This was a great read. I was happy that a sequel was teased and can't wait to see what happens. I really enjoyed the world building and the multiple narrators. I love when a novel creates its own mythology which is well done here.

Thank you so much to @Macmillan.Audio and @netgalley for the early listener copy of Divine Rivals. Kayla at @idlewildreads makes the most beautiful reels and the one for this novel made my jaw drop. I wanted to read anything that would evoke the feeling that her reel made me feel (what a weird sentence.) I became a bit apprehensive when I realized it was both YA and fantasy, but it’s always good to branch an out a bit, right?

Iris is a young journalist vying for a promotion against her enemy Roman Kitt. Her personal life is nothing like Roman’s though, and it’s hard to keep her head in the game. Her brother has gone off to fight in the war against the gods, and her mother is drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Iris finds respite in letter writing, and when her letter is returned by an unexpected source, sparks begin to fly.

This is the perfect novel for those dipping their toe in the fantasy genre. There is no world building and little description of the warring gods, rather the author places the emphasis on the love story. I can see why serious fantasy lovers would be a bit disappointed in that choice, but it worked for me. The ending isn’t resolute, so like many fantasy novels, I believe this will be a series. Time will tell if I choose to pick up the next installment, but I enjoyed my brief time with these characters. Additionally, the narration and war time setting eliminated any whiny or angsty voice, which is usually a no go for me in YA.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You beautiful, beautiful book!!! Fan-freaking-tastic!!!!!
Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books/Macmillan Audio, and the magnificent author Rebecca Ross for this audioARC!!!! I am pre-ordering the hardcover today!
There is absolutely so much love in my heart for this book that I may need a book transfusion STAT to get over the fact that I just finished and I NEED MORE!!!! My status is critical and I'm crashing!
Oh Kitt!!!!!
Freaking Forest!!!!!
Why does Iris always have to lose the people she loves? Death, abandonment, being forced to leave people behind...so many people she deserves to hold on to. Oh, my aching heart!
I want to throw something.
I am going through all the stages of book grief here. Neither Iris or Kitt would be proud of my meltdown!
Okay...pulling myself together because I'm still grasping just how incredible it is that Rebecca Ross was able to craft a book that tells both a compelling story of war as if set during WW2, but is in fact a fantasy novel about two writing rivals falling in love because their magical typewriters brought them together. Ross' writing is beautiful and flawless, and the imagery immersive.
I cannot recommend this book enough! If I could give it ten stars, I totally would.
BUY IT!!!
READ IT!!!!
SHARE IT!!!!!!

NO REGRETS!!!!!

Rebecca Ross is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I went into Divine Rivals with high expectations and I was not disappointed! This story is beautiful written and descriptive, It includes elements of fantasy, magic and Gods, is rivals-to-lovers, includes pen pals (with a magical twist), and has early 1990s vibes.

The book follows Iris Winnow, who is trying to hold her family together. Her brother is away at war, and hasn't been heard from in months, and her mother is struggling with addiction. All Iris wants is to offer her family some stability and comfort, by earning a position as columnist at Oath Gazette, a respected newspaper. Unfortunately, Roman Kit, stands in her way of achieving this goal. I don't want to give much more away, just know that this is such a fantastic story full of adventure, danger, and love.

Iris is strong, brave, mature, and just trying to do her best for her family. She felt relatable and I was routing for her the entire book. Roman was just everything and I loved him. The banter between these two was incredible and I always had a smile on my face as they interacted with one another. It is mostly told from the POV of Iris, however we did get a few chapters from Roman which I absolutely loved knowing his thoughts and feelings.

I listened to the audiobook and thought both narrators did a fantastic job. I finished this in a day because I could not put it down! I will now be patiently waiting the conclusion the next book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A girl who feels alone in a world at war sets out to find out what has happened to her brother. Along the way she makes some good friends and falls in love with someone who shares her passion for writing.

I am a huge fan of Rebecca Ross' voice and writing style. All of her works have delivery unique lore, and Divine Royals is no different. This gave me wonderful 20's era vibes set in a magical world during a war, and I absolutely inhaled it!

