Best book of the season, for sure. It is absolutely worth the hype it’s been getting on social media!

This is a story about a love story hot off the press.

I have to admit; I was taken by surprise when I found myself invested in this! Historical romance has never been my cup of tea & this definitely had that vibe- but it managed to bridge the gap between my usual preferences and historical fantasy so well! I’m very eagerly awaiting book

Thank you so much Netgalley & Wednesday books for the eArc!

Well, it took me long enough, but I loved everything about this book. I can see how it has become so popular and highly rated. I highly recommend this book.

I love Rebecca Ross. She can do no wrong. And with DIVINE RIVALS I really feel a blossoming. She's come into her own with DIVINE RIVALS, in YA. I can't wait to see what she does next. Her voice will forever live in my head. As a writer, a book seller, a publisher, there's nothing about this book that I don't love, nothing about this book that I won't be taking with me for years to come. Iris and Roman will forever be my favourite characters. And their romance?! Just so well done! Six gosh darn stars for this incredible book.

Rebecca Ross is a Queen A QUEEN, she’s an absolute master at her craft and Divine Rivals is the utmost prove of that.

Divine Rivals hooked me in from the very first page. It had me crying, gasping, reeling, and madly in love with its world and characters in a way I’ve never been. The story was beyond fascinating (set in a world torn by warring gods and magical typewriters), so intricately creative, impactful, and completely immersive. When I wasn’t reading Divine Rivals -a bit repetitive to say it was all I could think about but- it was literally playing in a loop over and over again in my mind.

But not only is the world and story remarkable. The extraordinary way in which the writing fluidly pulls and engrosses all my senses is incomparable. I don’t know how Rebecca does it but she captures the depths of a variety of emotions soooooo well (whether it’s grief or love or everything in between) that it feels like the characters and their emotions are a part of you. You can’t help but feel all their sorrows, all their hopes and aspirations so consumingly. I genuinely could not have asked for a better reading experience than being in the Divine Rivals world. This is unarguably one of my favorite books this year and my favorite Ross book to date!

I am in love. Iris and Roman's story is like a ray of light in the darkest of times.
The writing is beautiful and the story is well paced.
Iris is a young girl trying to make it as a reporter with her local newspaper and Roman is her rival coworker. They are both competing for a position as columnist. During this time a war is raging between two gods and their world is changing. Both characters are each strong and resilient and I really enjoyed their growth both separately and together. My favorite things about the story was the secret letters, the banter between iris and roman, the enemies to lovers aspect, and the touch of fantasy/mythology.
I will forever regret that it took me so long to get to this book! Divine rivals was one of the best things I've read this year!
Thank you to net galley and st. Martin's press for the e-arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Divine Rivals was a read that took me by surprise. I've never read any of other Rebecca Ross' books before—despite have heard of them—so I couldn't see her shift from adult to young adult fantasy, but this was a solid young adult debut to me. Divine Rivals's atmosphere reminds me a lot of vibes I got from Allison Saft, Erin A. Craig, and Shea Ernshaw books. Actually, I am very confused whether I should give this book three or four stars, because while it wasn't exceptionally great in my dictionary, it wasn't mediocre either. This book made me shed some tears, and Roman's dedications to Iris also made my heart turned into puddle, so that's why I added the last one star from the original three stars. Yes, one bonus star for making my tears falling down. Definitely curious about the next book though because that ending was unexpected!!

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc.

I adored this book. This was a beautifully written historical fantasy novel. I loved the way the author made you really feel what the main character felt. I thought the characters were developed beautiful. I could have gone for a bit more world building, but only because it was so fascinating! The descriptions of war and loss and the internal struggles people face during grief were very moving. I am highly anticipating the sequel.

Well I am BLOWNNN AWAY!

I loved this book so much. Rebecca Ross is a fantasy writing queen!

This beautiful story sucked me in from the very beginning and I am INVESTED!! I need Book #2 asap!!!

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

Soooooo I’m in the minority when it comes to this book…. I didn’t love it as much as others. I felt the plot was too slow and focuses not enough on the romance. That’s just me being particular about things I like in a story, but I think this was just an okay read for me.

