Rebecca Ross can do no wrong in my mind. Once again she has created two characters who I want to protect with my life, and the secret pen pals, rivals to lovers storyline is absolute perfection. I am obsessed, and will be thinking about Iris and Roman for a long time. The worldbuilding of Rebecca’s books is always exquisitely beautiful, and this one is no different. It feels like a unique blend of fantasy and historical elements, with romantic comedy beats mixed in as well. If you opened a random page of the book you might think you were reading a story set in WWII England. The parallels are close enough to feel familiar, but with interesting fantastical elements woven in, like horrific monsters dropping bombs instead of planes, for instance. There is an interesting lore and mythology to the world without it being overwhelming. I thoroughly enjoyed Divine Rivals and will be anxiously awaiting book two!

Iris is a struggling writer for the local newspaper in Oath, who is competing with Roman for the next promotion to Columnist. With her brother at war with the risen gods, and her mother turned to alcoholism she doesn't have much left besides her work. That is until she starts a letter exchange with a mysterious and unknown individual by magically sending letters via her wardrobe. She kindles a friendship with her pen pal and starts to find new meaning in her life - unbeknownst to her, the secret writer is her nemesis Roman,

I couldn't get into this book, very slow and lacking much direction at the start. However, once Iris becomes a war correspondent the book becomes far more interesting. Don't love that it ends on a cliffhanger Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC

I absolutely loved this book. The world building was creative and unique. I loved the rivalry between the two main characters. This book contains action, adventure, romance. I can’t wait until the sequel comes out.

One of my most anticipated reads and I'm so glad it was a 5 star read for me!

There will be some spoilers ahead, but I will try not to give too much away.

I thought both characters were charming in their interactions both through face to face and with ink and paper. There were moments of sadness which I did tear up about, but there were moments of love as well. Familial love, platonic love, and of course romantic love. I adored the fantasy in this world, the legends and myths about the gods, and especially the magical typewriters which both of the main characters posses. I just felt cozy reading about Iris and her journey from working at a job that she wanted desperately to love, but was overcome with grief and worry about her missing brother Forest. With her on this journey is Roman Kitt, someone she was never expecting to join her as a war correspondent. I won't give away too much now, but I will definitely NEED to pick up the second book after that ending. I also forget this novel wasn't going to be a standalone so I was wondering how everything was going to wrap up in the last 10% or so.

I just loved everything about this book! I've read a few of Rebecca Ross's other novels, but this book, Divine Rivals has to be my absolute favorite out of all!

Huge thank you to St. Martin books/Wednesday books for this arc!

This book was hope in every single form; bright and burning and aching. Everything about Divine Rivals has your heart constricting. You feel hope in its rawest form and it sits in your chest the entire time you’re reading.

Rebecca Ross is impeccable at what she does. This book takes the horrors of war and the strength of hope and weaves it into something so beautiful it leaves you feeling raw at the very end. The war is so close to our characters home that it rips through you when you realize it’s only just begun.

Her characters are beautiful, laden with depth and emotions so real you feel everything they do and hope they survive everything. Roman is everything. His emotions, his personality, his story. I don’t think I’ve ever loved a MMC more.

I couldn’t put this book down. From our FMC, Iris, leaving home to witnessing what war is actually like to falling in love to living on a thread of hope — this book holds you and doesn’t let go. This book is everything I had hoped and more.

RR did an amazing job and I will be thinking of this book for weeks to come.

I’ve read three of Rebecca Ross’s books now, and she’s quickly filling up my top 10. Her writing is beautiful. Her stories are captivating. Divine Rivals is no exception.

I don’t think I’ve ever cried in a book about something I thought _might_ happen. I’m not saying whether it did or didn’t, but there was a scene in the book that was so visceral — I was so in it — and I got it in my head the tension was building up to a certain event… I was bawling and scared to turn the page.

My sole critique of the book is that there was an abrupt lull in the last quarter that felt out of place and unnecessary. Once the story made it through that bit, it took off running again to a thrilling conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with an arc to review. I can’t wait to hold a published copy of this in my hands.

Loved.

