Charles's Reviews > Divine Rivals

“I never told you that I love you. And I regret that, most of all.”

This book had so much promise.

The quote at the top is pretty much a microcosm of Iris our main character in her relationship.

This is a story about Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt ( who Iris typically refers to as just Kitt) who are rivals for the same columnist job at the Oath Gazette one of the newspapers featured in this book. Iris is unsure of herself, and a very good writer. Kitt, is very assured of himself and a very good writer. They clash.

Unbeknown to each other they both own a “magical typewriter” that allows what is typed on one instrument to be delivered to the other. They start a correspondence initially not knowing who they are receiving mail from (Kitt figures it out very quickly, Iris does not). Each opens up to the other in the letters they write. There affection for each other blossoms. Sounds promising, so what happened?

*********** The following contain major spoilers regarding the end of the book. (view spoiler)[ ***********

The book, as written, would have you believe that during a gas attack, Iris does not question who has just given her a gas mask, pulled her along and told her to run. She just does it. She cannot tell this is not Kitt. She has just seen Kitt in the street without two gas masks. Kitt can barely walk, and yet this person she is running with….. is “running”. WTF. So she finally realizes it is her brother and she goes along with him because “she promised him”. But what about the promises she made to Marisol, Keegan and Attie the people at her wedding the previous evening that she stated were now “her family”? What about her promise to her new husband. Her brother tells her that “saving Kitt was too much of a liability, my only plan was to get you out of there safely” So she leaves the area with her brother, and they go back to their old apartment in Oath.

When we first met Iris, she had no job, was living in a apartment with no electricity with her mother, who had issues. When we leave Iris at the end of the book she has no job, is living in the same apartment with no electricity with her brother who has issues. Not much personnal growth. Literally, what the fuck.

I actually don’t buy into the ending. I cannot believe this woman who has shown such resolve, so much strength, becoming a war correspondent, falling in love and marrying would not only be able to know who is and who isn’t her husband, would not have left him and her friends behind, and especially would not have just rolled over and become the person she was at the beginning of the book again. So the ending of this book is false and out of character, and that is the primary reason I found it very disappointing. (hide spoiler)]

************ end spoilers

I think Iris and Kitt deserved better than they got from Rebecca Ross and the book’s editor.