Book Review: Letters of Enchantment Duology

The Letters of Enchantment duology by Rebecca Ross has been featured quite prominently on social media, which made me hesitant to read it. (Shallow, I know.) I should have learned after I pushed through my biases of Sarah J. Mass’s work and wound up in a chokehold for the first few months of 2024. The duo is composed of Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, two young adult historical fantasy romances that absolutely broke my heart and put it back together several times throughout their 800 combined pages.

With a war between the last two living gods, Dacre and Enva, raging 600 kilometers from the city of Oath, 18-year-old Iris Winnow finds herself the family’s breadwinner. Her older brother left to fight in the war, and her mother, given over to despair, falls into addiction and loses her job. Iris finds comfort by writing her brother letters on her typewriter, a gift from her late grandmother, and slipping them beneath the door of her wardrobe where they magically disappear—and hopefully make their way to her brother.

After winning an essay competition, Iris lands a job writing obituaries and classifieds for one of the city’s largest newspapers alongside 19-year-old Roman C. Kitt, the son of a wealthy railroader who is on a fast-track to a columnist position at the Oath Gazette. Until Iris comes on scene. 

The two quickly become rivals, competing for the coveted columnist position as the war rages in the west. Their paper is forbidden from reporting on certain facets of the war, and Iris grows steadily more concerned about her brother as the months pass. He said he’d write, but she hasn’t heard from him. She soon learns that her letters, whisked away by magic, have not been going to her brother. Rather, another young man, Carver, has been receiving them.

When tragedy strikes and Iris loses the columnist position to Roman, she makes a rash decision to join the war effort as a war correspondent for the Oath Gazette’s competitor, The Inkridden Tribune. Perhaps she can kill two birds with one stone: make a difference with her writing and find her brother.

Armed with her typewriter, two jumpsuits, and a pair of combat boots, Iris embarks on a journey to the war front with another young correspondent, Attie. The two of them stay with a friendly bed and breakfast owner in a small town near the front lines. When they are not reporting on battles or hiding from Underling monsters, they volunteer at the hospital, helping care for wounded soldiers. Iris learns their stories and pens a name for herself. She even gets some leeway in discovering where her brother has ended up and continues her fantastical pen pal relationship with the mysterious Carver. 

Then Roman Kitt reappears, dressed in a correspondent’s jumpsuit and combat boots, ready to best her again—or so Iris thinks. Roman’s intentions are far less sinister than Iris initially believes, and she soon discovers that he’s not out for rivalry, but romance. Together, they fight for each other and a better future for Oath. 

This is one of the best book series I’ve read. The story world, characters, romance, and tension kept me anchored to the story from the very first page.

The Story World

While classified as fantasy, the story world reads like World War I historical fiction—with modern social values. Iris is a working woman, and she is never belittled for her gender. In fact, many of the strong characters, including the editor of the Inkridden Tribune, a captain in Enva’s army, many of the soldiers, and the other war correspondent sent to the frontlines with Iris are all women. The technology is also aligned with what we would have seen in the early 1900s—typewriters, trolleys, and roadsters. The story world transported me to a place of timelessness that had all the charm and simplicity of a pre-computer world without the inequalities we saw during that time, though there is an undercurrent of social inequality throughout the story.

I would have liked to have seen more development of the gods and the Underling and Skyward realms in which they dwell. Dacre, the main antagonist, is a god, and the divinities in the books seemed to be based on Greek mythology, though there is an air of mystery surrounding the gods. Enva had put Dacre to sleep hundreds of years prior to the start of the story, and he awoke with a vengeance that catalyzed the war. We don’t know much about their origins, powers, or followers. 

The Journalism

I was drawn toward this story primarily because the main characters are young journalists. I started working in the news industry when I was just 18 years old—the same age as the main character, Iris. And while I was reporting on church news and local faith-based nonprofits, not a war, I remember being hungry for stories and bylines and significance in the same way Iris is.

Journalism is exciting because it gives you a back-stage pass to pretty much anything you can imagine. Reporters get to see things that most people will never have a chance to experience. It’s an opportunity to hear stories, an excuse to be nosy, a ticket to adventure. I miss that, and this book gave me a little taste of it again, allowing me to live vicariously through Iris, Roman, and Attie. 

The Romance

I’m a sucker for a good love story. I’m usually not a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, but I thoroughly enjoyed the rivals-to-lovers spin. It’s no secret that Iris and Roman end up together—I’m pretty sure you’ll read this on the dust jacket.

Their love is rooted in mutual respect for each others’ work as well as a shared passion for storytelling. They are evenly matched and bring out the best—and sometimes the worst—in each other. Their romance is fast-paced and passionate due to the wartime backdrop, but there is a maturity to it that extends beyond mere attraction.

While some people prefer not to have romance mixed in with the plot, I think it was a welcome addition. Most people in this world hope to find love or at least someone who sees them for who they really are and chooses to love them despite their flaws. Iris and Roman see each other in this way and bring each other comfort, empathy, and purpose when they are in dire straits. 

The romance is sweet and mild, unlike many books on shelves these days, which I think is why this duology received a young adult classification. Ross masterfully wove emotion and circumstance to build empathy in her readers. I found myself rooting for Iris and Roman before they even knew they would be together. It was refreshing to be compelled so deeply by a romance, and Letters of Enchantment proves that authors don’t need to rely on mature content to tell a good love story. 

Final Thoughts on Letters of Enchantment

I tore through these books in just a few days, and they reminded me of why I love reading. They are transportive and emotional and magical. I know I’ll be thinking of them for a long time. 

While I would have liked to have seen more of the origins and history of the gods waging war in Oath, I think Ross created a substantial story world in relatively few words. You can only flesh things out so much in two books, especially when the focus is the characters and their experiences rather than the story world itself. 

I’ll be keeping an eye on my closet door to see if any letters slip through.