This was so good. Like genuinely really good. I have been burned many times by believing the hype social media can play on new releases, but I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this. 

The whole premise is incredibly interesting. The idea of a WW1 inspired fantasy where two gods are feuding and compelling mankind to become part of their army was so captivating. The scenes where Iris & Roman are

on the front lines had me on the edge of my seat. I never thought I would be so engrossed in scenes involving trenches.

There is a lot of trauma and pain in this book too. I would absolutely recommend that you check the content warnings before reading just in case.

Both Iris and Roman were fantastic characters. Iris has to endure a lot throughout the book, but she kept persevering. Roman found his own strength inspired by Iris,

to finally break from the shackles of family obligation and guilt that had been slowly burying him for years.

Although the blurb refers to this as enemies-to-lovers it isn’t. This is rivals-to-lovers, and it is written beautifully. It was incredibly romantic, plus I am a sucker for any book that uses letters or written communication as a way of flirting or advancing the romance plot.

What I haven’t really seen mentioned is that this is NOT A STANDALONE, there is a pretty brutal (imo) cliffhanger. I NEED the next book now.

5 stars