Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross (2023)

YA Fiction | Historical | Fantasy

Blurb:

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.

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

Goodreads | Amazon

pooled ink Review:

I swore I was done with these rambling reviews and yet here we are. Are you ready?

I am CRYING. Nay! SOBBING. Ughhhhh I loved this book so much and I’m glad it’s just going to be a duology (though I’d have preferred a standalone I think, but I definitely don’t have the strength for a trilogy or heaven forbid anything even longer because I love Roman and Iris far too much and NEED their happy ending. I NEED IT. So I’ll settle for a duology).

I might describe Divine Rivals as a fantasy-spun WWII rivals-to-lovers romance and it is so heart-wrenchingly swoony and divinely written I’m torn between re-reading it right away and lunging for the finale. I’ll pick reading book 2 obviously but gosh it’s tempting to sink back into the lush prose that’s already imprinted upon my thoughts. 

Okay, let me get some qualms out of the way quickly and then I’ll get right back into the yays.

I went into this somehow unaware it was a fantasy. In fact I don’t remember if I even read the blurb. I walked into a favorite local bookshop, I was asked if I’d read it yet (which I hadn’t), and upon their shocked gasp I snatched a copy from the shelf and took a chance. But yes, I genuinely wasn’t entirely sure what I was to expect. When it finally reached the top of my TBR stack beside my bed, I opened it up and was immediately intrigued. “Oh cool. Is this a WWII historical fiction romance?” And then they mention a goddess drafting Iris’ brother to the front and I was like “Hmm? Come again?”

THE WORLD is clearly inspired by 1930s/40s Europe (I’m pretty sure anyway but, as I’ve said, I did no research beforehand so don’t hold me to that guess) with Oath possibly being London?? Anyway, the only fantasy elements are that there are different names for places and months etc. as well as a different founding lore that includes various gods and goddesses that did…something…and existed…because? Anyhow, now two of them, Dacre and Enva whom had Hades and Persephone vibes, are at war and dragging humans into it to fight for them. Wild. Also, why? Honestly that whole portion of the world-building felt very unclear to me and I mostly just tried to ignore it so as to fend off the annoyance that generally comes with confusion and I mentally categorized things according to the WWII we know from our world.

Now, if you ignore this vague Enva vs Dacre issue you can just accept it – “Ah, there is a war going on.” – and everything makes sense from there. Of course, this then makes me wonder if perhaps this book should’ve just been regular historical fiction in that case. Ya know? So far the “fantasy” part doesn’t add anything but confusion (That could just be me and my dusty brain though. *shrugs*).

OH! And the other “fantasy” element (and a major plot point that I found very fun) is that Iris has a magical typewriter of sorts and it brings her an unexpected pen pal.

Anyway, that’s my biggest qualm with this book. The almost unnecessary muddled “fantasy” foundation.

Now onto the things I LOVED…

THE WAR was so sharply written I, a very much non-crier, was on the verge of tears several times throughout. The descriptions of the trenches, of the terror, of the sacrifice, of the exhaustion, of the sirens, etc. was so vivid it was piercing. I will say part of that is likely aided by the fact that it really could be a WWI or WWII historical fiction novel and being based on a real event is so particularly, painfully sharp because, well, it’s real. Why is Titanic so sad? Because it’s tragic, yes, but also because it happened. I’ve seen enough documentaries and war films to have no trouble conjuring the images Ross penned in this book to mind and topping that with the deep attachment she managed to form between reader and characters? Agony. Tears. Terror. I had to put down the book several times to breathe only to pick it back up again desperate to know.

THE ROMANCE between Iris and Roman was simply beautiful, wistful, witty, and crafted with such human longing it also made me want to cry. Numerous times I re-read parts of their letters and tempted to take out a highlighter or sticky tabs or something to mark them (and I still might). Maybe it’s just because lately I’ve been binging Romantasy that likes its spice (and hey spice can be fun and I get it, spice sells), but some of those books seem to hinge on the fact that its spice is what will sell it and the contrast of this era, this courtship, this tenderness… Oh my gosh I’m OBSESSED. To find someone who might love me the way Roman loves Iris would be… I have no words. It feels impossible. It’s the sort of love one dreams of. It’s the sort of love I dream of.

This is the first book of Rebecca Ross’ that I’ve ever read and I found her prose to be devastatingly lovely, well-paced, brimming with an array of emotion, and I want to shout about it to everyone I pass on the street. Have you read this book? You’ve simply got to read this book! It’s the sort of book that makes me want to meet the author, apologize for the sudden tears welling in my eyes, and tell her thank you. 

Divine Rivals did more than tell a story, it spoke to me. It hauled me by my shirt collar into its depths and between the relentless dance of typewriters and ruthless quake of bombs, it spoke to me.

Cheers.

P.S. I forgot I have one more complaint about this book… THE CRUEL CRUEL CRUEL CLIFF-HANGER. LET MY PRECIOUS CHARACTERS BE SAFE AND HAPPY. *slaps the author’s evil typing hands away* So, yes, I’d definitely recommend having book two on hand to dive into straight away. Trust me.

Meet Rebecca Ross!

Rebecca Ross is the #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy books for teens and adults. 

She has written multiple highly acclaimed duologies, including LETTERS OF ENCHANTMENT, ELEMENTS OF CADENCE, and THE QUEEN’S RISING as well as two standalone novels: DREAMS LIE BENEATH and SISTERS OF SWORD & SONG. 

When not writing, she can be found in her garden where she plants wildflowers and story ideas. She resides in Northeast Georgia with her husband and her dog.

Rebecca is represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram