Overall ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ 4.14 Goodreads average, about 805,000 ratings
- ✓ 78% of ratings at four or five stars
- ✓ 2023 Goodreads Choice, Young Adult Fantasy
- ✓ Weak rivalry and thin gods dominate criticism
Divine Rivals Review: YA or Adult, Spice and the Cliffhanger
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Verdict: A tender romance built from letters typed through an enchanted wardrobe, with lovely prose and a war that hurts, let down by a rivalry that barely exists, gods the book never explains and an ending that stops mid-story.
Best for: Readers who want romance carried by words rather than heat, who like grief and found family on the page, and who are ready to go straight into Ruthless Vows or can forgive a fantasy world that stays sketchy.
Heat level: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5, one brief, non-graphic wedding night scene; romance.io blocked our fetcher, so we scored it from Common Sense Media's 'A little' and All About Romance's Warm rating)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.8/5, a 4.14 Goodreads average across about 805,000 ratings, pulled down because the critical reviews keep naming the same three problems: the rivals aren't really rivals, the gods are underbuilt and the book ends on a cliffhanger)
Tropes: Secret pen pals, Rivals to lovers, Workplace rivalry, Magical letters, War correspondents, Dual POV, Grief and a missing brother, Found family at the front, Gods at war, Hasty wartime marriage.
Divine Rivals is the first of Rebecca Ross's two Letters of Enchantment novels, a young adult fantasy romance set in a town called Oath and on a front line that looks a lot like the First World War, in which Iris Winnow, an 18-year-old newspaper writer whose brother has gone to fight for a resurrected god, competes with the polished Roman Kitt for a columnist's job, never guessing that he's the stranger answering the letters she slips under her wardrobe door.
The numbers say it found its audience. Goodreads shows a 4.14 average from about 805,000 ratings and roughly 122,000 written reviews, with 78% of ratings at four or five stars and only about 4% at one or two. Wednesday Books published it in April 2023, it won the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fantasy, and Paramount took the film rights in June 2025. The praise is close to unanimous about the letters and the prose. The argument is about what the title and the marketing promised, and that gap is the thing worth understanding before you buy.
What Is Divine Rivals About?
This is a love story told through the mail, set inside a war. The first half stays in Oath: a newsroom, a cramped flat, a mother lost to drink, and two junior writers trading barbs at the next desk. Iris writes to her brother Forest on an old typewriter and pushes the pages under her wardrobe door. The letters vanish, and someone writes back. The reader knows early who that someone is, and the pleasure is in waiting for Iris to find out.
The second half moves to the front, and the book changes weight. Ross borrows the furniture of 1914 to 1918, trenches, shelling and poison gas, and adds two gods, Dacre and Enva, whose feud is the reason young people are dying. Readers who expect a magic-heavy romantasy get something closer to historical fiction with a mythic frame, and Booklist described it in almost exactly those terms.
What Makes This Letters-Driven YA Fantasy Romance Work
- The wardrobe letters: The enchanted typewriter correspondence is the single most praised element across Goodreads, All About Romance, Locus and the blogs we checked, including by readers who disliked the rest.
- The prose: Even the most critical reviews we read, including a 2.5-star blog review and a student paper's pan, credit Ross's sentences and dialogue.
- War with real cost: Publishers Weekly and The Library Ladies both single out the front-line chapters, the trenches and the losses, as the book's strongest and most original material.
- Roman Kitt: Roman draws the warmest character praise on Goodreads, a devoted, soft-spoken lead who writes better than he talks.
- A low-heat romance: Common Sense Media rates it 13+ with only a little sexual content, which makes it one of the few big romantasy hits a younger reader can pick up.
Book Synopsis
Oath is a city that would rather not think about the war. Iris Winnow has no such luxury. Her brother Forest enlisted to fight for Enva, one of two gods who have woken from long sleep and resumed an old quarrel, and he hasn't written home. Her mother is drinking herself out of every job she gets. Iris holds the household together on a junior's wage at the Oath Gazette, where the paper has just opened a columnist's position, the job she needs and the job she plans to win.
Her competition is Roman Kitt, who sits a desk away, comes from money, and has a gift for making everything look easy. They spar over bylines, ledes and the coffee, and neither gives an inch. Iris doesn't know that Roman has his own pressure at home, a father with firm plans for his son's future, and Roman doesn't know what Iris goes home to.
