In good company with everything Rebecca Ross writes, the book was pure magic and heartfelt yearning at its very best!

The story arcs over many years, and while I typically dislike time jumps in books, I found myself so enraptured in Matilda and Vincent's story that I didn't mind one bit. Ross excelled at creating characters whose minds you just want to dive into. Matilda and Vincent both go through different but parallel journeys of discovering the hidden power in gentleness and love.

And what a world to be in. I LOVED the world-building of this novel. While it's set in the same world as Divine Rivals, getting to follow the Gods provided a whole new perspective on the different realms. Not to mention that anytime I learned more about the magic system, I gasped and clutched my book closer with wide eyes.

This book has family that invades your heart, romance that tugs at your heartstrings, and intrigue that burrows into your mind!

For fans of Divine Rivals, this book is a beautiful treat (especially the epilogue!!!!!), and for new Rebecca Ross readers, this is the perfect place to dive in!

After rereading some of Rebecca Ross's books earlier this year, I was very excited to receive an early copy of this book and it did not disappoint!

Wild Reverence is a story about the goddess Matilda and her mortal lover Vincent. Matilda was born in the Underling realm as a goddess of the low rungs of the Middle Court and was given the role of the herald of the gods. She grew up not knowing her father, but was able to travel across all realms, as her father is of the Skyward realm. Vincent is left the Lord of Wyndrift after his uncle's betrayal many years ago. Still in conflict with his treacherous uncle, Vincent seeks aid from Matilda, the girl he had dreamed of while growing up, in order to save his people.

I thought that the magic system was very cool in this story. Particularly, the stars and constellations, which signify power and may be stolen or given in order to transfer power. The relationship between Matilda and Vincent was very sweet and well-developed, and the ending was heartbreaking but perfect. It was also really fun to read the references to the conflict between Dacre and Enva in Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. Anyone who enjoyed those books will not want to miss Wild Reverence!

*4.25 stars*

I enjoyed this novel a lot!! I usually don't like time jumps but they were done in a pretty tame way if that's the word to describe it, so I didn't mind it that much. The characters were nicely written and I loved their love story; the writing style was also good and it complemented Divine Rivals very well while still expanding on the gods' relationships and enriching the world that Rebecca Ross had created in the main duology. This was a very good prequel but also kind of a weird one, because up until the epilogue we can't see how this story relates to the Divine Rivals plot, and I liked how it was linked but I would've loved it more if we had gotten a bit more context there. This is me being nitpicky so definitely not a big deal.

Overall I think this is a great novel and I really liked the plot and how everything turned out. I'd definitely recommend it to everyone but especially to Divine Rivals fans!!!

As hard as this is to say, I am DNFing this one. It is very mythology/lore-ish and there are so many details and characters. Even with an immersive read, I am struggling to follow the story and be invested. Maybe I’ll pick it back up another time.

This book was an experience. It took me a while to read but I’m glad that it did. It was such a slow, emotional story about a goddess growing into herself and finding a love that was worth the world to her. I fell in love with Matilda’s curiosity, loyalty, and her protectiveness over those she loves. It took me a while to adjust to a story being told from a goddesses point of view but by the end of it I felt so entranced by the storytelling and these characters.

Matilda and Vincent are everything, I don’t even know what else to say about them. It was beautiful and heartbreaking watching these destined lovers be ripped away from one another and come back together time and time again. You truly fall into their love story as you see them fight fate, death, and the gods themselves to be together. I’m so so so happy with how their story ended!

There were so many other characters to love and hate in this book as well but all of them were all so well done. Bade’s character arc was so heartwarming and I wasn’t expecting to love him as much as I did. I was happy that every character got the ending that they deserved!

The last few chapters of this book had me tearing up so hard. I just love them so much and after everything Matilda and Vincent had to go through they deserved the whole world. Such a beautiful story and characters!

What an epic and unforgettable story!

The author’s writing was, as always, breathtaking—lyrical, immersive, and full of emotion. Having read and loved her other works, I went into this book with high expectations, and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint in the slightest. In fact, it reminded me once again why she has become one of my favorite authors.

