What a freaking journey this book took me on. Wild Reverence is so beautifully written, grandiose and romantic, while also being tragically devastating. Time and time again these two were kept apart -absolutely obliterating my heart on their behalf- but their love persevered. Truly a love story to withstand the test of time. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

✨ 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑆𝑡. 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛'𝑠 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑅𝐶 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤! ✨

I have no words. I am completely speechless, my words stolen by a story of the herald of the gods. It was so magical to be back in this world, to see some familiar characters from the Letters Of Enchantment duology, and to meet so many new ones.

This book reminded me of how much I adore Rebecca's writing. It flows through you, and instantly transports you to the worlds she creates. You feel close to the characters she writes, finding both new friends and enemies in the pages. I adored learning about Matilda, watching her grow up and find her place amongst the realms. Seeing the things that shaped her, the blessings and the tragedies that made her into the goddess she grew up to be. And on top of that, watching Vincent's story and how it intertwined with her's was nothing short of beautiful. How it made even Fate and Death pause to watch.

I loved this book! I really enjoyed how you follow the main characters from childhood to adulthood and how you really got to see the world of the gods and their world operates

What happens when the letter you're to deliver on the Death Goddess request is to the man whose dreams you would read as a child?
Wild Reverence follows the story of Matilda, the Herald of the Gods, as she struggles to find her place as a goddess. We see her deal with betrayals from both the Skyward and Underling Realms. We delve deeper into the relationships between gods introduced in Divine Rivals.
While dealing with the gods, Matilda is reunited with the boy she met as a god-child. Where she soon realizes both the mortal world and the god realms are more connected than she thought.
The book was a beautiful journey. You get see Matilda journey from first memories all the way to the last. The relationships between characters were heartwarming. When I thought the book start to drag on I would be hooked again. Loved how Ross was able to compare not only the relationships Matilda has with past and present love interest but with parental figures. Shows family isn't necessarily blood but those who surround you and love you.

Getting more from the world of Divine Rivals?! Yes, please!! This was so fantastically written, and I LOVED getting more from the lore of this world. Honestly, Matilda was my favorite. The prose was also so beautiful and well written. The descriptions really brought the story to life!

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

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

I was so excited to see another book in this series. Just like the two before this, I loved it! I loved the story of Matilda and Vincent and the foreshadowing to the other books in the series.

4.5 ⭐️

Daring to be vulnerable to love

Wow. Just wow. I loved, loved this coming of age, romantic fantasy with a side of power hungry treacherous gods. It was definitely a stay up too late, cannot put it down kind of book. I fell head first into the story and was equally desperate to read it all at once and also to savor it and make it last. The mythology based storyline was imaginative, the characters were real and relatable, and the writing was addictive with phenomenal world building, woven together scene by scene, layer by layer until it became a living breathing place full of three dimensional beings. This epic fantasy will have you feeling all the deep emotions - laughing, crying, swooning, cringing, teeth gritting, knuckle biting, raging, and cheering. I was right there with Matilda and Vincent feeling all the things as their story unfolds. Matilda is a herald goddess who was born in the Underling realm. The daughter of an Underling divine and a Skyward divine who was conceived in the mortal realm. Vincent is a mortal boy who often dreams of drowning and Matilda enters his dreams rescuing and befriending him. They are dream friends as children but life events tear them apart and for reasons, Matilda cannot answer Vincent when he desperately needs her help. But their story does not end in the dreams of children and an unanswered prayer but, after an interruption, it begins again in the real world. Thus begins the Matilda’s journey into finding her path and into becoming vulnerable to love. A journey filled with arrogant gods, monsters, impossible tasks, difficult choices, pain, death, big feels, and heaps of physical and emotional overload. The book has a little bit of everything just like you would expect from this genre - sweet moments, real life issues, imperfect characters, dangerous moments, mystery, supernatural creatures, secrets, plot twists, painful pasts, evil actors, and love. So much love.

ARE YOU KIDDING?! This book gave everything and more. I love this series so much, that I obviously had to read this book! The divine rivals world and Rebecca’s writing feel like coming home and being in a world that I love so dearly.

Per usual, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading this book. I know that Rebecca is amazing with twists and turns so I never knew what was going to come next.

Absolutely in love with this book. Rebecca’s writing style is nothing short of magical. I love how she makes me feel so many emotions and truly transports me

As a fan of “The Letters of Enchantment” series, I was excited to read the newest book by Rebecca Ross.
She has taken us back to the world of ‘Divine Rivals’ in the form of a standalone prequel, if you will. We get to meet a newly born goddess, Matilda, who will come into her power over the course of the book and her fated mortal love, Vincent.