At night Iris types letters to Forest on her grandmother's old typewriter and slides them under the wardrobe door in her room. One night a reply comes back, and it isn't from her brother. The stranger on the other side is kind, curious and alarmingly easy to talk to, and soon Iris is telling him things she has never said aloud. He signs with a name that isn't his own. As the war comes closer to Oath, and the Gazette's rivalry hardens, the person Iris trusts most on paper is the one she likes least across the newsroom, and she has no idea.
Our Review
The letters are the book, and they're very good. Ross gives Iris and Roman two voices that sound different on paper and in person, so the dramatic irony works: you know who is writing back long before Iris does, and every newsroom scene plays twice. The Goodreads reviewers who loved it talk about the letters first, and so does All About Romance's A- review. A Substack reviewer who scored it 10 out of 10 says the letters had her weepy, and that is a common reaction rather than a lone one.
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The second strength is the war. Once Iris goes to the front as a correspondent, the book stops being a cozy workplace romance and becomes a story about grief, shelling, gas and a field household of people who might not survive the month. Publishers Weekly praised it as a harrowing look at war, and Serena at The Library Ladies, who gave it 8 out of 10, called the trench chapters the most refreshing part. The craft reason is restraint: Ross keeps the camera on small losses, a neighbour, a friend's family, a mother, rather than on battle maps.
Where it struggles is the rivalry in the title, and that is the dominant complaint by a distance. Iris and Roman flirt almost from the start, and readers from Goodreads to The Library Ladies to Stony Brook's Statesman say the antagonism barely registers. The secondary problems stack up behind it. Locus and several Goodreads reviewers find the gods underdeveloped, so the war's cause stays vague. Readers point to setting details that don't sit together, typewriters and telegrams beside other modern touches. Kali Kuzma's 2.5-star review says the plot loosens once Iris reaches the front and that the marriage arrives within weeks. Then there's the ending.
Reset two expectations before you start. If you've seen it shelved beside adult romantasy on BookTok, know that this is published as YA for ages 13 and up, the leads are 18, and the heat is a single soft scene. If you're coming for rivals to lovers, read it as secret pen pals instead: the rivalry is a light frame, and the yearning happens in the letters. Readers who adjust for both tend to rate it high, and readers who don't are most of the three-star reviews we read.
The fantasy is thinner than the cover suggests. Booklist called it historical fiction with a touch of fantasy, and the critical reviews say the same thing in harsher words. The magic that matters is small, the typewriters and the wardrobe, and the gods mostly stay offstage. That works if you want an epistolary love story. It disappoints if you came for a magic system.
And it doesn't end. The final chapters split the couple in a way that only Ruthless Vows resolves, and Locus's reviewer thought the closing twist came out of nowhere. Every review that mentions the ending warns about it, the five-star ones included.
Our honest note: A moving, well-written love story in letters, sold as a rivals romance and a fantasy when it's mostly neither. Read it if you want yearning on the page and have Ruthless Vows ready; wait until you do if cliffhangers ruin a book for you.
| Element | In Divine Rivals |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt, rival junior writers at the Oath Gazette and, unknown to Iris, her secret correspondent |
| Core tropes | Secret pen pals, rivals to lovers, magical letters, war correspondents, found family |
| Setting | The city of Oath and a front line modelled on the First World War, in a world where two gods are at war |
| Heat level | 2/5, one brief wedding night scene with no graphic detail; otherwise kisses |
| Series | Letters of Enchantment #1 of 2, ends on a cliffhanger; Ruthless Vows (December 2023) completes it, and a prequel, Wild Reverence, followed in 2025 |
| Content notes | War violence, death of loved ones, poison gas and bombing, a parent's alcohol addiction and death, grief; per Common Sense Media and reader reviews |
How Spicy Is Divine Rivals?
Barely, and that's by design. Common Sense Media puts sexual content at 'A little', describes a few intense kisses and one brief wedding night scene with no graphic detail, and rates the book 13+. All About Romance gave it a Warm sensuality rating for that same scene, which tells you how mild the rest is. We put it at 2 out of 5: the door is not fully shut, but you'll find more heat in most adult contemporary romance in a single chapter. We could not open romance.io's page for this book, though it files the sequel under behind closed doors.
