This was a really fun story to follow! I enjoyed the characters, the world, and the plot. It kept my attention from beginning to end. I definitely felt myself become more immersed and curious about the story the more I kept reading.

Iris and Kit were wonderful characters to follow along to. I loved the idea do the typewriters and how they can send letters back and forth to each other. It reminded me of an email, but in a way cooler way!

Overall, the story is good so far. It developed at a good pace and keeps you wondering what’s next. I’m super excited to see where it goes from here!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

Rebecca Ross is, in my humble opinion, criminally underrated. Her works are woven with such character development, rich storytelling, and wonderful writing that I often find myself consuming her books in one or two sittings and not even knowing where the time has gone.

Iris and Roman capture such a wonderful dynamic and truly feel like RIVALS not just apathetic beings who eventually catch feelings. There is competition. There's drive. Their romance is just as important as their personal goals and it shows in every action. They compliment each other as characters so well and in a way I feel is rarely done with such perfection.

I feel it's a crime to spoil the plot in any capacity. The way this story unfolds against a war-time backdrop makes these characters feel like splashes of colourful paint against a sepia photo. There is something cozy about it, like stepping through time. It's utterly enchanting, all while told over a simple newpaper that becomes so, so much more.

Rebecca Ross is an author to keep an eye on, and Divine Rivals is a strong contender for my top ten YA books of all time. Five stars, without a doubt.

4.5 stars
I… do not know how to review this book. I feel like I shouldn’t have liked it… but I really, really did!
I am pretty particular on the types of books I enjoy. For a fantasy to work for me, it has to be pretty fast-paced and have a distinct, driven plot. This book was slooooow and I’m not sure there was a super cohesive plot, at least not one that I can distinctly pinpoint. And yet I was so invested in this book. It took me a while to read, compared to how long a book this length usually would, <i>but</i> I was never bored. I always wanted to keep reading.
The romance, similarly, felt like it shouldn’t work, but it did. I felt like there shouldn’t have been enough time and on page interactions between the characters to make their emotions convincing and natural, and yet I was fully convinced. I was so swept up in their banter, swooning right alongside Iris when the vibes between them turned romantic.
I honestly can’t pinpoint what it is that made this book work for me—because based on my usual tastes, it shouldn’t have—but I think it must have been something about the writing. The narration was a little flowery, but in a way I found beautiful to read, not purple. I also think that Rebecca Ross is a master of emotions. The emotions in this book captivated me. I felt everything that Iris and Roman felt, and I think that was the driving force in this book, what kept me engaged. That’s not to say this is an overly emotional book. It’s not traumatizing to the reader; it never felt like events were happening just to evoke emotions in you. This book takes place during a war, so of course hard things happen, the characters undergo trauma and experience heartwrenching things, but it always felt true to the story and the world, and it always felt like it was handled tastefully, not exploited.
This book was just really good. I want to read more by Ross, and I’m kind of heartbroken that I have to wait an entire year to read more about Iris and Roman.

I had so many emotions while reading this, it is hard to put into words for a review. I really can't express how much I loved this book, I knew I would like it but it really blew me away. It was the fastest book I had read in a while and I annotated so much which I also haven't done in a while. The story and characters were so well done. Iris and Roman felt so real. Their rivalry and then romance was so well done. I'm smiling while I type this because I just enjoyed their story so much. Rebecca Ross is definitely an auto-buy author for me now. Anyway the characters banter was hilarious and adorable. The magical world going through a war that felt very much like reading about WWI was so real. The magical typewriters was so cool, I wish they were real. Everything was just so fleshed out and done so well. I'm in awe. I'm in awe, I just love Divine Rivals so much. I feel like starting it over even though I finished it last night.

It's well-written and unique, and her writing style flows beautifully, a tale of magic with a story of war, that will keep you on the edge of your seat...Enemies to lovers romance, swoon-worthy.

thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

writers and gods. absolutely gorgeous and hopeful and generous writing, though i wish that roman's perspective had kept up in the back half. i loved it all the same, i cannot wait to read the next one

4.5 stars

Divine Rivals is a historical fantasy with a rivals to lovers romance between two journalists Iris Winnow and Roman C. Kitt. Iris' life changes when her brother goes to fight in the war that is brewing between a God and a Goddess. She then discovers that her typewriter is a magical typewriter and she is sending letters to another person, who ultimately is her rival Roman Kitt. This is a story about love, loss, war and magic.

This is the second book I have read by Rebecca Ross and I love her writing. This book is beautifully written and I really enjoyed it. I liked how the world building wasn't dumped on us in the beginning and we find more about the God and the Goddess throughout the book. I also really enjoyed the evolution of Iris' and Roman's relationship. I really enjoy the way Rebecca Ross writes romance and the way she just describes everything. Also the cliffhanger at the end. I need the second book! This a perfect book for anyone who enjoys a good magical fantasy with romance.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this arc!

