The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Ross, Rebecca. Divine Rivals. Wednesday Books, 2023.

Eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow sees her older brother Forest off at a train station. There is a war going on between two gods named Enva and Dacre. Forest enlisted to fight on Enva’s side. This leaves Iris with Aster, their alcoholic mother, to live alone in Oath.

Five months later, Iris works for the Oath Gazette. She has a work rival around her age named Roman Kitt and a strict boss named Zeb Autry. Zeb often reprimands her for being late to work while Roman threatens to win the columnist position over her.

Iris’ one consolation is the letters she writes to Forest, who is missing. She uses her nan’s Alouette typewriter and shoves the letters into her wardrobe when she is done writing them. One evening, she receives a response through the wardrobe. It is Roman, though he tells her to call him Carver, which is actually his middle name. They are unsure how it is that they can write to one another, but they strike up a consistent correspondence. Meanwhile, Roman’s strict parents are forcing him to get engaged to Elinor Little, the daughter of a prominent professor. Mr. Kitt and Dr. Little are conspiring to ship weapons to Dacre. Guilt over his little sister Del’s death makes Roman accept the engagement.

One day, Iris manages to convince Roman to have lunch with her. She longs to be friends, not enemies. She helps him with an article he is writing on a war. That night, Aster goes missing. The next day, Iris learns of her death while at work. The following morning, Roman checks in on her. The day after that, Iris quits her job.

Iris decides she must search for Forest. She signs up to be a war correspondent at the Inkridden Tribune. She gets stationed at Avalon Bluff with another girl her age named Attie. They stay with Marisol, a kind woman whose wife, Keegan, is fighting in the war. Iris brings her typewriter so she can keep writing to Carver. She spends her days volunteering in the infirmary, interviewing wounded soldiers and helping in Marisol’s garden.

One morning, Roman’s nan explains the mystery behind the Alouette typewriter. Nan, Iris’ grandmother, and a girl named Alouette were all best friends. Alouette’s father was an inventor, and he came up with the typewriter so that the girls could communicate while Alouette was fatally ill with a contagious disease. Nan encourages Roman to follow his own path, inspiring him to pursue Iris in Avalon Bluff. They reunite under dire circumstances. Iris spots Roman trekking across a field during an air raid siren. She sprints over and tackles him to the ground since that is the only way to go unnoticed by the eithrals: Dacre’s bomb-dropping wyverns. Iris feels conflicted as she is glad to see Roman but feels she owes loyalty to Carter, with whom she is falling in love. She convinces herself Roman only came to outshine her at their new jobs.

Roman and Iris bond while running together each morning. One day, a captain stops by to offer them a seat in his lorry, bound for the war front. Once there, Iris fails to read the latest letter from Carver since Roman keeps distracting and interrupting her. Roman gets injured during a grenade attack and insists that Iris take his bag. Iris realizes she is in love with him. Once back in Avalon, Iris reads Carver’s letter while Roman is in the infirmary. She realizes Roman is Carver, then looks through Roman’s bag and finds all her letters. She rushes to the infirmary, furious. She and Roman share a passionate kiss, and then she avoids him for a few days.

Once Roman returns to Marisol’s, Attie tells Iris to be kind to him. Iris takes Roman on a walk, where he explains his pure intentions and even gets down on one knee. His leg starts bleeding, so they wait until the following morning to resume their conversation—this time, in the garden. Roman proposes. Iris accepts. They kiss, then get married that afternoon. Keegan returns home and announces that Dacre is nearby. They all decide to stay in Avalon and fight. That night, Roman and Iris have sex for the first time. An evacuation siren goes off the next morning. Someone breaks into Marisol’s home while everyone is out helping the wounded.

A gas bomb goes off while Roman and Iris are outside. Iris is rescued by her brother, Forest, who drags her forcibly away from Roman. Once safe, Iris realizes Forset is the one who broke into Marisol’s home. He is unapologetic about abandoning Roman. Iris notices Forest’s paranoia and realizes he was fighting for Dacre. Forest explains that Dacre put a spell on him, forcing him to be loyal to his cause. Iris forces Forest to bring her back to the field where she last saw Roman, but all she sees is a scorched circle in the ground. The siblings return to Oath. The epilogue explains how Roman was captured by Dacre, whose servant created a portal to bring Roman to the underground. Dacre is thrilled to have a war correspondent in his company.