I’ve been putting off writing this review because I officially decided to DNF this book, which makes me sad. I read the Letters of Enchantment duology beforehand to prepare, and I really enjoyed that. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with the plot or characters in Wild Reverence, and I ended up stopping around the 20% mark. Although this book wasn't the right fit for me, I will still continue to read books by Rebecca Ross. I truly hope this book resonated with you more than it did with me!

Rebecca Ross does it again. There is just something about Rebecca's writing that truly immerses you in her worlds. The characters were so well fleshed out. I adored Matilda, Vincent, and Bade. I utterly LOATHED Alva. The yearning Rebecca conveyed was impeccable. I was truly surprised at how well it was done as most times when two characters can know each other in childhood and then reunited, it can feel more like insta love, which is not my favorite. I cannot recommend this book enough.

This was such a great prequel to the letters of enchantment duology! I loved learning more about the gods and the magic system. This had all of the world building that was missing from the original series. The first half of the book felt very historical, whereas the second was much more emotional and told more of a story. I will definitely try anything Ross writes! I love her creativity and her writing.

i’m actually really glad i decided to wait until the audiobook came out to finish this. i almost DNF’d the arc

did i like it? yes. did it have some highlights and yearning that made my heart twist? yes.

overall though? i’d say it was a pretty mediocre fantasy book.

it took a long time to understand the constellations and what they meant in relation to the divines. matilda’s upbringing felt super rushed and a lot of her “powers” were unexplained, which just adds ambiguity that i wasn’t a fan of. her relationship to vincent, while really sweet, wasn’t the buildup that i was hoping for. who falls in love with someone they’ve only seen a handful of times, mostly in their dreams?

i get that the whole premise of this story was that “LDR makes the heart grow fonder” - but the 2, 5, 7 year gaps that matilda and vincent didn’t see eachother? unexplained absences? and after only meeting irl a few times in short intervals? cmonnnnn. let’s be freaking fr lol. but i digress

i will say the narrators in this audiobook were *chefs kiss* and i actually did enjoy listening to it!

Rebecca Ross continues to write beautiful words!! This was truly a story to get lost in✨

It was loooong (22 hours on audio) and did have pacing issues for me - the beginning could’ve used some shortening and the ending could’ve been longer (I especially wanted to see more from a certain 7 years👀) because I always just want to know more of where we end up!! Ya know?! But besides that!!

It was magical and romantic in every sense of the word! I sooo vividly could picture everything and everyone, loved getting to understand the gods and their magic more, and rooted so heavily/easily for Matilda🥹🫶

”You hold on to her. But who could hold on to the wind? And—better yet—who would be so foolish as to trust—to love—such a wild being?”

A slow burn, fated romance. Power plays, manipulation, secrets, yearning!💫 I recommend!!

I recently discovered Rebecca Ross when I read her Divine Rivals series and this novel is as bingeable and beautiful as those. With her usual elegant prose, interweaving of letters, and aching longing, Wild Reverence is another hit. I love the magic - literal and metaphorical - she brings into her books and this is a new, fresh take on the Romantasy genre.

This was one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. I read Rebecca Ross’s Letters of Enchantment duology last year and immediately fell in love with her lyrical, poetic writing style. As soon as she announced an adult novel in the same universe, I was hooked and could not wait to read it. Wild Reverence did not disappoint! Ross’s unique story of gods and goddesses and their original magic system is so interesting, yet still digestible and easy to understand. I love how Ross intertwines magic with constellations and power. Additionally, seeing the dichotomy between mortal and immortal beings and how their love for each other is forbidden or unheard of, yet Vincent and Matilda prove this stigma to be false is so beautiful. I can’t recommend this book enough! If you want to read about a love that is pure and timeless in a story of gods, goddesses, war, and magic, this is the perfect story!

Rebecca Ross is an author I’ve generally enjoyed. The first book in her Divine Rivals series was a solid YA story, and while its sequel didn’t quite reach the same highs for me, her memorable prose and talent at writing yearning-filled romance had me eager to pick up Wild Reverence, a prequel following a new cast of characters in the same universe.

When I finished the first 30% of the book and found myself mostly bored, I was convinced it was just me not being in the exact right mood for the type of story being told. I took a break, read other books, but nope… after getting back to it and being more than halfway through, I realized that unfortunately, this book continued to feel like a slog to get through.

