envelopes you, drawing you in from start to end. She paints beautifully bold images of characters, settings and events that slowly materialise before your eyes. You feel like you’re right there in the middle of things, jumping through portals, meeting in Darley Hall at the dead of night and fighting alongside the team in the Great Hunt. I laughed, cried, feared and cheered both with and for them and I genuinely enjoyed every single second.


~ characters ~
I had to pause my reading TWICE to message Rachel about character thoughts because let me tell you, this book is a journey! Tessa had me scared half to death and I spent half of the book praying for Alden. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!

Rachel introduces us to some brilliant new characters, two of my favourites being Andry the Crown Prince, the type of character you love to hate. Sarcastic, humorous and able to lighten even the tensest of moods. And Amaria, a strong willed, hugely talented botanist who gives it back as good as she gets. Although fleeting, her connection with a certain someone is one of my favourite parts of the book. Their interactions never failed to put a smile on my face and I would’ve loved to have seen more of them.

In terms of returning characters, one in particular caught me totally off guard because the Ezra Darley of The Divines is essentially a brand new character too. There’s so much more to him than what we know from book one. A complex man with secrets and layers who’s determined to stop history repeating itself. When he cares, he cares deeply and when he loves, he loves hard. Without giving too much away, the growth in him individually and in his relationship with Sophia is profound. If you’d have told me after The Ordeals that I’d end up shedding tears over ‘The Collector’ I’d have laughed but boy did I! His character arc is a true testament to the strength of Rachel Greenlaw’s writing.

And last but by no means least, Sophia and Alden. These two were exactly as I remembered them - powerful, deeply connected, totally in love and unable to keep their hands off each other. Their intimate moments are beautifully written, soft and sweet but still able to raise your heart rate. I did however find myself wanting to see more of their playful banter and power dynamic. Don’t get me wrong it was definitely there but the majority of their interactions seemed to focus more on the physical side of things. That’s not me knocking the spice because seriously it was chef’s kiss💋 - I just really, really love every aspect of their relationship!


~ final thoughts ~
In case it isn’t obvious, I loved this book and I’m counting down the days until 1st October when I can add the beautiful Waterstones edition to my shelf✨
Rachel, thank you for sharing Sophia and Alden with the world. Thank you for being so warm, open and kind. For taking the time to reply to every single message I’ve sent these last few months no matter how wordy or jumbled. I’m sad to see the end of this chapter but very excited to see what comes next.
I’ve recommended The Ordeals to anyone and everyone and that’s exactly what I’m going to do with The Divines too! PLUS, it’s not out until October so if you haven’t already, that gives you plenty of time to read book one first ✅

Thank you so much to Emma and everyone at HQ, NetGalley and the wonderful Rachel Greenlaw for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC, one of my most anticipated reads of 2026! This is my honest opinion and I’m sharing it voluntarily❣️

well this didn’t disappoint, after reading the first book i could not wait for this one to come out.. it’s has everything you want in a supernatural story. magic and intrigue, loss and love. it reminds me of the early books by cassandra claire, it had me hooked and i can’t wait to see what the author writes next (also this is pretty spicy!)

The divines review
This how you do a 2nd book, it was a book that had me hooked from start to finish, dark academic and romantasy elements and friendship and spicy romance what more can you want.

I got an arc e book for this book from @netgalley, from HQ.
I want to say a huge thank you to HQ for letting me read this e book arc, it was so special that I got to read my first arc, and it being one of my anticipated reads of this year being published on 1st October and I got to read it early in September🤭.
Reading the divines Alden is one of my top book boyfriend for me 🤭he is such a green flag.

Book 2 carried on from the events of that tragic incident from book 1 and immediately shown the aftermath of it and carried on with the transition Sophie’s and Alden and the others characters done , such as sophia and Tessa and other side character had to deal with grief that happened in book1, and any continued chaos and tragic events occurred in book 2.

It was interesting to see the transition Sophia and Alden other characters had to go through from competing for a place for killmarth academy to actually becoming scholars at the academy and have more responsibility and offer assistance by going on missions to help fight the cold ones (vampires I am assuming).

Again I loved the relationship and dynamic of Alden and Sophia, they are so well matched and made a lot of sense together. From seeing them both how they met in book 1 where they both were into each other in the first meeting has had a lot of chemistry, to now seeing them how they are now like now a proper couple in the academy together.
They are so cute together and I loved their scenes of how understanding supportive they are of each other.

Along 30-40% of the books Sophia and Alden and the other characters, go into doing the mission that becomes high stakes and alot of drama which I liked and alot of mystery to uncover like more truths and things starting to be put together like a puzzle.

It was nice to see how Sophia and Alden and the other characters used their magic ability in those high stakes suitation throughout this book.

After 60-70% till the end of the book really got good with the mysteries being uncovered and mysterious gods being involved in the mystery of trying to defeat the cold ones once and for all.

I did feel this author really did the elevate the experience of really making sure, a lot of things that were uncovered in book one were carried on or progressed into book 2 quite seamlessly where it was easy to follow the story direction such as; the collector, other side characters we got to know more in detail and potentially new characters being added into the story, adding major romantasy elements which were surprising and nice to see because this book series is expected to be just dark academia and magical academy .

Overall I found the divines amazing and I felt the author made book 2 better then book 1 for sure because it kept get better and better as we went through the book, and I felt author concluded this duology in the best possible way.