Oh man, I want the second book like now!! I really like the slow character progression and the ending had me on the edge of my seat! I also love the way the magic and mythology are woven through the story. well done and I'm eagerly awaiting book 2!

4.5 stars, rated up

* After reading (and loving) an advance of this story in October ‘22, I recently received the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, and listened as I again took in this exquisitely told tale. Both narrators’ performances are excellent and elevate the story.

So finely written, this YA novel is full of gorgeously atmospheric magic and seems inspired by Studio Ghibli films - it’s chock full of adventure, magic, and romance. A beautiful romance and story of hope in the time of war. This has a vintage feel, in the best of ways.

I loved this story; Iris and Roman were everything, the slow burning tension between them was amazing, in spite of Iris’s very obvious low self esteem.

It began and remained, in a word, captivating but it ended on with a real brute of a cliffhanger 😣 and I really want to read more of this now.


I’m definitely going to read more of Ms. Ross’s work.


(TW - off page death of younger sibling, off page death of mother - body identified, scenes of war and mass casualties)

When Iris' brother goes off to war in a war between two rival gods, she heads to the war front as a war correspondent to track down why she hasn't heard from him. The war between the gods was an enjoyable storyline but the poor romance plot line kind of killed this book for me. It unfortunately brought down an otherwise compelling and interesting read with a slog of correspondence and drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!

4.5-4.75 Stars

My first thought after finishing this novel was, WTF just happened... I need some time to think and collect myself.

My second thought was, I need the next novel now!

I went in blind and I'm glad I did. I didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen. This novel started off as a typical enemies-to-lovers. Iris and Roman are competing for the same columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette. Reminded me a little bit of <i>The Hating Game</i>. But then things shifted halfway through and it became almost like a WWI historical fiction. Things got dark and tense fast. My only complaint would be the world-building. Things weren't as clear as they could be and I wanted to see more of this world the author has created. Hopefully, we will get to see that in the second novel.

Overall, I highly recommend!


***I would like to thank NetGalley, Rebecca Ross (the author), and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

**4.5 Stars (Rounded to 5)***

Overall,
I was honestly shocked how much I truly enjoyed this book. I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately, having a difficult time getting in to any one story. When I decided to give this a try it I had zero expectations and was so pleasantly surprised. Iris our heroine is different than most of the popular YA Fantasy novels today. Most of them are strong fighters and the best at everything or the chosen one. Iris is just a journalist who eventually becomes a war correspondent. Rebecca Ross definitely took inspiration from WWI but without it being heavy handed. I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I will say there is a nice dose of enemies to lovers romance in here with out taking away from the plot.

Narration,
This book was dual narrated by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk. If you are an audiobook person I would recommend this book. They did a great job using their voices to express the emotion of the two characters. There voices were pleasant to listen to and i would definitely listen to something else they narrated again. I hope they come back for the second book.

Cover,
I am not a big fan of this cover because it definitely did not grip me immediately. Now having read the story and looking at it again, I see all of the symbolism which I do like. However, if we are talking solely about shelf appeal this doesn't do much for me.

Recommendation,
Yes, Absolutely! I do not know how I am going to wait until next year to get my grubby little hands on the sequel to this book. This is a YA Fantasy with a side of Romance. I would say its more on the upper scale of YA maybe even teetering on NA since the themes are a bit dark. Also check out the trigger warnings. There is nothing too descriptive but this is a book about war so you can imagine there is some violence/aftermath of violence.

***I received an ARC of this audiobook from Netgalley, Macmillan Audio in exchange for my free and honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early #DivineRivals #NetGalley ***

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the copy of this ARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

“I am coming to love him, in two different ways. Face to face, and word to word.”

Rebecca Ross is the queen of fantastical, beautiful, lyrical writing. This book is no different: her talent shines in this story about two rival journalists who are also sending secret letters to each other through magical wardrobes. This book starts off on the slower side but really picks up in both action and romance as Iris and Roman head to the warfront. I could’ve used more world-building instead of newspaper talk at the beginning of the book: I think it would’ve kept the pace a little more even and also let me understand what was happening in the war a little better in the second half of the book. But THAT ENDING. What a cliffhanger. I need book two.

A war between gods, two rival journalists, two magic typewriters that brings their letters to each other (anonymously), and with each letter they fall more in love with each other.

This was a stunning new fantasy story by Rebecca Ross. I knew as soon as I read the summary that this would be an enchanting tale and I wasn’t wrong.

We have enemies to lovers, the found family trope, and a war against good and evil. I really liked the world building in this one as it was easy to follow and the interwoven myths of the gods at war made this a captivating tale.

The story opens up in a normal real world setting, one unlike what we all live in, with two journalists fighting for the same promotion. Iris and Roman are both stellar writers, and come from vastly different backgrounds.. Her brother is off in the war fighting and when she doesn’t receive any letters from him she begins writing her own letters, knowing they won’t reach him, with a typewriter from her grandmother. However, little does she know this typewriter is magical and is bringing her letters directly to Roman.

Off we go on this enemies to lovers tale where Roman is falling for his nemesis, and anonymously writing back to her.

I loved the slow burn romance in this fantasy and that even though the romance was obviously a focal point, the actual fantasy elements of the war did not take a back seat and it moved at a great pace.