The romance lives in the letters, not the bedroom. If you're buying it for a teen, the content to think about is the war and the grief rather than the sex. If you're an adult reader coming from spicy romantasy, adjust now: this is a book about longing, and the payoff is emotional. Ruthless Vows is even quieter, according to readers answering a Goodreads question about it, with intimate moments that are implied rather than shown.
Who Should Read This Book?
You'll likely love it if: you love epistolary romance and dramatic irony, you want a romantasy you can hand a 14-year-old, and grief stories with found family make you cry in a good way.
You may want to skip it if: you need a sharp rivalry with real hostility, you want deep worldbuilding and a magic system, or a cliffhanger without the sequel on hand will sour the whole book.
In short: a lovely love story in letters with a thin fantasy frame; buy both books together.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (October 2026)
Divine Rivals has been read in two waves. The first came on release in April 2023, when it went from YA fantasy debut to Goodreads Choice winner in eight months and ran on BookTok beside adult romantasy such as Fourth Wing, a shelving that a student reviewer at the Statesman and blogger Kali Kuzma both blame for oversized expectations. The second wave came with the Paramount deal in June 2025, with Sofia Alvarez, who wrote the To All the Boys films, adapting it, and with the prequel Wild Reverence sending new readers back. A summary of the deal on SoapCentral says the book has passed a million copies; we could not confirm that figure with the publisher. We could not open StoryGraph or Reddit directly, so reader discussion here comes from Goodreads, blogs, trade reviews and a Reddit mirror.
Why readers love it: Readers love the letters and they love Roman. The Goodreads reviews we read keep coming back to the typewriter correspondence, the vulnerability Iris and Roman can only manage on paper, and the moment the reader is waiting for. Ross's prose comes next: even negative reviewers concede the sentences are lovely. The war chapters earn their own fans, especially readers who don't usually pick up fantasy, and Iris's grief over her brother and her mother lands for the reviewers who were moved. The audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Norfolk and Alex Wingfield and running about 10 hours 50 minutes, gets warm comments too, including from a Reddit reader who preferred this book to Wild Reverence partly for the narration.
What readers argue about and complain about: The complaint is that the rivals aren't rivals, and it isn't close. The Library Ladies said the term barely fits, the Statesman said the pair flirt from the first page, and the same point recurs in the low Goodreads reviews. Behind it sits the worldbuilding: Locus found the gods' war hard to follow, Goodreads critics call the mythology thin and the setting inconsistent, and a Reddit commenter wanted more magic and less war. Kali Kuzma objects that we never read the journalism these two supposedly excel at, and that the back half rushes. On the other side, the readers who rate it five stars mostly don't care: they came for the letters and got them.
The series question worth asking first: It does not resolve. Divine Rivals ends with Iris back in Oath and Roman missing, and the cliffhanger is the one warning that appears in nearly every review, positive or negative. The good news is that you don't have to wait. Ruthless Vows came out on December 26, 2023, and finishes the story; it sits at 3.98 on Goodreads from about 455,000 ratings, a little below this book, and The Nerd Daily, which liked it, still called it less magical than the first. The prequel Wild Reverence (2025) has a 4.27 average from about 87,000 ratings and can be read after the duology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Divine Rivals YA or adult?
YA. Wednesday Books publishes it for ages 13 to 18, Common Sense Media rates it 13+, and Iris is 18. Many adults read it, and some reviewers say the leads feel older than typical YA.
Is Divine Rivals spicy?
No. There are kisses and one brief wedding night scene with no graphic detail. It's effectively closed door by adult romance standards; we score the heat 2 out of 5.
Does Divine Rivals end on a cliffhanger?
Yes, a hard one. Iris and Roman are separated at the end and the story continues directly in Ruthless Vows, so have the sequel ready.
Is Ruthless Vows the last book?
Yes. Ruthless Vows (December 2023) completes Iris and Roman's story and the duology. Wild Reverence (2025) is a prequel set in the same world.
Is it really rivals to lovers?
Only lightly. They compete for a job, but most of the romance happens in anonymous letters, and many readers say the rivalry barely registers. Think secret pen pals.
Is there a Divine Rivals movie?
In development. Paramount acquired the rights in June 2025 with Sofia Alvarez writing the screenplay; no director, cast or release date had been announced when we checked.