The book definitely starts out a bit slow as the world is built and different characters are introduced that will influence Matilda’s life, but about 25% in the book picks up and goes full force.

It is a highly entertaining and well thought out book. It left me wanting to read more books set in this world.

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

The number of times I thought to myself, "I f'ing LOVE this book!" while reading should be illegal. I found myself rereading sentences or even entire paragraphs because I loved how she wrote it, the words used, the images it created. So many parts were just beautifully done.
There were also the swoon-worthy parts, the parts that had my gasping and covering my mouth or the parts that had me speeding through just to find out what happened! And don't get me started on the tears!
I was utterly engrossed in this story and completely fell in love. Thats all I can say.
Infinity stars ♾️🌟

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Harper Collins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Rebecca Ross, St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books, and NetGalley, for giving me an eARC of Wild Reverence in exchange for my honest review.

Wild Reverence is a standalone fantasy romance set in the same world as the Letters of Enchantment Duology. Following a human and a goddess as they try to prevent a war, Wild Reverence depicts the tale of love, heartbreak, friendship, loyalty, and betrayal. It tells the backstory of a myth in many ways. While the world itself is essentially our world, the world-building is outstanding, as we learn about the world of the gods and the fight for power that takes place, even among the gods. The plot is well-paced, and paints this picture of a goddess's life and how her life led to her falling in love with a mortal. The plot also follows how the goddess fights to help that mortal survive, and the lengths she will go to save those that she loves.

As a whole, the character development was outstanding. I loved being able to see the characters grow, and how life experiences that they are facing shape who they are as people. I also greatly appreciated the role that the side characters played. Oftentimes, side characters are simply there; however, with Wild Reverence, as readers, we get to see how those side characters shape who the main characters are as people, and how the actions of the side characters greatly impact the main characters. I had such a fun time reading this book from start to finish, and could not put it down from the second that I picked it up. From the very first sentence, I was drawn in, and in many ways it felt like someone was reading a book to me, even though I was reading it myself.

thank you so much netgalley for the arc!!

wild reverence was such a sweet, slow burn of a story where a goddess & a mortal boy who’s fates were woven together could not be unraveled. i really enjoyed how they always found their way to eachother no matter the distance or time apart.

although it took my brain some time to fully get submersed into the book & into the world i ended up loving it so much! the writing is beautiful & poetic, (this is what made it hard for me personally to get into at the beginning.)

i loved the divine rivals tie in towards the end when matilda slid the letter to vincent under the door. also the epilogue made me want to re read divine rivals!!


some quotes i loved:
“ I will those stars to always burn, because I cannot bear to imagine them ever going dark.”
-Vincent

“we were doomed, she & i. one day, i would perish & she would live on, endless as the stars. but if we were doomed, then let us fully embrace it.”

“Her fate is woven with yours. A knot that not even I can unravel”

Just absolutely stunning. I expected nothing less from Rebecca Ross. I fell in love with Matilda and Vincent in this beautiful story- with their innocence, their vulnerability, and their enduring love.

I loved how this story weaves seamlessly into the world she created with Divine Rivals, and allows us to better understand and experience the world and the lore of the Gods who dwelled and ruled in the time that came before.

And Bade! What a heartbreakingly gorgeous found family Matilda has with him.

I have marked up my digital copy of this book with so many beautiful moments that spoke to my soul and made me feel all the feelings.

Excellent book. Just exquisite.

First my thanks to St Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this novel 🫶

Let me start by saying I absolutely adored the duology that was Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows. When I found out Ross was writing another book in that world I was SOLD!

This exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. If you’re even slightly considering reading it, I say take the plunge and go for it! Don’t let the size intimidate you— it’s a decently long book but I was HOOKED from the beginning and you’ll cruise right through it. I didn’t want to put it down for a second.

I can honestly say I haven’t cried this much reading a book since Throne of Glass. And that’s saying something. The characters are so well built, you feel like you know them personally. Their wins are your wins. Their losses? They feel like a gut punch. I felt like I put my heart in the hands of Ross and her story telling and it was well taken care of.

Exceptionally beautiful. I just can’t recommend this enough. I’m SO glad I have this already pre-ordered!

Rebecca Ross gets me every time - this was beautiful (both the writing and the story). She has a way of pulling you into her world so quickly, I feel like I've been absorbed in Matilda's story all week long.

This was better than the original two books in the series, to me. The style, setting, and characters just resonated more with me, and felt more in line with A River Enchanted, which originally got me obsessed with the author. And the romance was truly one of the best I've read in awhile. Maybe I just read in an emotional state of mind, but I could really feel the yearning through the pages, and was rooting for them so hard.

