Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Publishing Info: Audiobook by Magpie, narrated by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Eighteen-year-old Iris dreams that one day her writing will make a difference. A war between gods is raging, and she’s landed a prestigious job at the Oath Gazette.

But at home, she’s barely holding it together. Her brother is missing on the frontline. Her mother is lost in a haze of addiction. And each night Iris pours her heart out in letters to her brother.

Letters that will never be answered. Or so she thinks…

They’ve made their way into the hands of the last person Iris trusts: Roman Kitt. Her cold, unforgiving rival at the paper.

Drawn together by fate and magic, they form an unlikely connection. They say love conquers all… but can it triumph in a war between gods?

Divine Rivals is a touching and emotional YA fantasy. With a setting inspired by the Second World War, this novel stands out from other works in the genre. As you would expect from a novel set during a war, Rebecca Ross deals with some heavy topics such as grief and trauma. The focus of the novel is the romance between rivals at a newspaper, which was beautifully written and lovely to see how they transitioned from rivals to lovers.  

The magic at the start of Divine Rivals is intriguing, with magic having seeped into the city of Oath, resulting in interesting quirks such as a supermarket that only shows you products you can afford or a house which provides late night milk and biscuits. Once the story moves away from Oath, however, there isn’t as much magic, and the novel felt more historical with touches of magic despite being set in a secondary world rather than being historical. I would have personally enjoyed more magic akin to that at the beginning of the novel, though this is down to personal taste rather than any issue with the book itself.

I enjoyed reading a fantasy novel set in a different era from most and the romance was woven brilliantly between letters and in person interactions. Although I can see why this novel has struck a chord with so many readers, it’s not a favourite read for me though I can’t quite put my finger on why. The ending was heartbreaking and certainly provides a strong draw to read the sequel. Even though this isn’t one of my favourite reads of the year, I would highly recommend it as an excellently crafted YA novel with an interesting setting and beautiful romance.