Thank you publisher and Netgalley for the arc.

Divine Rivals is my first book by Rebecca Ross. Having seen the hype surrounding her books, I went in with certain expectations and came out agreeing with people on her books being fast- paced and her writing smooth. Finished in a single day and never once stalled on any point. With the characters being writers themselves, it showcased the love and appreciation for writing impeccably.

My major problem was the false advertisement. It's labelled 'enemies to lovers' in the synopsis and it's FAR from that. The better term would be rivals to lovers because they're fighting for the position of columnist, but even that lasts for a total of 10%. The minute they start exchanging letters, which is pretty early on, it stops there. Roman knows it's her from the jump while Iris is completely unaware her letters are being impercepted to Roman. She is pouring her heart out in the letters and he still acts like a jerk to her next day and keeps fighting his feelings for her. If you count that as enemies to lovers, then you'll be delighted. Me, I felt like I got scammed. I was never sold on Roman. He got better by the end but something just did not click. All that said, the romance was sweet and the letters were heart-warming. Wars are a tried and true setup for a bittersweet love story and bringing characters of all background together. The world building may have been non- existent but in the big picture, it didn't matter that much.

This book was everything I wanted and more.

First, Rebecca Ross is so good at creating worlds that feel authentic and lived in. I love how she mixed a WW1-type atmosphere with an intriguing mythology for her historical fantasy setting. Everything felt very cinematic, and her descriptions of both their lives in the city and their time at the front lines of the war are achingly familiar.

Iris and Roman's love story is so deeply romantic, and the rivals to lovers trope has a very satisfying development. The back and forth letter writing added such a fun element to their relationship, and I love that there is a little bit of magic involved.

Overall, this is just a beautiful story, dealing with war, love, family and so much more. The ending leaves you a little gutted, but that just means Book 2 is going to be even more amazing!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Age Level: Upper Young Adult
Content: war violence, one mild open-door scene

“I rarely share this part of my life with others, but I want to tell it to you now. A piece of armor, because I trust you. A glint of falling steel, because I feel safe with you.”

Divine Rivals is set in a world where centuries old gods have reawakened and are at a proxy war - by enthralling men to fight for them. Iris's brother is one such man and we open with him leaving to go join the fight. In present time, she's a reporter with a workplace rival Roman who are both fighting for a columnist position. She's still recieved no word from her brother and in a fit of desperation starts writing letters to him that she tucks into her closet.

In a form of rare magic, these letters are in fact sent out. Not to her brother, but to Roman who falls for her alongside her writing. When he starts writing back, they get closer and closer. But with the radio silence from her brother making her more antsy - she knows she must find the truth for herself, even at the risk of going to the front lines of the war itself.

I MEAN - MAGICALLY TYPEWRITERS? Cmon I'm obsessed. Don't be fooled by the rivals to lovers - roman is the world's biggest simp, he would truly die for Iris and I love to see it. I loved how this was set to the backdrop of the horrors of war - which Ross does not shy away from. While this is a fantasy book - it falls more heavily on the historical fiction atmosphere and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it.

The characters really make this story come alive and the atmosphere is such a good blend between love and the realities of war, it gives hardcore captain america vibes! The cliffhanger had me screaming - I need book 2 ASAP.

rep// side wlw

cw// death, alcoholism, PTSD, war, violence,

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

thank you so much to netgalley for giving me access to an arc! I will say I tried to read Rebecca’s other book but I couldn’t really get into it. However, the storytelling with this one was instantly gripping and I found it compelling. I really enjoyed this and will be recommending this to others!

Trigger warnings: war, violence, alcoholism, loss of a parent, PTSD, Sex (not explicit), mild profanity, and grief.

“I think we all wear armor. I think those who don't are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I've learned anything from those fools, it is that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are. Sometimes, I feel the same as you: I can't risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there's also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, 'You will miss so much by being guarded.’”

The gods have been asleep for centuries and now are awake and raining hell with war against one another. Iris' brother Forest, was chosen by the god, Enva to be a soldier for her army to take down the other god, Dacre. Forest promises he will write to her as he is away. Meanwhile, their mother drowns in the grief of Forrest being a soldier, which causes their mother to turn to alcohol and losing her job. The only good thing going on for Iris is that she is working at the Oath Gazette, but the only caveat to working there is that she is competing for the columnst position to the handsome and wealthy, Roman Kitt. Roman and Iris become enemies when she hears him talking rudely to others and how she is a high school dropout. As Iris types letters to Forrest, she places them into her wardrobe door since she has not heard from Forrest nor does she know where she needs to send them to. As Iris puts a letter in her wardrobe, Roman surprisingly gets Iris' letter, which ends up with both corresponding with one another and developing feelings, but Roman only knows he is talking to Iris, but Iris does not know it is Roman and believes she is corresponding with a person named Carver.

