aaaaahhhhh. I adored this book. The characters were amazing. The setting was magical. The plot was never dull. It was so good. Wish it had a touch more spice 🫣

i’m a bit speechless after this one, to be honest. i feel like i just lived 1000 lives after finishing this and i’m soul tired. it was such a long book for what it was, but very lyrical and beautiful.

What an incredible addition to the Letters of Enchantment series.
I am a massive fan of both Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vow; this story happens before those two books and truly allows a beautiful look into the world of the divines.
As with everything Rebecca writes, it was written so beautifully. I drank up every word she wrote.
This story had elements of chosen family, betrayal, love, loss, war- basically just everything you could ask for in a story.

I am so honored that I was able to read this before it is published. I will cherish Matilda and Vincent's story; I have goosebumps just writing this review and thinking back to what I read. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this digital ARC.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Saturday Books for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first book by Rebecca Ross. Yes, yes, I know it’s a crime that I didn’t read Divine Rivals first, but with that said I can happily say that you do not need to read DR at all to understand this book. So if you are like me and have been putting that off, just know you will be okay. Something to note about the book is that it is being listed as an adult but it very much felt more like YA to me dancing the fine line to adult. I think it was given that rating strictly because some of the scenes in the book are more adult content (physical abuse on the page), but they were so brief that it honestly didn’t even register to me until sitting down to write this review since there was not a trigger warning within the book.

I honestly have mixed feelings about the book which is nothing against the story but more so my own struggles when it comes to different writing styles of authors. This book very much has a poetic tone to it, and when reading that tended to break immersion for me. It wasn’t so bad that it made me want to DNF, but it did make me have to go back and reread things because I wasn’t understanding what the author was trying to get across to me. So if you are like me and struggle with that then be prepared that you might have to take this book slow so that you understand everything happening.

Outside of the writing style I actually really enjoyed the story and following Matilda. It is nice to watch her grow up, follow along with her struggles, and have a young woman come into who she is while learning what love is. I love that Vincent brings up new ideas and challenges about Matilda’s power that she takes to heart and keeps in the back of her mind. These ideas make her question everything she knew about her limits because it was what she was told or led to believe. Wild Reverence is definitely a book about pushing your limits, challenging/questioning things you know, and trusting your gut. The only thing I did not enjoy about the story was the ending. I felt robbed from all the relationship building done throughout the book and the breakthrough that finally happens to never have an interaction between the two characters again. I was hoping for a happy reunion between the two but instead the book ended with her and Vincent, which don’t get me wrong is still great, I was just hoping for the happy family reunion that was needed in my opinion. I did enjoy that the epilogue explains what happens to Matilda later in life and what choice she makes, I also enjoyed how it gave a segway to DR without spoiling anything for that series.

Thank you, NetGalley, for giving me an ARC!
Ever since I finished Ruthless Vows, I've been waiting to return to this world, and I'm so happy that Rebecca Ross gave us a new story that absolutely didn't disappoint. The Wild Reverence is filled with vivid world building and heartfelt character moments that make her books so unforgettable. With only about three weeks until the release date, I can't wait for everyone to experience this story for themselves it's beautiful, immersive, and everything I hoped it would be.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc!

This was the first Rebecca Ross book I’ve read and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the overall story. It did take me a little while to get used the magic system, world building, and to be fully immersed into the world within the story. The writing is fluent and graceful without being too overwhelming.

Things I liked: Matilda’s name, Matilda’s character development, and every scene with Vincent.

I do think this will be a popular book when it officially gets released.

Matilda is a young goddess who can exist both above and below the human realm- in Skyward and in Underling. She is born to be a herald, able to move through realms to deliver messages between the divine. The gods and goddesses are able to steal each other’s magic, and no one is able to trust anyone else- Matilda can’t even trust her own mother. Somehow, she visits the dreams of a human boy whom she’s never met. He writes to Matilda for help one dark night, but she never receives the message. Years later, they meet again when Vincent is once again in need of help.

Wild Reverence is such a thoughtful and well-written book. It takes place in the magical world of Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, but many years before. I enjoyed the story and thought the world-building was incredible. I did find the pacing to be a bit off at times. Some parts had me entranced and others seemed to meander more. The world Matilda lives in and the magic system were very complex and it required a lot of attention and focus to make sure I was understanding completely. The ending was well worth it and I think Divine Rivals fans are going to go absolutely wild for it (although you do not have to have read Divine Rivals to enjoy Wild Reverence). Rebecca Ross is truly a treasure!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc of this book. Wild Reverence is part of the Letters of Enchantment series. The events of this story take place before Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. This book is from the point of view of Matilda and Vincent. This book gives more backgrounds on the divines, there is even some things that involve Enva and Dacre. I loved this book more than the others in the series. The epilogue of this book was perfect.

