Hi friends! I’m back with another book review, this time for one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 – Divine Rivals! Let’s hop in!
{You might also like – Happy Place Review}
Quick Synopsis
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.
Perfect for readers who want:
- Enemies to lovers trope
- 1900’s inspired world
- You’ve Got Mail but with magic
About Divine Rivals
Title: Divine Rivals
Author: Rebecca Ross
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Content Warnings: War, parental death, gore
Pages: 368
Age Range: 16+
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Date Published: 4 April 2023
Goodreads Description: 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.
I received a review copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Purchase Links
Divine Rivals Review
I had high hopes for Divine Rivals, as it was one of my most anticipated books of 2023, and I was not disappointed.
Divine Rivals was everything I wanted and more. The writing was lush and beautiful and filled with so much hope. The historical elements of the book were very well done, and I enjoyed the hints of fantasy worldbuilding we also got. Ross did a great job of setting up the plot, and a lot of things mentioned in the first half of the book paid off in the second half.
For a book about war and grief, it’s surprisingly comfortable. I think a lot of it is due to the writing, but also just how the general plot was set up. Both Iris and Kitt experience a lot of death and destruction, and they’re affected by the war in different ways. But they remain hopeful and carve out some joy for themselves in the dark times.
I was absolutely hooked. I could not stop reading, and the end of this book destroyed me. I really rooted for the romance between Iris and Kitt. I thought it was well-paced, and that the two of them really complemented each other well. The side characters were well written and fleshed out, and I came to care for the found family.
I could probably go on all day about this book, but I don’t think I have the words to do it justice. It was amazing, and I adored it, and I need the sequel like right now.
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Oh gosh this definitely sounds like a book worth reading – and the exact sort of thing that I enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation, one I’m picking up for sure when I can. Great review!
I’d like to try this book and see if I like it as much as it seems *everyone* else does. I’ve read 3 books (2 from one series and 1 from another) by this author now and have yet to be like completely obsessed. But I really want to love her work. I have nothing I necessarily *dislike* about it, I just haven’t been like “omg new favorite!” Haha! I hope this is the one to do that for me!
I was just about to pick up the audiobook for this so your review come at the best time!