Overall, I liked this book a lot. I absolutely loved the magical typewriters and the story behind them, and I really loved the main characters and their love story. The only issue for me was the gods' system. Even with the myths scattered throughout the book to help us understand them, I still really don't know what any of that is about. I love this author's writing, though, and this is a first book in a series, so we might better understand all that as the story progresses.

4.50/5 stars! The premise of this story reminded me of the written love story in 'The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy.' I have also read several other books by this author and have really enjoyed her writing style in the past. It was no different with this story. I was drawn in by the world-building and the concept of warring gods tearing the world apart. Iris was such a brave young woman and her decision to head closer to the front lines to support her brother, I was proud of her. I think the love angle of this story felt a bit rushed, but I'm eager to see how this develops in the sequel.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This is an incredible story - filled with such sweet romance, found family, devastation of war, and the courage beyond your limitation.

This is my first story by Rebecca Ross and I love her prose and descriptive flow of the setting. I feel like I’m smelling the gunpowder with Iris, the mist and city life, like I was in that world with her every step of the way.

What is interesting about this story is that it isn’t told in the POV of the gods or even the soldiers directly in the conflict but an observer. Iris is a war reporter. She traveled to the warzone to find her brother. The last of her family. Not knowing that she is not truly alone. She makes friends and family along the way. And even love in a time of uncertainty.

What an impact this story has on me emotionally and so many quotes that I have just written down because it resonates with me.

A book I consumed in a day. I can’t wait till this comes out and everyone gets a chance to read what a gem this book is!

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this, but it was different than I expected. This is a sort of historical/fantasy-ish world. It has older vibes with the newspapers and whatnot, almost superhero world esque? But then it has this whole god storyline where theres a war going on and it has these supernatural beings in it. The supernatural part was a bit hard for me to follow. There were plenty of stories in the book explaining it but it just didn't stick with me, it felt hard to understand.
Aside from that, I really enjoyed the characters and their development. The two main characters each have their own thing going on, but then they have the typewriter thing, almost you've got mail-eque, which I loved. I especially liked as I got to the end of the book, I think it got a lot better once the plot got going, overall I'll probably read the sequel, this was pretty interesting.

Firstly, Thank you for Dear Author and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC!

I just want to say how amazing this book was. From the start to finish it had me sucked in. It was such a refreshing read and actively got me out of the small reading slump I was in. Iris Winnow was such an interesting and strong Female Lead; things that have nothing to do with the LI. Her family values, her hopes and dreams. She didn't back down from a challenge and certainly wasn't afraid to do what she had to get her story. Roman Kitt, what a cutie. I thought he was the perfect LI for our main girl. Witty, smart, and interested in all things Iris Winnow.

I think the author did an amazing job at combining heartbreak, some darkness, realism, historical fantasy and a good dose of romance all together to create the perfect beginning to what I'm sure will be a series to look out for in the future.

The rival dynamic of this book was fantastic. I had such a blast following these characters throughout this fascinating story. The fantastical dynamic was such an interesting addition.

Another great book by Rebecca Ross. Divine Rivals reminds me a lot of her book A River Enchanted: two rivals who gradually fall in love. This book had me rooting for Iris to discover that the person she is magically corresponding with is actually her top competition at the newspaper she worked at. This part of the book was as I had predicted it would be. At the end though, there is a twist that I did not see coming and made the book even more enjoyable. This was an excellent read and I look forward to reading any subsequent novels in the series.

I received this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

While I can see how divine rivals would be someone's favorite, it just wasn't for me. Really getting into the story and I felt it was a little disjointed for me. Great writing!

Rebecca Ross has become one of my auto-read authors—The Elements of Cadence duology were some of my favorite books last year—so of course I was excited to get my hands on an arc of her upcoming novel, Divine Rivals. Imagine my surprise, then, when I turned the last page and found myself underwhelmed.

Divine Rivals is the story of two rival journalists who end up falling for one another through a series of letters. Iris, our FMC, has suffered because of the gods’ war: her brother is fighting at the front; her mother, lost in grief, has been killed in a terrible accident; and she’s lost her chance to be a columnist at the area’s most prestigious newspaper. Roman, her rival and our MMC, seemingly has a charmed life, but he’s dealing with his own grief and trying to escape the life planned out for him by his father. When the two become magical penpals, they begin falling for one another, but when Iris leaves to become a war correspondent, Roman refuses to let her go alone, and the pair must face their feelings while dealing with bombs, monsters, and the constant threat of death while on the front line.

I’m a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers romance, and while I loved the relationship between Iris and Roman, it did feel a bit like insta-love. I loved how they learned to care for one another through their letters, and yes, I understand that romances get sped up a bit during wartime, but there just didn’t seem like enough between them to have them get together so quickly. Maybe if they’d been rivals in school before being rivals at the newspaper, I could’ve believed it, but as it is, things feels as if they move very fast.

I’m also a sucker for good mythology. The Elements of Cadence duology had amazing, in-depth mythology that helped flesh out the world and the cultures on the island as well as the beliefs and motivations of the characters. Divine Rivals has the seeds of a really cool mythology, but it feels shallow. The world obviously has magic, and the “normal” world can be touched by magical things (e.g. magical typewriters, enchanted building, Enva’s siren song), but overall, the presence of the gods is more distant than it ought to.

That being said, the war itself is very well written, with major WW1 vibes. Iris and Roman’s experiences on the front lines are harrowing and heartbreaking, and I actually would’ve liked for them to have been in the trenches longer and to have developed more of a relationship during the forced proximity.

