Divine Rivals

Letters of Enchantment #1

By Rebecca Ross

TheStory

Set in the late 1800s, Roman Kitt and Iris Winnow are rival writers at a newspaper during a time of war between two gods. When a letter meant for Iris’ brother is accidentally delivered to Roman, they discover that their typewriters are magically connected to one another. If a letter is typed on the writewriter and placed in a closet of sorts, it will appear in the other one’s similar space, via magic. 

Upon receiving the letter intended for Iris’ brother, Roman realizes the letter is from Iris and thus realizes the connection. The two begin an anonymous pen pal relationship - except Roman knows it’s Iris while his identity is kept secret from Iris. 

While exchanging letters, a special connection forms between the two of them. When the two of them are sent to the front lines, they head off to write correspondence for the newspaper on the ongoing war effort. In Iris’ eyes, she has a special connection to her mysterious pen pal but Roman, knowing Iris is his pen pal, starts seeing her through different eyes. 

TheReview

Due to the beginning of the book being slow and the lack of obvious romance going on, the relationship growth is sweet and timid. Because it’s set in the 1800s, it's very different from modern romance books. Even with the slow start, I was completely engrossed in the story. While the war effort is the central setting, it isn’t overly detailed and the point of the story is the romance that develops between the MCs. 

Roman is more carefree and fun-loving. He likes to rile up Iris and seems to enjoy their little rivalry. But after the letters start, he sees a different side to Iris that makes him understand her more. Iris is a little more serious and truly believes Roman to be her enemy. But it’s interesting because she starts to see Roman in a different light when they head off to the war. So she gets this conflicting battle in her mind over her pen pal and Roman. It’s just adorable to watch their relationship shift at the same time the both of them are also growing as individuals.

On that note, the characters are wonderful but not anything special. Does that make sense? They are just normal people, no special powers to speak of, working their jobs every day. I found that refreshing. No “chosen one” storyline. It’s just two journalists living through a time in the world where they might seem insignificant, but mean the world to each other.

The writing is solid. The storyline is interesting. The characters are lovable. It was charming all around. 

While it was a good book, I’m more excited for the next one - especially with the cliff hanger at the end.  

TheRating

Storyline: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

World Building: 2/5

Spice: 0/5

Writing: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

Letters of Enchantment Series

Divine Rivals

Letters of Enchantment #1

Divine Rivals

Letters of Enchantment #2