As I am now entering my fantasy era, the next book on my list was Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross which is taking the internet by storm. I knew broadly that it was a Young Adult fantasy romance novel, but beyond that I went in pretty blind! Read on to see if I think this book is worth the hype.
Synopsis
When her brother Forest volunteers to fight in the new war that has erupted between two gods, he promises Iris that he will write to her. Months pass, and Iris has yet to receive any word. She begins to write letters to Forest on her typewriter. She puts them under her wardrobe and the letters magically vanish. But it turns out that Forest is not the one receiving the letters, and Iris forms an unexpected connection with her new pen pal. When things take a turn for the worst at home, Iris decides to set out to find Forest. What she doesn’t expect is that her work-place rival Roman C. Kitt will also show up along the way, showing up for Iris time and time again.
Details/Review
- This book is a mixture of WWI and Greek Gods (think The Iliad, but modern). Instead of a Great War between countries, two gods are fighting and bring humans into the fight.
- This is the first book in a duology entitled Letters of Enchantment with the second book set to release in December. Get ready to pre-order the 2nd book once you finish that cliff-hanger ending 😬.
- The relationship between Iris and Roman is tender, romantic, heart-warming, and pure in a way that not many love stories are these days.
- I thought Ross did a great job of building the world and giving us the history without it being too expository.
- Ross shows us the importance of living your life now, not letting others dictate what you will do, and of course, the power of words.
- There is a TON of hype surrounding this book right now. I think it is deserved; however, I am not obsessed. Is it a sweet and entertaining book? Yes. Will I make it my personality? No. Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
You can buy Divine Rivals by clicking here, or you can visit your local bookstore ☻.