This is Rebecca Ross' best book to date!! If I could give it 1 million stars I would. It takes place on the same world as her Letters of Enchantment duology, if follows a young Goddess Matilda who is slowly coming into her powers, we get glipses of some characters from Letters of Enchantment like Dacre and Enva. The writing is as always beautiful and Ross has an amazing ability to make you fall in love with her charcters from page 1. I would recommend this book to literally every single one of my friends.

he author of Divine Rivals back with a book set in the same world. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year! And I will say that Rebecca's writing is just as lyrical and beautiful.

But I have to be honest… this was LONG and it took me so long to read.
At the beginning there were 3 pages of characters, with titles, realms, etc. It was overwhelming, and also a little unnecessary. I wish I had of skipped over that, as my anticipation had me bogged down during the world building, which felt heavy.

The first part is Matilda's life up until the age of 13. Then she moves to another realm and BAM she's 26. We get very little on those missing 13 years. And to be honest in a 600 page book- I didn't want to skip huge sections of her life.
I could have done with less detail in the first 150 pages, for just a smidge of the missing 13 years.

The Romance:
Matilda and Vincent meet in his dream. Hold up- This sounds like one of my favorite books ever Strange the Dreamer…. And sadly it just did not live up to it.
I didn't feel the romance at all between Matilda and Vincent. Esepcially when they met in the later part of the book. I didn’t feel the connection- and therefore the plot fell flat for me.

When I think about the plot overall- it was fine. But for the amount of things that happened- it just didn't need to be 600 pages.
It took me like 6 weeks of picking it up and putting it down, and reading probably 10 books between starting and finishing this beast.
And while I can agree that the writing itself is beautiful- the characters and plot just didn't draw me in.

My one bright spot was Bade. He was such a solid character- whom I loved!
"Because she is yours, as you are hers. And she is precious to me."

Sadly, this is a 3 star read for me. However, I seem to be in the minority on this one, as I've seen some rave reviews. So definitely worth checking it out if you loved Divine Rivals.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced read. This title releases September 2

There’s something so special about stepping back into a world you already love—and Wild Reverence completely delivered on that feeling.I adored this book. Rebecca Ross has done it again—Wild Reverence swept me up from the very first page and didn’t let go. Her writing is so lyrical and vivid,I was completely immersed

The story has this quiet strength to it, this wild, aching beauty that I honestly can't stop thinking about. It's romantic, yes, but also deeply emotional in a way that snuck up on me. I felt completely immersed—like I was living inside the story rather than just reading it.

The characters were everything. Raw, real, and beautifully flawed. I found myself rooting for them so hard and holding my breath during those heart-stopping moments. And the world? So lush and rich—I didn’t want to leave it.

There’s something about Rebecca Ross’s storytelling that feels like magic. It’s gentle but powerful, soft but devastating. I closed the book feeling full and a little undone, in the best way.

The romance made my heart ache in the best way, and the worldbuilding was as rich and dreamy as ever. I genuinely didn’t want to put this book down—and I definitely didn’t want it to end.

All the stars!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this stunning book early. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

Fantasy
Romance
Young Adult
Mortal/Goddess
2 very mild spice scenes

"And in his dreams, I was not a goddess but a mortal girl he loved as his friend. I knew him, but he did not truly know me."

Matilda is a herald goddess with the ability to deliver messages and letters to every land and realm. Before she comes of age, she is told a mortal, Vincent, has been dreaming of her repeatedly. She finally goes to the dream realm, eager to see him. They are only able to communicate briefly. Time pulls them apart until Matilda finds an old letter from Vincent asking for her help. She sets off to deliver another message to him, finding him in need of her help still. They must convince the gods that their union is real so that they might call upon aid for battle. A story of magic and love and how much they are willing to sacrifice to embrace the fate bestowed upon them.
I adored this story. It was set in the same universe as Devine Rivals and Ruthless Vows, but it takes place way before. It has a medieval mythologic vibe. There were so many things going on throughout the story, but in the best way. Theres lots of new characters to get to know and betrayals to learn of. The story hardly had a time of rest before more things happened. I very much enjoyed the slower relationship building between Matilda and Vincent- even when he had been dreaming of her in his childhood, they weren't insta in love and jumping all over each other once they were adults. It was such a beautiful story, and I loved it so much.
Thank you to Netgally for providing me with a copy to honestly review

This one was a little difficult for me to get through just because of how information heavy it was! But it was really good once I got further into the story. I liked being able to see all of the before of what was going on in the world to lead up to the events in diviners. However, I don’t think this one was really for me!

