Leanne Olson

by Rebecca Ross; narrated by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk

releasing April 4, 2023 from Macmillan Audio

Divine Rivals is an enemies-to-lovers romance set in a world with two gods at war.  Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are young journalists competing for a columnist position at the Oath Gazette. 

Iris’s brother has gone to war, and she writes him letters using a magic typewriter.  Little does she know, her letters are actually being transported to Roman, who writes her back.

This novel reminded me of Undertaking Hart and Mercy, a fantasy-romance from last year that also involved magic letters and two young people who “hated” each other falling for each other through writing.  So I may be judging Divine Rivals a but unfairly in comparison, because I loved that book *so* much.

Iris and Roman are interesting characters and I did believe their romance, though it didn’t completely suck me in.  I’d have enjoyed a little more banter.  The book really picked up once we actually visited the front lines of the war, and I was invested in Iris’s search for her brother.

Divine Rivals is much more of a romance than a fantasy. I was a bit frustrated that the world-building was so shallow: we’re told this is a war between gods, and there are a few myths about the gods shared in the novel, but otherwise there was very little mentioned about them until the end. The way the book ends makes me think there will be more focus on the fantasy aspect in book 2, which could be interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and am curious to see where Rebecca Ross takes the series.  

🌟🌟🌟1/2

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my review copy of this audiobook.