I received a digital ARC of “Divine Rivals” by Rebecca Ross through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Once I saw “magic typewriters” in the description of the book, I knew I had to read “Divine Rivals” by Rebecca Ross! 

Iris Winnow is at the end of her rope. Her brother is missing in action, after he had enlisted to serve in the goddess’s army, and her her mother is drowning her sorrows over her missing son, Iris is the only one fighting to keep the family afloat on the home-front. 

All of Iris’s hopes are pinned on her getting the coveted columnist position in her town’s prestigious newspaper, but she has fierce competition in the form of handsome but aloof Roman Kitt. The two are attracted to each other but have a difficult time reconciling those feelings with their rivalry.

When fate deals Iris another devastating hand, she decides to travel to the frontlines in search of her brother and to use her words to do more. She takes with her her magic typewriter, which connects her to someone Iris slowly begins to fall in love with as they exchange letters.

One of the last lines of this book’s description is “[an] epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.” That line succinctly describes Ross’s beautiful novel, “Divine Rivals.” 

“Divine Rivals” is one of the most creative fantasy novels I’ve read in the past few years. The delicate blend of the in-universe mythology and subtle magic system with our world’s WWI was a fascinating idea and it worked. The use of WWI imagery helped to set a familiar scene for readers and also grounded the magic, giving it a unique sense of realism. 

As someone who has recently done research on World War war correspondents for work, I was very impressed by how well Ross captured their experiences—even in a fictional world imbued with magic and gods. She shared with the reader what it was like for a civilian to see the action face by the soldiers in the trenches and was able to convey the horror of war without reveling in the gore and violence. The well-paced plot of the two magic typewriters connecting Iris and [redacted] was compelling enough that it created a beautiful love story in sharp contrast with such tragedy.

Ross has considerable writing talent to pull off “Divine Rivals” for not only did she have to write the book well enough to be published and win accolades—as it certainty will—she also had to develop multiple writing styles for her reporter main characters and write beautiful letters exchanged throughout the book by the two people in possession of magic typewriters. I admit that I was nervous the first few chapters of the book, because I wasn’t sure that having Ross could keep up writing for such gifted writers but i was soon embarrassed by my concern because she excelled at it.  

 

Not only did Ross write letters and snippets of newspapers articles well, she also wrote her characters well. We spent the majority of the time split between Iris and Roman and get to know them very intimately. There could not be two people any more different, and yet…the connection between the two is transcendent. “Divine Rivals” is enemies-to-lovers done right. The pair have a fierce rivalry, but nothing so insurmountable as the true hatred many YA fantasy novelists write when they try the trope. 

In truth, my only complaint with this book is that the sequel doesn’t come out until 2024! “Divine Rivals” was an amazing love story set against the harsh backdrop of a war between two gods. The interesting main characters, Iris and Roman, work past their rivalry and slowly begin to see beyond the walls each erected to defend themselves against more pain. As the reader watches the pair grow over the course of the book and the plot begin to unfold, they will stay up far past their bedtime to find out what happens next!

“Divine Rivals” is absolutely a five star read, so don’t wait to take it off your TBR!