This is a satisfying read with a strong grounding and emotive qualities. The setting is pseudo European World War 1, exchanging war machines with a supernatural premise and fantastical creatures. The lead characters are good people in a bad time and place, making the best of heartaches, ambitions, and especially war.

Story: Iris wants nothing more than to become a columnist at the country's biggest newspaper. But she is thwarted by a rival: Roman Kitt. He comes from a wealthy family and has all the advantages she never had, making their competition for a position that much harder. Compounding this, Iris' brother received the call from the goddess to become a soldier in a fight between Gods. Her mother is drinking herself to death and Iris doesn't know if she will be able to survive with the meager amount she makes currently at the newspaper as an apprentice. All the while, the gods' war comes closer and closer to her City and she is desperate to find her brother.

In this story, two Gods have awakened and begun a grudge war - using mortals as pawns. Each as the ability to sway the hearts of the mortals and bring them into their cause. In this pseudo 1910s Europe, fantastical creatures (rather than planes) bomb the villages on the front while hellhounds decimate the soldiers during the night. It is into this milieu that Iris finds herself abandoned by her brother as he leaves for the battles and shackled with a mother dealing with addiction problems.

It is an interesting concept and the author makes it work by creating decent and strong characters readers want to follow and cheer. Iris is a good foil for Roman Kitt and whether the story's scenes are at a metropolitan City (think Paris), a small village near the front, or in the trenches, the characters are believable and do what make sense for the situation. In this way, the romance doesn't get in the way of the story and there is an organic development that is a pleasure to read in a YA. Iris isn't the impulsive heroine who is too stupid to live and Roman isn't the ubiquitous smirking emo love interest. Each has their strengths and weaknesses that add to the story. There are relatable and interesting side characters along the way.

In all, I greatly enjoy this pseudo World War I story. In many ways, it reminded me of Atonement - just not with as depressing an ending. This is the first book in a series and completes an arc but leaves plenty of room to continue.

Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrator did an excellent job of bringing the story to life. I highly recommend that version as a result. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Divine. This book is simply put: divine. I am obsessed. I was within pages. Ok, lie. I was from the cover and title. The pages just furthered it. I do not know how I will go on until we get the next one.

This book was beautiful and heartbreaking. What Kitt and Iris go through really pulls you in different directions. Iris is such a brave and fearless character even if she doesn't realize it. Kitt is...how can I describe him and what he did? He's devastating. In a good way.

I have to say, the way this plot line evolved, I was worried about this being a similar, modern version of Up Close and Personal. You know what? I still am with that cliffhanger.

Read this book.
It's Divine.
It's Sublime.
It's Transcendent.

This book made my lil journalist heart sing and solidified Rebecca Ross as an auto-buy author for me.

Divine Rivals reads like a historical fiction set during WWI or WWII, but the setting is entirely fictional. This creates a very unique experience where it was slightly easier for me to imagine the world and setting because it was a little more realistic, but the story maintained a sense of fantasy which I really appreciated.

Read Divine Rivals for:
- Rivals to Lovers
- Secret penpals
- 20th century newsroom vibes
- Vengeful gods

---- 5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The magic took me back to that magical wardrobe in Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, the love story reminded me of the Mr Darcy and Miss Bennett, and the war story is a fantasy version of WWII. Twist? The war is between the Gods!

“When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever”

Rival - lovers
Slow Burn
War Torn Family and Friends

Pros
Beautiful writing style, elegant but easy to read
Love Story is sweet, intentional, and a sweet slow burn
Relatable themes
Magic is cozy and fun
Loved the relationship with her brother
The heaviness of war, addiction, death are balanced with the stunning writing style

Cons
For my own personal preference, the pace was too slow

Again, Rebecca has stolen my heart!

I love Rebecca Ross ability to tell a story and have you completely immersed in the world and it feels familiar even though you have never been there before.
This book felt familiar but not like something I recently picked up and rear.
I loved the whit and charm both Iris and Kitt had. I loved the side characters and how they started developing.
I am very excited to see where this duology leads and am so excited to learn more about these Gods and their myths.
I also NEED a magical typewriter asap!

**Review will be published March 31st on my sites and socials**

OMG READ IT.

Audiobook review: LOVED. I love that dual narration. And since this book had a letter writing element to it I was so excited that it was voiced by the two main characters for each reading of the letter experience. I thought the narrators did great and made this book even more incredible.

Consider this my new favorite Rebecca Ross book. From the first few chapters I knew it was going to be a winner. It had one of my favorite subtle romantic set-ups that I LOVE SO MUCH. The tension and chemistry between Iris and Roman was astronomical. I was smitten from the get-go.

The setting is one of those unique facets I can’t get enough of. It’s fantasy BUT with a historical elements that are an undeniable hit when combined. The warfare + meddling gods + humans just trying to survive are the kind of fantasy books I love to read. I liked the intensity factors and wondering who’s going to survive the next chapter and where the next shoe may drop. It’s all here and I’ll say it again, READ IT.

I was perfectly shocked by the ending. One of those, I see you coming, but now the HOW’S. And the OMG WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ya know? I am devastated 100 different ways and yet it was all so beautiful?! The quiet moments slayed me and the passion was magnetic.

Rebecca Ross’s best book. I said it.