Magical! OMG this book is everything!!!! I need more! Sorry my brain has melted from how amazing this book is and I will write a better review when I have recovered. RR is wonderful and thank you for letting me review this!

Rebecca Ross's writing is some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read. Her books have made me feel almost every emotion I can think of and this book is no different. While this book is set in the same world as Divine Rivals, it is an adult book. IMO it is closer to a River Enchanted in terms of maturity than it is to Divine Rivals.
I dont want to give anything away. All I will say is... it was beautiful and tragic and wonderful.
I will probably come back and add more as I think about this book. I am currently rating it a 4.75 but I am sure it will become a 5. I am not the biggest fan of slow burn but the yearning in this book and they way it was written was beautifully done IMO.

thank you to Netgallery and the publishers for the ARC!

It took me a little to get into the story because I needed to get used to this world before Divine Rivals. Once catastrophe happened to Matilda, and she grew into her powers and life, I was hooked. I liked Matilda as our main character. She makes mistakes, but she's clever and loves deeply. I really liked her role as a goddess and how her magic works. It was unique. Vincent is also a great character. I love how sweet and kind he is. I love his dedication to Nathaniel and Matilda. Their relationship was so sweet, and I loved every minute of it. In this novel, you see gods and goddesses that pop up in Divine Rivals, and you see why Matilda's role matters to those stories. The end of part 4 and the beginning of part 5 hurt my heart, but that's just a sign of a great book, right?

The only word to describe this book is breathtaking! This was such a beautiful love story, written in the poetic way that Rebecca Ross has with words!

This book is set in the past in the world of Divine Rivals, and I absolutely loved learning more about the gods and goddesses and what came before.

Matilda is one of my new favorite heroines. I loved reading about her very real struggles and challenges, and watching her grow as a character in both strength and depth. Watching her navigate the court politics of the upper and lower realms has me very intrigued and I hope we get more stories like this that dive deeper into this world!

Rebecca Ross was already an auto-read author for me, but this book just confirmed that. I will 1000% recommend this story. If you love old school fairytales and legends - this reads like something out of a beautiful animated storybook in the beginning of a classic Disney movie.

Do yourself a favor and grab this when it comes out!!

Thanks to the author for this early edition! All opinions are my own!

4.5 stars!
Wild Reverence was such a magical read! I think my heart grew a few sizes just reading this story. It was so elegantly written that I couldn’t help but love the story and its characters. The world-building was so detailed that the first 30% of the book felt so slow-paced. It definitely took me longer than usual to get through. But once the plot started rolling, I could not put this book down.
I absolutely loved the second half of the book. It was so riveting and heart wrenching! And I devoured it. The spice in this romantasy was very mild since it is a New Adult novel but the romance still hit its mark like an arrow to the heart.

I read the last couple chapters and the epilogue in constant tears! The book was wrapped up beautifully with no storyline left unfinished.

Releases 9/2/25

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Rebecca Ross for this arc.

Set in the same world as Divine Rivals… “Before Iris sat at her typewriter and before Enva sang her song, a young goddess wandered dreams…”

Thank you to the publisher, Saturday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Rebecca Ross, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Reverence is #0 in the Letters of Enchantment series—a prequel set in the same universe that sets the foundation for Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. And it delivered! 🖤

This book was unputdownable from the very first page. Rebecca Ross’s writing is magical, haunting, and immersive. I was fully invested, and I never wanted it to end. The pacing was perfect, and I was never bored while reading it.

The best part of this story for me was Matilda and Vincent. Having met in Vincent’s dreams from a young age to eventually falling in love was such a unique setting. Their love was beautiful, tragic, and fated. It was full of longing and dedication from both sides.

“We were bound by friendship and a familiarity that made my chest ache.”

“She was not mine by spoken vow but something deeper… older, stronger, darker.”

“As with all divines, she was beautiful in a way that robbed breath and stole into dreams. I had always thought such of her, even when we were children. And if this chamber was a pool, she was a pebble tossed within its quiet waters. Her presence had weight; the very air seemed to gather around her.”

“My home is your home. My arms are a haven for you to rest… I will love you to my grave, and even beyond it.”