Divine Rivals is a Romeo and Juliet with a bit of a period historical war and bit of fantasy mixed into it. It was a bit of a slow start, but I expected a little of that with this being this first in a multi book series. There was a lot of world building, and revealing of the magical systems.

Normally period pieces don't work well for me, but Ross wrote in a way that just had that hook. It could have been the magically in the time piece or possibly the journalism and writer aspect of things. Etiher way it just worked and I absolutely can't wait until the next one.

Oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness. I am writing this review 2 days after finishing this ALC and I'm still just as enamored with this story as I was the entire time I was listening to it. Often, I'll think I love a story but once I marinate with my thoughts, I realize it didn't stand the test of time.

But I should have known better. How could I have doubted Rebecca Ross? Her writing is so impeccable, her melding of music and magic was enchanting, and the characters and relationships (both romantic and platonic) are *chef's kiss* And let's not forget about the plot. The whole front line setting added so much angst and tension to an already riveting story.

Long story short, I need everyone to read this book AS SOON as it releases (or listen to it. The narration was gorgeous 😍) now I'll just be stalking Rebecca Ross' instagram for news on the next book in the series because that ending had me SHOOKETH.

Thank you to netgalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn’t influence my review. I absolutely loved the voices of both characters! But I wish we could hear them dependent on the male and female dialogue as opposed to the chapter.

Loved it, like all of her work -- the romance was tender and realistic, and I loved the journalism setting; very unique for a fantasy work!

🎧 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Now that is a cliffhanger ending. I was drawn to this book by the title, and loved this story of gods at war, and two human rivals connected by a magical typewriter. That in itself sounds weird, but it’s really good. The characters are great and I’m really excited to read the next installment.

Themes: 🗣️🗣️☢️⌨️🖤💍

My feelings: 😀🥹😶‍🌫️🫢🫡🤗

#netgalley
@netgalley
@macmillan.audio
#macmillanaudio
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#goodreads
#readmorebooks
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Hopeful and heartfelt, Rebecca Ross has created a world that is reminiscent of our own. Filled with sorrow and the intense desire to find joy amidst the chaos.

Divine Rivals follows two rival journalists through their early careers, spanning from newsroom to war trenches. The world is one of warring god and weary soldiers,of magic typewriters and fated love.

I have fallen deeply for this authors writing style. It has an old world story tellers feel that is often threaded with otherworldly lore. If Ross is a modern day troubadour ( I suspect she is!) she is one who excels in quiet intimate moments.Fans of rivals to lovers who crave a bit more in the world building will easily fall for this particular tale.

The audio-book version of Divine Rivals is spectacular and only feeds into that storyteller feel. It's easy to play this and imagine being bellied up to a large fireplace in an old tavern with a tankard listening to an old tales being spun.
I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review

This novel blew me away! The romance between Iris and Roman was so masterfully written that someone with a coal for a heart like me couldn't help but to melt and root for them all the way through to the end. The letters that they wrote to each other were so sweet and heartfelt, and I loved how they became more and more intimate. The whole enemies to lovers trope worked out so well in this novel and it was pretty believable. Sometimes enemies to lovers can feel really forced, but this flowed so naturally.

I received the audio arc and I have to say that both narrators, Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk, made the whole thing come alive. They were both so wonderful to listen to! The narrators really made me believe that Iris and Roman were destined for each other (even though they were both 18-19 and tbh reading about young love isn't my thing).

I can't wait for the second book to come out. I hope that the author delves more into the gods responsible for the war, their history, their mythology, and the population's beliefs. It wasn't clearly explained imo other than through oral history, so I pictured it as a war of religious ideologies. Without being too specific and spoilery, the epilogue suggests that we might see the war from a different viewpoint that's more omniscient. I'd love for the author to bring more of that type of fantasy into this series.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audio arc.

This story is amazing. It’s about two journalists in a war torn time that find a magical connection, despite their initial dislike for each other.

The audio for this book was spot on. I will only listen to audiobooks with well done narration, and their narration was perfect for this book!

This book is 2 POV, has mild language, and brief vague open door

A thousand thank yous to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC audiobook copy of Divine Rivals!

