• Author: Rebecca Ross
• Series: Letters of Enchantment #1
• Genre: Fantasy Romance
• Star Rating: 5 stars
• Gifted by Publisher: Yes

Plot: After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette. To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

There is a running theme in my reading life where I wait a solid two years after a very hyped and well-loved book comes out to actually read it myself. I don’t know what it is but the minute a book gets any kind of renowned hype my brain just cannot pick it up. So I consistently find myself reading a book way too late and realising how much I missed out on. This book is another one of those.

Going into this book I knew I was getting a romance. Despite what I heard from friends or online even from the cover I knew I was getting a romance. And that romance was one of the most beautiful literary romances I have ever read. I loved the mystery surrounding it, the magic, the lyricism of this love. I love the idea of falling in love with someone by their words and meeting the core of who they are before you physically meet them. It was honestly some of the most romantic scenes I have ever read. The dynamic between Roman and Iris was perfectly written, their relationship felt realistic and their chemistry was unmatched. I loved them both as individuals with their own wants and needs and they stood very strong by themselves but what made them so perfect was how powerful and beautiful they are together. How they are foils of one another yet no-one can relate to each other more than each other. I literally sat reading this fully understanding why people loved them so much.

But despite knowing this book was a romance I actually knew nothing else so I was shocked by the war storyline and shocked by how much I was invested and enjoyed the storyline. I felt that Rebecca did an amazing job at creating tension, atmosphere and also hope. While I enjoyed the back and forth between Roman and Iris at the Gazette – it was when Iris set off to Avalon Bluff where I truly fell in love with the story. Iris is the heart of this book and watching her navigate grief, longing and bravery was astounding. I really enjoyed her character and I enjoyed following and learning about the world and the war through her eyes. I am intrigued to see more magic from this series as what we got I enjoyed but I did want more of the mythological element just so as a reader I can understand why we are where we are.