"And she thought, even when the world seems to stop, threatening to crumble, and the hour feels dark as the siren rings...it isn't a crime to feel joy."

I want to start this review by saying that i had VERY high expectations for this book going in. I had seen many people raving about this book in reviews on bookstagram and GoodReads. I went in thinking it would blow me away so I was a bit disappointed when it didn't. All this to say, I didn't dislike Divine Rivals, but it also hasn't been my favorite book of 2023.

Rebecca Ross creates an interesting world Gods, however we only hear a few short tidbits about why one of the Gods, Dacre, has started a war. Dacre is supposed to represent the bad - he lives in the underworld and has started a war to find Enva, the God he loves who represents the good and lives above. There is one story told in two parts about why Dacre has started a war. We hear minimal information about Enva. In fact, all we know is she is recruiting soldiers by singing to them in the woods, but no one has heard from her otherwise. In my opinion, this makes Enva a hard God to sympathize with. Yes, Dacre is killing people, but we don't really get character development on Enva. I'm hoping more of this comes in the sequel.

I did enjoy the enemies to lovers love story. The magic typewriters was such an interesting way to keep Roman and Iris in touch. I am glad to know there is a sequel because the ending of the book really tore at my heartstrings.

I found the writing in this novel to be very scattered. There were parts that read so beautifully, but then other parts that felt like they needed quite a bit of refinement. This is categorized as young adult, which makes sense since it was a very quick, easy read. But when the author is describing the characters' journalistic writing as incredibly moving and beautiful, it leads you to believe that everything they write will be the same. I found some of the writing to be a bit childish, more so than a typical young adult novel, Again - this is not to say the book was bad! There were just spots where phrases could have been reworded to sounds a bit more eloquent.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and will read the sequel to see what happens in the story. 3.5 stars rounded down.

This book was incredible! The witty banter was so fun and the follow it based on was really interesting! The twist at the end was properly surprising and I can’t wait to see what happens next!!

This was such a gripping and captivating book! It was another delightful epistolary love story (with the lovely trope of secret identities where only one character knows who they're really talking to) but it was also an intense wartime story. Essentially WWI but fought between opposing gods with associated creatures and magic, though the magic was kept to a minimum and most of the story felt like a standard WWI story.

The writing was beautiful (I expect nothing less from Rebecca Ross) and I flew through it and had trouble thinking about anything else when I wasn't reading it. I can't wait to dive into book 2 because that ending!

I love it when characters start out disliking one another and slowly come to care for one another (especially through letters or text!). This dynamic was particularly interesting because one of them knew the identity of the other and knew who they were falling for from the start, while the other was completely in the dark throughout and still thought the other hated them.

The characters of Iris and Roman were so easy to like and root for. I was instantly drawn into their lives and troubles. Bonus: calling each other by their last names. Best trope ever.

The audiobook narrators did a fabulous job bringing the characters and story to life.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an early copy for review.

She blew the dust from the keys, allowing the typewriter to once again shine with its full glory. She placed her fingers on the keys and felt the magic this machine held. She imagined the stories written, the letters penned, the secrets shared. She closed her eyes and let her own words flow, bringing life to this typewriter and stirring her soul.

Divine Rivals is a fantasy following Iris, working to become the next columnist at the local paper, but first she must get through Roman… her writing rival. Oh… did I mention there’s a war between the gods going down, too?

Rebecca’s writing really captured me and I was drawn into this story. The magic weaved in these pages was entertaining, but the underlying presence of war kept things moving with an ever looming danger. I loved both Iris and Roman’s characters, but I wish there would have been more “rivals/enemies” tension between them. I did like that while this is fantasy, there was a hint of historical laced throughout which just added depth. Overall I loved this story and need book two ASAP!

If you’re a fan of historical fiction (like WWII fiction stories) then I really think you’d love reading this fantasy story as well. If you like Greek mythology, then you also should also pick up this book, because the god element gave great mythology vibes.

