Divine Rivals

Article Written By: Lindsey D’Ambrosio

Disclaimer** This review may contain spoilers and is firmly based on my opinion**

Title: Divine Rivals, Letters of Enchantment Series

Author: Rebecca Ross

Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2023

Category & Genre:  Epistolary fantasy fiction

Page number: 357

Tropes:  Enemies to lovers, penpals/secret identity, living at war

Synopsis from the book jacket:

“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 this epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.”

Why did I choose this book to read?

When I read the book jacket I was definitely hooked. I went online to see what the public thought of this book and it seemed for the most part positive, so I wanted to get a good look at it for myself. The book jacket clearly self defines Divine Rivals as an enemies to lovers book as well, which is one of my favorite tropes in a book, so I automatically felt like this would be a book for me.

What did I like about Divine Rivals?

I loved the lore. The attention to detail with the sprinkling of the myths throughout the story was nicely done in terms of writing and very interesting in terms of story plot. I always loved reading about the Greek Gods and this gave me a similar feeling. I kind of felt the story of Enva and Dacre almost compares with the story of Hades and Persephone in some respects. I usually would say this isn’t great as it lacks originality but in this case it works nicely. It gives off the aura of Hades and Persephones story without copying any of the details which shows both the author's creativity and respect for the classics. 

I also really enjoyed the whole typewriter gimmick. The history behind the typewriters and the way it connects the characters in the present day is a great story arc. I appreciate how the characters get to know each without knowing their names. The idea of a name brings along with it prejudices that tend to disappear with anonymity. This way the characters were able to get to know each other in a deeper and different way without the influence of previous knowledge.

Where did Divine Rivals go wrong for me?

As a book that literally proclaims itself to be enemies to lovers… I feel like the author missed the mark here. There wasn’t much banter, or rivalrous behavior between the two main characters. I felt like I was reading more of friends to lovers rather than enemies to lovers, and even then at times it felt like they barely knew each other, as if they fell in love as strangers. I also didn’t feel like there was enough clarity overall in the case of the war between the gods. I had trouble understanding parts of the feud and war scenes, and had to reread a few times to get a better picture of what was happening.

Here are some of my favorite quotes…

“I don't think you realize how strong you are, because sometimes strength isn't swords and steel and fire, as we are so often made to believe. Sometimes it's found in quiet, gentle places.”

“I am coming to love him, in two different ways. Face to face, and word to word.”

“I love the words I write until I soon realize how much I hate them, as if I am destined to always be at war within myself.”

My character connection…

I found myself relating to Roman a lot. The struggle he has of an overbearing family that he is forced to live up to expectations is something that a lot of people go through as they grow up. He takes it in stride and deals with it in the best way that he can to maintain his freedom  while also keeping his family safe and intact. With regards to Iris, I was annoyed that he kept his identity from her while still reading her letters that she thought were being sent to someone else. It felt like a breach of privacy once he knew it was her since they had become a big part of one another's lives. However, I do understand that while his intentions were good, he was so in love with her that he was willing to do somewhat questionable things to get any piece of her that he could, until he was able to ultimately tell her how he felt in the end.

Star Rating: 2 stars

Spice Rating: 2 stars

Final Verdict: 

Although I hate reading from a third person perspective, it was written very well. Both main characters had good character development and their growth was traceable. I liked how the book centered around two people and anyone else mentioned was in passing/background mostly. I thought the focus being on them and them alone made the book more intimate. I’m looking forward to reading Ruthless Vows, the finisher to the duology, and will be reviewing that in future.