Letters of Enchantment series

4 / 5 Stars!

“you are worthy of love. You are worthy to feel joy right now, even in the darkness. And just in case you’re wondering … I’m not going anywhere, unless you tell me to leave, and even then, we might need to negotiate.”

I’m pretty sure that quote will be everywhere.

Divine Rivals was such an amazing book. It tells the story of Iris Winnow, an eighteen-year-old who’s trying to get the columnist promotion at Oath Gazette. Her brother is off at war, but she hasn’t heard from him. Her mother is suffering from addiction and is neglectful, and Iris needs the money to keep their apartment and food on the table. Then there’s her rival for the columnist position Roman Kitt, a smart, handsome, and wealthy man.

The gods are on the move and a war has broken out. Her brother went to fight, and since she hasn’t heard from him, she types out letters to him on an old typewriter and puts them under the wardrobe door, where they vanish. Unbeknownst to her, they appear in Roman’s room, and he begins to anonymously write back to her. An amazing friendship forms, though only Roman is aware of who he’s been writing to this whole time.

When things lead to Iris going on a traveling reporting job to the front lines, will their friendship grow? Will the magic connecting them continue? Will she find out anything about her brother? Do the gods really walk among them? What follows is a truly beautiful novel with some of the best quotes around.

“It’s not a crime to feel joy, even when things seem hopeless. Iris, look at me. You deserve all the happiness in the world. And I intend to see that you have it.”

This is not my usual book. Yes, it’s fantasy, but it’s a purer, simpler version. I don’t mean the writing, but it’s a more humanized novel maybe. I’m not sure that I can describe it if you haven’t read it. It was definitely a break from all the dragon, high action things that I had been reading. A pleasant break. I’m truly glad that I read this book and have already pre-ordered the next.

“I never told you that I love you. And I regret that, most of all.”

Book blurb from author’s website:

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.
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.
Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.