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.

I really enjoyed this book! This is such a great blend of fantasy and historical fiction. I loved Iris and Roman and the way their relationship unfolds. Unlike many rivals-to-lovers that I’ve read, theirs follows a believable course. In a very “You’ve Got Mail” twist, they write magical letters to each other while simultaneously competing for the same columnist position at a newspaper. Their characters were complex and so life like. I also really loved the themes of grief and guilt that were woven into the story without feeling forced or unnatural.

I found the beginning of the novel a bit slow and the world building a bit lacking. The Gods have returned and are warring and not very much of it is even discussed until later on. I think this will be a larger focus in the next book, but I wish more of it had been explored! I am really looking forward to learning more and to seeing what happened to Iris and Roman.

I am BEGGING Rebecca to let these characters have a happy because I don’t know if I can handle it if they don’t!!

Bottom line: If Rebecca Ross writes it, I will read it.

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley and Wednesday Books for review. All thoughts are my own. Thank you for the opportunity! *

I absolutely LOVED this book, and it has quickly become one of my favorites that I have read so far this year! I jumped on the opportunity to read this one, as I absolutely adore Rebecca Ross and all of her books. This book kept me totally enthralled from start to finish. There was magic, great worldbuilding, action, adventure, a truly epic love story, and characters that I grew very attached to. This story totally gave me WWI vibes and I was here for it! So heartbreakingly beautiful!

Iris Winnow is trying desperately to keep her family together. Her brother is on the frontline of a war where he is forced to fight on behalf of the gods, and he is now missing in action. He hasn’t answered any of her letters. Her mother is drowning herself in her sorrows. Iris feels that her best bet to help her family is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands, that of her handsome but cold competitor at the paper, Roman Kitt. However, an unlikely magical connection forms between them.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters traveling along with them, can their bond withstand the fate of mankind, and more importantly, love?

I thought the competition between Iris and Kitt was wonderful! It was so fun to read the banter between them. Iris comes from a rather modest background, and the position at the paper could be life changing for her. Kitt on the other hand comes from a wealthy family, but he has a rather controlling father who so desperately wants to fit in with high society, that he doesn’t let his son make any decisions for himself. Kitt is trying to get the position at the paper more because of familial expectations, rather than his own desires. Kitt feels like he’s completely trapped, and he also mourns the death of his sister.

When Iris and Kitt find themselves in the middle of the war effort, things really take an interesting turn!

Just an FYI, the author posted some content/trigger warnings for this book:

Loss of a parent
Loss of a sibling
A parent struggling with alcoholism
Profanity: mild
Depictions of PTSD
Violence: moderate to severe
Mature Scenes: present on the page, but not explicit

The ending of this one killed me, and I can’t wait for book two! Can I have it now, please? 😉 Available April 4, 2023, I hope that you will consider reading this one. Highly recommend!

4.75 stars

Iris' brother leaves for war, and her mother quickly falls to alcohol to cope. Iris begins writing letters to her brother on her typewriter, and they disappear from her wardrobe after she slides them under the door. Iris has never received a response until one day a letter appears on her floor... but it's not her brother.
Roman Kitt works at the Gazette with Iris, and the two are vying for the esteemed columnist position, constantly negging each other and competing for the best assignments. Roman hasn't told Iris he has been receiving her letters... and at this point, he doesn't know how to.

Divine Rivals is a sweeping, magical epistolary novel that is perfect if you want to dip your toe into fantasy. This is a historical fiction romance first and foremost, and Ross writes a beautiful story with characters you love and can't help but root for as they find their place in the world and the war. I quite literally read this entire book in a day, I had to know where Iris and Roman's story was going to go. After the ending, I am BEGGING for the next book. I know I can trust Rebecca Ross to pick up the pieces of my heart and stitch them back together.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review- thank you Macmillan and NetGalley!

4.75/5

When Iris Winnow's brother leaves to fight in a war between gods, her life gets turned upside down. Her mother begins drinking, and she has to drop out of school to help pay the bills. The one bright spot in her life is her job at her local paper, where she is working to become a columnist. Her competition for the job is Roman Kitt, a rich and handsome rival who never misses an opportunity to antagonize her. The letters she's writing to her brother are mysteriously disappearing from her wardrobe, and she chalks it up to the magic laying mostly dormant within the city. Little does she know that her letters are being sent to Roman, who finally decides to write her back.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I could not put it down. Rebecca Ross is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me, as I had a similar experience with A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless. This story is absolutely beautiful, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

To begin with things I liked:
-The writing. Rebecca Ross' style is lyrical without feeling lofty. The way she writes all emotions- grief, love, disappointment, joy- is so relatable and raw. All of her characters come alive in the most believable and lovely way. Her talent cannot be overstated.
-The dual POV was an excellent choice. I honestly looked forward to Roman's chapters more than I did Iris'.
-The story is unique while still feeling familiar. I'm really looking forward to exploring more of the gods and their role in the world. I hope we get a little more world building.
-The relationship development between Iris and Roman was so, so sweet. I found myself giggling like a teenager at some parts. Ross captured young, deep love perfectly.
-The enchanted letter writing was also very cute. Watching them fall in love with each other over enchanted mail, all while Iris had no idea who her mystery correspondent was, was very fun. I especially liked Roman's POVs during this time, I always like a story where the man falls first.