Equal parts fantasy and romance, this book really exceeded my expectations. My only criticisms is that I did not love Iris, I found her to be quite meek and depressing, but she is also brave and did come to her senses a few times. I also felt that this book may have moved a little too fast, I wanted more build up between the two characters and more time watching their love blossom, but this is a YA fantasy which I’m sure played a lot into that. This is also, of course, closed door.

All in all, if you are interested in a charming yet haunting tale of two star crossed lovers during a time of war who fall in love by sharing their words with each other; then this is the fantasy novel for you.

Lastly, if you enjoy audiobooks definitely get this one! We have dual POVs and dual narrators and not only was the audiobook easy to follow, but the accents of the narrators also made me swoon. They have such lovely voices and I enjoyed listening to this very much.

📆 This publishes on April 4, 2023 so mark your calendars!

Thank you so much NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Rebecca Ross, and MacMillan audio - MacMillan Young Listeners for this ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will forever read anything Rebecca Ross writes.

Short Synopsis:
Iris and Roman work together at the newspaper. They are both competing for a promotion. All while there is a war with the gods and magical typewriters.

Thoughts:
After Ross’ A River Enchanted duology quickly became a favorite fantasy read, I had high expectations for this one. Divine Rivals started off slow for me, but it quickly picked up. The enemies-to-lovers romance was sweet. The magic was beautiful. And the war was heartbreaking. I really enjoyed this one, and will be impatiently waiting for book two of this duology.

If you’re a fan of YA fantasy, you’ll definitely want to read this one!

Mother Effing S. O. B. ARE YOU SERIOUS! How in the good Lord's name am I supposed to wait for the next one? SERIOUSLY! UGHHHHHHH

I absolutely loved this book! Enemies to lovers? Rivals to Lovers? Whatever you want to call it, I'm here for it! Magical typewriters? A God war? A story where the H and h aren't soldiers or warriors but rather journalists? What else should I need to say? Nothing, just add this to your TBR list for April 2023 when it releases and make it a priority, you will not be sorry.

***Goodreads Review contains spoilers***

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5181668103

#DivineRivals #IrisAtTheFrontBook1 #RebeccaRossAuthor
#NetGalley #MacmillanAudio #ARC2023 #ReleaseApril2023
#RivalsToLovers #WhyDidSheLetGo #HowCouldSheLetGo
#ForrestIsOnMyShitList #YAFantasy #YAFantasyRomance

I’ve decided that historical fantasy’s are my go to sub genre for fantasy after reading this book… it would be the perfect book for dipping your toes into the fantasy/magical realism genre. It gave off more HF but with the cliffhanger it seems Book two may dwell more into fantasy. I was rooting for Iris and Roman from the start. I loved the tension between the two it kept giving me The Hating Game vibes but make it Historical haha I can’t wait to see where this story goes in book two.

Iris’s brother is at war for the gods, so Iris writes him letters and puts them in her wardrobe. But she’s surprised when they start to disappear everyday. Are they magically being sent to her brother… or to her work rival at the local newspaper?

Iris is Roman’s rival, so when he receives her first letter on his bedroom floor, he throws it away. But the more she writes, the more he’s drawn to her.

Rebecca Ross has weaved an intricate fantastical story of love and war, and all is not fair for her main characters. The perspectives switch between Iris and Roman so readers can understand both sides, and the narration of the audiobook switches as well. The two narrators are perfect and they read with such emotion that readers have no choice but to be swept up in the story!

This book has a lot going on - a war between gods, work place rivalry, an arranged marriage, secret letters, a missing brother, found family, and journalists on the front lines of war.

There was so much going on that the book did not spend enough time on each of the elements. The gods who sparked the war were pretty under-explained, the devotion Iris has for her brother is also unclear, the magic system is hardly referenced, and the reasons why Iris would be attracted to Kit are vague.

I’m not sure if this was a romance book or not, although it probably would’ve been better if the romance aspect played a smaller part in the book.

I wanted more of Iris’s story with less of the elements that were not necessary to the story.

This is my second time reading/listening to Divine Rivals. As soon as I saw the audiobook was available, I had to request it. This is the book that made Rebecca Ross my new favorite author, it’s the best thing I’ve read this year. I am obsessed. And I am very pleased to say that the dual narration does it justice. Perfection. Literally trying to make everyone I know read this book!

Here’s my review from the ebook:
This book is exactly why I love to read. Rebecca Ross has conjured such real characters, and her beautiful writing drew me in from the start.

Divine Rivals is like a book out of time. Mixing the mid-twentieth century with lore, it feels truly magical to read. Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt work at the same newspaper and are quite literally each other’s competition and rivals. They come from two different walks of life, but are drawn together by higher forces when the letters Iris writes to her soldier brother somehow end up in Roman’s hands. One day, Roman decides to respond and thus my absolute favorite trope: anonymous penpals, is born.

I could not put this book down. It has consumed me. For the first time ever, I’m sad to have read this early, because now I have to wait even longer for the second book. I will be thinking of Roman and Iris every day until then..

I found the narrative of this story to work well for the tone and atmosphere of the novel. Grim, dark, and uberly delicious.