“Divine Rivals” by Rebecca Ross
Many of you probably can’t wait to get into this romantic story, and when I say romantic, I mean a tender and beautiful love almost like something out of a fairy tale, which I haven’t come across before.
Book Review: “Divine Rivals”
- Author: Rebecca Ross
- Series: Letters of enchantment
- 432 pages, Hardcover
- First published December 26, 2023
The plot of “Divine Rivals”
The plot of the book follows two young journalists, Iris and Roman, who are vying for a promotion to columnist at the town’s newspaper, the Oath Gazette. The story takes place during a war between the gods, who are using the human population as an army, and Iris’s brother is sent to the front line himself. The rivalry between Iris and Roman gradually takes a turn when the two begin exchanging letters via a magical typewriter.
This book can be described as an emotional tornado, it makes you feel very strong and conflicting emotions and throws you off track at the most inopportune times. I started reading the book with no particular expectations and was pleasantly surprised at how differently and compellingly love is portrayed. It manages to touch every part of your soul and make you experience every emotion along with the characters. So much to praise. Although the author’s writing style has been described as good, I personally found the descriptions of the setting itself lacking. It was never quite clear who these gods were and what exactly they were fighting for. There are many contradictory moments in the world building and overall I felt that the author went a little overboard with the story.
The letters that Iris and Roman exchange are definitely the best part of the whole book. The two grew up very differently: Roman in a wealthy family and Iris, who had to work to support her mother. Despite their differences, writing is their passion and brings them together in an unexpected way.
My review of “Divine Rivals”
I can’t say it’s the best book I’ve read this year, but it’s definitely top of the charts. The characters are well fleshed out, it’s easy to empathize with their feelings. The novel remains endlessly romantic and charming, it won a part of my heart and will stay there for a long time.
I’ll definitely give the second book a chance and hope to get more clarity about the world and the warring gods.
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish―into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
Shadow and Bone meets Lore in this epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.