I remember in early 2018, Rebecca Ross released her debut: The Queen's Rising and I
was very excited to read it due to it sounding amazing, having an amazing cover, and it had deckled edges. I rated it 4 stars and am happy I read it from Feb. 27, 2018 - March 5, 2018 because a few weeks later my grandpa passed away, which made me struggle to read. I bought the sequel when it released in 2019 and I, uh have not read it yet... I read Dreams lie Beneath and Sisters of sword and Song on audio, then I own A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless, which I am planning to read this year.

I saw Divine Rivals on Netgalley and without hesitation I requested it and thankfully got approved. I got to say from 2018 when I read the Queen's Rising to now in 2023 with reading Divine Rivals, Rebecca's writing has gotten even more amazing with her lush and beautiful writing as well as how she weaves a story, which in 2018 I thought she was a really good writer.

Divine Rivals has instantly became one of my favorites of 2023 and all time.

A lot of the time I felt annoyance, happiness, hopefulness, sad, and angry.

Rebecca does a great job of writing a story in a grim setting-war. As parts can feel dark and depressing, Rebecca does a great job of exploring how to see and find the goodness in the dark and when everything feels lost and hopeless, there will always be light and hope.

In Divine Rivals, Iris feels like everything has been torn from her and she has nothing left in Oath, so she signs up for the rivals newspaper as a war correspondent in hopes of finding her brother on the frontline. When things start to sour for her in Oath and when she is away as a correspondant, the only light in her life is the correspondance with Carve (aka Roman, but she does not know it is him even though Roman knows he is corresponding with Iris).

For Roman, he has always been told how he will live his life, but as much as he dislikes Iris at first, the letters help him learn about her and see who she truly is and because of that, he starts to care about her and have feelings for her.

I love how they both start out as enemies, but once Roman goes after Iris, they become friendly with one another and that eventually grows into love.

Both Roman and Iris both grow from beginning to the end and a lot of it is because of meeting soldiers and personally seeing the war. The war is definitely a scary place with Dacre (the god) and his creatures.

Rebecca's writing is beautifully written and lush that instantly transport you into the story and makes you love every moment and hang on every word.

This book definietly left me feeling broken at the end and instantly wanting the sequel right now.

I highly, highly recommend this book!

This is the first Rebecca Ross title for me. The book has left me a little confused as to the overall story line and where it is headed now. The characters seem real, I have a clear picture of them in my mind. The story, not so much. I found myself skimming, trying to figure out where the characters were headed. I'm not sure this was a good choice for me.

I'm trying to put my thoughts and feelings about Devine Rivals down in a coherent way and all I can conjur is:
"Pain, agony, and anguish. I am unwell. Rebecca Ross has rent my heart utterly in two."

Perhaps I'm being a bit facetious here, but it's only because if I don't laugh a little at how deeply the ending of this book has wounded me, I'll only cry about it.

Iris and Roman start off as rival journalists/magically connected pen pals and evolve together into something so tender and beautiful in the worst place imaginable: the front lines of war. Their story gripped me from page one, and the way Ross teased out the relationship between these two was masterfully done. They were dissimilar enough to butt heads at first but not so awful to one another that their love story felt rushed or unbelievable. Every longing stare struck me in the chest, every hand hold felt utterly earned.

The early 20th century/WW1-inspired fantasy setting was also incredibly interesting. I really enjoyed that the technology and war tactics felt familiar, but avoiding a real world setting gave Ross a lot more freedom to tell her story. There are enchanted typewriters, men and women fighting together in the front lines, hellhounds and wyverns sowing destruction, and literal gods are the instigators of this war. Whatever sort of niche genre of heavily historically-inspired fantasy this story belongs to, I am a fan.

Every time I think I'm sort of over YA, a book like this comes along and shakes me by the shoulders. Genre conventions can get tired and tropey, yes, but there are such BEAUTIFUL stories still waiting to be told. My journey with Rebecca Ross began with her adult duology, The Elements of Cadence, so I was a little worried about the first YA book I picked up by her falling a little bit short. I should not have been. Ross' writing and characters are stunningly displayed in Divine Rivals, the relationships explored just as touching and, at times, utterly heart wrenching. I was completely enraptured by the story being told, and ended up reading it in mad haze of emotions in less than 24 hours.