If Rebecca Ross writes it, I will read it. She is by far my favorite author. Her stories always gets me so investing from page one. And there is something so lyrical and atmospheric about her writing. From the start, I knew this was going to be my new favorite book. I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment. I see myself rereading this book and it's follow up over and over. The ending had me floored and sobbing. And I cannot wait for the sequel.

This book is really good. The romance in the book is a rivals to lovers. It is a little different however as there is a surprise element that I don't want to spoil. I love how this book is written and there are moments where I just couldn't do anything because I needed to process what had happened. I loved all the characters and their relationships to eachother. I love that this war is fought due to God's. I loved getting to learn bits about them and why it started. This book has war, betrayal, writers, love, death and romance. The ending has left me hanging and I need to know what happened next.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook of Divine Rivals. This book was beautiful, tragic, and gut wrenching. While the academic rivals aspect of the book was enjoyable to read about, I found the aspects of war to be the most compelling. Ross captures the complexities and devastation of war in such a compelling way. It is the soldiers and civilians who lose the most in this war, not the two gods who are waging it. I eagerly look forward to the next book in this series and I will certainly be reading Ross’ other books.

"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 so guarded.'"

I absolutely adored this book! Set as a historical fantasy with fighting gods, Iris Winnow decides to go to the front as a corresponder to report on the war. Throw in her rival, Roman Kitt, and we're set for fun banter and the most adorable rivals to lovers! Meanwhile, Iris is writing letters to another mysterious man & able to bare her soul in away she's never been able to with anyone else.

Historical mythological fantasy meets You've Got Mail "esque" love letters and rivalry.

I read it in less than 24 hours & I already cannot wait for the next one! Great audio with dual narrators for the dual narratives. I listened to this while cleaning & even though I may have been scrubbing the bathrooms, I found myself grieving with Iris, laughing at her witty jibes & overall performance of the story!

"He thought about who he had been before he had met her. Before she had stepped into the Gazette. Before her letter had crossed his wardrobe door. He thought about who he wanted to be now that her hand was in his. He would always be grateful for that decision that night, not so long ago. That night when he decided to write her back."

This book was so interesting and unique! It took me a little while to get into it but it really kept my interest after I got into it.
We start with 2 rivals at a newspaper. They are competing for the same promotion and when Iris's mom dies, she decides to leave and go to the front lines of the war against the gods. Meanwhile, she has been writing letters to her brother who is fighting in the war and who she hasn't heard from in months. She puts them underneath her wardrobe door and they vanish. She can only hope he gets them. But it's really Roman, her rival who is receiving them. He writes back and they start an anonymous pen pal relationship.
I liked both Iris and Roman. Each had a different audio narrator and I think they were both fantastic. We got a little bit of found family once Iris goes to the front lines of the war which is my favorite trope. They make the cutest little found family.
This book really tries not to sugar coat war. Bombs go off, towns get overtaken and people are lost. It's very real. I have read many books that involve war and battles, but this one does it differently. Iris is not a soldier. She is reporting from the front lines, seeing the war first hand, but not fighting. It was such a different perspective on war and I really enjoyed it.
There was an ending to this book, and then there was an *ending.* I saw both of them coming, but not until right before they happened. They were both such a hook for the next book and I really can't wait for it!

There are several aspects of the book that I loved and some aspects that I disliked, but the good far outweighed the bad.

Firstly, I simply LOVED the romance. I loved the two main characters together and I loved their journey to each other. I especially loved that he pursued her and that it was partially an epistolary tale. I love the secret pen pal trope.

Regarding the rest of the plot, I think it really took a back seat to the romance and if not for the fantastic romance I would have had more problems with the plot and setting. First of all, this read more like historical fiction the fantasy and I felt that the world building was pretty lazy. The entire war between the gods (which was too similar to this author's recent adult duology), was told through the stories that the main character was telling to the love interest. I didn't really care about the stories. They seemed superfluous, but they weren't. They just didn't hold my attention. I also think there are some parts that didn't feel necessary, like her mother's death. Overall, I really loved it but I do wish it was stand-alone and that the story was tied up at the end. I also wish it had leaned more towards historical fantasy, like set during WWI, , but with magic. I think this author would write wonderful historical fiction and the world building would be better.