'Divine Rivals' Book Club Readalong Day 3!

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 11-16 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!

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After a very heavy last few chapters I'm hoping that we're opening ourselves up to adventure in the next few...


Chapter 11: 

Iris wanders home in grief and falls asleep. She wakes in the morning to the sound of knocking and finds Roman at her door. He asks her what is wrong but she doesn't want him to pity her or her circumstances so she lies and tells him that she just overslept, and he leaves. 

Chapter 12

Iris spends the day in a haze until she realizes that she wants to write to her magical pen pal (remember she still doesn't know it's Roman) so she pours out her thoughts and griefs into her typewriter.

Eventually, night falls and she receives a long letter from Roman about how he shares her thoughts on loss, and that he once lost a sister due to a tragic circumstance that he feels responsible for.




Chapter 13 

Iris returns to the office and Sara and Roman both ask about her well being. She brushes them both off though Roman pushes her and she's called into her boss's office. Her boss asks after the essay she was to have written but Iris tells him that she forgot. He's rude to her and puts her on the obituaries...and is forced to write the one for her mother. 

She delivers the stack of written obituaries to her boss's desk for the next day and goes home to fall asleep. 

 

Iris wakes up late for work again and Zeb, Iris and Roman's boss call them into his office to let them know of his decision for promotion. 

 

He gives the columnist position to Kitt but Roman asks him to consider giving them more time due to Iris's mother passing away. Iris asks him how he knows and Roman responds that he read her obituary...

 

Sure Jan, you're just never gonna tell this girl you're her magic pen pal, are you?

 

Zeb apologizes to Iris but tells her that his mind is made up so she straight up just resigns and plans to go look for her brother. 

 

Roman asks Iris not to go but she packs up and never looks back. 

Chapter 14

Upon arriving home Iris uses her typewriter to let her pen pal know that she will be leaving and bids them farewell. She plans on applying to the Inkridden Tribune as a war correspondent the next day to look for her brother and while she's packing she gets a message back that says...

 

May I ask where you are going? 

 

ROMAN! COME ON!

 

She ignores it and continues to pack everything important to her. Another letter arrives but she leaves it unread on the floor and quits her flat. 

Chapter 15

The next day Roman is sitting quietly at work wondering about his life. When he leaves, he goes home to his father to tell him that he won't be marrying Elinor Little, who calls his father prejudiced. His father demands again that he marry and Roman notices a crate marked "Caution Handle With Care" that his father has on his desk. His father shows him that they are weapons to help aid the war and Roman finds out his father is a Dacre (the evil god) sympathizer.

Roman goes to his room and buries Iris's stack of letters in the floorboards, to help keep her safe.

At this time Iris makes her way to the Inkridden Tribune where she applies to be a war correspondent. Her new boss, Helena shows her where she can work and takes an interest in Iris's typewriter. Iris learns that her typewriter is one of three magical typewriters made by a father whose daughter was ill so that she could still keep in touch with her two best friends. The first typewriter, The First Alouette, is in a museum and the third belongs to Iris and Helena wonders where the Second could be.



Iris learns that she will be taking the train to Oath, close to the war and 600km away as Helena gives her instructions for departure. 

Chapter 16

Iris is on the train when it stops to let on a new passenger who sits with her, Attie. She learns that Attie will become one of the war correspondents travelling to the same bed and breakfast that Iris is. They talk discuss why they're signing up for such a dangerous task and become fast friends. 



I did not quite see where this was going but I'm fascinated to be along for the ride. How about you? 

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 Questions:

1. ☠⚰How do you feel knowing Roman feels responsible for his sisters death?

2. 💫Do you think the magic will find them ways to communicate still?

3. 😄Well this is a great adventure Iris has thrown herself into. How do you feel about it?

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