The page count and the fact that fantasy books require world-building can make you feel the book is slow-paced, but Wild Reverence doesn’t feel slow. Sure, there are times when there is a small lull, but the plot is quick to get rid of it. There is always something that will grab your attention to keep you reading. I love that we get to see the gods' side of this incredible world. I’ve read most of Rebecca Ross’ books, and I can attest that her writing is absolutely amazing. It always feels very magical and elegant, and this book doesn’t break that pattern. I often found myself getting engrossed in the story and forgetting that I was reading. If you are a fan of mythology, you might find this book fun because I think I recognized allusions to different mythologies, so it has me wondering if I missed any others. Matilda and Vincent’s love feels very genuine and deep because it was created with Rebecca’s writing style instead of a bombardment of romantic or sexual moments. It’s hard to explain. Matilda is such a strong character. She is written in a way that you can tell she isn’t exactly human, but she does seem to have some human aspects that make her feel different from how the other gods are described. Vincent’s love for his family will have you falling in love with him and the subtle moments when you can feel his love for Matilda just made my day. Words cannot express how much I truly love this book and its characters!

Rebecca Ross took the worldbuilding I was missing in Divine Rivals and wrapped it up as the perfect gift in this standalone prequal. I am not skilled with words myself, but I can recognize the craft that goes into writing such lyrical words that flow so beautifully without sounding pretentious. I don’t know if there is any author I’ve read who does it better. Wild Reverence was perfect and everything I wished it would be.

The Elements of Cadence duology is in my top 5 fantasy series, so I have come to expect I will most likely love anything Rebecca Ross writes! This book follows Matilda, the youngest goddess of the Underling Realm, with unlikely ties to the Skyward Realm, and Vincent, a mortal young boy when we first meet him. While this is definitely a love story, there is still exploration of other characters, politics and battles of the godly and mortal realms. This reminded me of what she did so well in A River Enchanted, weaving all of the supporting characters stories together.
Rebecca Ross will continue to be one of my favorite auto buy authors!

Thank you, NetGalley and Saturday Books, for an early copy in exchange for this honest review.

I would say something along the lines of, “words cannot describe the beauty within this book,” but that would be a lie, because Rebecca achieved the utmost level of beauty and ethereal in this incredibly written story.

As an eternal fan of the Letters of Enchantment duology, I absolutely devoured this book, just like it devoured my emotions. There’s something epic and enchanting about this story that made me unable to put it down. I can’t compliment the author enough on her poignant prose and expert plot weaving.

This is one of those books I can’t stop thinking about, and it feels like an honor to know these characters. Truly, this book is gorgeous in every sense, and I cannot recommend it enough!

THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY! But it’s because it is so devastatingly beautiful! I love the concept, goddesses, star crossed lovers. This book made my heart hurt but I loved every second of it. If you loved Divine Rivals, you need to absolutely pick this book up!

Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC. WOW Rebecca Ross did it again! This book was fabulous. It had me captivated and turning pages. It was so complex with plot twists. I would highly recommend.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me.

I read 32 pages and put it down because I couldn't get into it.

I picked it back up and read until page 273 and still couldn't get into it.

The writing didn't captivate me or hold my attention.

Delighted by the idea of learning more about the history and lore behind Divine Rivals, I grabbed this book the second I could. What I did not expect was just how dense this book would be, in the best possible way, there is no rushing through any of these chapters. You are forced to take your time and fully absorb what is being written and said. It took me quite longer than most books ever take me but I will cherish that time with this book forever.

Thank you SMP & NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed Rebecca's Divine Rivals Duology enough to want to read this but currently I am having a very difficult time getting into this. Rachel has such a beautiful and flowery way with her writing and what I have read is written very well. But I am struggling to get into this at all. I'm really hoping to come back to this before the pub date.

Once again I am left in compete and utter awe of Rebecca Ross.

I admit that, while I am a huge fan of Rebecca Ross, this book worried me for a little. After seeing Divine Rivals blow up (rightfully so of course), and then seeing that her new book was set in the same world? it just felt like falling into the trap of popularity that I see sometimes with books. Too often I notice that an author might start pumping out the same type of book over and over again because that’s what’s popular and trendy. I’m so glad I was wrong in this case. I knew I should always trust Rebecca because she never lets me down.

This book was marvelous, an absolute triumph of love and loss. Of vulnerability and strength. Of knowing and unknowing the ways of our world and how we fit into it. Once again, Rebecca shows us how to be loved is to be known. Matilda and Vincent are truly a tale for the ages and I’m so sad to see their story come to an end. I cannot wait for this book to be published so that I can reread it endlessly.