Rebecca Ross has fast become one of my favourite writers, her effortless prose are so poetic, atmospheric and transportive in place and emotion.

Iris Winnow is a reporter trying to make ends meet for her and her mother since her brother has gone to war to fight amongst the gods. Roman Kitt is her aristocratic, co-reporter and sworn enemy. But these two are also connected in more ways than one and maybe there’s more to their connection then simple competition.

With witty banter and moments of raw honesty I loved watching Iris and Romans complicated relationship unfold.

With a backdrop of war between ancient gods, Ross weaves a harrowing love story amongst the action and brutality of a battle torn land. The truth is complicated and as Roman and Iris find themselves together corresponding on the front lines beautiful and sinister things begin to transpire.

A cliffhanger of an ending but it has made me more and more excited for what’s to come.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

Normally, I like my books to be plot driven and not romance driven. I’d say the romance in this book is the main feature and yet I still really liked it. Since there are more books, I do think the romance concluded too soon. I wanted more of the Gods and the war, but after the ending I think that was saved for the next book. This book was cute with dashes of fantasy. It did paint war realistically which was nice to read. I am interested to get more into the fantasy part of the story next book while still keeping the cure romance that was the center if this book.

This book was easily a 5 star read for me. Iris a young woman forced to quit school and work after her brother enlists to fight in a war between two gods. Iris is working as reporter working to keep her and her alcoholic mother afloat, she starts the book competing with Roman, the son of a wealthy and influential railroad owner, for a spot as a Columnist. While she is struggling with this she keeps writing letters to her brother and putting them into her closet, every letter has magically ended up with Roman. After tragedy Iris decides she has nothing left and becomes a war correspondent.

This story hit me in all of my soft places, especially with the way it deals with grief and loss. Of all the characters I identified with Roman the most, he starts out so lost and emotionally broken just to come into himself and learn how to take risks to get what he wants instead of doing what is expected of him and forced on him.

I loved the world building and the setting, the idea of an entire city turning away from music because a musical god built an army with it was very interesting to me. The way we learn about Dacre and Enva and why they are warring felt very natural and not forced. I loved the attention to detail on why things work the way they do like the history of the typewriters that are allowing Iris’ letters to get to Roman, and how the siren system works for Avalon Bluff.

I honestly can’t wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I just finished reading this book and already want to pick it up again. The author perfectly captured the atrocities of war while also making space for wholesome romance, hope, and found family.

Rebecca Ross’ writing was SO atmospheric and I really felt immersed in the story.

The perfect rivals-to-lovers historical romantasy. Swoon. Iris and Roman’s romance will be imprinted on my heart forever!!! I can’t wait for the next book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Unsurprisingly, Rebecca Ross has crafted a wholly original mythology for her new YA series unlike anything I have ever read. In "Divine Rivals," Iris is an aspiring young journalist exchanging letters with a man named Carver. Little does she know that Carver is her rival Roman at the newspaper and their correspondence is linked through their respective enchanted typewriters. Eager to find her brother lost at war, she enrolls as a war correspondent. Kitt soon follows her to the front and they both realize the war waged between the gods is far more dangerous than they could have anticipated.

As expected, the writing is perfect and well-paced. The coming of age element expected in YA books is executed with tenderness and wit. Iris and Roman are affable and strong protagonists, and I loved reading about characters who are themselves writers. The backdrop of the divine war was incredibly creative. My only reason for docking a star is the very fast moving romance. These two characters go from enemies to lovers to (*spoiler alert*) spouses in such a short amount of time. Regardless, I can't wait to read more in this series! The book ended with a great cliffhanger that I anticipate will keep readers on the hook for the sequel.

I think I would give Divine Rivals 6 stars if I could. Rebecca Ross’ writing is breathtakingly beautiful. I found myself rereading line after line because I couldn’t get enough of the lovely and profound lines in this book. The writing is so atmospheric that you feel completely immersed.

Divine Rivals has the feel of a YA fantasy mixed with a historical fiction and a rivals to lovers romance. It gave me feelings of Addie LaRue, Narnia, and WWI.

