Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross

 “In the meantime, I hope you will find your place, wherever you are. Even in the silence, I hope you will find the words you need to share.”

There has been quite a lot of hype around this book and I just had to read it for myself. While I think the hype was probably a bit much, I still very much enjoyed this story and the craft of writing by Rebecca Ross.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Started: January 5th, 2024

Finished: January 16th, 2024

Synopsis: This story takes place at first, in a place called Oath. We follow Iris Winnow, a writer working for her local newspaper. She and another character, Roman Kitt, are fighting for the coveted columnist position at the newspaper while a war of the gods is happening around them. Towards the middle of the book, the setting moves to the actual war front with both characters embroiled in the conflict, the heartache, and the words that connect them all. 

Review: As I said before, I really liked this book, but was it overhyped...yes. While the language was beautiful and the emotions behind the war story felt real, there was something that didn't click fully for me. I don't know if it was the romance or the lore of the gods, but there was something that stopped me from giving this a full 5 stars. But I digress, let's get into the details and see if we can figure it out together. 

To start off, I love a good enemies to lovers trope. Both Iris and Roman were perfect candidates for this trope since they were both vying for the lead columnist position at their local newspaper. Each had had roughly the same amount of articles written for the paper, so they were on a fairly even playing ground for this position. However, when Iris's mother dies, the position ends up going to Roman.

Before all of this, we are introduced to Forest Winnow, Iris's older brother. He chose to join the war effort and fight for Enva, one of the five main gods in this world. Forest leaves and promises to write to his sister, but ends up not sending a single letter. This brings Iris's writing into the forefront. Throughout the months, Iris has been writing to Forest and slipping them underneath her wardrobe door. What she doesn't know is that those letters are sent to Roman, her rival. Disguising his pen name as just Carver, Roman writes back to Iris and develops feelings for her, even knowing that she is his rival for this columnist position. 

While I enjoyed this aspect, I didn't really feel the love connection between these two through these letters. I feel like that they didn't converse enough to warrant this intense love that they were feeling for each other. If they had been speaking for years, it would have been different. Maybe some gaps in the writing so that the yearning grew? And when Iris eventually leaves Oath to go tot he war front, I found it a bit hard to believe that Roman would drop this coveted job SO QUICKLY to be with Iris. The job felt almost inconsequential at this point.  Like the whole reason they were enemies was just eviscerated, just like that.

After Oath, we move to Avalon Bluff, a small town close to the war front. Iris, after losing the columnist job, decides to become a war correspondent now that her mother has passed away. Here, Iris meets Attie and Marisol, another war correspondent and bed and breakfast owner, respectively. It is here where Iris learns about the siren calls, the drills, and the eithrals. (Eithrals are beasts controlled by Dacre's army, who are fighting against Enva's army.) Throughout her time in Avalon Bluff, Iris interviews soldiers and generals and even takes a trip to the actual front lines to write on the conditions of the war. Through this time she is still messaging Carver (aka Roman). It isn't until Roman shows up in Avalon Bluff as well that Iris thinks that he is just trying to rub her nose in it for getting the columnist job. Which again, at this point was moot. 

The more that Iris and Roman spent together in person, felt very realistic to me. They acted as teenagers would. When Roman reveals that he is, in fact, Carver, Iris feels betrayed. Which I understand. However, the point was kind of glossed over way to quick for me. Though what they talked about was pretty tame, I would have expected much more of a push from Iris seeing as how Roman lied to her. 

The more time they spend together, the more they realize that they are in love. They decide to get married quickly because of the intensity of the war. After their one night together, bombs are dropped on Avalon Bluff and Roman and Iris are separated. Gas bombs go off, and a man with a gas mask grabs Iris and takes her away back to Oath. Turns out, it is her brother, Forest, who she hasn't heard from in awhile. Forest leaves Roman in the gas plains and only takes Iris, which makes her furious. Rightfully so, if that was your husband reaching out to you, then I would run back and get him too. 

The story ends with Dacre spotting Roman in the aftermath of the onslaught and he heals him. He plans on making Roman a war correspondent for his own army, essentially kidnapping him. The story ends with Iris and Roman apart, but possibly still connected with their words. 

Final Thoughts: For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. I just want a bit more from the lore of the gods or more time for the characters to properly fall in love. But I guess it is a war story and love tends to move quickly in times of war. All in all, I will be reading Ruthless Vows to find out what happens to our star-crossed lovers.