Things I didn't like so much:
-The ending felt a little rushed. I enjoyed the slower pace of most of the book, so it was jarring when everything happened at the end.
-This one is a me problem: I didn't know this was the start of a series, I thought it was a standalone. I was very confused when the book ended on a cliff hanger- so be ready for that!
-I wish Iris and Roman were aged up a little. 18 and 19 felt very very young to me, I think aging them up even just a couple years would have been good for the story overall. Roman especially felt older than 19. However, some of Iris' rash/confusing decisions did make more sense in this context- she's just a kid with a lot of trauma.

Overall, EVERYONE READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and joyful and sweet. I will be very anxiously waiting for the next installment.

This had all the makings of an epic story. A world infused by magic from sleeping Gods that have now awakened to war against each other and to wreak destruction on mortals. Two journalists who progress from rivals to lovers as they uncover the truth about the Gods and their war.

Instead, the lore and world building were very minimal, so much so that it felt as if they were a shaky prop to hold up the story’s central romance. But unfortunately there too, Iris, Roman, and the secondary characters didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me to be emotionally invested, though at times the writing would have a moment and make it feel like that was possible. The writing style in general is very straightforward, which makes for a quick read, but the prose could have benefitted from being more lush in order to better convey what I believe was supposed to be an enchantingly romantic yet dark world.

Thank you to St. Martins Press/Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book WRECKED ME. Divine rivals has to be one of the best YA fantasy books I've read in a long time. I can't even begin to describe how much this book made me feel. It was a roller coaster of emotions.

Divine Rivals is atmospheric, it's romantic, it's sweet, it's painful, it's so full of love and sadness. It is such a beautiful and touching story that is impossible to forget. Iris, Roman, Attie and Marisol are impossible to forget.

Iris and Roman are such strong and brave characters. Their love story was beautiful. Seeing how they gradually fell in love over time was incredible.

Also, if you like romance as much as I do this book has:

- Rivals to lovers
- He falls first
- THERE IS ONLY ONE SEAT
- so much banter 😩
-Slow burn
- "Why did you take the wounds that should have been mine?"

I love a good love story and this is one of the best I've ever read. Divine Rivals is the author's first book that I read but I need more of her.

Divine Rivals surprised me from the first chapter! I really loved the writing and characters, the angst and pining in the beginning. I was hooked.

The characters and emotion were so strong and I was sad to lose some of what I was loving in the middle of this. The trajectory of the story changed and the story started to feel a little flat for me though the middle portion of this. It felt like something was missing that would have really elevated this for me.

I am still very intrigued to see where the next book goes. The ending wasn't my favorite but it left a good amount of intrigue for the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

It's hard to put into words the way this book made me feel, but its similar to the feeling of coming home after being away for too long. It was a gorgeous story full of beautiful prose, a sweet romance between relatable characters, and an interesting magic/religious system. The idea of magic typewriters was so interesting and unique, and Ross is an expert storyteller. I wasn't as hooked as I was for Ross's other books, but it was still a beautiful story and I've already pre ordered the hard copy!

I swear if I had started this on a Friday instead of a Thursday, this would’ve been a one sitting read. I was drawn into the characters and setting think World War I with gods, and then a fantastic cast of characters. The two main characters rivals to lovers was so enthralling. My only complaint is it ends on a cliffhanger, and I don’t know when the next book comes out how long do I have to wait to find out what happens, I cannot wait for the next book. I recommend reading it but be prepared for that frustration.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

I'm a big Rebecca Ross fan - her previous YA Fantasy books have been hits for me, and I really enjoyed this one! This focuses on our main characters, Iris and Roman as they are competing journalists in the same company vying for the same job. They come from very different worlds, where Iris is struggling with a brother at war and a mother in the throws of addiction, while Roman is from a well-off family looking at an arranged marriage. They find a connection through magical typewriters, where only Roman knows her identity. The war is two old rival Gods who have awoken and are calling civilians to pick sides and fight for them.

Iris decides to go to the front lines of the war to try and find her brother and report on the war. When Roman reads her articles he follows her there - and eventually through war and worst-case scenarios, they fall in love. But, it is short lived as the war encloses on their town. I loved the characters and the story was well paced and exciting. The ending was gut-wrenching and I cannot wait to see what happens next - I need to read the next one asap!