I especially adored Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, so discovering that this book is a prequel to that series made me even more excited. It was fascinating to see the foundations of that world laid out and to experience the myths, conflicts, and characters that would ultimately shape the stories I already know and love. The world-building here was nothing short of spectacular. The author has such a gift for transporting readers into her universe, where every detail feels vivid and alive.

The narrative unfolds across three realms—the Under Realm, the Mortal Realm, and the Skyward Realm—and each of them is distinct yet intricately woven together. The mythology surrounding these realms is rich and layered, and I could easily lose myself in the lore alone. If you enjoy stories about gods, myths, and the clash between divine power and human will, this book is absolutely for you.

What impressed me most was the sheer range of emotions this story evoked. At times it was adventurous and thrilling, full of action and mystery. Other moments were dark and heavy with greed, ambition, and despair. Yet, there was also hope, tenderness, and love woven throughout, balancing the shadows with light. It’s rare to find a book that can make me feel so many things in the span of a single journey, but this one accomplished that beautifully.

Overall, this is a captivating and powerful prequel that deepens the lore of the series while standing firmly on its own. Fans of fantasy steeped in mythology and complex emotions will not want to miss it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Reverence was such an interesting lyrical story. It does in my opinion start out quite slow but I fell in love with Matilda and Vincent as soon as I met them. I just wish their romance was a little better developed, I could see their connection, but it just needed explored a little more. I do really love Rebecca Ross’s writing style. The last 25% the story really picked up and I enjoyed it a lot more, I wish the other 75% had been as good as the back half. Overall a very beautiful and lyrical story I just could a used a little more development in the romance.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Rebecca Ross, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.75/5⭐️

Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, and her gift is messenger magic. This world is riddled with gods that want more power, and they will kill each other to steal it. Even alliances are betrayed. When the human woman that her ally, Bade, has fallen for takes a mortal wound, she must travel to the Skyward realm to find Rowena and deliver a message. Little did she know this would lead her onto the path of the boy whose dreams she had been entering.

What to Expect:
📖1st Person Dual POV
📖Gods vs Humans
📖Forbidden Love
📖Childhood Friends to Lovers
📖Fantasy Romance
📖Betrayal

I want to start by saying that I recommend reading Divine Rivals (just the first book) before starting this because the connections while reading this make that experience so much better. If you DON't want to wait then at least save that Epilogue until you do. I truly loved this book and I can't believe how lengthy it is because I absolutely devoured it.

This book does have darker themes, so do be mindful of the content you are able to handle. The dynamic between the gods is often darker in tone, and that does include even toward their offspring. kidnapping, violence (including murder, attempted murder, and physical abuse), parental death, loss of children, grief, self-harm, and substance use (gods consuming euphoric prayers)

4.5 ⭐️ I love this world. I loved seeing more of the gods side of it and found the hierarchy interesting. The ending was predictable but it was what I wanted to happen so I liked it. It lost half a star due to it feeling dragged out at some points but it all game together at the end.

I loved this book! I wasn’t sure about this book because I loved Divine Rivals but not Ruthless Vows so I am very happy to say this book was absolutely engrossing. As an author Rebecca Ross has only improved in her storytelling and pacing. I love that we returned to the same world but this time we see it in person through Matilda’s ability to travel between realms. It brought the different realms and deities to the forefront in a way they could not be as the puppet masters in the previous books. If you haven’t read the others you can definitely start here without any spoilers and if like me you forgot a lot of the backstory on the gods you can definitely jump right in without a problem. If you want to know where this book falls in relation to the others this is actually set before the duology. I am sorry to leave this world so I hope we get to return as I am very eager to see what she does next.

