”I would wait a thousand years for you,” ... “If you asked me, I would wait for you until only my bones remained upon an altar. But if you must leave again, then let me follow you…”

If there is a story that defines what true love is - it is Wild Reverence.

Rebecca Ross write stories so beautifully and immaculately, Wild Reverence is no exception. The story flows smoothly and although we’ve seen a glimpse of this world in Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, there was still a ton to unfold and a lot to discover in Wild Reverence.

It is a story of gods and goddesses and mortals; of dreams and letters; of friends to lovers; of yearning and pining; of betrayal and alliances; of death and second chances; of horoscope and magic. And perhaps the most important of all, it is a story of love in its purest form.

Oh Matilda and Vincent, what am I to do with you… You made me feel love and also devastation. That ending is the perfect ending 🥺 This story will forever have me in its grasp.

Other things:
- Fake marriage
- Slow burn
- He has a nickname for her
- Who did this to you?!
- Father figure
- Chapters in roman numerals
- Chapter titles

I adore this cute little tidbit:
”♥️ The keys I and R and M and V ♥️”

And if there is a bible verse that describes Wild Reverence, it has to be this:

”Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Thank you Macmillan for the advance digital copy!

I’m almost at a loss for words on how to describe how much I loved this book. I loved Divine Rivals so I was excited to read an adult standalone set in the same world.

This book was just magical to me. Rebecca did an amazing job at embodying how gods are different from mortals, yet Vincent loves her because of that, not in spite of it. The love between Matilda and Vincent was so tender and so pure that I’m not surprised I shed a few tears while reading.

The writing itself is also just beautiful. Lyrical, magical, and giving life to the story unfolding.

I was not expecting this story to intertwine with Divine Rivals so deeply, on how Matilda’s story is the reason we have the typewriters, and how her life and her magic shaped how the typewriters work.

Rebecca Ross’ work is some of the most beautifully written that will resonate with you for ages and Wild Reverence is no exception. Told many years before Divine Rivals takes place, this is a story of a young goodness who is torn between many realms and who visits the dreams of a mortal man by chance. From there; their fate is forever entwined.

It was so beautiful and raw. I followed each word captivated with this story. I can not believe the feelings it invoked, my eyes full of tears. I can not find enough words to describe this story except that it has claimed a spot in my heart. People might say that this story was about a goddess who loved a mortal but it is so much more.

“I would wait a thousand years for you,” i will always remember this story and Vincent's word

I was really scared of this book, and especially reading it I thought it was going to end tragically. I did not feel sad at the end, I am also really awed by the epilogue and how it ties into Divine Rivals. This also had an amazing father/daughter duo that I was not expecting.

A must read for anyone who liked Divine Rivals. A young goddess finds navigating the courts of the gods and the human realm extremely challenging when fate, love, and death all seem to be at odds.

I love Rebecca Ross’s writing style. I think her prose is beautiful and flows exceptionally well. I was very hesitant when starting this book because it is set in the world of Divine Rivals (before those events) and the weakest part of those books were the gods. Only to find that in this book, the gods are fascinating, multi-layered, devious, and scary. Just what a pantheon should be. The character work was excellent (growth from multiple main characters) and the plot kept me hooked from start to finish. If I had a minor complaint, it would be the predictability at points, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I would gladly read another book (or 10) about these gods. But to have a stand-alone this good was a treat. There was an excellent balance between character building, plot, and romance. Rebecca Ross remains the gold standard when it comes to Romantasy.

I ate this like an Underling god recieving a prayer. It was delicious and I want more!

It was such a pleasure to be returning to this world of Divine Rivals. I loved that duology, so when I saw that Rebecca Ross was returning to this world with a story from before that time centering on the gods I knew I was going to read it!

We start of witnessing the birth of Matilda and her constellation of six stars. She is to be the herald of the realms, a lower mid-tier goddess born of two realms. Underling and Skyward. Caught between the two, not really belonging to either. I related to watching her struggle with this aspect of her birth a lot, it reminded me a lot of the modern day complexities that arise because you are biracial (enter me, a biracial lady).

She meets Vincent in his dreams when they were kids, starting the entanglement of their threads of fate there. Unfortunately some things happen that make a gap of time where they grow up, but they meet again when Vincent needs her help the most. There is a trope(spoiler of trope can be seen at bottom) here that happens that I was not expecting but ABSOLUTELY LOVED READING. It was well done in my opinion, and made a lot of sense.

There is a lot of Underling/Skyward political world building, and of you read Divine Rivals and wanted to understand more about how the gods were you get that with this book. But you don't have to read the Divine Rivals duology to enjoy this book!

Overall I finished this in a day and would read it again!

SPOILER TROPE: fake dating