Amber and I are BACK this June for a fun new readalong! We're about to start our monthly discussion for our May "Against All Odds" book, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross!
As a reminder, from now on, our monthly discussions will be both here on the OwlCrate blog AND on The Nest!
On each day we'll read a section of Divine Rivals both on the blog and in The Nest's group, and then discuss in the comments our theories and predictions. This means there will be spoilers for each section! Beware!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for chapters 17-22 of Divine Rivals, so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.
Find your discussion questions below, and find LOTS more on The Nest!
We last left of with Iris becoming a war correspondent with a keen disregard for self preservation...
Chapter 17
Iris and Attie make it to Marisol's B&B where they learn of the dangers facing them at the front. They ask about the train and learn about why the town is kept dark and seemingly vacant at night, and Marisol teaches them about the town's sirens and what they mean.
Chapter 18
Iris retires to her room at the B&B and decides to see if the typewriters are capable of using magic across greater distances. She writes to Roman (remember she still doesn't know it's him) and tells him that she's now 600 km away from Oath and needs the other half of the myth that he sent her about Dacre and Enva.
He immediately responds asking her if she's joined the war. Iris writes back a yes, and tells him that she's become a war correspondent.
Roman replies back to assure her that he will look for the second half of the myth as he believes it may hold the key as to how Enva triumphed over Dacre the first time.
Chapter 19
The next day Iris and Attie go to the infirmary where they plan to interview the soldiers injured in fighting. Iris is interested in interviewing a solider named Prairie but Prairie responds that she doesn't answer questions about the war. Instead she asks Iris to pen her a letter. She then goes soldier to soldier writing letters for everyone and asking after Forest. When Iris is done she writes a letter for herself, inquiring with the army about Forest's whereabouts.
Chapter 20
That night, Iris receives a response from Roman and it's the missing myth of Enva and Dacre. Within it, Iris learns that Dacre stole Enva below to the underworld, Hades and Persephone style. Enva agreed to this but on condition that she may play music on her magic harp whenever she'd like. Dacre agreed, but Enva had a trick up her sleeve. Her music made people do and feel the things she sang about. So over time she sang lullabies that the court would fall asleep to. Until one day, Enva played for so long and the court of the underworld and Dacre slept for so long that she managed to escape. When Dacre awoke and went above ground to look for her, she was waiting with a host of Skywards. Dacre, not able to best them, instead took his rage out on the mortal realm. Enva knew she had to stop him so she eventually went back to his court with her magical harp and sang him and the underworld to sleep for two centuries.
Iris reads this myth and sends back a response asking if Roman would consider posting the letters that she is writing for the soldiers, by sending them through their typewriters.
Roman responds with a yes. Iris attempts to respond asking a question about the Alouette typewriters when a siren goes off and she stops mid sentence.
Chapter 21
Roman worries when he receives Iris's response and sends one back. When he doesn't get a response right away, he goes downstairs to find his Nan who was the old owner of his Alouette typewriter. She recognizes that he's been using the Alouette to communicate with her friend Daisy Winnow's granddaughter, and encourages him to follow his feelings.
Roman returns to his room to see a response from Iris. Her letter reassures him that she's safe and he realizes just then that he's late to work.
Meanwhile Iris and Attie help Marisol in her wife Keegan's garden. They learn about how they met and that Keegan is a keen gardener.
When they finish Iris sends Roman a letter and asks if he'd ever like to meet her. He responds with a swift yes, but that she's also six hundred kilometers way. She replies that eventually they'll meet and it's super swoony - I hope you're caught up. 
The chapter ends with a response from the army about her brother Forest and tells her who to contact for more information about where he is or what has happened to him.
Chapter 22
Iris works on her article about the war. She and Attie take a break and chat about Marisol and Keegan. After awhile, Iris asks Attie if she thinks it's possible that you can be in love with someone you have never met. Attie replies that she's not sure.
This prompts Iris to send an adorably flirty letter to Roman with a list about what she knows about him and what she doesn't - his name.
Roman does not respond with his name but instead gives her a different one, Carver. 
(Can we explore why my mind went STRAIGHT to the Bone Carver? I blame SJM.)
They flirt back and forth and the chapter ends again with Iris sending a fresh letter to the contact the army suggested.
What do you think, friends? We just got a LOT more romance in this portion of the book. I wonder where our dear Iris and Roman are headed...
Questions:
-
💖 🌷Marisol seems like such a sweet woman. Do you think she will be able to keep the girls safe? -
👦Do you think Iris will be able to find Forest? Do you think Forest is alive? -
💥💣What do you think about the dangers they've been told about at the front?
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