The beginning of the fantasy series, Letters of Enchantment, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross follows two rival journalists as they face the war that surrounds them and the fate it has in store.
The gods are awake, and they are at war, a war that they keep pulling humans into—humans like Iris Winnow’s older brother. When she chooses to write letters to her brother and stick them in her closet, Iris is amazed to find that the letters disappear. But they aren’t going to her brother. They are going directly into the hands of her rival, Roman Kitt. When Roman writes back to her anonymously, they form a bond that will follow Iris onto the front lines.
This book is described as Shadow and Bones meets Lore, and while I’ve only read Lore, I see the connection. This is a fascinating fantasy with an interesting plot. The war scenes and the way the world works made this tale feel old-fashioned in a way I genuinely appreciated. I would even say it was reminiscent of Lovely War by Julie Berry (which highly recommend the audiobook for). It made me feel like I was in a fantastical version of World War I. The characters have complex lives and relationships, and I truly hope that the author will be getting into them more deeply in later books.
The beginning of the book is a bit slow, but the story does certainly pick up as it goes on. And like any good book in a series, it leaves off on a dramatic cliffhanger that makes you itch for the next book. Unfortunately for me, it may be a bit until I get to it due to my other reading obligations, but I look forward to picking up the next book, Ruthless Vows, when I get the opportunity.
One thing I will say is read this one physically. I listened to the audiobook, and I felt a disconnect from the story that I don’t think would have been an issue had I used a different reading method. The audiobook was eleven hours, and even sped up it felt like it. It may have been the fact that I had classwork that kept me from listening for as often or as much at once as I’d have preferred, but I truly think that a physical read is the way to go with this story.
Divine Rivals is also part of the Blough-Weis Library’s 2024 Battle of the Books lineup, so don’t miss out on your chance to read it and rank it!
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