Iris and Roman are both incredible characters on their own with really heavy backstories. The emotions and in depth plot that Rebecca Ross accomplished in under 400 pages is incredible. I laughed, cried, got butterflies, felt terrified, was angered, and fell in love.

I don’t want to share any plot details because there were so many surprises and emotional moments that I believe it’s best to just dive in and experience it. There is no way I can make it until 2024 waiting for book 2.

I really enjoyed this one! I can't wait to pick up more from her backlist. I was so excited to get an arc of this book because the premise had me sold. It's a great historical fantasy -- World War I-esque but with warring gods. It's got You've Got Mail vibes, but instead of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks communicating via slow dial-up internet, you've got the main character Iris communicating to a mystery person first from her bedroom and then from near the frontlines of the war via magical typewriters. Swoon. However, as Iris becomes more attached to her mystery penpal, she also clashes and grows closer to her work nemesis. The slow burn romance in this book was so fantastic. Ross also did a wonderful job of creating so much tension on the page in all of the war scenes, especially when Iris and Roman are at the front. It reminded me a lot of the movie 1917. I have never had such an engrossing but stressful movie-watching experience in my life. Ross did a good job replicating that in this book. I need the second book in this series now!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books & NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC

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

In this page turning historical fantasy we follow two rivals competing for one columnist job for a newspaper. They end up having a mysterious connection that allows them to write letters that are magically routed to each other. After losing all connections to her hometown Iris takes a job as a war correspondent on the font lines in hopes of finding her brother.

Roman and Iris are characters that I fell in love with quickly. The rivalry and banter between the two main characters was my favorite part of this book. They both have personal stories that break your heart and make you root for them to get their happy endings throughout the book.

I would have liked a little bit more time learning about the Gods and the magic of the world, and I am hoping this will be expanded in the next installment.

Overall this story pulled me in right away and didn’t let me go. I am now eagerly awaiting the publishing date for book 2.

4.5⭐️

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for and honest review.

Trigger Warnings: war, death, blood, alcoholism, mention of drowning

I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this book and I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. I’m not a huge historical fiction fan, and less so of book centred around war, and while this was set during the time of WWI, it was so far removed from reality that I actually tolerated the setting. That being said, it still has the horrid that accompany war so please check TWs before jumping in.

I really enjoyed the magic in this story. The history of the Gods and why the war started. The magic that mysteriously connected our two rival journalists, Iris and Roman. I thought it was a nice balance between a historical romance and historical fantasy.

I really loved Iris and Roman’s relationship. Their rivalry in the beginning was full of banter and shenanigans. But then they started writing letters back and forth (Iris was unaware who she was writing to.) I love that Roman fell first, it’s refreshing to see the MMC falling first. Their relationship kept growing and their letters were so beautiful to each other. The poetic voice behind the letters had me swooning. Why don’t we write love letters anymore? I feel like they need to make a comeback!

Anyways, this story was so good and I’m excited to read the next one. I mean, that ending?!? This book doesn’t come out until April and now I have to wait even longer for the second instalment?! I highly recommend adding this to your TBR though!

This book completely took me by surprise.

Thank you so much Wednesday books for sending me a copy of Divine Rivals, I appreciate it as always.

I've never read anything from Rebecca Ross so this was an interesting start to say the least. The premise of two rival journalists falling in love in the midst of a war between gods intrigued me enough that I wanted to give this a shot. I'm so glad I did!

This was such a nice solid romance. I loved the both Iris and Roman/Kitt individually and I loved them together which rarely happens in a romance novel for me. They made for an amazing pairing.

Iris was a strong individual with a determination to see her goals reached. Even when struck by tragedy after tragedy, she pressed on and didn't crumble from defeat. I liked that about her. She took risks and was bold, and still you could tell she was hurting—it felt very visceral and made Iris relatable.

Roman was interesting as well, and I liked how competitive he was at the start, I thought his responsibilities would get them best of him though, but I liked that he took strength from Iris and followed his heart despite what his father wanted for him.

The plot was very romantic and intriguing, though the letters being exchanged with Iris and her mysterious friend felt like emails back and forth to be so honest, and the magical type writer bit..also just reminded me of email 🤣. But the emotional impact it allowed to blossom was worth it. I will say I’m left with questions about those magic type writers, their original owners, the gods, etc. I still don’t understand how it all connects and I can’t wait to find out.

