Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary from GoodReads
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.
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REVIEW
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I really really wanted to review this book sooner. Having read in March, I was so excited and filled with FEELS...but burnout got the better of me and I lost any mental strength to do this review.
But now after almost 2 months and especially after I saw the cover reveal of the second book, I decided to properly fangirl about this fantastic book.
I did get some slight feels of the Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, especially on the anonymous letter exchange but trust me the plot and the story are way too different, both equally splendid.
Iris Winnow is a young article writer in the Oath Gazette, a newspaper which covers among other things the coming war between gods. In this fantasy world, forces of good and evil, personified in the forms of sleeping gods, are warring with one another as two of them have woken up and the humans must choose a side.
As the face of war reveals the true nature of some humans Iris tries to keep her family together and worries over her brother who has been missing on the front lines.
Her sadness leads her to type letters and slide them under the wardrobe of her home; but she does not realize that they reach the hands of Roman Kitt, who is also her adversary at work. As circumstances lead them closer to one another, and the threat of war looms closer, they will fall for one another, in a tale I am pretty sure already has gripped me by the heartstrings.
I really do not want to spoil the story too much. There are some parts of humor scattered here and there but the human relationships showcased in the coming fear of destruction and war is what gripped me also. That there can be equal brave people as also cowards, or that we need to find happiness whenever we can and treasure it because it can be fleeting.
The ending gutted me; seriously I got SJM cliffhanger feels after this ending, and I really hope to get to read the second book! Plus I am in love with the special editions that came out especially the Owlcrate one (still waiting for my box).
I definitely recommend this; it is unique and beautiful and so emotional, you'll not be able to put it down!
About the author:
DIVINE RIVALS, SISTERS OF SWORD & SONG, DREAMS LIE BENEATH, and The Queen's Rising Duology are her titles for teen readers. The Elements of Cadence Duology (A RIVER ENCHANTED and A FIRE ENDLESS) are her novels for adults.
When not writing, she can be found reading or in her garden, where she grows wildflowers and story ideas. Find her on Instagram @beccajross or online at www.rebeccarossauthor.com.
Rebecca is represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.
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