A review by kayaj
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

emotional

4.5

 I have a confession to make. Up until now, I have been against mainstream booktok books. But I’ve recently realized the error of my ways! If I just ignore Colleen Hoover and the countless smut, then there are actually quite a few gems that booktok hypes up. And Divine Rivals is one of them. 

 

Divine Rivals is one of my favorite new releases of the year. Iris and Roman’s letters are full of beauty and rich, romantic prose without ever feeling too flowery. The atmosphere is so subtly written that when you finally tear yourself apart from the book, you feel like a stranger in your own home*. After years of putting her releases on my lists, I finally read a Rebecca Ross book. And it was worth the hype.

*or subway. or office. or wherever you read

This book follows Iris and Roman in the middle of a war reminiscent of World War I or World War II. However, the author did create an original mythos instead of directly setting the story in one of the World Wars and the war is between gods. Iris’s brother Forest is off fighting in the war, and Iris’s only comfort is her mysterious penpal whom she writes to through her magical typewriter.

Roman Kitt, on the other hand, knows exactly that he’s writing to Iris Winnow, his rival at their shared newspaper. And for some reason, he can’t stop writing to her as he conceals his identity. 
 

THE LETTERS THEY WRITE TO EACH OTHER ARE SO ROMANTIC. They’re brimming with longing and yearning and beautiful, beautiful prose. Surprisingly, the fictional war-torn setting works very well with this You’ve Got Mail pitch. I was pulled into these characters and this world from the very first page.

I’m not a big historical fiction girlie, so I didn’t always connect with parts of this book. There was a part in the middle that dipped a little for me. But I really did enjoy the rest of this book. If you’re not normally a YA reader, I’d still highly recommend this book! It reads very in a very mature style and the characters are older. I deem Divine Rivals worth the hype!