The story centers on a rich cast of characters, with Matilda, a young herald goddess, as the heroine, and Vincent, a human lord fighting a war against his conniving uncle, as the hero.

Matilda started off as such a promising character. You see her go through some major moments of growth in the beginning as she matures as a goddess and a woman, navigating life in the realm above with the other deities.

But as the story finally reached the point where she and Vincent came together as adults, I never got to a place where I felt fully immersed in the story. Matilda turned out to be quite a bland character once she was with Vincent, and there wasn’t much that really anchored me to her.

Vincent was much the same. He was an honor-bound man, yes, but their romance, while clearly meant to make me feel this mutual longing and the impossible nature of their connection, didn’t manage to capture me at all.
Vincent was steadily head over heels for Matilda, but his feelings never seemed to grow beyond the crush he developed in his childhood. While they both matured as people, their love didn’t feel like it matured with them. Throughout the book, they maybe spent an accumulative few weeks together, which were often interrupted by long stretches of them being apart for plot reasons. But even during the time they were together, there was a distinct lack of any real deepening of their bond.
I never got the sense that they were actually falling deeper in love.

It felt more like Vincent was still holding onto a childhood infatuation that never evolved, while Matilda just kind of found him hot, thought he was a good man, and suddenly wanted to seriously be with him.
Without meaningful scenes of them reconnecting as adults — you know, talking and actually learning about each other — their romance felt underdeveloped and hollow, leaving me unable to believe in the supposed longing and yearning between them.

I wish the gorgeous prose, interesting world-building, and complex characters had been paired with a well-developed romantic story. Instead, much of the plot felt slow and dragged out, as if it wasn’t fully thought through. Combined with the weak romantic connection between the leads, this made for a disappointing reading experience rather than the tender, layered romance I hoped this would be.



Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow I absolutely ADORED this book. It combines the lyrical writing found in Madeline Miller's Circe with the romantic energy of Aragorn and Arwen in the Lord of the Rings movies....if that sounds like it's too good to be true...it's somehow not.

I fell in love with these characters and the enchanting world that Rebecca Ross created here. I could read 500 more books like this, and I hope she continues stories in this world.

We return to the world of gods and humans in this beautiful prequel to Divine rivals. Matilda is a goddess of both the under and the sky and by design is a herald who travels between the realms to deliver messages. The book follows her as she navigates loss, sorrow, discovery and love.

As a child, she is connected to a human boy named Vincent through his dreams and as she frequents them they develop a beautiful friendship. After some events lead her to flee the underworld and find her skyward father, she loses the connection to him and must grow up without ever knowing what happened to him.

This book follows her journey to navigate her life as a messenger for the Gods and finally reconnecting with Vincent and their love story that follows. It was beautiful, it was sad, it was heartbreaking, it was joyous.

This is a very good fantasy book with a mild side of romance. Don’t go into this thinking fourth wing, it’s not heavy in terms of romance but the fantasy and world building is top notch. You enter this world and it builds around you effortlessly. As someone who sometimes has a hard time with world building and setting myself into a realm, this was surprisingly easy for me to jump into. I did need to take note of the names of the Gods and the powers they possess to keep everyone straight but even if you didn't it was easy enough to follow along.

Rebecca Ross’ writing is like delicate flowers and poetry. It’s soft and beautiful and whimsical. I feel like I am being spoken to from an angel; vividly poetic and engaging.

If you are a fan of Divine Rivals this is a must read book that brings you back into the world and lets you escape into this beautiful story.

Huge thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

The book starts off with a newly-born goddess, named Matilda, talking about her birth in the under realm. The opening gives us good insight into the magic system and the gods that are in the Divine Rivals universe. When a god is born, they have a constellation that ties into their magic ability. Matilda is born with six stars to her name; not entirely good or bad. She was born to be a herald of the gods.

As a god-child, the goddess of dreams and nightmares, Alva, shares dream scrolls with Matilda of a boy named VIncent who dreams of his untimely death. Matilda always appears in his dreams, despite the two of them never meeting.

Vincent is the son of the Lord of Wyndrift, a small town that has a history of betrayal. One that Vincent is a part of when his uncle kills his family in order to reclaim being the lord. On the darkest night of his life, Vincent calls out to Matilda, but she doesn't respond.