"I would wait a thousand years for you," Vincent said. "If you asked me, I would wait for you until only my bones remained upon an altar.

Vincent’s love for Matilda was true and timeless, even when distance and fate tried to keep them apart. Their story broke me in the best way.

I also admired Matilda’s relationship with Bade. It had such a touching found family, father-daughter feel to it. Their bond added so much heart and gave Matilda another kind of love that was just as important.

And the way everything tied into Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows at the end in the epilogue was so well done.

Wild Reverence will stay with me for a long time 🖤

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this eARC!
What a beautiful, poetic, tear inducing gut punch! I went into this book completelt blind to it being integrated with Divine Rivals but what a pleasant surprise at the end!
This book completely entranced me. To be thrown in to the intricacies of the divines and the roles they feel they must play. The truths they hide from themselves and others was completely heartbreaking to witness in this world that Rebecca Ross spun for us.

The first half of this book felt like it could have been a book all on its own. So much was constantly happening (I'm not mad at it) and I remember thinking, "Heck, this god-child needs a hug and a break."

There was so much lore/world building happening here that even with all of the action happening, it did take me a while to get through the first half, though I don't regret a second of brain power spent trying to sort it all out.

THANK YOU, thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Seriously, Thank you!
Genre: Fantasy, Romantasy
Descriptors: Gods vs Mortals, Magic, Dreams, Power, Greed, Descriptive, Sadness, Deceit, Love and Honor
Least Favorite Character: Warin, ick.
Point of View: 2 characters.
Spice: romance vs smut :) and very little of it.
Standalone: Yes and No. This book happens BEFORE the Divine Rivals timeline (which only makes me want to re-read it now.) You can read this as a standalone, the ending will be more aha and touching if you've read the other story but not necessary.

I went in this expecting to be just as enchanted by this book as the original duology and was not disappointed. I loved getting a peek into the world of the gods from this point of view and Matilda’s story was captivating and powerful.

I genuinely feel as though Rebecca Ross is in a league of her own when it comes to writing, and this was her at her best. Her lyrical prose is so captivating; she could write a story about paint drying and I’d be entranced. Instead, though, she wrote a beautiful love story with a cast of rich characters and intriguing political plots. Matilda, while being one of a kind even amongst the world of gods and goddesses, was such a deeply relatable character, and Vincent was truly endearing. Their love story was beautifully built, and will stay with me for quite some time.

This book was so good, I hardly wanted to put it down. I really enjoyed the magic system. Getting to know more about the gods and the rest of the world is exactly what was missing from the other two books. I loved the adventure in this book. The writing was really good and I have no notes, this book couldn't be better in my opinion.

3.5/5 rounded up!

There was a lot to like about Wild Reverence. One of my favorite things about Rebecca Ross as an author is her talent for writing novels that are unabashedly romantic and characters who are incredibly earnest in their love. Misunderstandings/miscommunications between characters are cleared up quickly and in a literary landscape where many fantasy romances depend on such things to drive a plot forward, it is refreshing to see otherwise. That carries over from Divine Rivals, though you don’t need to read the original duology to appreciate this prequel. But for those who have read the Letters of Enchantment series, I think you’ll find that the romance between Matilda and Vincent is just as strong as the romance between Iris and Roman. The angst of a mortal loving a god and a god loving a mortal was beautifully depicted and you get a real sense of the distance that always looms between them because of the different worlds they inhabit. Matilda and Vincent fight and claw against these odds and that’s what makes their relationship compelling.

In Divine Rivals, you get an impression of the vast history of gods, myths, and magic that still reverberate through the foundation of the story. But in Wild Reverence, Ross lovingly expands the sprawling lore we only get a glimpse of in DR. You get to see the gods at the height of their power and influence, which I truly enjoyed. And Ross’ prose was, as always, lovely!

Where this book stumbled a bit for me was the flow of the plot. The pacing felt akin to a sputtering motor, with a lot of stops and starts. The first 30% admittedly felt very slow to me. While I loved the attention to detail and world-building, it did feel like an extended prologue at times. It started to pick up from there, but still was very uneven for most of the book. Matilda, as a goddess, was constantly being pulled in different directions for one reason or another and I felt this time would’ve been more effectively spent building the romance instead. It was a tad bit bloated with all the different plot threads, but did come together for me in the last 20% of the book.

Romantic, fantastical with uneven pacing that bogged down the overall flow. Still definitely worth the read!