What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of gods at war and a set of magic typewriters? If it’s not the Letters of Enchantment series by Rebecca Ross and Wednesday Books, then we must insist you make yourself a hot beverage and start reading your next fantasy book, dear bookworm.
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A blend of contemporary themes and historical fiction, Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows are part of this completed young adult, fantasy romance duology with an enemies-to-lovers trope, and that has inspired all types of readers, especially fans of BookTok in the last two years.
Best summed up as Shadow and Bone meets lore, Divine Rivals has received lots of hype, but is it worth it? The perfect cozy yet suspenseful fantasy novel to prove that sometimes speaking the words we are afraid to say is just as important as our actions.
No matter how full your bookshelves are—a classic bookworm problem—grace yourself with the benefits of being a bookwork by diving into this Divine Rivals synopsis, its fun world-building, and the heart-warming love story between two young rival journalists.
Beware, valiant bookworms, there will be spoilers ahead!
In a time when stores and buildings are magically enchanted by the gods, a war—giving World War I vibes—between Enva and Dacre, who woke up after centuries of sleep, is sweeping across the continent.
The story starts with Iris Winnow saying goodbye to her brother, Forest, who is enlisting for the war. Like many others, the goddess Enva showed up in his dreams, calling him to serve against Dacre’s godly evil, to Iris’ great chagrin. Their endearing farewell sets the tone for Iris’ life in general.
Months after Forest leaving, the eighteen-year-old Iris has dropped out of school working in the Oath Gazette to pursue becoming the main columnist. However, under the facade of Iris’ passion for writing lies her alcoholic mother’s addiction, which has only grown worse since Forest left, forcing Iris to start working in the local newspaper.
The Oath Gazette is a place full of opportunities and contradictions, and that’s where we meet Iris’ rival for the main columnist position, Roman Kitt, or more accurately Roman C. Kitt. Roman is nineteen years old, always perfectly organized and on time. He and Iris constantly compete for the articles they have to write, and undoubtedly cannot stand each other. Their enmity is such that Iris goes so far as to mess with Kitt’s desk and his tools.
Iris emotive and impassioned writing is the complete opposite of Roman’s well-worded and structured prose. The fact that Roman comes from a rich family, compared to Iris’ pitiful financial situation, is proof enough for her that he will get the position.
To cope with her emotions and the hardships she faces, Iris uses the typewriter that her grandmother bequeathed her to write letters to Forest. Without too much thought, she outs the letters in the closet, knowing they will never reach her brother, but they will relieve some of her tension. However, fate works in mysterious ways and when the letters disappear and an enigmatic answer shows up in their stead, Iris realizes she might have discovered a magic portal or something similar—not too farfetched in a world where even cans of food are enchanted.
Determined to discover the recipient of her letters, Iris writes back and just like that, Iris and the mysterious Carver become pen pals. Life is just a bit less oppressive with a friend to talk to. Iris even has some inspiration to chase the main columnist spot. Meanwhile, Roman’s father has arranged for him to get married, making him even more stressed and anxious to get the job. Iris’ plight is sadly not over, though.
After sharing a tender moment, Iris and her mother get into another fight. They do not see each other the next day, doubt routing in Iris’ gut. The next morning, when she arrives at work, another pile of obituaries and announcements are to be typed, with Roman having grabbed the day’s task. Iris is beyond shocked when she reads of an unidentified body of a woman fitting her mother’s description. Leaving her belongings behind—something that does not escape Roman’s notice—she finds that her mother was the victim of a fatal car accident and locks herself in her home.
Lost in her grief and loneliness, Iris hides away from the world, until a visit from the last person she wanted to see draws her out. Roman, worried about her, tries to joke, but only manages to get a few words out of her. Defeated, he leaves her be, thinking she will soon be back to her antagonizing self. After a brief look at yesterday’s obituaries, though, Roman is faced with the harsh reality of Iris Winnow’s life.
Days later, Zeb, the Oath Gazette’s director, awards Roman with the main columnist spot. Roman’s kind and caring side surfaces when he refuses the position and asks for Iris to be given more time due to the circumstances, shocking Iris. However, Iris is done chasing this position and waiting for life to get better. She hands in her resignation and goes to the Gazette’s greatest antagonist, the Inkridden Tribune, who is looking for war correspondents.
Iris immediately leaves for the front lines, determined to find Forest and help raise awareness about the war effort among the people of Oath. However, before she sets off, she makes a shocking discovery about her typewriter; it is one of the three Alouettes infused with magic. She realizes it is not her closet that is magical, but her typewriter and Carver probably has the same. However, none of it matters, as she has to leave it all behind for now.
When she reaches Avalon Bluff, she goes to a B&B owned by a woman named Marisol, along with another young correspondent, Thea Attwood (Attie). There she sees the painstaking reality of war and learns of the terrors the citizens in the war zone experience almost every day. Reconnecting with Carver and even having him help her deliver letters from injured shoulders to their families, Iris is finally getting the hang of this life when the sirens sound.