SOBBING. CRYING. THROWING UP. THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. I LITERALLY CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I NOW HAVE TO READ BOOKS THAT AREN'T THIS ONE 😭😭😭 LIKE OMG REBECCA 😭😭😭 WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I can't even list the things I love because there are too many and if I try too hard to think about them, I'll cry about the fact that it's over and I can never reread this for the first time. It was just beautiful and amazing. The prose. The gods and goddesses world. The stories and myths. The connection to DR. The love. Vincent. Bade. Matilda. Enva. Zenia. My heart literally hurts thinking about how this is over. 😭😭😭😭

Six stars. Ten stars. A hundred stars. Like no stars are enough for this constellation of pulchritudinous. I am just breathless thinking about it.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 ✮⋆˙

5⭐️

Wild Reverence was such a BEAUTIFUL, unforgettable read. EASILY my favorite out of the series. I connected so quickly with Matilda, Vincent, and Bade (Bade, ily) that I wish there were dozens more books about them. They’re the kind of characters that I already know I’m gonna be thinking about long after this

I’ll admit, the first half (around 55%) felt a little slow for me. The world-building and pacing took some time and was a bit confusing, and I found myself waiting for somethinggg to happen. But once everything started happening, I was completely swept away. I devoured the rest of the book today because I couldn’t stop turning pages😭. It was like everything came together at once the emotions, the TENSION, the romance, the gods, I was so hooked.

The ending left me feeling that bittersweet ache you only get from the best kind of stories: the joy of having experienced something so beautiful, mixed with the sadness of saying goodbye💔💔

I haven’t been this in love with a book since the OUABH series. I’m so excited for this to come out🖤 September 2nd 🥹🌟

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the ARC.

Rating: 5 Stars
Spice Rating: 0.25
Publish Date: September 2nd 2025
Will I purchase a physical copy? Yes!

I feel like Rebecca Ross is secretly Matilda, composing the most brilliantly written stories and heralding them all over the world.

I am so thankful I got this book as an ARC it was my most anticipated read of 2025 after finishing the letters of enchantment duloagy. Matilda and Vincent’s story is both beautiful and heartbreaking spanning both of their lives in difference ways. It was really nice to meet the gods that are whispered about in Divine Rivals and see how we got from the past into the present. The story was a little bit longer than I expected and took me longer to read but that’s because I needed to soak in every word.

I have already preordered a copy and I am so glad I did! I’m excited to see what is next for Rebecca Ross.

This was such a bittersweet addition to the Divine Rivals duology. I loved learning about the gods and I crave MORE!!! Beautiful tragic origin story perfect for the fans.

I have a hard time reviewing this because I absolutely love the world and the magic system, but I just felt this was a lot of flowery description and not a lot of plot advancement.
It was probably halfway through the book before it started to pick up but never really fully hooked me.

The relationship between Matilda and Bade was probably the highlight of this book.

I didn’t dislike it by any means I just don’t think I’m one for a deep prose book 🤣

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I did enjoy reading this, and the plot line is super intriguing, however, there were some bits where I felt it was too detail heavy. I can understand trying to understand the world and make the reader able to comprehend what is being told. However there were parts that just felt like it was dragging. That we were getting too much detail, while somehow also not getting enough. I did end up enjoying myself once we truly got into the plot though.

A big thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!

Set in the world of Divine Rivals, we follow a young goddess named Matilda as she comes into her powers, discovers love, and changes lives. Her power as a herald seems lowly and unassuming, a simple messenger to the gods. She becomes so much more than that when her other power appears and she realizes she is also a soul bearer, one who can shepherd souls from the wastelands back to mortality if they so choose. Lastly, she receives extra power gifted to her by the goddess of peace and power from the god she slayed. Matilda is now a formidable opponent full of unimaginable power. Watching her journey to become the powerhouse that she is was incredible.

During her lifetime, she spends it with a boy named Vincent. She met him as a child by reading his dream scrolls and in fact, saved him from continually drowning in his dreams. They haver intermittent interactions throughout their childhoods until Matilda goes Skyward for safety and they reconnect as young adults. Here is where we see the leader Vincent has become. He loves his people and is a strong, intelligent lord. Vincent and Matilda together are a perfect team. Watching their bond grow from childhood to Vincent's old age was beautiful and heartbreaking. The ending to this story brings it full circle to Divine Rivals, and I simply adored it.