4.5 stars rounded up - the minus ½ is really just because I felt like I was missing a liiiiittle more context on the inter-court dynamics of the Gods. There was a lot more telling than showing in that sense, but still got a lot of the background I wanted and really enjoyed the ride.

Rebecca Ross returns to the world of her popular duology, Letters of Enchantment, with the prequel Wild Reverence. The standalone novel is an atmospheric, emotionally lush fantasy that considers the divine and their mortal lovers. While it has flashes of breathtaking beauty and emotional resonance, the book's slow burn and a desire for more of its romance at its core hold it back from being a perfect five star read for me.

The story centers around a young goddess messenger, Matilda, and a mortal boy, Vincent, who is plagued by nightmares. The strongest part of the book is the way it deals with the gods themselves, more than a subplot, really making the immortals the focus of the book. This intimate look at their motivations and power struggles is compelling and adds such depth to the world-building, with new insight into the original duology's events.

Ross's writing is, as always, just stunning and lyrical. She crafts sentences that must be savored, a kind of prose that somehow feels both magical and so intensely intimate. The love affair between Vincent and Matilda is a slow burn so filled with longing and palpable emotion, it's impossible not to be swept up in their story. Vincent, in particular, is a masterclass in a hero consumed by love, his adoration of Matilda both poignant and moving.

The slow pace of the book is a double-edged sword. While the slow burn helps with the emotional payoff, it also comes off as a bit long, especially in the middle. The narrative takes its time with the characters' solo arcs and the overall lore, and some readers may find themselves wishing that the two protagonists spent more time together. This is particularly true in the final act, where after all the build-up, the together scenes between them are too brief. For a novel so centered around a mortal x immortal couple, it's somewhat disappointing to not receive more together page time for them in the end.

Wild Reverence is a lovely, sweet novel that will certainly satisfy readers of Rebecca Ross's writing and her previous works. It's a tribute to her skill at crafting emotionally satisfying stories with a sense of setting and magic. While it doesn't give as much of the central romance as some readers may desire, it's a solid, atmospheric read that gives a bittersweet exploration of love, sacrifice, and the immortality of the soul.

I'm obsessed! it was so good.
Matilda is an immortal goddess who meets Vincent, a mortal prince in his nightmares.
This is beautiful. The writing is lyrical and descriptive. There is so much to the fantasy universe with the gods and goddesses and mortals. The romance spans so many years and has so much longing, yearning and teaches you the beauty of waiting. The letters! oh the letters. I simply cannot tell you how much this book will pull at your heartstrings and rip it out and put it back together. You must experience it for your self

4 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️ very few, open door scenes but the detail was tasteful and not overly explicit
🖤🖤🖤 this was a dark and gritty story. This is set in a world with ruthless gods and vengeful humans. Please read with caution.

If you’re a sucker for childhood friends to lovers/second chance romance set in a world of ruthless gods, untrustworthy mortals, and love being the most feared and powerful emotion, then read Wild Reverence ASAP. Wild Reverence is the prequel to Divine Rivals, but if you haven’t read Divine Rivals yet, you will still love this book. And I can honestly make this claim because I have NOT read Divine Rivals! I know, I knowwww. But I will definitely be reading the books now because Rebecca’s lyrical, lushful writing sang to my heart. Her writing felt like poetry and made me weak.

“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?”

Vincent and Matilda relationship. I was swooning. Their star crossed, forbidden romance was tender. Innocent. Sweet.

But I was more in love with Matilda & Bade’s relationship. Oh, my heart. Their relationship started as duty to alliances to daughter and father. My heart swelled at their tender moments.

“It was the familial love I had often seen in dreams and marveled over, because it was absent—or very well hidden—in the immortal world.”

“I hear you,” he said at last. “Daughter.”

“If heartless gods can be made soft by such love, we are all doomed.”

I mean, come on! These quotes!! Bade has my heart.


Thank you, Saturday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group & NetGalley for my gifted advanced book copy. All my reviews are my own opinion. 💕

One thing about Rebecca Ross is that she's going to give us a man who YEARNS.

Wild Reverence, a standalone prequel to the Letters of Enchantment duology, is one of my most anticipated releases for the year and this was everything I hoped it would be and more. This story follows Matilda, the youngest goddess in her clan, and Vincent, a mortal boy who she befriends after he dreams of her. They are separated after tragedies prevent Matilda from answering Vincent's cry for help, and stay as such until she tumbles through his window to deliever a message over a decade later.

This story was nothing short of stunning. It blended Ross' beautiful prose and immersive, whimsical magical worldbuilding with elements of mythological retellings, which I adored. The relationship we see develop and morph not just between our main characters, but all the characters, was similutaneously a lot of fun and absolutely gutwrenching.

Never stop writing, Rebecca Ross.

Thank you SO MUCH to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Saturday Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.