Can I start by saying I’m unsure I have the words to adequately express how much I loved this book?

Wild Reverence had all of the same deeply romantic, whimsical, incredible world building as Divine Rivals except I’ll say this felt even more expansive and a little more mature. It was like a blend of the Letters of Enchantment and Elements of Cadence duologies. The magic system was complex and unique. Getting to see how the gods and mortals interacted long before Iris and Roman was really cool and I loved what it added to the Divine Rivals world. I was so happy to find that Rebecca’s signature incredible writing style held true in this book as well.

Our FMC Matilda was everything you want in a heroine. Brave, honest, intelligent, realistic. I loved how desperately she always wanted to do the right thing for everyone around her. She overcame so much and watching her grow into her own power over the span of this book was incredible. Vincent, our MMC, was equally beloved by me (and probably will be by everyone who reads this). He was always true to himself and advocated for the needs of his people before his own and overcame so many of his own obstacles. All of the side characters were soooo well written and added so much to the story. (especially Bade).

And my god(s), the romance. The back and forth and pining and absolutely losing my mind multiple times because I loved these two beyond words. I loved how fate was always intertwined with their destiny and how their story ended up. I can honestly say I had no idea where this book was heading and I LOVE when a book surprises me. Couldn’t have imagined it any better if I tried.

I am unashamed to admit I cried through at least the last 25% of this book. Rebecca Ross is a true talent and I’m always so excited to add another all time favorite book to my list. This was top tier, forever favorite romantasy at its absolute best.

Thank you a million times to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

One of the most beautiful stories I have ever read. I can't remember the last time I sobbed this hard while reading a book. I was heartbroken when I reached the last page.
This is the best prequel ever written. You learn so much more about the Divine Rival's world, it's amazing to see how it all connects!
Bade and Adria. I want a book immediately for them. I'm begging. Bade is one of my favorite side characters EVER. I love love love him.
My heart aches right now, but I'm so happy I got to read their story.
A million stars for Vincent and Matilda.

Wild Reverence is a poetic romance between a goddess and a man, set in the same universe as Divine Rivals. We get cameos of characters mentioned in DR, and the final chapter was the perfect and wildly emotional prequel for the original duology. We get to learn more about the gods and goddesses of this world, and fall in love over and over again with both our main characters and side characters.

Whilst WR has the same ethereal poetry as Divine Rivals, I did find it a lot slower paced, which prevented me from staying engaged throughout. I had high expectations following DR, and I think I set my bar a little too high. The stakes did not feel nearly as dire, and so the action was not as punchy. At times, I felt like the plot lacked definition, and it just felt like Matilda going through life, and that she lacked internal purpose.

Overall, this is still a beautiful read, with the prose Rebecca Ross is known for. If you loved Divine Rivals, you are bound to love Wild Reverence!

ARC Review. 5 STARS! I fear I will never emotionally recover from this book. It was beautiful, whimsical, and heartbreaking. I highly recommend it to fantasy and romance readers, especially those who appreciate epic love stories full of depth and longing.

I have read Rebecca Ross's Letters of Enchantment duology (Divine Rivals was one of my favorite reads of 2023), and the first book int he Elements of Cadence duology. This is her best work thus far, and I am so glad it was adult opposed to YA. The magic system is unique, intriguing, and well fleshed out being a prequel to Divine Rivals. The themes of found family, forbidden romance, and fate were written flawlessly. The emotional weight of the story will stay with me for a long time.

This is my top read of 2025 thus far and I anticipate it will be very hard to top it. This is possibly in my top ten books of all time.

"She was not mine by spoken vow but something deeper. Something that felt older, stronger, darker, like a language that had been sung centuries ago but had now been forgotten."

Absolutely loved this! If you like yearning, missed connections, sweet romance, friends to lovers, and world building you will love this book.
Taking place in the same world as the Divine Rivals series this gives us a greater backstory to the realms and gods/goddesses that were at play in Divine Rivals. If you enjoyed Rebecca’s writing in Divine Rivals but wanted a more complex world, she delivers that with this story.
It is a bit slow at the beginning creating her underling realm and discussing the mortal and skyward realms. I needed to pause a few times while trying to read with loud kids around because I needed to be able to focus on the descriptions.
When you finally get to the romance it is lovely and perfect. It is a slow burn and tension filled.