I can always count on Rebecca Ross to give me an atmospheric setting with yearning that grabs you be the lapels and shakes you.

Before Iris and Roman there was Matilda and Vincent. Matilda, Herald to the gods and so much more. Vincent, a lord trying to save his land and family. Mortal x Immortal pairings have no right to be so heart wrenching and Rebecca Ross does it in such a lyrical way. It's almost hard to review this book because I feel like it's so good to go into this book blind.

What I can say, I loved learning about the gods and their magic that we only saw a glimpse of in Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. The little easter eggs that you'd catch was a perfect way to connect these stories. This story is also so much more than Vincent and Matilda. It's about Matilda and Bade - who I love with all my heart. He truly is such an amazing character and written so well. And ultimately it's about Matilda - who is sooooo empathetic to those around her, and both physically and mentally strong.

Ugh I love this world so much. I'd read about all the Gods if Rebecca Ross chooses to write it.


Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for an eARC. All thoughts are honest and my own.

Spoiler-Free Synopsis:
A fantasy like no other, Wild Reverence tells the tale of Matilda, the Herald to the Gods. Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan—low in magic and stars, and seen by no one as a threat.
There are three realms: Underling, Mortal, and Skyward. The gods either war among themselves in their own realms, trying to kill each other for power, or toy with the lives of humans in the Mortal realm.

Matilda’s life changes when she meets a mortal boy, Vincent, in his dreams. They form a unique bond, with Matilda only able to see him while he sleeps. Vincent writes a prayer to Matilda but it goes unanswered, for reasons beyond her control.

Thirteen years later, her next message is meant for Vincent. Fate reunites the pair, not just in dreams this time. What follows are decisions and choices that will alter the lives of both gods and mortals. Matilda and Vincent were destined to find each other, far beyond dreams.

My Review:
The beginning was a little slow for me, but then it picked up! The world Rebecca Ross created is intricate and special. The concept of gods traveling between realms and betraying each other so easily kept everything tense and interesting. Everyone is constantly looking over their shoulder, trying not to get murdered.

Matilda blossomed into a kick-ass goddess through trials, tribulations, and loss. She always stayed true to herself and was two steps ahead of everyone else, despite constantly being underestimated. I was shocked toward the end at the battle but wow.

Then we have Vincent, the boy who dreamed of Matilda before the mortal realm even knew she existed?! Stunned. After their 13 years apart, I couldn’t wait for them to be reunited. He never gave her ultimatums—he always knew she was a goddess.

Now, some of these gods and goddesses were something else. A few were just downright annoying. The way I wanted to slug Warin for Matilda? I would have! Bade melted my heart as Matilda’s surrogate father, he really made the story for me, too.

This story was beautifully written. I truly enjoyed reading it and will definitely be buying a physical copy as a trophy!
Thank you NetGalley, Rebecca Ross, and St. Martin’s Press. I truly loved this eARC.

This was the perfect prequel to Divine Rivals, but also has a lot of merit as a stand alone story. I absolutely loved the other books in this series, so this story had a very high bar that it absolutely passed.

The story starts with Matilda, a messenger goddess born in the under realm, and follows her through her life, including love, loss, and everything in between, including her relationship with a moral, Vincent.

Where the duology focuses on the moral realm, Wild Reverence focused on the gods and goddesses in the under realm and skyward domains, including familiar characters like Dacre and Enva. For readers of the first two books, you’ll get a lot of world building that complements those stories.

The story is beautifully written with the same magical characteristic you expect from the author’s work - atmospheric settings, power, fate, lore, and deeply romantic plots. As much as I devoured the story, I didn't want it to end. However, the epilogue was PERFECT and ties so nicely in as a bridge to the first two books.

Overall, I highly recommend, and can't wait to read more by the author in future. Thank you St. Martin’s / Saturday Books and NetGalley for an early copy. This review is honest and my own. It’s due out September 2nd.