The downside of this was that the war/gods part was somehow hard to grasp for me. Like there’s a god just…walking around in some what modern day war area blowing things up and humans took sides I guess??? Idk why my brain struggled with that. I feel like if there’s literal gods on earth they’d have a bit more of an impact than just tucked away on a battlefield with soldiers. I thought they’d be more integrated in society and we’d see that in the first part. Maybe that’s just me, idk. As I said it was hard for me to grasp lol I could be missing something.

Overall, I still enjoyed this a lot. I felt the emotions the characters felt, I like the romance, and Divine Rivals wove some very unique ideas together. Also, Becca did a good job of leaving me wanting more as now I’m already marking book 2 as a to-read for next year or whenever it comes out.

Arc received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Respectfully, FUCK MY FUCKING LIFE BRO. THIS DESTROYED ME SO GOOD. How am I supposed to wait till 2024 for book 2? Please Rebecca Ross, please Netgalley and please ENVA AND DACRE GIVE ME THE ARC FOR BOOK 2.

Unsurprisingly, I loved this. Rebecca Ross is one of my favorite authors, so when I was approved for this arc I was extremely excited. One thing to note is I feel Ross' stories are all vastly different from each other. Each story us fresh and unique, and this might just be the most different I've read by her. If you weren't super into her last books, still check this out.

This is not a plot-driven book. This book focuses on the characters their lives. Throughout the book, there is a lot of commentary on poverty, grief, abandonment, addiction, guilt, and more. There were so many quotable passages in this book, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy so that I can highlight the crap out of it.

Though Ross' writing is digestible, it's also lush, beautiful, witty, and flows together so well. It's always a pleasure to read a book by her because of her stunning writing style.

While this book is considered a fantasy and has gods and goddesses, it's not an action-packed one. I would almost consider this a "cozy" fantasy which is definitely gaining popularity these days.

Lastly, this has the fucking cutest, angsty, romance I have read in a good while. Holy moly, this gave me butterflies. I have all of the love for these two characters and my dying wish is for these two characters to be together because THIS BOOK KILLED ME.

Everyone pre-order this right now. You'll thank me later.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Wednesday books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Ross has a way of crafting romances so real and so sweet that I can’t help but want to be one of the characters in her stories. I was so invested in Iris and Roman’s narrative that there were times where I had to remember to breathe because I was holding my breath in anticipation of what would happen next. There was so much of this book, this story, this world that worked for me. I love the idea of exchanging magical type written letters. I loved the perfect banter between Iris and Roman. I loved the beauty and hope that Ross weaves into this story about war and loss. I love the element of found family and the feeling of belonging. But mostly I loved that this book made me feel and care for these characters who felt like friends. I didn’t want this book to end, and I desperately want to know what happens next.

Iris and Roman are both competing for a position as columnist for a news paper. At the same time they are both struggling in their very different lives.

Iris is desperately trying to hold her life together while her brother is off fighting in a war that seems endless. Her mother is drowning her sorrows as well as their future, nightly. 

Roman is gritting his teeth and trying to stay above water as his father is deciding his whole life for him. 

Both are struggling to find the words to stand up for themselves.

In a mystical turn of events they become unknowing pen pals, seeking strength from each other. What starts off as an innocent letter becomes the spark that changes both their lives. 



Divine Rivals is a historical fantasy about the lives of two enemies(more like professional rivals) to lovers amid a war torn landscape. The gods war is this adjacent story occurring before and in parallel to the story of our two main characters. The gods war vibes as if hades and persephone used humans as pawns to fight against one another. 

It’s a very quick and compelling read. I enjoyed the correspondence between the characters and the dual perspectives. Quoting the same letters multiple times was not my favorite and felt like a misuse of valuable pages.



I would recommend this book to people that enjoyed The Hating Game and The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. The romance was beautiful and so on point. The world intriguing and unique. Truly everything about this book was impeccable and its so rare for a story to make me feel the way this one did.