All in all, Divine Rivals feels like a step back after A River Enchanted and A Fire Endless. There are storylines that seem to drop off or to come back in ways that need more explaining (I’m looking at you, arranged marriage plot line), secondary characters feel a little one-dimensional, and while the magical typewriter aspect is a lot of fun, the romance moves too quickly and thus feels underdeveloped. I’ll still be picking up the sequel to find out what happens and to, hopefully, learn more about the world’s mythology and magic, but I was hoping for more from this read.

i blame my current mood for my ambivalence toward this book but avid readers of YA fantasy should have no problem loving this.

nothing gripped me, nothing stirred me on and made me excited to read further. divine rivals almost felt... episodic because the plot (what plot?) waywardly meanders from one mc's struggle to the next. these major events just conveniently, forcefully find our characters and then we get to shuffle through their reaction and "development". point a moving to point b to c to d as the author intentionally willed it. rinse and repeat. i almost labelled this as character-driven -- with how much the story hinges on our mcs to just... get out there and do things -- but no, that could not be further from the truth for me. these conveniences happened too many times for me to ignore them and cast them aside in the name of storytelling -- it's all plot driven and it's my least favourite thing to read about. this isn't a romcom setup, isn't it?

there was an attempt when it comes to iris and roman. the author clearly pours so much love and dedication into their characterization, you can practically see it shimmering on the page. actually, you'll get to see them literally pouring their hearts onto the page via their letters to each other -- for how tropey this appears, i rarely came across this and i can (maybe) appreciate the attempt to further establish characters and bridging the reader's connection. all of this is to say -- i still felt very little for these people. perhaps i was tired of the same recycled love-hate straight dynamic, perhaps i was disenchanted with the plot. perhaps YA is just not my genre any more. instead of relating to their heartbreaks and rooting for them to rise above their own situation, i just felt trauma-dumped.

i saved the world building for last because, whelps, i should at least expect to not vibe with this. after all, i'd read and experienced the bare bones of a river enchanted, the first in rebecca ross' lastest duology. i'd learnt about ross' reference to thrust her readers into the world with little warnings then sprinkle crumbs of world building afterwards. it is a little jarring because there's very little... world for you to work off of in the beginning, you just have to estimate that the time period is loosly based off WWII... but there are also warring gods. the city is old but not ancient because there's electricity but magic is involved somehow and you get magical-alexa-powered building? except, not every building. just the one that our mc lives in. and some buildings are only a little bit magical and don't work that way. what about the streets? i cannot tell you. i am being unnecessarily mean and nitpicky, but i think you get the idea. ross' style of worldbuilding is not for me. (okay, maybe one more thing. i get the eyerolling in the beginning when everyone blames Enva instead of the Dacre because.. misogyny (gasp!) does not die even if you're stuck in pseudo, magical WWII but if my family members are being called off to fight a stupid war and they all told me the goddess is the one compelling them to go for it -- i would hate her as well, iris. i don't know why you are so dead set on proving her righteousness from the beginning without any other proof but good on you.)

i stil blame my current mood for my ambivalence toward this book. unless some major events happen to me, it's unlikely that i will pick up this book again.

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!

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 St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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

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

***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.

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 book from Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books in exchange for my free and honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early #DivineRivals #NetGalley ***

4.5 ⭐️

Such a fantastic book a new series! I was intrigued only a couple pages in. You have Iris Winnow working at a newspaper competing with fellow rival, Roman Kitt for the columnist position. On top of that, the country is being ravaged by war started by an angry god wanting vengeance against goddess Enva.

I thought the premise was so interesting. Ancient gods using mortals to fight in their war? I’m in.

The setting is atmospheric and Ms. Ross captured the feelings that come with war (sadness, grief, and anger) really well.

The romance was everything and I stand by it. At 83% in, I was in the edge of my seat anxiously awaiting to see what happens. Ms. Ross did not disappoint! I had an inkling of what was happening, but little did I know.. I did not get the full picture. Omg and that ending?!? I NEEEED book 2. I’m really excited for book 2 and will sell my left kidney to get my hands on an ARC of it.

This book has everything I love: rivals to lovers, found family, gods and goddesses, a magical object and more!

I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves a good fantasy with a very loveable female MC with a romance that will defy all.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book I’m exchange for an honest review.

Strong characters with a strong setting and delivery. Very enjoyable, I wish that there was more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.

Another beautiful book by Rebecca Ross.

I have long loved Ross’ work, but she catapulted to my favorite authors list with A River Enchanted. Now she’s returned to the YA world, bringing all the atmosphere and romance from ARE into this amazing book.

The prose is beautiful, the plot expertly crafted, the characters complex and moving, and the love story absolutely swoon worthy. The world felt like a beautiful echo of our own, filled with fantastical and familiar elements, and the exploration of love and loss, writing and war was beautifully done.

My only complaint is that I have to wait for the conclusion to this duology, especially after that terribly cliffhanger!

Absolutely wonderful!

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.

4.5 stars, rated up

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)

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.

This was so beautifully written. I was so captivated by these characters and the build up to their love for each other. I love the premise of magical type writers too! Be prepared to laugh, to shake your head, and yes, even cry. It doesn’t end on a happy note. But it’s also not the end and I’m now anxiously awaiting the next book and hopefully when the series concludes I get my happily ever after lol Highly recommend this book if you like really sweet love stories.