Divine Rivals by Rebeca Ross: A Review

This review is coming hot off the brain because I literally just finished reading this and I will not shut up about it because holyyyy did I love this book. ‘Divine Rivals’ is one of those books where I just kinda went ‘Oh this looks cool’ and proceeded to read the whole thing in 3 hours because I wouldn’t put the damn thing down.

Where to even start… ‘Divine Rivals’ is a brilliant marriage of warfare, fantasy, and romance and it was simply a delight to read. It was something different yet so familiar and I really did find myself immersed in the writing. (can confirm, I did preorder its sequel) But I also loved the dual perspective of Roman and Iris so much, with the true inner monologue to take us through the story right next to them.

Iris and Roman are rivals at one of the most prestigious papers in Oath, the Gazette and both of them are running for the columnist position. We get to watch as their dynamic takes a turn after Iris’ letters to her brother at war fall into Roman’s hands and how their fates are seemingly forever intertwined.

I ended up annotating this book, purely for the sake of slowing myself down as I read and Ross’ writing is so easy to line up with your own life experiences that it made the whole story sit close to my heart. I really can appreciate the relationship built purely upon letters and specifically the ‘one piece of armour’ letters made me feel a little more seen.

There are so many little details that I could spend an age talking about such as Iris’ experience with grief, Roman’s experience at home, and the pair's interactions that just made it so much more enjoyable to read.

Okay, I have to do it so… SPOILER ALERT ❗ ❗ ❗

The way that Iris Elizabeth Winnow and Roman Caver Kitt interact is something I would freaking die for. I actually smiled so hard when she figured out that Caver was Kitt it was embarrassing. Oh, and the letter from ‘Carver’ just before she left for the front lines!? I loved this book so much and everything about the letter and mutual silent pinning and the fact that he abandoned his freaking arranged marriage and came to the front lines for her!? And don’t even get me started on the ‘synonyms for sublime’ section because I might start crying.  

Alright, I’m done now. SPOILERS FINISH ❗ ❗ ❗

But this book really does have everything from secret identities to enemies to lovers and so many little details. This is an absolute must-read for any and all romance and fantasy readers and I am so very excited to get my hands on ‘Ruthless Vows’ in January.

Happy Reading,

- Mei xx