If You Loved Divine Rivals, Read These Next
If the rival writers were the draw and you want them sharper and older, read Beach Read, where two novelists trade barbs and a bet. For a YA fantasy with war, divided loyalties and a slow-building romance, try Crier's War. And for romantasy with more magic and more heat, from an author who blurbed this book, go to Serpent & Dove.
Browse more in enemies to lovers romance, fantasy romance, closed-door romance and teen romance by age.
The Bottom Line
Divine Rivals sets out to be a love story in letters and a war novel at once, and it manages both better than it manages the fantasy or the rivalry. What works: the wardrobe letters, Ross's prose and a war that costs the characters something. What doesn't: rivals who flirt from the start, gods the book never explains, and an ending that stops mid-story. If you want yearning over heat and you have Ruthless Vows ready, it's an easy recommendation. If you want a magic system and a real feud, look elsewhere.
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Divine Rivals ranks as a well-loved YA epistolary romance, strongest in its letters and its grief, constrained by thin worldbuilding and a cliffhanger, and best approached as the first half of one story rather than as a rivals-to-lovers romantasy.
The Evidence Scorecard
Eight dimensions, each scored out of 5 from the reader and critic evidence above. Overall is anchored on the reader ratings and adjusted for how much the recurring complaints cost the reading experience. Heat describes how explicit the book is; it is not a quality judgement. Every line marked ✓ is a checked finding, including the limits. How we assess books.
Romance ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Wardrobe letters praised across nearly every review
- ✓ Dramatic irony makes newsroom scenes play twice
- ✓ Yearning carried on paper, not touch
- ✓ Rivalry barely registers, marriage comes fast
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ Roman draws the warmest reader praise
- ✓ Iris's grief for Forest lands for many
- ✓ Front-line found family well liked
- ✓ Iris called inconsistent by one critic
Writing ★★★★☆ 4.2/5
- ✓ Prose credited even by negative reviewers
- ✓ Two distinct voices in dual POV
- ✓ Booklist and PW praise the atmosphere
- ✓ Setting details mix eras inconsistently
Emotional impact ★★★★☆ 4.1/5
- ✓ War chapters called harrowing by PW
- ✓ Letters leave several reviewers in tears
- ✓ Small, personal losses rather than battle maps
- ✓ Vague gods blunt the war's stakes
Heat level ★★☆☆☆ 2/5
- ✓ Common Sense Media: sexual content 'A little'
- ✓ One brief wedding night scene
- ✓ All About Romance rates it Warm
- ✓ romance.io band not confirmed for book one
Ending ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ Hard cliffhanger, couple separated
- ✓ Ruthless Vows completes it, out since 2023
- ✓ Locus found the final twist abrupt
- ✓ Cliffhanger warned about even in raves
Re-read value ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Prequel Wild Reverence sends readers back
- ✓ Audiobook runs about 10 hours 50 minutes
- ✓ Paramount film in development since 2025
- ✓ Sequel rated lower at 3.98
Sources We Checked
- Goodreads: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)
- Goodreads: Letters of Enchantment series page
- Goodreads Q&A: content in Ruthless Vows
- Locus: 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards winners
- Locus: Colleen Mondor reviews Divine Rivals
- Publishers Weekly: Divine Rivals
- Harvard Book Store: Divine Rivals (publisher details and trade excerpts)
- Harvard Book Store: Ruthless Vows (publisher details)
- BookBrowse: Divine Rivals review roundup
- Common Sense Media: Divine Rivals parents' guide
- All About Romance: Divine Rivals review
- OverDrive: Divine Rivals audiobook (Macmillan Audio)
- AOL: Divine Rivals author on the film adaptation
- SoapCentral: Divine Rivals movie, everything to know
- Moodreads: Divine Rivals movie status
- The Library Ladies: Serena's review of Divine Rivals
- Kali Kuzma: Divine Rivals book review
- The Statesman (Stony Brook): Divine Rivals review
- Emily Hugh (Substack): Divine Rivals review
- Lady Geek Girl and Friends: Divine Rivals review
- She Reads Romance Books: Divine Rivals review
- The Nerd Daily: Ruthless Vows review
- Reddit r/fantasyromance thread (via snapshot mirror)
- romance.io: Ruthless Vows (book one's page blocked to our fetcher)
Checked October 6, 2026. Ratings and counts change; the numbers above are as of that date.
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