Divine Rivals is a popular fantasy romance novel by Rebecca Ross, released in 2023. It’s about two star-crossed young journalists who live in a world where two magical gods are at war – drawing the mortal world into the fight.
Here’s a breakdown of the Letters of Enchantment series by Rebecca Ross, including my thoughts on the book and details on the Divine Rivals sequel, Ruthless Vows!
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Who is Rebecca Ross?
Rebecca Ross is a New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels for both adults and young adults. She has published at least seven novels so far.
Her adult fantasy novel A River Enchanted was nominated for a 2022 Goodreads Choice Award in the Best Fantasy category.
Letters of Enchantment Series: Divine Rivals & Sequel
If you’re curious about the Letters of Enchantment series, or you loved Divine Rivals and need details on the sequel, you’ve come to the right place!
I’m sharing my honest review of Divine Rivals below, plus details on both books in this romantic historical fantasy series.
This is a duology, so there are two books planned for the series.
If you love fantasy books with romantic elements, you might like the Fourth Wing series or the cozy fantasy series Legends and Lattes.
Divine Rivals (Book #1)
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Synopsis: Iris Winnow is a young woman struggling to get by, with her brother fighting in a war between two gods and her mother succumbing to addiction.
Iris works as a journalist for a popular newspaper, and she’s up against her rival – the infuriating Roman Kitt – for a promotion.
At night, Iris writes letters to her brother, but she doesn’t know where he’s stationed or where to send them. She puts them into her wardrobe – where they quickly disappear.
Little does she know, her letters have instead been reaching her rival, Roman. He decides to write back anonymously, sparking a connection that will follow them both to the front lines of the war.
My Review: I really enjoyed the unique world-building in this story, with mythology that’s inspired by the Greek gods (and has a Hades-Persephone feel to it).
The characters are easy to love, too, with a plucky heroine and sweet rivals-to-lovers romantic vibe.
The magic system was interesting, but played more of a minor role compared to some fantasy novels – so this would be an especially great book for romance readers who haven’t read much fantasy, but want to give it a try!
While the book did feel a little young to me at times (the romance was very wholesome), it was a quick and engrossing read overall.
I tend to prefer stories where the romance is a side plot rather than a main focus, but if you love romance books then you’ll probably enjoy this even more than I did. 🙂 (Just don’t expect much spice from this book!).
I’m looking forward to reading the sequel when it comes out – I need to know what happens!
Publication date: April 4th, 2023
Ruthless Vows (Book #2)
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Synopsis: [Beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the first book yet!] Iris Winnow is back in the city of Oath, and she has no idea what happened to Roman.
She and her friend Attie are given the chance to re-enlist as correspondents, traveling west to report on the war.
Meanwhile, Roman wakes up in Dacre’s underworld-like realm without any memories of his past. Thankful to Dacre for saving his life, he agrees to work for him as a journalist.
But soon, he starts receiving strange letters from a mysterious pen pal that make him question everything he thought he knew.
Publication date: December 26th, 2023
More Books by Rebecca Ross
If you love this series, check out Rebecca Ross’ other series’ and standalone novels:
The Queen’s Rising Series
- The Queen’s Rising (2018)
- The Queen’s Resistance (2019)
Sisters of Swords and Song (2020) standalone novel
Dreams Lie Beneath (2021) standalone novel
Elements of Cadence Series
- A River Enchanted (2022)
- A Fire Endless (2022)
I hope you get a chance to check out this enchanting series (and/or other books by Rebecca Ross)! Happy reading. 🙂