Review

In a WW1/WW2-esque fantasy world, the gods are at war: the terrible god of the underworld, Dacre, is fighting the beautiful goddess of music, Enva, who has spurned his love. Soldiers and weaponry on both sides batter one another, and many lives are lost.

In the city of Oath, however, there is still peace and complacency. Iris’s brother, Forest, has been recruited to fight for Enva, and she misses him terribly. But otherwise, she is busy with her newspaper cadetship, keeping her alcoholic mother safe, trying to get by on not much money, and fighting desperately to win the position of columnist. Her newspaper rival is the clever but stuck up Roman Kitt, from one of Oath’s wealthiest families. He doesn’t have to worry about where his next meal is coming from, or how to pay the electricity bill.

But Roman has his own problems. Aside from having to put up with the continual impertinence of lower class and inconveniently brilliant Iris Winnow every day, he is under pressure to win the position of columnist, in line with his domineering father’s plans to restore the family’s prestige. And then he discovers Iris’s typewritten letters to Forest, somehow magically transported to him, and his typed responses, which are magically transported back to her. She doesn’t know who he is, and they begin to strike up a new relationship through their correspondence. But then tragedy strikes, and they both become involved in the war in ways they never would have expected.

*

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, with its unusual WW1/WW2 mash up fantasy setting: Oath seems quite WW2 (fashions, hairdos, radio, widespread domestic electricity); later war scenes are more WW1 trench warfare. Contemporary attitudes are obvious in the gender, sexual & racial equality throughout. Some buildings and objects are magical, and there are gods and goddesses (not very in evidence), with some mention of magical beasts. I also enjoyed the initial sniping between Iris and Roman. I liked the epistolary aspect to begin with. (They decline in quality.) I thought it was quite promising.

However, the pacing was uneven. I found parts of the book, e.g. where Iris was travelling and settling in, to be quite long and boring. The war scenes were engaging, but the romance element was likewise, to me, lengthy and ultimately not that interesting: a bit too much wish fulfilment going on, with characters becoming somewhat unbelievably perfect. I had to roll my eyes at some points, particularly at the Barbara Cartland-esque euphemisms, and I was not excited to continue listening. In the end, I borrowed the ebook so I could skim the last hour. I won’t be reading the next instalment.

Having said that, lots of people love it, and it has slightly over four stars on GoodReads, so your mileage may vary. I’m absolutely sure that Rebecca Ross is making a ton of money from it. Good for her.

Age: 14+

Print: 384 pp.

Audiobook: 11 hours (P.S. A few annoying mispronunciations there… e.g. TRY-byune, instead of Trih-byune, and tum-ult, instead of tchu-molt. Otherwise, fairly good narration, if a tiny bit on the slow side.)

Cover Appeal: Hello, it’s adorable! Really gets across the wartime setting and the letters, with a good dash of fate (stars + tagline: “No God No War No One Can Come Between Them”) – not sure what all that random capitalisation is for, though.

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YA depictions of/references to: poverty; alcoholism; war, violence, various injuries described (not terribly graphic), & death; situations of extreme peril; military technology, e.g. guns, trench warfare, poison gas; supernatural beings, including gods, goddesses & vicious spirit hounds; supernatural objects, e.g. houses and typewriters; mlw and wlw relationships; close and supportive platonic friendships; main characters present white, one Black supporting character; unsupportive and sometimes hostile and domineering parents; arranged marriage; a couple of kissing scenes; wedding night is described, but in highly euphemistic manner — extremely mild/vague. One s-word; one p-word.

*

Ross, R. (2023). Divine rivals (A. Wingfield & R. Norfolk, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Magpie.

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