A Review of Divine Rivals
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. 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.
Plot
I initially struggled to feel pulled into the plot of the story, despite loving the characters and world the author created (which I’ll get into more in just a minute). This may have been due to the time jump between the first and second chapters, which was a bit disorienting. However, within the first couple of chapters, we are introduced to Roman and the plot quickly takes off from there. Some of the twists were expected but others took me by complete surprise, which made for a fun read.
Characters
The perspective of the novel alternates between Iris and Roman, which is a dynamic I either love or hate for enemies-to-lovers stories. And despite the pitfalls of split perspective stories, it works really well in this story to give the reader a full view of what’s going on. Additionally, it provides some depth to both characters, which makes both main characters more enjoyable. I enjoyed both characters even more when they were in scenes together, as they have excellent chemistry.
Setting
The book takes place in a unique setting, mixing elements of high-fantasy and Victorian-esque technology. I enjoyed this steam-punk like setting and found it a surprise after reading the description of the story when the book was sent to me. The author also does a great job of setting the scenes as well and I quickly felt immersed in Iris’s city as well as the front lines of the war.
My Recommendation
Divine Rivals is the first book in veteran author Rebecca Ross’s new series Letters of Enchantment. The book features a vibrant and immersive world with living gods, enchantments and steam-punk elements. There is also great chemistry between the two protagonists, Iris and Roman, who share point of views throughout the story. While the plot does start out slow, fans of magical enemies-to-lovers plots will fall head over heals for this beautifully written novel.