If you have not read Divine Rivals/Ruthless Vows yet I think this works better reading before it to give you insight to Dacre/Enva feud and how the realms exist in relation to each other.

“War only makes love flame brighter, defiant. It seems to bloom from the bloodshed you leave behind, unfurling from the most unlikely of places. From the broken seams of the world. From the graves and the anguish and the fear you inspire.”

“ He had tried and failed to bring her back. And while I knew he was sworn to Matilda—he was her ally—he did not know what I was to her. He did not know that once, she and I had laid beneath the sway of bracken, holding on to the other as if we were so entwined nothing—not even a creature from the under realm—could tear us apart. Once, we had wandered through dreams, side by side. She was not mine by spoken vow but something deeper. Something that felt older, stronger, darker, like a language that had been sung centuries ago but had now been forgotten. Something that simmered in the blood, calling to me, calling to her. How I had resisted that pull, as if it were something to fear. A weakness that would doom me should I let myself surrender to it. I did not want to fight it any longer.”

"Wild Reverence" is peak Rebecca Ross: immersive universe, compelling magic, and thick prose. Set in the world of "Divine Rivals," this adult fantasy novel centers on Matilda, daughter of a goddess and a human. She lives in the realm of gods which she is prompted to leave to complete a task in the mortal realm. There, she encounters Vincent. She is torn between her feelings for him and her commitment to her "own kind." The story is absolutely beautiful. Rebecca Ross is an incredible writer and really trusts her readers' vocabulary and comprehension skills. I'm flattered, but even as someone who considers herself an "advanced reader," I found myself googling words almost every page. It makes for a different kind of reading experience that may be exciting to some, but turn off others. Just something to keep in mind if you're anticipating this being an easy read.

Matilda is a herald of the gods, a messenger between realms - and an outcast in every one of them. Vincent of Beckett is a mortal praying to the girl in his dreams, begging help for his kingdom against the enemies at his castle’s gate.

Their story is both predictable and sweet, and I think I wanted more from their relationship’s development.

Most of their knowledge of each other hinges on dreams and one meeting nearly a decade prior. While I understand this sort of Sleeping Beauty “I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream” rationale, I wanted more from a story with this level of worldbuilding and war and immortal interference.

This book really oscillated between a 3 and a 4 star read. The first 50 pages are a slog in a way I did not expect, and it was difficult to connect with the story. The writing is far too flowery. If I were in the mood for that I could’ve enjoyed it more, but the pace felt like walking against the current. The ending was really beautiful, and I think it solidified a 4 star rating for me.

If you’re a passenger princess, reading-for-the-vibes type reader, you’ll probably love this. It’s pure escapism. However, I felt like I was taking it too seriously and asking questions like “but what time does the flow start” in a book that wasn’t easily able to answer them. Regardless, it was a good time.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Saturday Books for the advanced copy in exchange for a review!

Review posted on @alatteofliterature on Instagram and Goodreads 6/8/2025

Mild Spoilers included!
This was good, but a very hard and emotional read for me. This is from the same "Divine Rivals" world but before that duology takes place, and the writing is just as beautiful. We get to see some gods we knew and plenty of new ones, the word of Underling and Skyward were both fascinating but I feel like we only got glimpses of them. Bade was my favorite, honestly didn't care for Adira, she was acting like an aunt from the beginning when she's never even met Matilda, but that's just me. Bade was definitely more of a father to her than her own, he was like a guest star in this and I'm glad Matilda and Bade had their moment in the end. The romance was mainly yearning, we don't nearly get them together enough, its long stretches of them not being together and he always away doing godly things, so if you're in it for that then you'll be disappointed. Matilda made many dumb mistakes and she frustrated me at times but I did like her tenacity to attempt the impossible and listen to her heart, he made plenty of dumb decisions which is why I'm not fully in love with her. The romance, what little we got, was cute and you felt it, but again there wasn't enough of it for me; so much time apart made this more of a angsty fantast than a fantasy romance. I cried quite a few times in this, I hate that the fact that he was mortal and would eventually die kept popping up, we get it already but let me live my fantasy. The epilogue gives us a the scene of how the typewriters for "Divine Rivals" were made. Overall this was a good adventure to read but very angsty and it will rip your heart out multiple times.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. I liked how Wild Reverence explored the gods of this world. The mythology was interesting. Matilda was a more compelling character for me than Vincent. The romance didn’t quite feel earned enough for me to be fully invested, but they are sweet. I also found the book quite easy to put down; it didn’t grab and hold my attention like Divine Rivals did.

