DIVINE RIVALS BY REBECCA ROSS | BOOK REVIEW

01.07.2023

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.

Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

“ I write words that I don’t despise half of the time. Words that will mean something to someone else, as if I’ve cast a line into the dark and felt a tug in the distance.”

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Title: Divine Rivals
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: Historical and Romance Fantasy fiction
Goodreads rating: 4.38
Pages: 368 pages
Publication: 13 April, 2023 by Magpie
Reading Format: Softcopy

GOODREADS MINI REVIEW

Reading this book felt magical to me and I will be giving my reasons. There is something that captured my attention from the start and it is how much the writing stuck to me. I will say the words were easy, and it felt easy with the flow of sentences and how well the characters and the plot merged with them. This happens well because it is a historical fantasy fiction book so the adventures it will take you to is unmatched.

At first one will think that this is an enemies to lovers book but in actual sense it is not one but more of a rivals for a short span of time to lovers trope. I will not call it a friends to lovers because from the start you can tell it was not that. There is a way the first few chapters of the book will amaze you and begin to draw you into the world. The myths are magical and the fact that it will later make sense at the middle of the book through the timing is another bonus.

Enthralling

/ɪnˈθrɔːlɪŋ,ɛnˈθrɔːlɪŋ/

adjective

1. capturing and holding one’s attention; fascinating. (Dictionary meaning)

This is the best word from my perspective to use and describe how I felt reading this book. It is not a breeze through neither is it a heavy read . It is one where I would take my time to get back into it and it still held so much water and gave me more adventures to get into it. I will call it a fantasy book with a romance subplot and you will most likely enjoy all the characters especially my favorite Iris.

There is a part where this name which actually made me like the character is used in another context that warms my heart so much which is the best one to use as it is the true comforting meaning. I also find comfort with the letters Iris and Roman sent to each other using the typewriters from their grandmothers. There is something so pure when you bare your heart to a total stranger that you have fallen in love with and it is beautiful from a reader standpoint because I knew Roman already knew that she was the one and he absolutely loved and enjoyed it.

The way themes are explained, it does not sugar coat the raw emotions you will most likely feel reading it and that is another reason why it gained my attention. There is also attention to detail from the hair to the shoes to the clothes and it is also something that makes my heart leap because it is easy to envision what you are reading and it makes the experience better. Not only with the characters, there is detail and it is not burdensome but very intricate tiny details that go on for a while that you don’t miss what you have in your head and I genuinely liked it so much.

I also like how there is development and time seems to be moving along with everything going on. It also explains how cruel war and grief can be and how much ignorance can also affect people and places in the grand scheme of things. I liked that there was so much going on and it really spoke to me. I also felt Seen with some scenes that battled anxiety. It made me feel safe.

If you like to read about two teenagers who are rivals writers in a press with their lives hanging on to a thread but start to discover they can write magical letters to each other and it keeps them sane in a world that makes them suffer and going for what they believe in regardless of the struggles and for love then you will absolutely love this one. It is not fast paced but the pace starts to build up and very predictable. It is a light read that has one of the best magical world building and if you are new to reading the fantasy genre then this is a great start.

The second book is coming out next year and if you don’t want to be left with a cliffhanger then you wait till the next book is released but what is the fun in that? Read now and be merry.

I highlighted so much in this book because there are so much quotes that I resonate with.

– Ernestine