Preparing the house, she realizes there is someone strolling out in the fields, someone painfully familiar and unaware of the meaning of the sirens. Iris runs with her heart on her sleeve and barely manages to knock Roman down and escape the notice of Dacre’s monsters—giving us an extremely beautiful scene.
Having escaped danger, Iris questions Roman’s motives, accusing him of wanting to outshine her once again. Roman reveals he changed his whole life; broke off his engagement and quit from the Oath Gazette, for her. But before they can elaborate, they are sent to the front lines to cover a story.
Iris thinks she might have fallen for Carver, but Roman’s presence disorients her. Just before they reach safety, the barracks are attacked. In an effort to protect Iris, Roman gets hurt, and they are separated. Almost their entire unit is decimated, and Iris barely escapes unscathed. When she comes back to Avalon Bluff, she not only has to face the PTSD of her near-death experience, but she also learns that Roman is Carver. When Roman is finally healed, he reveals everything and confesses his love. With the truth out in the open, Iris realizes she is already in love with him and when he asks her to marry him she accepts.
Hours before Dacre lays siege to Avalon Bluff, they decide to pledge their lives to each other, despite the pain and death surrounding them. The ceremony is brief and wholesome, but their time together and their first time as a couple are all too meaningful.
When the first bombs fall, destruction follows and Roman is hurt in the process. Poisonous gas is unleashed, but miraculously Iris finds Roman, and they flee together in their gas masks. Only when it’s too late, Iris discovers the man beside her is not Roman, but Forest, who betrayed Enva’s forces and was recruited by Dacre.
Iris desperately tries to find Roman, but he is nowhere, and Forest forcibly brings her back to Oath away from her husband. The first book ends on a cliffhanger, with Dacre finding Roman moments before death and giving him life to make him his pawn, leaving us on pins and needles until the next book—which is now thankfully published.
After going into such details in the summary, it is only fair to give you a taste of these beautifully human and flawed characters.
Iris is kind, loving, caring, and sadly too mature for her age. Having to leave school to make ends meet is a rough experience that teaches one it’s better to stand on their own two feet than trust anyone else. She has dreams and hopes, and we are so happy to see her going after them. It is her determination and perseverance that earn her true and unconditional love.
We should all thank his nan for raising such an exceptional and refined gentleman. Despite his father denying him the chance to study literature his passion for words and writing cannot be tethered. He connects to Iris on a deeper level, seeing behind her pretenses. Caring, fiercely loyal and brave, Roman is the ideal husband, and he definitely deserves to get the girl after everything he goes through both in the first and the second book.
Attie is joyful, feisty, and stubborn. Determined to prove her college professor wrong, she joins the front lines to vindicate herself. Her support of Iris and Roman’s relationship is crucial. Essentially, they all become a family and more await her in the second book.
The first word that comes to mind when we think of Marisol is selfless. She not only volunteers her time in the infirmary, but also lodges the war correspondents. Kind, helpful, and overall a joy to be around, Marisol is one of the positive characters and acts like a big sister to both Attie and Iris while patiently waiting for her wife, Keegan, to return to her.
The character of Forest is full of contradictions. After leaving Oath to go fight for Enva in what we would call a valiant and honorable effort, he is considered a coward who not only betrayed his goddess, but even served Dacre. His desire to protect Iris is the only constant that remains throughout the series, and we are still holding the door open for his redemption arc.
And that is a wrap on why we think you should give Divine Rivals a chance, beloved bookworms. You could even make it the monthly pick for your book club, if you do, we have the perfect list of book club questions for you. After all, the year is coming to an end and those Goodreads challenges won’t be completed by themselves. And remember, darlings, the magic of reading is unending, and we are here to give you the best book recommendations and honest book reviews to help you choose your next reads wisely.
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Yes, Divine Rivals ends in a pretty major cliffhanger. Iris is led back to Oath by Forest, having lost all hope of being reunited with Roman after she didn’t find him where he was last spotted. However, we do see Roman being found and saved by Dacre, in exchange for his service.
No, Divine Rivals is not a spicy book, but there are allusions to sex. There is one sex scene that does not exactly fade to black, but there are no details given to the reader. Divine Rivals focuses more on age-appropriate romance scenes and emotional connection.
The protagonists of Divine Rivals are a straight couple, however, Marisol, one of the female characters, has a wife. There is mention of Marisol loving Keegan, and there is mention of them kissing each other and sharing a profound bond.
Always living in her own enchanted little world, Christina discovered the magic that can be hidden within the pages of a book when one dares to take a closer look from a tender age. An avid reader, she is constantly inspired to delve into the secrets woven between the lines and challenges herself to find her own voice amidst the chaos. She is a dedicated fan of the classics, but the supernatural creatures that have tormented readers for years are her kryptonite. The mastery it takes to infuse the author's essence, molded by the era they grew up in to their innermost desires fascinates her. Undoubtedly, putting her passion and knowledge on paper has a mesmerizing allure on her, and following the steps of so many other dreamers before her she wishes to leave her mark in the literary world. Guided by T.S Eliot’s haunting words: “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” she intends to wreak havoc in the minds of her future readers.
