Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5)
Divine Rivals (Rebecca Ross, April 2023)
Goodreads synopsis:
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. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
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: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever. Shadow and Bone meets Lore in this epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.
I really enjoyed A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross, so when I saw her newest book available on NetGalley I requested a copy (gotta feel important somehow, am I right). I'll cut to the chase: I loved it!
I liked that there wasn't much world-building! I have found world-building can take me out of the plot and/or bog me down, so this minimalist approach was perfect for me -- it was basically....the world....with some god wars thrown in (I actually forgot about that element at a few different points).
I honestly just had a wonderful time reading Divine Rivals. At one point I checked and was only 46% in, which in [unnamed book I read right beforehand] made me think "Oh god how am I only halfway through, so much has happened and you're telling me I still have SEVEN HOURS left?" However in Divine Rivals I thought "Ooo, still so much to go!"
I also really enjoyed the romance, which is unsurprising because I adore first loves. This one had an air of You've Got Mail, but without the extreme manipulation -- always a plus!
The end-ish confused me a little...but it did its job because I am 100% in for the sequel.
My rating is a five out of five. I loved it!
Divine Rivals will be available on Tuesday April 4th of 2023. Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced listener copy!
Potential content warnings: Mom with alcohol issues.