Some people control language. They write to manipulate language to do their bidding. Utilizing words and sentence structure as a tool to form the story they want to tell. And it works more often than not. But there are those like Rebecca that work with language. Her writing is fluid. It dances across the page and flows as steadily as a stream. It’s like magic. She doesn’t control the words but guides it, slowly shaping it into a magical tale. Her storytelling ability is unlike anything I’ve ever read or ever will read again and I marvel at the way she masterfully wields language.

I truly don’t know how I will ever move on from this book. In fact, I don’t think I ever will. I will hold this story in the same place I hold all the rest of hers, close to my heart.

If you haven’t already, add this book to your Want to Read list because I promise you it’s worth it. And if you’re new to Rebecca Ross’s writing then please be sure to check out Divine Rivals before diving into this book (you don’t necessarily have to but I think it makes for a more well-rounded and interesting reading experience). But don’t forget that Rebecca has sooooo many other incredible books as well! Let’s be sure to show them some love while we wait for September to arrive with Wild Reverence!

also thank god for Netgalley for opening this up to read and for my wonderful amazing sweet friend lex for informing that it was available to read because I would’ve missed it lol

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!
My rating system is very specific to my own rubric.

Ross has a beautiful way with words and is incredibly adept at building out a descriptive narrative. This really helped to bring out the atmosphere between the Skyward court, the Mortal realm and the Underlings caverns. The story does read very slowly, and to be fair we're starting from Matilda's birth through her adolescence and into adulthood. The court intrigue/politics are not my favorite sub-genre to read. These are the two biggest hurdles I faced while reading.

That being said, Matilda's descriptions of the Underling court were some of my favorite aspects of the first half of the book. However, it wasn't until Adria's revelation about the matriarchs and Matilda's Skyward punishment that I truly felt invested in the story. From that point on, I couldn't read fast enough! Everything unspooled so quickly that I was desperate to see how the various threads would weave together.

The unexpected surprise at the end...oh my. I should have put two and two together much sooner, but it was such a sweet conclusion.

“I love you. I have loved you for a long time.” 💚

Wild Reverence is another masterpiece by Rebecca Ross! It was beautiful and heart wrenching and definitely had me sobbing by the end.

I’ve been in such a reading slump lately but this was just the right book to get me out of it! I do admit it was a little slow in the beginning, but the story eventually picked up and was amazing all the way through to the end!

The epilogue was so bittersweet and I love how it tied things together with the Letters of Enchantment duology! 💙

If you love dual pov; fantasy romance; star-crossed lovers; fake marriage; and gods fighting each other for power, then this book is for you!

Thank you so much to Saturday Books/St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy! Wild Reverence releases on September 2, so be sure to check it out!

Overall: 5 ⭐️

You ever finish a book, and you just sit in silence, awestruck and filled with the bittersweet realization that the book has ended? Do you also ever come out of a book feeling as if you lived an entire lifetime, and now that you’re out of it, you’re confused and wondering where and WHO you are?

No? Okay I guess it’s just me then.

I was completely enraptured by this book. This book makes you believe you are the characters and living the story through them.

Rebecca Ross’s writing is in a whole ‘nother level and my only regret is only reading now. It’s lush, poetic, melodious, and just paints such beautiful pictures. She could write about the most mundane things and it would still come out elegant.

Matilda and Vincent’s love for each other was tender and beautiful. I adored that they were not the all powerful FMC / MMC we usually see in Romantasy. It made the fights more dramatic.

My only complaint is that it was a little slow in the beginning. I felt like it finally got interesting around chapter 5. And then from there, it took off.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you enjoy poetic romantasy mixed with gods, political intrigue, and intense forbidden romance type of yearning.

Thank you NetGalley and Saturday Books - MacMillan for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Our queen and savior Rebecca Ross is BACK and can do no wrong👑

Wild Reverence is lush, whimsical, and everything we’ve come to expect from Ross. The magic, the yearning, the banter??? Top tier! And being back in the Divine Rivals universe? I weep. This one kept me engrossed from start to finish and I can’t wait for readers to love it as much as I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC.

This made my heart ache in the best way!

What starts as a dream connection between a mortal boy and a goddess with humble magic unravels into an epic, emotional tale of fate, sacrifice, and love that defies realms.

As always with Rebecca Ross, this story was stunning.

The yearning was just off the charts, the banter was so good, the emotions hit hard, and the love story felt so genuine.

The epilogue was pure magic!! The typewriter!

A must read for anyone who loves her writing!

Thank you NetGalley and Saturday books for the ARC.

Rebecca Ross can do no wrong. The writing, the longing, the characters, the setting. I love absolutely everything. I hope there's more in this world in books to come!