Eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants one thing more than anything else: to follow her dream and become a full-time columnist at the Oath Gazette. It wouldn't hurt that getting the promotion would be one-upping her nemesis at the paper, Roman "Condescending" Kitt. He's her cold, arrogant coworker and main competition at the Gazette, and he's the opposite of Iris in every way. Roman comes from wealth and connections, with every possible advantage, while Iris, who is from a much more modest background, has had to fight for every scrap that’s come her way. Never mind that he’s handsome. Why would Iris notice or care about that?

 

Iris’s only brother, Forest, is called away to fight in the war between two newly awakened gods, Enva and Dacre.  Iris is now alone with her mother, who is increasingly drowning her sorrows with alcohol. After Forest enlisted and shipped out to the front lines, Iris doesn’t hear one word from him, allowing her worst fears to fester and causing her mother to spiral even further into addiction.

 

Being a writer, Iris does what writers do. She composes letters to Forest on her typewriter, filling him in on her life and pouring her heart out, all the while knowing he’ll never receive or answer them. She “mails” the letters by slipping them under her wardrobe door and, in a snap of mysterious magic, the letters vanish and reappear in – of all people! – Roman Kitt’s room. When he anonymously answers the letters, a tender bond begins to form between the two adversaries.

 

Iris, unaware of who is writing her back, decides to join the war effort as a correspondent to report on the terrible tragedies happening – wounded soldiers, trench warfare, and the horrifying monsters Dacre uses against Enva supporters. Left behind, Roman must decide whether he will stay in his comfortable life at the Gazette or follow Iris to the front lines of a war waged between gods.

 

If romantasies (fantasy with romance) are your jam, pick up Divine Rivals for mythical storytelling, interesting world-building, gods and monsters, a pulse-pounding war, and an enemies-to-lovers love story that will have you swooning for Iris and Roman. To read more about Iros and Roman, you can also check out the duology's second half, Ruthless Vows.

Have you ever had a hankering for Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream? Or Farts of Portingale? What about a Tiger Nut Cake? In Tasting History by Max Miller, you’ll find instructions and history to these odd recipes and more. Maybe you have a more traditional palate. No worries! Also included are the origins and recipes of age-old favorites such as lasagna, pecan pie, and eggnog. More than the average cookbook, you’ll go around the world and explore the past through 4,000 years of recipes from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. Learn interesting historical tidbits like how to eat like an emperor: “One dinner, given by Vitellius’s brother, included two thousand of the choicest fishes and seven thousand birds." Find out how bread pudding was used during the Civil War to bring soldiers back to health. If you feel like you have what it takes to be a Spartan, try what the Spartan warriors ate for their daily meal.

 

If the name Tasting History sounds familiar, you may have seen one of the author’s many culinary chronicles on Youtube. Max Miller began by bringing baked goods and giving mini lectures about the dish’s past to his job at Walt Disney in marketing and film distribution. One of his coworkers suggested he start creating videos, and the rest is history. Due to his channel’s rising popularity, the book Tasting History came to fruition. Named the same, both channel and book give great descriptions and instructions for the preparations and the lore behind each dish.

 

I love food and trying new things, so I always keep an eye out for interesting cookbooks. This book brings a spotlight to how our ancestors used to eat. While the aim of the cookbook isn’t for convenience or health, Miller does try to make the recipes easier to use. No need to bring out the butter churner! Some recipes may also be changed for your convenience. Most would not try the hummus with nearly 30 ingredients from 14th century Egypt, but you can find substitutes to shorten the list of components. While I found a few recipes that I definitely plan on trying out, the peach melba looks especially divine, I was mostly interested in each repast’s past. If you enjoy cooking or if you’re just a big history nerd -- or both -- this is the book for you!