Divine Rivals (2023) is a fantasy/romance/historical fiction novel that follows Iris Winnow, a budding journalist during a war started by the gods. Iris writes for the Oath Gazette and is trying to get promoted to columnist. Roman Kitt is her competition. Iris is balancing her career ambitions with her family troubles. Iris’s mom is suffering from alcoholism and her brother has just gone off to war. Iris begins writing letters to her brother on the typewriter her grandmother left her. Iris is not sure if her brother is receiving her letters, but when she gets a response that she finds on her bedroom floor, she starts corresponding with an anonymous person…

Divine Rivals (2023) is perfectly able to balance a lovely romance amid war with fantastical elements. The letters between Iris and Roman are heartfelt and reflective. Their enemies to lovers relationship makes Divine Rivals (2023) a perfect romance. While this novel is fantasy, its historical fiction aspects come from a mythical war started by gods. The time period feels like the World War II era, although the politics behind the war and the sides of the war are fantastical.

I really enjoy romance and fantasy, but historical fiction is very iffy for me. I was nervous going into Divine Rivals (2023), but ended up really enjoying the first book in this duology. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I would say this novel is more adult than a lot of other young adult books. The characters are teenagers, but they are living in very complicated times, which makes them seem older than they actually are. Not only is Iris dealing with war and the unknown whereabouts of her brother, but she is also trying to care for her mother. Iris deals with grief, tragedy, loss. This book is very hard hitting, but the romance lightens it up a bit.

It’s a school-turned infirmary filled with wounded bodies and souls and lives, and yet they are people so full of braverys and hope and determination it makes you hold a mirror to your own self when you’re alone. To find and name what lurks within you. Relief, shame, admiration, sadness, hope, encouragement, dread, faith. And why such things are there in your bones, when you’ve yet to give yourself up to something so selfless.


Rebecca Ross writes a World War I ‘esque story that weaves romance, paranormal occurrences, and a battle between gods in, Divine Rivals, the first book of the duology, Letters of Enchantment. Set in a human world with undercurrents of magic and an ancient conflict between immortals Dacre and Enva, similar to Hades and Persephone, death and destruction are the backdrop for a connection of hearts. Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are competing for a columnist position at a major paper but for very different reasons. When the ongoing war causes seismic shifts in each of their family dynamics and an uncertainty about their futures an anonymous and mysteries connection, in the form of letters under the closet door, is formed between them which begins to knit their lives together at the heart level. But gods are not concerned with the trivialities of human emotions and their new and precious link may be lost forever due to the battles of war.


Divine Rivals is a compelling story from both main character perspectives. Iris and Roman have very different viewpoints to a battle that is not their own but which leaves a trail of desctruction for humanity. As reporters, they share a skill of language that allows them to express situations, especially their own, in a way that can be both poignant yet meaningful. This connection forges a relationship that is a unexpected yet becomes an anchor for them both. I really enjoyed the individual growth as well as relationship development that occurred because of this bond. Divine Rivals also has a historical vibe interwoven with fantastical elements which gives it a unique flavor. Rebecca does a great job of blending details that have a historical link to World War I components of a world where magic, supernatural creatures, and gods fight for their own wants and desires.


I will warn you that Divine Rivals is the worst kind of cliffhanger. Not only are you left with something catestrophic happening to one of the main characters but a number of major threads of the story still have not been explained or fully developed. Some people like being put in this limbo until the next book comes out, but I’m not one of them. Especially, since Book 2, Ruthless Vows, is not scheduled for release until April 30, 2024. I am, however, invested in Iris and Roman as well as this conflict between Dacre and Enva so I will find a way to survive until next April.

A Massive Thank You to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book prior to its release date.

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

Full disclosure: I am not usually a YA fan. BUT this one seemed to have the right balance for me.

If I had to rate the first half of the book, I would have given it four stars. Hesitancy, miscommunication, guilt—all wrapped up in a few tropes I don't enjoy.

However, the second half completely makes up for it. I found myself glued to the latter half of the book and cursing the fact that I didn't realize this was book one in a series.

I was so bummed when I found out at the end of the novel this was going to be a trilogy, just because now I have to wait for the next books!
The plot and the characters were so good, and the slow-burn romance was on-point and well done that it wasn't rushed or even worse, dragged out. The fantasy world developed by Rebecca Ross in Divine Rivals will leave readers wanting more.