Absolutely lovely and completely devastating. Somebody come wake me up from my depression nap when the sequel is out. 5/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Title: Divine Rivals
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again …

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands – that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper – an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

This started off a bit slow, but it got going quickly. I would have liked to know a bit more about the history of the culture/the gods and how things ended up quite they were with the war and everything going on, but the not-knowing didn’t detract much from the story. I loved the typewriters and their history! That part was really cool. I liked Iris and Roman a lot, and watching their enemies-to-friends-to-lovers journey was a grand adventure. I can’t wait to read more!

Rebecca Ross lives in Georgia. Divine Rivals is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)
(Blog link live 4/7).

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I own several of Rebecca Ross's books, I actually have not read a single one (reader problems....). A few friends in my bookstagram circle have recommended her books to me, so I decided to snag Divine Rivals and give it a go. This book was SO FUN!

Our protagonist, Iris Winnow, begins writing letters to a mysterious person who receives her letters and begins writing her back. Unbeknownst to Iris, her journalist rival Roman Kitt is the one she is conversing with. Thus begins an enemies to lovers tale in the middle of war that has started between two Divine Gods/Goddesses.
The light magic woven in in the first half of the book was so fun and I enjoyed every bit of it. My only criticism with the book is that the magic elements fade to black in the second half and I missed them! Besides that, I simply could not put this book down. Roman is such a swoon worthy love interest and watching their love story unfold was so heart achingly sweet. Iris was definitely going through some rough times in her life and eventually seeing the happiness and tenderness she was allowed was so gratifying.
There are several side characters as Iris ships off to be a correspondent for the war and they were all so likeable, yet added different personalities and qualities for Iris to play off of.
The spice of this book is very mild and appropriate for a YA and the YA genre, nothing explicit but a little more than a "behind closed door" scene.

It should be noted that this book ends on a cliffhanger, and it is a FANTASTIC one. I am quite sad that I have to wait a whole year for book 2, and I will be crossing all of my fingers and toes that I can snag an ARC to that one as well!

My favorite Rebecca Ross novel to date! This book was magical and cozy and fantastic. The romance was beautiful and made me swoon a thousand times over. There was so much beauty and heartbreak found in these pages. Without a doubt, I can consider Rebecca Ross an all time favorite author.

I really liked this book. I absolutely devoured it. There was a comment that there were likely more interesting stories that could’ve been told in this world setting and, while I don’t necessarily disagree, I also think there was something so charming about this one. The characters were precious, I love a dude who falls first. The world building is interesting and the writing was good, if not a bit immature but it’s a YA, so I can forgive it. The love interest was iffy for me sometimes, he just isn’t the type I typically like the most. But he won me over eventually. After that ending, I’m pretty much near desperate for the next one.

Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
REBECCA! Divine Rivals.*sigh* I love a good books with characters that pine for one another. I feel like the enemies-to-lovers is over played, but in this books it was refreshing. I think that part of the "refreshingness" was the mode that the two lovers were able to communicate.
---My one criticism.
In most of the other books I have read from Rebecca Ross, she is great at interweaving lore into the background of her stories. In Divine Rivals, I think that the lore took a major back burner, which did make it a little on the shallower side of her writing.
I would give it a 3.7/5 Stars

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: 4/4/23

This historical fantasy romance follows Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt to war. They met while working at the same newspaper, the Oath Gazette, and were competing for the same position. At night, Iris writes letters to her brother, who has gone off to fight in the god’s war. She types them up on her ancient typewriter, then slides them under the door to her wardrobe, where they promptly disappear. What she doesn’t know is that the letters aren’t going to her brother. They’re going to Roman, who lives across town and has a similar-looking typewriter.

It’s through these anonymous letters that they get to know each other and begin to fall in love. When Iris’ life falls apart, she takes a job as a war correspondent, leaving behind everything she knows and heading to the front lines.

I adored this! It’s not a fast-paced, super-exciting fantasy read like I was expecting. The story takes its time and feels more like a going-off-to-war (maybe WWI?) historical fiction than fantasy. It’s character-driven and focuses mostly on the relationship between Iris and Roman, which is heartwarming and swoony, and one I can’t wait to read more about! We get little bursts of lore and stories about the gods speckled throughout, but that’s not the main focus.

Themes of poverty, grief, guilt, and addiction are explored, along with resilience and making your own way in the world. I loved Iris! She lives life mostly on her own, and I think readers will find her highly relatable. Roman (Kitt) is so sweet and open about his feelings. The pining alone made this story worth reading.

While this first book in the series doesn’t contain a lot of magic or fantasy, that cliffhanger at the end makes it seem like the next book will lean more heavily that way. The only downside to reading this incredible story early is that I have to wait a whole year to find out what happens next! That scene in the field at the end?! No spoilers, but I was crying actual tears.

Rebecca Ross is a new to me author whose backlist I’m eager to explore. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Fantasy lovers should pick this one up on pub day 4/4.