Set in the same universe as Divine Rivals. Beautifully done. I wouldn't expect anything less from Rebecca Ross.

Excuse me for a moment while I just….
**AHHHHHHHHHHSHBCJFNDYNXHHH**
THIS BOOK IS SO AMAZING 😭😭😭😭
All the stars, every last one of them goes to Wild Reverence. Ross brought us back to the world Divine Rivals was set in the most profoundly moving way.

This story, complete with an immortal x mortal pairing, is one that I’ll remember forever. We travel between realms - the mortal world, Skyward and the Underworld - as we follow Matilda, a goddess of the Underworld as she grows into her power. We first meet her when she’s 13 (or 12?) and she’s taught what all Gods and Goddesses know, emotions are a weakness and no one is to be trusted. They literally call their hearts their fault line. Matilda has quickly become a favorite FMC of mine, she is so steadfast in her convictions and incredibly strong. I’m quite obsessed 🥰

The magic is unique and enchanting to read about. Immortals powers are charted in the stars and displayed as constellations. Their power can be stolen from them if killed by another immortal, making ally’s few and far between. Another breathtaking aspect of this book? The beautifully vivid imagery (the Underworld has gemstone walls 🤩) and of course the profound relationships explored in Wild Reverence, I was sobbing over the heartfelt connections in many storylines. But Matilda and Vincent??!?! Most beautiful storyline ever, withstanding years and realms and absolutely devastating me in the best way.

If you haven’t read Divine Rivals yet I think it would be so cool to start here first - but also very satisfying for those that have read it when we get to that epilogue 👀


***Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Rebecca Ross for the eARC of Wild Reverence in exchange for my honest review. This was an unforgettable read 🤍🤍***

3.5 stars rounded up. I loved Rebecca Ross's Divine Rivals and knew I had to read Wild Reverence when I learned it was a prequel novel set in the same world. Wild Reverence is a standalone novel following the story of goddess Matilda and the mysterious human boy Vincent she meets in dreams.

The story starts off slow and I had a hard time getting into the story initially. A very hard time to the point where I considered DNFing it but I'm glad I persisted. We learn of the three realms - Skyward, Underling, and mortal - and watch as a young Matilda is raised by her mother Zenia as a half-Skyward, half-Underling child. The world of these gods and goddesses is a fraught one, where magic and power are seen as threats meant to be extinguished and taken for oneself. As such, there is some relief when Matilda is declared to be a mere messenger to the gods, free to move about the three realms delivering missives. Unfortunately, things take a turn at age 13 when she is forced to flee Skyward, seeking refuge with the father she only just learned about. The book then skips ahead another 13 years, which sees our main couple meet again.

Rebecca Ross has such beautiful prose and I really like the way she develops the magic systems in her books. I loved seeing Dacre and Enva's backstory and Matilda's growth as a character. What I didn't really buy was Matilda and Vincent's connection with such large gaps in their relationship and it felt like some of the deaths in the story were used to push events forward in a way that didn't feel organic. It wasn't clear to me why they were set up to meet which felt like a missed opportunity for a "fated in the stars" trope. Rather than having the story progress from Matilda's childhood to adulthood to the epilogue, I think the book's pacing would've benefitted from a non-linear narrative weaving between her and Vincent's interactions in the past and present. Vincent also felt under characterized and defined largely by his relationships with Matilda and brother Nathaniel. Give me flaws and internal conflict!

I did enjoy the book overall despite the slow start and think it would make a lovely movie or mini series adaptation.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC copy. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to receive an early copy of Wild Reverence, especially after recently reading Divine Rivals. Rebecca Ross is an author I’ve really enjoyed in the past, and I was immediately intrigued by the premise and the magic system. The writing, as always, is lyrical and immersive, and the worldbuilding starts off strong.

Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to stay engaged as the story progressed. While the setup was compelling, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and understanding the driving force behind the plot. I often felt unsure about what was really at stake, which made it difficult to stay invested.

This may very well be a case of the right book at the wrong time, or simply not the right fit for me as a reader. I know many others will find magic in these pages. it just didn’t resonate with me the way I’d hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early.

