Good things come to those who wait... and to those who strike a chord on BookTok. Such has been the fate of author Rebecca Ross, who’s riding high on a wave of bestsellerdom for her Letters of Enchantment romantasy duology, comprised of Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows (Wednesday Books), her seventh and eighth published novels, respectively. Ruthless Vows was released on December 26—just eight months after Divine Rivals—and sold 78,706 copies through BookScan in its first week on sale. For the same period, BookScan reported sales of 24,294 copies for Divine Rivals. These numbers helped push Ruthless Vows to a debut at #1 on the January 14 New York Times bestseller list in the YA hardcover category. And on January 9, Ross wrapped up a sold-out five-city tour for the book. To date, the duology is quickly closing in on a combined total of one million copies in print, according to her publisher.
Though 2023 was a fast-and-furious year for Ross, she began her rise as an author in 2018 with the publication of her YA debut The Queen’s Rising (HarperTeen), book one of a duology (and part of a three-book deal). It received warm critical reviews and the sequel, The Queen’s Resistance, followed in 2019. Ross was very engaged with her devoted and growing base of readers, offering frequent giveaways on social media and with local indies, and recruiting street teams (fans who help an author spread the word about a book). Two standalone YA fantasies from HarperTeen and a fantasy duology for adults from Harper Voyager came next. Then, in 2021, Ross and her agent, Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media, sold the Letters of Enchantment duology to Eileen Rothschild, associate publisher at Wednesday Books.
“I received the manuscript in late July 2021. I believe I was on vacation,” Rothschild recalled. “Suzie’s pitch was so compelling that I felt this pull to open the document and I fell right in. As editors, that is where the magic is: getting so immersed in a story you forget your inbox—or your vacation! I believe I read it, spoke to Rebecca, and made an offer within a week, which for July might be a record for me.” For Rothschild, the story that became Divine Rivals has impressive staying power. “It has been years since I first read it and I still think about it daily,” she said.
The Wednesday publicity team fell hard for the project, too. “It all starts with the story, and Rebecca wrote an amazing story,” said Rothschild, reflecting on why readers have been hooked. “Roman, Iris, the gods, and the city of Oath feel so real and stay with you long after you finish the last page,” she added. PW’s review praised Ross’s prose as “dreamy and atmospherically tense” and called the book “an ardent romance and a harrowing exploration of war’s horrors and heartbreaks.” According to Rothschild, “It resonated with so many readers in a way that made them want to pass on the book to their friends, make videos, write reviews, hand-sell, bring it up in their book club, talk about it on social media and share their experience of reading it. It was wonderful to witness and take part in the snowball effect.”
Harrington and the team got the snowball rolling with a “massive early read campaign, influencer campaign, and account outreach,” she said. Divine Rivals debuted on the Times list on April 23 at #5 and was on for one week. The book hit the list again on July 16th at #4 and has stayed on for 29 weeks, reaching the #1 slot for the first time on August 6. On the Indie Bestsellers list, Divine Rivals debuted on July 26 at #8 and has remained on the list for 24 weeks, reaching the top ranking 12 times . In early August, Barnes & Noble announced it would release its own exclusive edition of the book. Additionally, Divine Rivals landed on several year-end best book lists, including those from the Washington Post and Marie Claire, and received the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fantasy.
All this buzz paved the way for the enthusiastic reception of Ruthless Vows. Ross teamed up with her local indie, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga., for a pre-order campaign for Ruthless Vows, which she announced in late summer/early fall. “While we expected lots of interest, the response was like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” said store co-owner Diane Capriola-Little. “We ended up shipping pre-orders to every state in the U.S. and to more than a dozen countries including Italy, Egypt, and Australia.” To handle the thousands of books to sign and personalize, “Rebecca ended up spending several days with us in our book fair office—we couldn’t manage the volume of books in the shop—and we had a team of booksellers whose sole job was to process these orders and prepare them for shipping,” Capriola-Little added.
Ross kicked off her tour on January 2 with a launch event at Little Shop of Stories with a standing-room-only crowd of 350 people. “Fellow YA author Roshani Chokshi joined Rebecca, and it was a really fun and lively conversation, which Rebecca’s fans really enjoyed,” Capriola-Little said. “We sold 225 copies of Ruthless Vows at the launch event, but the real story is that we’ve sold over 2,500 copies since the campaign was announced a few months ago. Many of these orders also included Rebecca’s backlist offerings. And the orders continue to come in.”
In Capriola-Little’s view, people are responding to these books because “Rebecca’s writing is so lovely and atmospheric, and it touches on the power and importance of connection, particularly in difficult times. I think that is something that all readers need and want these days.”
Ross continues to be blown away by her success. “It’s been an amazing experience!” she said. “Divine Rivals is my seventh published novel, and not once did I ever imagine one of my books would break out the way Divine Rivals did. It’s been humbling and extraordinary to watch my stories resonate and find a home with thousands of readers.”
She gives her readers all the credit. “The success of this series unfolded because people read the book and then proceeded to recommend it to their friends, family, and even strangers,” she said. “Divine Rivals took TikTok by storm, and I think that illuminates how powerful word-of-mouth recommendations are when it comes to a book’s longevity and success. I wouldn’t be here without my readers—those who have been with me from the beginning of my career, and those who have just discovered my writing.”
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Wednesday, $18.99 Apr. 2023 ISBN 978-1-250-85743-9
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross. Wednesday, $20 Dec. 2023 ISBN 978-1-250-85745-3
