Not Null Book Review: Divine Rivals
Quickly draws in the reader
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross is a young adult fantasy romance involving war, family dynamics, competition, friendship, and, of course, love. The story quickly draws in the reader and remains engaging until the last page.
Why did I read it?
A friend sent me a copy of this book as part of a literary care package when I had a cancer recurrence this past year.
Side note: Books make great gifts for people going through chemo because stories (fiction or nonfiction) are a nice distraction from the whole cancer thing. Plus chemo infusions tend to provide nice stretches of time to read.
What’s it about?
The gods Enva and Dacre are fighting, and are recruiting humans to join the war. After hearing Enva’s beckoning song, Iris’s brother enlists and heads off to war. Iris types letters to him, only to find they mysteriously disappear when she places them in her wardrobe. Roman—Iris’s coworker and rival for a coveted columnist position—receives letters that appear in his wardrobe. He quickly realizes they are from Iris and anonymously responds.
What’s the longer review?
I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from Divine Rivals, but was delighted with the story. It had action, romance, supernatural elements, and more, all on an emotional roller coaster. This book had it all. And it pulled me into the story fast.
Alternate realities are always fun. Reading about an author’s idea of what life would be like if something was shifted is fascinating. In this case, the shift was gods living among and being involved with humans. The setting felt like the mid 1900s — think no cell phones and mass media being mostly print.
Ross did a nice job building a world that felt real. It seemed completely plausible that we could one day find out gods were walking among us and at war, expecting people to take sides and fight.
Not only was the world well written, the characters were relatable and easy to like and dislike, depending on their roles. The point of view switches between the main characters, Iris and Roman. They begin as rivals for a columnist position at the paper, but you just know they are going to end up falling for each other. That’s not even a spoiler, especially if you read the tagline for the book or notice it is categorized as “Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Romance.” And the romance is sweet and completely appropriate for teens.
Beyond Iris and Roman were the supporting characters, my favorites being Attie, a fellow journalist, and Marisol, a friend met later in the story. Each and every one of the characters felt distinct and added depth to the story, as well as the world Ross created.
As for emotions, there were times when I teared up, nearly jumped up with joy, and held my breath waiting to find out what happened, especially with the thread involving Iris’s brother heading off to war.
While this book would be found in the teen and young adult section of a bookstore, with all it offers, Divine Rivals is appealing to readers who are in their twenties and well beyond.
Any additional information?
As of writing this review, Divine Rivals is on Kindle Unlimited. So is the sequel, Ruthless Vows, which is great news if you’re like me and need to know what happens next.
What did you think?
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