Years go by and Vincent moves on with his life as the Lord of Wyndrift until Matilda comes crashing through his bedroom letter with a note from the goddess of death. His uncle is planning on killing him and the letter contains a way to escape from death.

Fate has entagled the two together beyond Vincent's dreams. Matilda will have a chance to rewrite the myths of gods but only if she allows herself to be loved and vulnerable with Vincent.

Like the Divine Rivals series, I absolutley love Ross's writing. I can truly say that I don't lose myself in writing except for hers. Especially because the writning in this book feels like I'm reading a myth of a goddess and not a prequel to the series.

The romance is present but subtle like you know that the characters are going to fall in love with each other, but you don't have anything to go off of until they kiss. The main focus of the book was the worldbuilding. Whereas in the Divine Rivals series, the magic system was established fairly well, this book takes the time to explain the different gods and goddesses and how they get their magic. In fact, I fell in love with the mythology presented in this book. (Now I'll have to go back and reread the Divine Rivals series just so i can see it all play out).

My absolute favorite moment of the book was when Matilda stepped into her power. I can't explain it because of potential spoilers, but I wasn't expecting her gift until the moment that it was brought up. Going back, I realize there was A LOT of foreshadowing before this moment, but it was nice to see that it was hidden within other elements.

In a book filled with various gods and goddesses, my absolute favorite character had to be Adria, the Poet Queen. Her own story intrigued me and made me fall in love with Bade (who is in love with her). The two of them are minor characters that paly a huge supporting role to Matilda's own myth. I found myself wanting to more about them and hear their own myths within the context of the world.

Overall, this book carved itself into my soul. I love stories about love (especially when done right), and this book made me fall in love with that mindset all over again. This book somehow found itself as a new comfort read for me while being filled to the brim with magic. I have to give this book five out of five stars for the prose, the contents, and the love story that defies all odds.

If you are a fan of Divine Rivals, mythologies, or cozy fantasies, I highly recommend this book.

I loved Rebecca Ross’s other two books and this was no different. Filled with beautiful prose and wonderful story line about a goddess who straddles two realms but falls in love with a mortal man. This book had it all… battles, betrayal, multiple wonderful love stories and an ending that not only tied everything together but also tied it to her previous two books.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A childhood friendship born in dreams, devotion that transcends realms and lifetimes, and a romance that left my heart aching. Only one book had ever brought me to tears before - until Wild Reverence. I wasn’t prepared for how completely this story would undo me. This isn’t just a story you read and walk away from, it’s one that imprints itself on your heart.

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Centuries before Letters of Enchantment, a young goddess with messenger magic and a Lord’s son find their fates entwined. Matilda grows up in a world where gods kill for power, while Vincent dreams of a girl he’s never met. When Fate finally brings them together, saving everyone may require sacrifices Matilda cannot bear to make.

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Much like watercolors bleeding across a canvas, Rebecca Ross paints an immersive and unique world in breathtaking prose. Mist-filled corridors, bejeweled arches, music flickering in firelight - I found myself rereading passages, determined to remain in this world for as long as possible. Even a single paragraph describing a fox tapestry held me captive, and I would have gladly read five more.

It surprised me to meet Matilda at birth and walk with her from beginning to end. To watch her move from the tenderness of Vincent’s dreams, to the guardedness demanded by a dangerous world, and finally to a devotion and vulnerability that defined her choices - to watch her move through emotions so deeply human, despite her divinity.

And Vincent - the yearning, the devotion, the utter acceptance. He loved Matilda through her wandering, her trials, the experiences he could not relate to, and he was prepared for it all. His quiet strength, his desire for a simple life alongside his love, spoke to me in a way no main male character has before. I’m doubtful there will be another who makes me feel this way for some time to come.

A love story for the centuries, but not the only one within these pages. Love is also found in family beyond blood bonds, and in an unexpected match.

The final chapters of this book moved me to tears. As a standalone, rest assured there are no cliffhangers here, though our characters have endured much and the road to those last pages is anything but easy. While I can’t properly convey how these chapters both devastated and healed parts of me without spoiling the story, I’ll say this…what I would give to have a Matilda and her magic in my own life. ✨

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TL;DR: Perfect for romantasy readers who love deeply romantic stories and rich worldbuilding, in a setting where gods wield powerful magic but it’s the bonds of love, devotion, and sacrifice that cut deepest.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Ross has truly mastered the art of yearning.