Overall audience notes:

Upper YA Fantasy Romance
Language: very little
Romance: fade to black
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, war themes, loss of a parent

It has been quite a while since a book has broken my heart like this. Divine Rivals was a quick and exciting read. The world building was simple and minimal with no lengthy info dumps. It had elements of historical fantasy and romance that mixed for a very compelling story. This book featured an enemies to lovers relationship that progressed beautifully! The loss and heartbreak in the war torn world really pulled at my emotions. I nearly cried but managed to hold myself together. The characters were all so unique and well written. The ending was quite a shock and I'm going to have to read the next book when it comes out. Such a cliffhanger!

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this alc in exchange for an honest review.

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!

4.5 stars, rated up

* After reading (and loving) an advance of this story in October ‘22, I recently received the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, and listened as I again took in this exquisitely told tale. Both narrators’ performances are excellent and elevate the story.

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)

When Iris' brother goes off to war in a war between two rival gods, she heads to the war front as a war correspondent to track down why she hasn't heard from him. The war between the gods was an enjoyable storyline but the poor romance plot line kind of killed this book for me. It unfortunately brought down an otherwise compelling and interesting read with a slog of correspondence and drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!

4.5-4.75 Stars

My first thought after finishing this novel was, WTF just happened... I need some time to think and collect myself.

My second thought was, I need the next novel now!

I went in blind and I'm glad I did. I didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen. This novel started off as a typical enemies-to-lovers. Iris and Roman are competing for the same columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette. Reminded me a little bit of <i>The Hating Game</i>. But then things shifted halfway through and it became almost like a WWI historical fiction. Things got dark and tense fast. My only complaint would be the world-building. Things weren't as clear as they could be and I wanted to see more of this world the author has created. Hopefully, we will get to see that in the second novel.

Overall, I highly recommend!


***I would like to thank NetGalley, Rebecca Ross (the author), and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

**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.

Narration,
This book was dual narrated by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk. If you are an audiobook person I would recommend this book. They did a great job using their voices to express the emotion of the two characters. There voices were pleasant to listen to and i would definitely listen to something else they narrated again. I hope they come back for the second book.

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 audiobook from Netgalley, Macmillan Audio in exchange for my free and honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early #DivineRivals #NetGalley ***

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.

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.

I will forever read anything Rebecca Ross writes.

Short Synopsis:
Iris and Roman work together at the newspaper. They are both competing for a promotion. All while there is a war with the gods and magical typewriters.

Thoughts:
After Ross’ A River Enchanted duology quickly became a favorite fantasy read, I had high expectations for this one. Divine Rivals started off slow for me, but it quickly picked up. The enemies-to-lovers romance was sweet. The magic was beautiful. And the war was heartbreaking. I really enjoyed this one, and will be impatiently waiting for book two of this duology.

If you’re a fan of YA fantasy, you’ll definitely want to read this one!

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 Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this book.

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

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

I’ve decided that historical fantasy’s are my go to sub genre for fantasy after reading this book… it would be the perfect book for dipping your toes into the fantasy/magical realism genre. It gave off more HF but with the cliffhanger it seems Book two may dwell more into fantasy. I was rooting for Iris and Roman from the start. I loved the tension between the two it kept giving me The Hating Game vibes but make it Historical haha I can’t wait to see where this story goes in book two.

Iris’s brother is at war for the gods, so Iris writes him letters and puts them in her wardrobe. But she’s surprised when they start to disappear everyday. Are they magically being sent to her brother… or to her work rival at the local newspaper?

Iris is Roman’s rival, so when he receives her first letter on his bedroom floor, he throws it away. But the more she writes, the more he’s drawn to her.

Rebecca Ross has weaved an intricate fantastical story of love and war, and all is not fair for her main characters. The perspectives switch between Iris and Roman so readers can understand both sides, and the narration of the audiobook switches as well. The two narrators are perfect and they read with such emotion that readers have no choice but to be swept up in the story!

This book has a lot going on - a war between gods, work place rivalry, an arranged marriage, secret letters, a missing brother, found family, and journalists on the front lines of war.

There was so much going on that the book did not spend enough time on each of the elements. The gods who sparked the war were pretty under-explained, the devotion Iris has for her brother is also unclear, the magic system is hardly referenced, and the reasons why Iris would be attracted to Kit are vague.

I’m not sure if this was a romance book or not, although it probably would’ve been better if the romance aspect played a smaller part in the book.

I wanted more of Iris’s story with less of the elements that were not necessary to the story.

This is my second time reading/listening to Divine Rivals. As soon as I saw the audiobook was available, I had to request it. This is the book that made Rebecca Ross my new favorite author, it’s the best thing I’ve read this year. I am obsessed. And I am very pleased to say that the dual narration does it justice. Perfection. Literally trying to make everyone I know read this book!

Here’s my review from the ebook:
This book is exactly why I love to read. Rebecca Ross has conjured such real characters, and her beautiful writing drew me in from the start.

Divine Rivals is like a book out of time. Mixing the mid-twentieth century with lore, it feels truly magical to read. Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt work at the same newspaper and are quite literally each other’s competition and rivals. They come from two different walks of life, but are drawn together by higher forces when the letters Iris writes to her soldier brother somehow end up in Roman’s hands. One day, Roman decides to respond and thus my absolute favorite trope: anonymous penpals, is born.

I could not put this book down. It has consumed me. For the first time ever, I’m sad to have read this early, because now I have to wait even longer for the second book. I will be thinking of Roman and Iris every day until then..