Absolutely, marvelously done! One of my favorite reads of this year. The world-building, the romance, the character development, everything is five stars. I loved mythology woven into this book and was so intriguing to me. Please, everyone, go read this book!

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.--

I was thrilled to be approved for this after loving the Divine Rivals duology. This was such a fun return to the same world and I loved reading about the gods and magic system. Our main characters were great and their soul mate like love story had be turning the pages so quick. My one qualm is that I think this book was a little too long and had almost too much going on at points or may have been a little too wordy. But still a great standalone romantasy!

I started this but will not be continuing at this time. This is not the right fit for me now but I hope to return to it again in the future, specifically on audiobook. .

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC! All views are my own.

Words cannot begin to describe how much I adored this book. As someone who has read the Letters of Enchantment duology, I was excited to dive back into the world and discover more about the gods who helped shape the story.

First, the writing. The prose in Wild Reverence is DELICIOUS, and Rebecca Ross does such an amazing job with her descriptions and imagery that helped me really visualize the world and our characters. The author never fails to paint a lush picture in my mind of what is happening in the story, almost like I was there myself.

Next, I ADORED the characters. Matilda is wonderful, and the gods around her are all interesting and unique in their own way. I loved seeing Matilda grow up, walking alongside her as the events in her immortal life shape her path. Matilda throughout the course of the story learns the need to protect herself, as gods are ruthless and untrustworthy, but as she matures, also realizes the beauty of trust and unconditional love. Each character I met in the story captivated me and I found myself invested in each of them as I read on (looking at you Bade).

Onto the romance! There is always angst in relationships between immortal and mortal beings, with the characters burdened by knowing one must eventually pass on while the other lives, and this angst is most certainly palpable throughout the story. However, this does not serve as the only source of conflict with their relationship, and I liked that there were other ways that Rebecca Ross was able to develop their relationship past just the glaring fact that one is immortal and the other isn’t. I also really liked the pacing of the romance. Though Vincent and Matilda most certainly shared a bond since they were younger due to the dreams, the way their relationship progressed when they found each other again was believable. When the tension finally melts away and the two confess their love, I was kicking my feet and screaming into my pillow; Matilda and Vincent’s love is so tender and they are such YEARNERS my heart was hurting.

Plot-wise, I liked the pace, and I found myself asking questions that were often answered and explained later on in the story. I really appreciate that this was a standalone, as I think Matilda’s story is contained well within its pages. Also that epilogue…

Wild Reverence is an ode to love in all its forms, and I cannot wait to purchase my copy in September 2025 when it releases.

"𝘼 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡. 𝙈𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙."

How does one even begin to describe a story so beautifully written? It is a story full of lyrical world-building; so whimsical, poetic, heartfelt, and divine that it tore my heart out only to put the pieces back together.

Matilda, a young goddess, born from both the Underling and Skyward descent navigates her life through the realms as a herald of gods-- a messenger. It is during her first delivery that fate happens when she meets Vincent, a mortal boy whose dreams have long intertwined with her own.
The connection between Matilda and Vincent was nothing short of magical, proving that love can transcend the most difficult of journeys. The longing, yearning, loyalty, and devotion... It was a love story for the dreamers, the devoted, for those who love deeply and with their all. It is a type of connection that we all want to feel.

"𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙝, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣, 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙩."

The magic system was a beautiful creation with the pointed stars and how it represents a god's strength, while the treacherous and tricky politics amongst the god's was intriguing-- especially as Matilda grew older and became more involved with them. As a messenger of the gods, Matilda quickly realizes that words have power.

The symmetry and connections to the original duology was perfection. The intricate weaves that Rebecca Ross created proves she is a master of divine storytelling. There wasn't a single moment in this book that I didn't feel myself completely immersed, never wanting it to end. It is a story that will forever stay with me. I can't thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley enough for this beautiful ARC.

The second this hit my hands I couldn't resist the chance to not sit and DEVOUR it! I love everything that Rebecca writes and I was so eager for this book. Just all the stars and I am sad it is already over.

5 stars 🌟 If you loved Divine Rivals, dare I say you’ll love Wild Reverence more!! Mortal x Goddess!! It’s beautiful, emotional and I loved it so so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own 🫶🏼