Letters of Enchantment and Elements of Cadence both feature Ross' signature prose and tender romances, but Wild Reverence contains some of her most beautiful writing and characters yet. I've absolutely loved watching her talent evolve, and I'm so thrilled she decided to expand upon the pantheon that she introduced to us in Divine Rivals. I've been so curious about the other gods aside from Enva and Dacre, as well as what their realms looked like before their downfall. Their mythology feels so fleshed out in this book. And while Matilda and Vincent's star-crossed love is the heart of the narrative, Ross does a great job making you feel invested in the side characters, both divine and mortal, as well.

While this is a prequel novel, I do think it reads best after having finished the original duology. There are a few scenes at the end that just hit really beautifully knowing the full context of the impact they'll eventually have later on. I may or may not have welled up a couple of times.

My only point of critique is that the end dragged ever so slightly for me, but that's really if I'm just being severely nit-picky.

Overall I thought this was Ross' most heart-achingly beautiful story yet, highly recommend!

Rebecca Ross has done it again---5/5 stars!

The author's craft at word weaving and immersive story telling draws you into Matilda's world as if you're really there, seeing and feeling the events as they happen around you. Once I started reading Wild Reverence, I couldn't put it down. The character's feel real, leaving you raw and exposed at times before patching you back up. And the world building here--divine. It's sometimes hard to twist mythology into unique story's anymore, but Ross has done just that once more. The world is brutal, fascinating, and metaphorically enlightening at times.

I recommend this book. Whether you're a fan of hearing a good story, to learn amazing craft from a talented author, or have a desire to step into another realm completely and lose yourself, this is a book for you.

Additionally, you don't have to read Divine Rivals first to enjoy this book. I even urge you to go in blind if you haven't. It'll just make it all the more sweater later.

When beautiful, lyrical prose rivals the action, emotions and plot…full of adventure and a slow-burn romance between immortal and mortal, this book had me hooked just as the previous two books in this world. Fate connects Matilda, a herald for the gods, and Vincent, a lord with a damaged family. Their story is immersive, magical and captivatingly heartbreaking. I was in awe of the world created in the Letters of Entrenchment duology, and this prequel provided the history and foundation to make it even more amazing. 4.5 stars

I loved Rebecca's writing the first time I read Divine Rivals, and even more reading Ruthless Vows. This prequel is exactly what fans of this YA series needed! The prose is wonderful, and the Ross' writing fully immersed me into the story and had me attached to the characters. I found it easy to follow along and it did not deviate from the original story, in fact I feel like it only added more to the overall series itself. Will be reading more of this series, if there is anymore to come! Ten out of Ten recommend!

Thank you, Saturday Books and Netgalley, for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together about this one. It was so beautiful and I can't stop thinking about it! I will try to do this book justice with my review.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is its beautiful writing and prose. You get lost in the atmosphere and story she's creating. Her characters are complex and unforgettable. It was so lovely from beginning to end. The world she creates is so good that it feels real. There are many details, but it's never overwhelming.

Matilda and Vincent's story is filled with heartache, love, and hope. I loved how they loved each other so strongly that they could overcome anything. Their story is one that I will not forget. I loved Matilda and her character arc. She has been through many tragic moments and doesn't quite know who she is. She's living in three different worlds, basically. It's a lot to handle, but she does it so well. I loved watching her figure out how to maneuver in each world- The under, mortal, and sky.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and it makes me want to re-read the Divine Rivals & Ruthless Vows. We have more information about how things work in those books. I do think that I might love this book the most out of all three. It was really so well done! If you loved the previous two books, you will love this one too. If not, you should definitely pick this up anyway and start the series!

I devoured both "Divine Rivals" and "Ruthless Vows," and I was so excited to dive back into that world. "Wild Reverence" made that world so much more, though, and took the gods and goddesses of that world and grew their characters tenfold. The relationship between Matilda and Vincent was strong, but their relationships with the side characters really clinched this story and made it grow into what it was. It's not often I cry at books, but by the end of this I had more than a few tears fall. I will probably be reading "Divine Rivals" very, very soon because I just can't get enough of this world!

I absolutely loved the Divine Rivals duet and so I was SO excited to get this book. While I think it was a great prequel and Ms. Ross' storytelling is so beautiful and unique, I did find myself a little bored. That being said, I loved getting to immerse myself into the world of the gods.